Writing meme 2008
I borrowed this from callistosh65 (that icon's for you, luv) - I was going to do a review anyway, so this meme is perfect. Warnings for length and coma-inducing observations.
Writing wrap-up 2008.
This past year turned out to be a surprise for me when it came to fanfiction writing. A year ago today, if you'd told me that I would write as many stories as I did and discover a new fandom, I would not have believed you. I had no hope of 2008 being a good year for writing and the idea of falling in love with a shiny new toy seemed, well, pretty darn remote. But considering where my head was at twelve months ago, that wouldn't have been an accurate prediction and I'm glad to say that it didn't play out.
January
The only stories posted in January were leftovers from December. An overflowing cup of Victorian soap opera syllabub entitled The Grand Tour, it was written back when there was still a flicker of hope that the ATWT writers knew what they were doing. Alas, they did not.
The other story was Boundless, a Professionals story written for the discoveredinalj 2007 advent calender. The Lads are just eternal.
February
In February, I posted another story left over from 2007, Gifts of the Season, my Man from U.N.C.L.E. Offering for the lj muncle community Down The Chimney fic exchange.
I also posted the first of three Without A Trace stories, Unchain My Heart. My WAT stories never seem to contain much in the way of plot and way too much in the way of angst and romance but hey, it's what I do.
And then came Torchwood.
I'm not sure how this happened. Everyone knows I don't like science fiction very much but there was so much buzz about this that I thought, what the heck? I'll give it a try. Watched the whole first series and went "meh, okay,", but I think it was when Jack asked Ianto out on that infamous date-after his reunion with John Hart, which I think is key-that something clicked. You all know that sound-when your head and your heart make that first fandom connection, it's almost an adrenaline rush. Suddenly you're in bed trying to sleep because tomorrow is a work/school day and yet you can't because you're making up all these stories in your head. And then that first story is posted and you squeeze your eyes shut and cross your fingers and try and find other stuff to do, all the while hoping that there are folks out there who see the characters the same way you do.
Anyhoo, back to the list!
March
Pow! Out came Past and Forever, an angsty, h/c-indulgent Jack/Ianto story that actually included a plot. It had violence! Torture! Blind!Ianto! Heroic!Jack! Snarky-but-still-gorgeous!John Hart! When I finished that story, I thought, yep, that's it. A fandom one shot and I'm out. Yeah, right.
April
In April, I managed to sneak in a missing scene for Without a Trace. Internal Affairs was written for A Bend in the Road, the end of the ridiculous story arc that had Jack (why is there always a Jack?) shot and sinking into a swamp. At that point, I would've left him there, but he's redeemed himself a bit. The show, unfortunately, let us all down later in the year.
May
So maybe I wasn't done with Torchwood quite yet. There was a TW/DW ficathon that I joined and my prompt was "50 years together." Somewhere A Star Falls is pure romantic fluff-if you want to understand why I write the way I do, this pretty much defines it. I want everyone to have a happy ending.
Nothing in June *is sad*.
July
Okay, one more Torchwood story and that's it! This story was written for the horizonssing challenge, and the prompt was an eye-watering pink tie. Who could resist that? Not me, that's why I wrote Inventory. Many people assumed that the Nathan in the story was Nathan Fillion-and I'm totally okay with that (c'mon, your imagination just went to Ianto/Nathan, didn't it? And wasn't it pretty?)
No stories in August, because there was a freight train of a story coming your way in
September
So by now I've figured out that Torchwood may be a bit more of an obsession than I'd like to admit. It's kind of hard to ignore its meaning in your life when you post a story that is thirteen chapters long and weighs in at a hefty 66k words. Time Enough was my attempt to fill in every missing moment that slowly built up how Jack and Ianto's relationship changed over the course of the two series. It was a monumental task, to take the characters from what they were at the time of Cyberwoman and turn them into what I hoped they'd be after Exit Wounds. I took a lot of license with the actual episodes while at the same time attempting to have an original plot and a consistent thread of change and growth running through the story. And really, after all that, you'd think I'd be burnt out.
And yet, here was another fic challenge and I'm apparently incapable of restraint. Written for thestopwatch's summer round, Two Solitudes takes place after Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, before Jack and Ianto have had a moment to themselves to evaluate where they stood with each other.
October got no love, but the love returned in
November
Oh, no. Here comes another rambly, angsty, plot-deprived Without A Trace story. I'd started The Courting of Martin Fitzgerald way back before the beginning of the 2007 season, then abandoned it for some reason. It was supposed to be yet another way of working around Elena, but with the writer's strike and then the resumption of production and storylines that seemed to ignore Elena/Danny, I lost interest. Then I realized that I still liked the idea of the boys out of NYC, so I shipped Martin to L.A. and found a (painful, for Martin, anyway) reason for Danny to follow. You can guess what happened.
