2006 - The Fannish Writing Year in Review
Jan. 3rd, 2007 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wickedwords
Wow, this is a lot longer than several of the stories I posted this year.
SGA
Breaking the Bank (7K, McKay/Sheppard)
The Power of Love (12K, McKay/Sheppard)
Locusts and Wild Honey (36K, McKay/Sheppard)
Pier Glass Reflection (31K, McKay/Sheppard)
The Big Gay History of the World (157K, McKay/Sheppard, Lorne/Parrish, Teyla/Sam Carter, Elizabeth/Ronon, McKay/Cowan implied)
Summer in the City ( 6K, Sheppard and McKay)
Cocktail, Ginger ale (7K, Sheppard/McKay)
Come Into My Parlor (4K, Sheppard/McKay)
Bananas and Raspberry Crème (7K, Sheppard/McKay)
Extensive Properties (33k, Sheppard/McKay)
With Needle and Thread ( 3K, Sheppard and Teyla)
Fault Tolerance ( 39K, Rodney/Radek, and Sheppard)
Lesser Homes and Gardens ( 20K, Lorne/Parrish)
Winter Discontent ( 17K, Lorne/Parrish)
Love, War, and Reunions ( 5K, Lorne/Elizabeth)
The Jumper Lesson ( 4K, Lorne and Miko)
HL
Desert Prince Chapter 34 ( 30K, Duncan/Methos)
Jump Inn (27K, Duncan/Methos)
Other Fandoms
Old Bones and Memories ( 7K, Tortall)
Downside Up ( 8K, National Treasure)
I started keeping a posting log to try and make sorting through the data easier, and the result is just crazy. I include last year's yuletide and other anon stories in this, but not this year's yuletide, anon holiday stories, or my zine story; I have been using the year a story was published under my name as my cut-off year, so I am sticking with it.
This is the link to last year's review, for those that want to compare. In summary, my 2006 resolutions were:
1. I'd like to write a Novella next year, something over 20K words. --Done.
2. Still working on putting all finished stories, including drabbles, on my website. --Done.
3. Try not to let the challenge stories distract me from some of the other things that I want to write. --Try again. I wrote more challenge stories this year than I ever had, and fewer of 'my' stories.
4. finish desert prince. --Try again later.
Total number of published pieces: 41.
Drabbles: 21
Stories: 20
Total word count: approximately 70k words
Drabbles: 2300 words
Stories: 67,700 words
Average story length, not including drabbles: 3370 words
Average story length, including drabbles: 1700 words
Het: 4. Gen: 13. Slash: 24
Fandoms: 8. Dr. Who, Tortall, National Treasure, Anita Blake, Invisible Man, Highlander, SG-1, SGA.
Pairings: 13. Teyla/Rodney, Carson/Teyla, Rose/Nine, Elizabeth/Lorne, Sheppard/Lorne, Sheppard/McKay, Lorne/Parrish, Duncan/Methos, Jack/Daniel, Methos/Nine, Methos/Rodney, Rodney/Radek, Carson/John
I also wrote one grey area team!fic/OT4.
End of the Year' Meme
My favorite story of this year:
Breaking the Bank I don't know why, but I really love the idea of this, John and Rodney as card sharks and maybe con men, with the whole Atlantis team pulling a 'long con.' Even though this story is short, it brings all of that up for me, and I would love to see them do it.
My best story this year:
Fault Tolerance I had to work really hard to get a story idea that fit in with the challenge premise, which was to write something that could have been seen on the show. I've heard that this needs a cuddle follow-on though, so I may get around to doing that some day. *g* I think that emotional resolution was a problem with all of my fiction this year, and I'm not sure any of them would ever make a 'best of' list, but this one, to me, has the strongest chance of doing that.
Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
The Big Gay History of the World I worked my ass off to get this story done in the timeframe the challenge required, and, god, it still needed work when it was done. It was the longest story I have written by myself in years, and darn it, I wanted more appreciation.
