fic year in review 2015
Because I started writing, really, in Dec 2014, I will start counting from there.
Total number of stories worked on: This is an impossible question I think I counted at least 15 fics in my WIP folder (more than I’ve ever had before) so I shall copy Reet and say at least over 30.
Total number of completed stories: 13
Fandoms written in: VIXX (I guess I wasn’t kidding about being a one-fandom girl.)
Total word count: 80,000 words of completed fic, and at least another 15,000 words of random WIPs and drabbles (whoa okay that’s a lot)
December
heart sold separately (N/Leo, 12k)
four green bottles (if one should accidentally fall) (N/Jackson, 5.5k)
January
second star to the right (N/Jackson, 2.7k)
March
you did well today, too (N-centric, 8.8k) for kpop_olymfics
April
just the moon, the stars, and you (Team, 2.5k) a pinch hit for kpop_olymfics
June
The Cha Hakyeon Protection Squad (N, Leo, 600w) written with alesserrain for the 3 Sentence Ficathon
with lips more scar tissue than skin (N/Hongbin, 9k) also for the 3 Sentence Ficathon
July
Love For Sale (various, 3.2k total) written with alesserrain and wykedpanda as a result of the 3 Sentence Ficathon
August
more history is made by secret handshakes (N, Ken, 1.3k)
September
Hakyeon, Fanboy Extraordinaire (N-centric, 1.2k)
October
we were kings, once (N/Hyuk, 13k) written for extrafictionary
December
out of love I made you muffins (also milk, flour, eggs and sugar) (Leo/Eunji, 6.3k) written for vixxgifts
The Best Christmas Party in the World (Team, 3k) written with alesserrain for vixxgifts
Overall
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? Way, way, way more. I never predicted what sort of crazy spiral I would go on after falling into VIXX in December 2014, and the words sort of show for it. At the point when I was ready to quit writing in June, I told myself that at any rate, it would be 50k worth of words inspired by Cha Hakyeon and I would never regret it. I'm glad I had friends to talk me out of that poor decision or I would have never have hit my writing goals nor tried so many other new things in fic.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Leo/Eunji. Please, I got into VIXX for Hakyeon! I was horrified when I had to write a fic that didn't have him at all. (Well, he still cameoed. Nothing could keep him down.)
What’s your own favorite story of the year? Despite everything, even the tight timeline I was on towards the end, I would say "you did well today, too." It was the fic I'd wanted to write ever since I got into VIXX fandom and observed to my horror how Hakyeon was getting sadder, and sadder, and sadder, and the Mnet 4Things show finally pushed me over the edge. Thankful to kpop_olymfics for giving me the chance to write the sad leader cha fic. I felt I let something go with that.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I was very dissatisfied with my writing around June, and that's when naladot challenged me to write a fic that was plot-focused rather than character-focused. That became Nhyuk back hug fic for extrafictionary. That fic was so challenging to write; I felt like I was becoming confused with all the threads I wanted to address. Still, despite it fighting me tooth and nail, I'm glad I tried that plot-driven fic for once.
Another thing I tried was the way I wrote emotions. I feel I tend to be very heavy-handed in my description of emotions, so I wanted to try a more stilted, subtle approach. While there were hints of it in Chabean hooker fic, I really tried it in muffin fic. I realised its effect of distancing the reader from the emotions of the character, though, which maybe works where the characters are not so much in touch with their feelings, or repressing them in some way. It was a really fun exercise, still.
Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year? Something I keep telling my friends is that I feel quite writered out after the last year. I've never written so much in my life and my biggest fear is not being able to continue? I have one resolution too, to go back and look at my fics because I tend not to do that (I can't face them anymore, until enough time has passed).
My goals from last year were: Non-existent. I didn't even know I was going to be writing.
From my past year of writing, what was…
My best story of this year: How do I quantify this? I like to believe that as I went along my storytelling skills improved. For that very reason I will say muffin fic is best constructed. Either that or Chabean hooker fic, which I still consider one of my best romances.
My most popular story of this year: While steel heart!AU has the most number of kudos, it also has an entire half a year headstart on some of my other stories, so I will cite sad leader Cha fic as the most popular (really, give it another half a year and it will catch up!) It also singlehandedly accomplished my sudden amassing of tlist friends who became very important to me (all lured in by the Hakyeon feels), so thank you for that ♡
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: The gen fics. Other than sad leader Cha fic which seemed to resound with a lot of people, the gen fics are under-clicked, which -- hey! If you gave it a chance you might like it! advertisement here> The muffin fic, screamed Rai, so I will include that here too, though I'm still too close to it to see it objectively.