Which brings us to December.
I don't know why I decided to punch out five stories, two in fandoms I rarely visit these days. I think I just wanted to reconnect with old friends and make sure everyone was doing okay, and the way to do that was to write mushy fiction.
The first story I posted was a little Starsky and Hutch Christmas-y thing called Everlasting. Not much to it, just an attempt at a romantic first time kinda story.
Then came All I Want For Christmas, which brought me back to my favorite cop with heightened senses and his hippy throwback of a boyfriend partner.
For this years muncle Down the Chimney fic exchange - well, I can't tell you, because the authors have yet to be revealed.
However! There was more Pros! Yay! For the discoveredinalj advent calender, my prompt was "We Three Kings." For that, I wrote the over-obviously titled Field and Fountain, Moor and Mountain, a quartet of short stories detailing the history of their relationship and guess what! Happy ending!
Which brings us to one, last, poor little Torchwood story. Confounding the Notion of Time was written for the twfic_exchange and unfortunately, it went over with a soft thud. I certainly enjoyed writing it, because I love to explore different aspects of a relationship, and this story was more about the growth of the relationship between Jack and Ianto and maybe that was its downfall. Too much introspection, not enough porn.
So, on to the questions!
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
More. Much, much more. A year ago, I don't think I knew Torchwood existed, let alone I'd drop over 100k words on the fandom.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2007?
Torchwood, hands down. It had everything going against it, as far as I was concerned. Great big science fiction fandom? No way. And it took me a long time to warm to the Jack/Ianto, but once I did, well, see above.
What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
Probably Past and Forever, because that story was the perfect example of that seam that writers long to hit, the one where "the story practically wrote itself." I knew exactly what I wanted to do and wrote the story from beginning to end exactly the way I saw it in my head. And since it was my first TW story, it had the added bonus of fear, since I wasn't sure how it would be received. Strictly as a writing experience, it was the best.
Did you take any writing risks this year?
Only in that I jumped into a new fandom. One of my flaws as a writer is that I don't take enough risks, although the h/c level in the first TW story was pretty high for me.
Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
I don't have any fanfic goals. Those stories come when inspiration hits. I have very serious profic goals. More about that later.
From your past year of writing, what was...
My Best Story: Technically, from a structure and plot viewpoint, I'd have to say Past and Forever.
Story Most Under-appreciated by the Universe: I think the most disappointing response I received (aside from the total lack of acknowledgement from its recipient- which, whatever ::shrug::) was for Confounding the Notion of Time. I think it's partially because of the glut of TW fiction pouring out right now and also that the biggest fandoms are sometimes the hardest to keep impressing. And since I've churned out so much TW fic, I think the fandom is over me *g*. Or maybe the story just sucked.
Most fun: Oh, I loved having Bodie and Doyle wrestling in the mud! It was fun to write something silly, even if it was brief. I also enjoyed pulling all the missing scenes for Time Enough. It was a challenge to tie all those scenes together and re-imagining things my way.
Most disappointing: Hmm, from a non-feedback pov, I'd have to say The Courting of Martin Fitzgerald. I'm not unhappy with the story, but I think it has a lot more potential and I was more concerned with getting it done than polishing and perfecting the story I'd once set out to write.
Most sexy: Argh. The sexiest story? The one with the most sex? Okay, Torchwood, but which one? Probably Time Enough. There were a lot of different levels to the sex in that story, as Jack and Ianto progressed from bed buddies to true lovers.
Story with single sexiest moment: I dunno, maybe Ianto tied to the bed with that ugly pink tie? Hard for me to judge.
Story with single sweetest moment: I don't know if this qualifies as the sweetest, but hands down the scene that received the most specific comments was the one toward the end of Past and Forever, when Jack makes a very personal, painful declaration to Ianto. I had that weird, breathy feeling when I wrote it, so I was very gratified that it was well received.
Hardest to Write: Probably this year's Down the Chimney entry. My prompts did not play to my strengths and so I worried that it would be disappointing. The recipient of that story was gracious nonetheless, and if she was indeed disappointed, she didn't let it show, bless her.
Easiest story to write: Past and Forever. Again, one of those rare times that my brain and my fingers were in perfect sync. The story came out exactly like I wanted it to. I lived it and breathed it during the day and the words just flowed when I sat down each night. It was awesome.
Most Unintentionally Telling: Ouch. Probably Past and Forever, because maybe deep down I'm just a Mary Sue who wants a Jack to move heaven and earth to save her? Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, fuzzballs. More likely that same story, because Ianto faces some pretty deep fears and comes out stronger at the end. So there.
