2010 in review
Aiyaiyai. Gone all day -- lovely day so went out and spent the Panera gift card I got (verdict: lovely atmosphere, overpriced, but food not bad) then drove to sunny-but-windy Monterey/Carmel for a walk and to housewatch/stalk doggies. Haha. Will be gone again most of tomorrow as I have a gig tomorrow night in San Francisco playing a few classic Cantonese/Mandarin standards like Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau (now if only I got paid for this stuff...), so I'd better post my year-end reflections now!
Writing
Fanfic Word Count: 1k (FE Contest Mildain fic) + 30k (Harvest Moon fic) + 7.5k (Isadora fic) + ??? (FE Contest Ogma fic, kink meme, horribly long overdue holiday fic exchange) = 38.5k + ?? Let's just say 40k, though it's probably more around 42k or so.
I've been hovering around 50k or so for the last few years, but I, uh, apparently didn't do much Fire Emblem this year. For which I feel more than a bit guilty... (Although I did do a bit more translating, does that count??? :P) And here I thought I'd finally get started on the FE100 prompts in 2010 and that I'd be done with the wariskind universe sometime in 2011! Oh well.
( Last year's rundown: 48.3k)
I won't do my usual rundown again since I barely wrote anything this year. I will say I'm mostly pretty happy with everything I did write with the exception of the Ogma fic though. "White Storks at Dawn" (the Isadora fic) is easily my favorite, but it doesn't have much competition. XD I really am happy though -- if I look back at what I was writing just two years ago and look at what I'm churning out now, there is a definite improvement in skill that wasn't obvious to me until I compared, frex, "Sand and Moonlight" to "White Storks" side by side. To be honest though, the most important thing I learned this year is that I am astonishingly capable of writing at insane speeds when I am sufficiently motivated (I could have beaten NaNo out of season twice over with that Harvest Moon fic had I felt like expanding it). Now I just need to learn self-discipline so I can do that even when I'm not motivated. :P
As for recs, fe_contest is awesome (and making me actually want to play the Tellius games, someone shoot me now), as is emblanon, and I have done pretty much no fanfic reading outside of FE this year, and am even more horribly behind on reviews than usual.
I have done quite a bit of original online fiction reading, though, and will offer recs if anyone is interested. (Am also seeking recs.)
Original Word Count: 12k (The Project) + 12k (the other project) + ??? (a brief flirtation with Ren'Py and a practice query) = 24k and then some
Whoo this sure has been the year for original work though. A milestone for me, really. I'm finally buckling down and writing what I really want to write, and finding that I'm CAPABLE of writing what I want to write, and made a few solid commitments at last instead of continuing my old wishy-washy "someday" spiel. It's very, very exciting and nervewracking all at once.
Goal for next year is to finish the "other project" and start sending it out to agents.
On anime
This year's crop sucked. Period. I pretty much watched three series:
Giant Killing, Star Driver, Kuragehime/Princess Jellyfish. Which were/are each awesome in their own way. Not gonna lie though, Giant Killing held the most personal meaning to me and was the only one I watched faithfully on a week-by-week basis. What.
(I need to finish Tatami Galaxy at some point.)
And then drooled over Gundam Unicorn and the Macross Frontier movie. The end!
(Oh, I did watch a few older series too, specifically Licensed by Royalty, Legend of Arslan, and Simoun but that doesn't really count now, does it???)
Life, and stuff
2010 was a strange but interesting year, to say the least. Most certainly a year of many new beginnings. Some of the rage and anger from 2009 and earlier this year has finally begun to taper off, but not all of it. Some of it, I think I will have to carry with me for the rest of my life. I've learned a few painful truths and come to a slightly better understanding of my family, though I still don't think I will ever truly reconcile with them. Rather, because of the truth, I now understand more than ever that I will never be able to forgive them, but I am willing, now, to continue playing along with this sham without feeling like I'm responsible for holding everything together. I'm ready to let it all go at any moment, if necessary. A readjustment of expectations and perspective has really helped a lot. I'm no longer confused as hell. And I'm less certain of the future than ever, but am at least no longer quite stuck in a rut.
So, resolutions for 2011:
1. As above, finish other project, send out to agents.
2. Meanwhile, figure out some good promotion strategies for The Project.
3. Seriously, exercise more, you lazy poohead.
4. It would be nice if you went out and met people your own age and got a fucking life for once. But it's okay if you don't.
