Year-End Fanfic Meme

[aadler]

 
Picked up from this post by slaymesoftly:

End of Year Fanfic Meme for 2012

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, fewer than you thought, or about what you predicted?
Fewer. I set myself to average out at one per month, and I only managed seven total. Seven is a good tally — my best year, 2003, I did eight stories, and managed six during two other years — but it was still substantially less than I had intended.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2012?
I did a sort-of genderswitch story, but — though unusual — it wasn’t unprecedented, in that I had done another such a few years before. On the other hand, 2012 was the first year I did a request-fic (“Echoes From the Battleground”, for cya_ficathon), and also the first time I participated in Remix Madness, for which I did two stories.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest?
Not entirely sure; “Echoes From the Battleground” was probably the most successful in meeting the goals I set, but I also enjoyed “Oaxaca Nights”, except that I finished it recently enough that I haven’t had time yet to let it settle into its place. (I tend to be either excessively enthusiastic about a story I’ve just finished, or extra-critical about having fallen short of what I was trying to accomplish.) I suspect “Oaxaca Nights” will come out ahead in the end, but it’s still too early to tell.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.
It’s a three-way tie: “Echoes From the Battleground”, “Mortal Coil”, and “Yet They Grind Exceeding Small” got essentially the same level of response. On the other hand, two of those were remixes, one was the fulfillment of a specific request, and all three were part of larger events; once the nearly-mandatory comments by requestor/original author are discounted, it might be that “Oaxaca Nights” takes the slot again.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?
“And Your Enemies Closer” got very little recognition. That happens sometimes, but I genuinely did feel that it deserved better. On the other hand, I am particularly greedy for praise.

Story that could have been better?
I keep feeling that “Mortal Coil”, while the individual components hold up, didn’t end as decisively as I would have preferred. Frequently — even most of the time — I know what the last line of a story will be before I write the first; this one, I’m still trying to figure out how to make it work out right.

Sexiest story?
Not really my venue. I don’t have sex actually depicted in my stories very often, and even those incidences tend to be pretty spare (as in, no detail whatsoever) by current standards. This year’s stories have NO sex, though there are references in several. Given my personal writing orientation, it would be better to ask “Story with the most (or best) action?”.

Okay: Story with the most (or best) action? (Not part of the original meme)
I proposed this because I really love effective actions sequences and (in all modesty) am pretty good at them. All the same, this year’s stories didn’t really have heavy action. There were a couple of spots in “Oaxaca Nights”, but “Mortal Coil” — with which I am least satisfied, out of all I did this year — actually had the best action. Sometimes things just come in phases.

Most fun story?
“Oaxaca Nights”, no question, though I did enjoy doing “As Moonlight Unto Sunlight”, and am still pleased by what I accomplished in it.

Story with single sweetest moment?
Pretty much all of “And Your Enemies Closer” was a paean to the sweetness of Fred, but ‘single’ sweetest moment? That would probably be Faith’s memories of Joyce in “In the Air Tonight”.

Hardest story to write?
“Oaxaca Nights”, on several levels. First, I’ve been planning it for at least six years, but other stories kept wanting to be told first. Second, when I actually set out to write it, I was distracted by other writing efforts PLUS Real-Life demands. Third, I spent weeks trying to figure out how to get Cordelia off the terrace on which I had placed her at the beginning of the story. Once I got past those hurdles, the story wasn’t actually that difficult, but it took me some time to reach that point.

Easiest story to write?
“And Your Enemies Closer” and “Yet They Grind Exceeding Small” were both relatively easy for me (partly because they were the two shortest stories I did this year), but the first one probably was just a bit easier, since its episodic structure meant I didn’t have to maintain a running narrative.

Story you really REALLY meant to write this year, and didn’t? (Not part of the original meme)
Several, as a matter of fact. Last year I actually posted the names of five specific stories I intended to write, and “Oaxaca Nights” was the only one of the five that I actually did. I probably most regret “Reversible Error”, because about 65% of it is already done (and was then) … but the entire story is a collaborative effort with sroni, the remaining parts are hers, and she just didn’t come through. (Seriously, you get engaged, move to another country, start a new job, and begin working on getting a more comprehensive visa, and that’s supposed to excuse you from your fanfic responsibilities? I sniff with disdain.) I’m personally most embarrassed by “the Unforgiving Minute”, since I had actually started it — twice — at the time I made my confident prediction, but I let other things come first and suddenly it’s New Year’s Eve and that one’s still on the back burner. “Zulu Time” … I was actually thinking some about that over the last couple of weeks, and it may be the next Buffyfic I do, but I haven’t started yet. Most nagging annoyance, however, would be “Smoke and Mirrors”; I don’t even know how long I’ve been planning that one, but I have notes going back six years, and it may possibly be a full ten years (I think I may have been planning to do it while I was in Afghanistan, and that was seven years ago). I felt it was time to get that one done … and didn’t do it, didn’t even start.

This year. I’m seriously going to do it this year. Along with all the others I committed to last year. Just you see.

Comments

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I think, given the time and care you put into your fics, that seven isn't a bad number to have at the end of the year. I'm pleased with myself that I recognized most of the titles as being stories I've read, less pleased that I often had follow the link to remind myself what story went with which title. (except for "Oaxaca Nights" - but that doesn't count because it was recent and even I can hold a thought that long)

This year. I’m seriously going to do it this year. Along with all the others I committed to last year. Just you see.

*is watching and keeping score....*

[aadler]

It’s true that most of my stories have some heft to them; no epics, but compared to people who write many, many stories in many, many fandoms but generally keep them short fics — 1,000 to 2,500 words, let’s say — I didn’t do too badly. My shortest fic last year was 3,000 words, the longest 14,000 words, and the total came to 55,000 and change.

As for the promise I made, I just repeated it in my New Year’s resolution post. All four of the stories named, and this year I will turn out a full dozen stories. Thus have I willed.

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I just went and read "And Your Enemies Closer" and oh am I glad I did. Tremendous work. For me to be so enthralled by a Connor-centric story? I never thought that would happen. I left feedback on the fic entry as well, but I felt the need to say even more.


Gabrielle

[aadler]

Truthfully, I sometimes think it’s possible to do a better story with someone we don’t like. We have to dig deeper to find enough to make a balanced, interesting, effective portrait. (Of course, it helps if they actually have a personality; by the logic I just named, I should be able to really go to town on Eve, but the thought leaves me totally cold, because there’s just nothing there.)

[aadler]

Not doing too well so far (one story in four months, and that not one that was on any planned lists). Hopefully, I can begin some breakout work in the next few weeks. I mean, two stories per month for three months will catch me up, and then …

Yeah. We’ll see.