So that's it! Fanfic year in review 2008! Whew!
Writing wrap-up 2008.
This past year turned out to be a surprise for me when it came to fanfiction writing. A year ago today, if you'd told me that I would write as many stories as I did and discover a new fandom, I would not have believed you. I had no hope of 2008 being a good year for writing and the idea of falling in love with a shiny new toy seemed, well, pretty darn remote. But considering where my head was at twelve months ago, that wouldn't have been an accurate prediction and I'm glad to say that it didn't play out.
January
The only stories posted in January were leftovers from December. An overflowing cup of Victorian soap opera syllabub entitled The Grand Tour, it was written back when there was still a flicker of hope that the ATWT writers knew what they were doing. Alas, they did not.
The other story was Boundless, a Professionals story written for the discoveredinalj 2007 advent calender. The Lads are just eternal.
February
In February, I posted another story left over from 2007, Gifts of the Season, my Man from U.N.C.L.E. Offering for the lj muncle community Down The Chimney fic exchange.
I also posted the first of three Without A Trace stories, Unchain My Heart. My WAT stories never seem to contain much in the way of plot and way too much in the way of angst and romance but hey, it's what I do.
And then came Torchwood.
I'm not sure how this happened. Everyone knows I don't like science fiction very much but there was so much buzz about this that I thought, what the heck? I'll give it a try. Watched the whole first series and went "meh, okay,", but I think it was when Jack asked Ianto out on that infamous date-after his reunion with John Hart, which I think is key-that something clicked. You all know that sound-when your head and your heart make that first fandom connection, it's almost an adrenaline rush. Suddenly you're in bed trying to sleep because tomorrow is a work/school day and yet you can't because you're making up all these stories in your head. And then that first story is posted and you squeeze your eyes shut and cross your fingers and try and find other stuff to do, all the while hoping that there are folks out there who see the characters the same way you do.
Anyhoo, back to the list!
March
Pow! Out came Past and Forever, an angsty, h/c-indulgent Jack/Ianto story that actually included a plot. It had violence! Torture! Blind!Ianto! Heroic!Jack! Snarky-but-still-gorgeous!John Hart! When I finished that story, I thought, yep, that's it. A fandom one shot and I'm out. Yeah, right.
April
In April, I managed to sneak in a missing scene for Without a Trace. Internal Affairs was written for A Bend in the Road, the end of the ridiculous story arc that had Jack (why is there always a Jack?) shot and sinking into a swamp. At that point, I would've left him there, but he's redeemed himself a bit. The show, unfortunately, let us all down later in the year.
May
So maybe I wasn't done with Torchwood quite yet. There was a TW/DW ficathon that I joined and my prompt was "50 years together." Somewhere A Star Falls is pure romantic fluff-if you want to understand why I write the way I do, this pretty much defines it. I want everyone to have a happy ending.
Nothing in June *is sad*.
July
Okay, one more Torchwood story and that's it! This story was written for the horizonssing challenge, and the prompt was an eye-watering pink tie. Who could resist that? Not me, that's why I wrote Inventory. Many people assumed that the Nathan in the story was Nathan Fillion-and I'm totally okay with that (c'mon, your imagination just went to Ianto/Nathan, didn't it? And wasn't it pretty?)
No stories in August, because there was a freight train of a story coming your way in
September
So by now I've figured out that Torchwood may be a bit more of an obsession than I'd like to admit. It's kind of hard to ignore its meaning in your life when you post a story that is thirteen chapters long and weighs in at a hefty 66k words. Time Enough was my attempt to fill in every missing moment that slowly built up how Jack and Ianto's relationship changed over the course of the two series. It was a monumental task, to take the characters from what they were at the time of Cyberwoman and turn them into what I hoped they'd be after Exit Wounds. I took a lot of license with the actual episodes while at the same time attempting to have an original plot and a consistent thread of change and growth running through the story. And really, after all that, you'd think I'd be burnt out.
And yet, here was another fic challenge and I'm apparently incapable of restraint. Written for thestopwatch's summer round, Two Solitudes takes place after Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, before Jack and Ianto have had a moment to themselves to evaluate where they stood with each other.
October got no love, but the love returned in
November
Oh, no. Here comes another rambly, angsty, plot-deprived Without A Trace story. I'd started The Courting of Martin Fitzgerald way back before the beginning of the 2007 season, then abandoned it for some reason. It was supposed to be yet another way of working around Elena, but with the writer's strike and then the resumption of production and storylines that seemed to ignore Elena/Danny, I lost interest. Then I realized that I still liked the idea of the boys out of NYC, so I shipped Martin to L.A. and found a (painful, for Martin, anyway) reason for Danny to follow. You can guess what happened.