Most fun story to write: The Cha Hakyeon Protection Squad. This was accomplished drunk typping with alesserrain with both of us short on sleep near midnight, and from its inception to its posting, barely 45 minutes passed. Probably the most fun fic to write (and also gosh, the amount of kudos it got for 600 words!)
Story with the single sexiest moment: I have it on advisement that the baking scene in muffin fic was full of romantic tension. Also, somehow I have one friend who keeps on talking about the "rug scene" in the massive hooker AU (there was no scene, seriously).
Most “Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: Ken, exhibitionist. Nope, I'm not sorry. Not really.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: The canon fics made me explore characterisation a lot more. Sad leader Cha fic was a really interesting exercise in trying to figure out who Hakyeon was, his motivations and likes and dislikes, and especially how he was in relation to each member of VIXX.
Hardest story to write: Nhyuk back hug fic took everything out of me. Firstly, it was so. Freaking. Long. Secondly, I wasn't used to handling a plot-driven story and at times I almost lost my motivation because hey. I want to write these characters having time together but also there's this overarching plot chasing them along and how do I balance that? I hope I managed it in the end, but this was really, really hard to write.
Biggest disappointment: The number of times I crashed and went into crisis after publishing a fic. In that way, almost every fic had its turn as a disappointment right after it was published. "Nobody likes it. Why don't people like it? I hate my writing." And other fun self-destructive thoughts. There were two major times I wanted to give up writing this year, once especially bad in June. I hit another rut towards the end of the year too, but I guess I'll just see how it turns out.
Biggest surprise: Okay I know this is fic-wise, but this truly was my biggest surprise this year: Collecting so many friends as a result of my writing and our similar headcanons, and so many who have become very important to me ♡ (Yes, apparently I am still in feels mode.)
Highlights + Wrap-up:
Favourite Opening Lines (3):
1. Almost three years after their debut, Hakyeon decides to stop. (x)
2. He's standing on the roadside, legs stuffed into overly tight jeans, jacket much too thin for the Korean winter. His hair is artfully ruffled and gelled. There's no question at all about what he's selling. (x)
3. When Hakyeon finally gives in and decides to place an order for a CARE Bot 2.0, it's strictly out of necessity. (x)
Favourite Closing Lines (3):
1. Sometimes, breathing is enough. He can do it for another day. (x)
2. They watch the neat, glowing circle of the sun ascend like a promise. And so, into the sunrise, further than they can see, they continue to run. (x)
3. The sun is shining. Against the window, a single stalk of morning glory blooms. (x)
Favorite 5 Line(s) from Anywhere:
1. "Yah, Jung Taekwoon!" Hakyeon yells. "Just because you've debuted you think you're something great, don't you! You've forgotten your roots!" Whatever he wants to say next gets muffled in Taekwoon’s jacket. He hums with happiness. (x)
2. Taekwoon looks at the blank pages. He picks up a ballpoint pen and deliberately traces out the letters of a word. "I am writing," he tells Hakyeon, and puts down the phone to a squawk of outrage. (x)
3. So when they meet, Hongbin is holding two cups of coffee, and Hakyeon is twined around another man. (x)
4. "It's okay, Hyukkie," Hakyeon says, face filling his vision. His voice is thick. "I'll take care of you now." Sanghyuk blinks twice. But I was supposed to take care of you. It's only when he glances down that he realises Hakyeon has placed his hand on his arm. Sanghyuk senses none of the warmth that must be coming from his hand, nor the calluses on the top of his palm. He closes his eyes and tries to remember how it felt to hold Hakyeon against him. (x)
5. "There'll be fighting! Robots!" As a last-ditch attempt, he tries, "There might be shuriken." A little bit of life enters Sanghyuk's face, then exits as soon as it comes. "Maybe after I beat the sixty-fifth boss. I've got this, hyung, I can do it before manager-hyung remembers we exist and drags us in to practice again." He goes back to his glazed, slightly slack-jawed expression. Jaehwan gives it up as a lost cause. (x)
In Conclusion: This was the year I produced the most fic and also hit the most writing crises of my life. There were several times I was tempted to fall back into oblivion and stop writing, but because it was also the year I unexpectedly became very involved in fandom (with friends that wouldn't let me disappear), I ended up writing through my crisis instead of giving up. They talked me down from my metaphorical ledges, challenged me to try new things and encouraged and hugged me when I cried about my fics or got emo about life. I couldn't have done this at all without you. /smooshy /group hug
Friends' Reviews
kalopsia here
naladot here
mara_ciro here
thunggyu here
troqes here
darkyulate here
alesserrain here
namikaze_jkc here