Milestone

I published my first fanfic in 1999.

(Okay, as I’ve noted on a number of occasions, it wasn’t technically my first: the self-insertion fics — and, in one case, insertion of my youngest brother with strong hints that I’d been nearby — that I did yea long ago would certainly have qualified. Back then, though, the very term ‘fanfic’ hadn’t yet appeared, never mind this newfangled Internet thingy. Those were stories mailed to fellow ficcers — and just as readily made available to family members — but never went any further than that.)

So, yes, my first fanfic-as-such was written in 1999. Posted on my own website, because the Slayer’s Fanfic Archive (long-deceased now, sadly, but back then it was a giant) was the one I wanted to post to, but I chose to wait till I had four fics to put there so I’d be an author with stories instead of one of many authors who’d posted once. That was also how I chose my username: I meant to be at or near the top of any alphabetical author listing, and ‘Aadler’ — with two ‘a’s — was the closest I could get to that.

1999.

Yesterday, I posted my 100th fic since then.

You can look on my LJ story site and count them. Backstate Stories: 45. Queenverse Stories (which cross with the Backstage): 2. Independent Stories (not affiliated with Backstage/Queenverse): 32. Otherfandom stories: 6. Drabbles and linked-drabble sets: 15. Add ’em up: 100.

Yeah, it only took me a hair over 20 years.

But, damn, it was fun.