Which brings us to December.
I don't know why I decided to punch out five stories, two in fandoms I rarely visit these days. I think I just wanted to reconnect with old friends and make sure everyone was doing okay, and the way to do that was to write mushy fiction.
The first story I posted was a little Starsky and Hutch Christmas-y thing called Everlasting. Not much to it, just an attempt at a romantic first time kinda story.
Then came All I Want For Christmas, which brought me back to my favorite cop with heightened senses and his hippy throwback of a boyfriend partner.
For this years muncle Down the Chimney fic exchange - well, I can't tell you, because the authors have yet to be revealed.
However! There was more Pros! Yay! For the discoveredinalj advent calender, my prompt was "We Three Kings." For that, I wrote the over-obviously titled Field and Fountain, Moor and Mountain, a quartet of short stories detailing the history of their relationship and guess what! Happy ending!
Which brings us to one, last, poor little Torchwood story. Confounding the Notion of Time was written for the twfic_exchange and unfortunately, it went over with a soft thud. I certainly enjoyed writing it, because I love to explore different aspects of a relationship, and this story was more about the growth of the relationship between Jack and Ianto and maybe that was its downfall. Too much introspection, not enough porn.
So, on to the questions!
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
More. Much, much more. A year ago, I don't think I knew Torchwood existed, let alone I'd drop over 100k words on the fandom.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2007?
Torchwood, hands down. It had everything going against it, as far as I was concerned. Great big science fiction fandom? No way. And it took me a long time to warm to the Jack/Ianto, but once I did, well, see above.
What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
Probably Past and Forever, because that story was the perfect example of that seam that writers long to hit, the one where "the story practically wrote itself." I knew exactly what I wanted to do and wrote the story from beginning to end exactly the way I saw it in my head. And since it was my first TW story, it had the added bonus of fear, since I wasn't sure how it would be received. Strictly as a writing experience, it was the best.
Did you take any writing risks this year?
Only in that I jumped into a new fandom. One of my flaws as a writer is that I don't take enough risks, although the h/c level in the first TW story was pretty high for me.
Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
I don't have any fanfic goals. Those stories come when inspiration hits. I have very serious profic goals. More about that later.
From your past year of writing, what was...
My Best Story: Technically, from a structure and plot viewpoint, I'd have to say Past and Forever.
Story Most Under-appreciated by the Universe: I think the most disappointing response I received (aside from the total lack of acknowledgement from its recipient- which, whatever ::shrug::) was for Confounding the Notion of Time. I think it's partially because of the glut of TW fiction pouring out right now and also that the biggest fandoms are sometimes the hardest to keep impressing. And since I've churned out so much TW fic, I think the fandom is over me *g*. Or maybe the story just sucked.
Most fun: Oh, I loved having Bodie and Doyle wrestling in the mud! It was fun to write something silly, even if it was brief. I also enjoyed pulling all the missing scenes for Time Enough. It was a challenge to tie all those scenes together and re-imagining things my way.
Most disappointing: Hmm, from a non-feedback pov, I'd have to say The Courting of Martin Fitzgerald. I'm not unhappy with the story, but I think it has a lot more potential and I was more concerned with getting it done than polishing and perfecting the story I'd once set out to write.
Most sexy: Argh. The sexiest story? The one with the most sex? Okay, Torchwood, but which one? Probably Time Enough. There were a lot of different levels to the sex in that story, as Jack and Ianto progressed from bed buddies to true lovers.
Story with single sexiest moment: I dunno, maybe Ianto tied to the bed with that ugly pink tie? Hard for me to judge.
Story with single sweetest moment: I don't know if this qualifies as the sweetest, but hands down the scene that received the most specific comments was the one toward the end of Past and Forever, when Jack makes a very personal, painful declaration to Ianto. I had that weird, breathy feeling when I wrote it, so I was very gratified that it was well received.
Hardest to Write: Probably this year's Down the Chimney entry. My prompts did not play to my strengths and so I worried that it would be disappointing. The recipient of that story was gracious nonetheless, and if she was indeed disappointed, she didn't let it show, bless her.
Easiest story to write: Past and Forever. Again, one of those rare times that my brain and my fingers were in perfect sync. The story came out exactly like I wanted it to. I lived it and breathed it during the day and the words just flowed when I sat down each night. It was awesome.
Most Unintentionally Telling: Ouch. Probably Past and Forever, because maybe deep down I'm just a Mary Sue who wants a Jack to move heaven and earth to save her? Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, fuzzballs. More likely that same story, because Ianto faces some pretty deep fears and comes out stronger at the end. So there.
So that's it! Fanfic year in review 2008! Whew!