5. Be less of an asshole.
6. Last but definitely not least: no matter what happens, don't lose faith in yourself.
Writing
Fanfic Word Count: 1k (FE Contest Mildain fic) + 30k (Harvest Moon fic) + 7.5k (Isadora fic) + ??? (FE Contest Ogma fic, kink meme, horribly long overdue holiday fic exchange) = 38.5k + ?? Let's just say 40k, though it's probably more around 42k or so.
I've been hovering around 50k or so for the last few years, but I, uh, apparently didn't do much Fire Emblem this year. For which I feel more than a bit guilty... (Although I did do a bit more translating, does that count??? :P) And here I thought I'd finally get started on the FE100 prompts in 2010 and that I'd be done with the wariskind universe sometime in 2011! Oh well.
( Last year's rundown: 48.3k)
I won't do my usual rundown again since I barely wrote anything this year. I will say I'm mostly pretty happy with everything I did write with the exception of the Ogma fic though. "White Storks at Dawn" (the Isadora fic) is easily my favorite, but it doesn't have much competition. XD I really am happy though -- if I look back at what I was writing just two years ago and look at what I'm churning out now, there is a definite improvement in skill that wasn't obvious to me until I compared, frex, "Sand and Moonlight" to "White Storks" side by side. To be honest though, the most important thing I learned this year is that I am astonishingly capable of writing at insane speeds when I am sufficiently motivated (I could have beaten NaNo out of season twice over with that Harvest Moon fic had I felt like expanding it). Now I just need to learn self-discipline so I can do that even when I'm not motivated. :P
As for recs, fe_contest is awesome (and making me actually want to play the Tellius games, someone shoot me now), as is emblanon, and I have done pretty much no fanfic reading outside of FE this year, and am even more horribly behind on reviews than usual.
I have done quite a bit of original online fiction reading, though, and will offer recs if anyone is interested. (Am also seeking recs.)
Original Word Count: 12k (The Project) + 12k (the other project) + ??? (a brief flirtation with Ren'Py and a practice query) = 24k and then some
Whoo this sure has been the year for original work though. A milestone for me, really. I'm finally buckling down and writing what I really want to write, and finding that I'm CAPABLE of writing what I want to write, and made a few solid commitments at last instead of continuing my old wishy-washy "someday" spiel. It's very, very exciting and nervewracking all at once.
Goal for next year is to finish the "other project" and start sending it out to agents.
On anime
This year's crop sucked. Period. I pretty much watched three series:
Giant Killing, Star Driver, Kuragehime/Princess Jellyfish. Which were/are each awesome in their own way. Not gonna lie though, Giant Killing held the most personal meaning to me and was the only one I watched faithfully on a week-by-week basis. What.
(I need to finish Tatami Galaxy at some point.)
And then drooled over Gundam Unicorn and the Macross Frontier movie. The end!
(Oh, I did watch a few older series too, specifically Licensed by Royalty, Legend of Arslan, and Simoun but that doesn't really count now, does it???)
Life, and stuff
2010 was a strange but interesting year, to say the least. Most certainly a year of many new beginnings. Some of the rage and anger from 2009 and earlier this year has finally begun to taper off, but not all of it. Some of it, I think I will have to carry with me for the rest of my life. I've learned a few painful truths and come to a slightly better understanding of my family, though I still don't think I will ever truly reconcile with them. Rather, because of the truth, I now understand more than ever that I will never be able to forgive them, but I am willing, now, to continue playing along with this sham without feeling like I'm responsible for holding everything together. I'm ready to let it all go at any moment, if necessary. A readjustment of expectations and perspective has really helped a lot. I'm no longer confused as hell. And I'm less certain of the future than ever, but am at least no longer quite stuck in a rut.
So, resolutions for 2011:
1. As above, finish other project, send out to agents.
2. Meanwhile, figure out some good promotion strategies for The Project.
3. Seriously, exercise more, you lazy poohead.
4. It would be nice if you went out and met people your own age and got a fucking life for once. But it's okay if you don't.
5. Be less of an asshole.
6. Last but definitely not least: no matter what happens, don't lose faith in yourself.