Most fun story:
Winter Discontent Because I had a lot of fun writing a "Parrish saves the day" story. Every now and then, I have these...little hiccups, where I don't want the series regulars to be the big heroes and solve all the problems. I want 'Marine number 12' and 'Third Scientist" to be the guys that figure it out and put the pieces together. This story gave me a chance to indulge that urge, along with a little bit of H/c, which is always a plus.
Most sexy story:
Pier Glass Reflection This one was tough because I basically had an epic that I was trying to cram into 3000 words (as is my wont). I think the language and imagery in the story make it very sensual, very physical, so you get a sweet-and-sour combo between the sultry atmosphere and Rodney's body image issues. It also gave me a great excuse to play with a mirror.
Story with the single sexiest moment:
::Blinks:: Pier Glass Reflection was my sexy story for the year, though there are moments in both Breaking the Bank and Extensive Properties that are good. Hmm, I think I'll go with this bit from Breaking the Bank:
John took a sip of his scotch, loving the way Rodney looked right now, totally high and completely bowled over. He set Rodney's drink down and let his fingers brush over Rodney's.
--single climactic moment, sexual or not,
Old Bones and Memories It all builds to that one single kiss, with the dawning realization of what has happened. I did a couple of slow reveals this year, and this is the one that I consider to be the one that flows the most smoothly.
"Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story:
Locusts and Wild Honey Because unresolved partner!non-con/quasi-con is pretty much wrong. But The Power of Love is also wrong, if just for putting Rodney in gold lame.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
Downside Up I didn't really know Riley, Ben or Ian all that well when the story started, but by the time I was done, I felt like Riley was my guy, and I empathized with his obsessive, geeky life. He should show up in Stargate, with his alien obsession. Or at least run into Mulder somewhere.
Hardest story to write:
I'm going with Extensive Properties . BGHOTW was a hard to write, and the zine story, but EP should have been simple, but wasn't, as I wanted to disguise my style a little and see if I could get people to vote for someone else. I went through several ideas and possible styles, before I settled on the trapped underground in an ancient outpost for my scenario. (I have one called the 'love machine' that was to be done in the style of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eleveninches, that I am so glad I didn't go with as that is the same idea as the story that eleveniches actually posted.) So I kept pounding myself on the rocks of schmoopiness and freaking out over it; I went so far as to drag out the 'romance phrase book' to write it. But after it passed through beta, I had to go back and cut some of the phrases, as I just...couldn't...do that. But in the end, it must have worked as so many people guess lovelokest as the author.
Biggest Disappointment: The Big Gay History of the World Novellas are always disappointments, but I didn't really have the time to make this one work as well as it should have. I stuck too close to the original story, and it came out with a lot of other novellas, so there was nothing that really stood out about it. It died pretty quickly, as people moved on to other things.
Biggest Surprise:
The Jumper Lesson I had no idea how well a gen Miko, Lorne, and puddlejumper story would be received. It was one of my more popular stories this year.
Most Unintentionally Telling Story:
Hmm. This one is the most difficult for me to figure out every year. I think it may be Love, War, and Reunions as I used some of my own experiences growing up in a small Mormon town in the west to craft the story, and the attitudes of the people in it.
This was the year of the anonymous story post for me, with half of the storys (10 of them) being first posted without my name on them. (2 for yuletide, and 8 for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
atlantis_lvw.) Of the other stories, 7 came about from challenges, and only 3 were independent stories (Desert Prince; Locusts and Wild Honey; and Winter Discontent--which was started for a challenge, and finished later.) I blame that last fact for my feeling of disconnection from the fandom at large; I spent so much time writing for a specific individual or for a specific challenge that I didn't get enough 'me' time. I love the stories I wrote, and certainly, writing to spec with deadlines helped me finish a lot of stuff, but I didn't get to play with details as much as I like.
I think the stories for next year will be fewer, as I am going to limit the number of challenges I sign up for. I am hoping this gives more of a chance for me to play and get tired of what I am writing before kicking it out of the door, instead of feeling like I am on a treadmill trying to turn something out that meets the criteria and moving on to the next. I need some time between stories to catch my breath.
With that in mind, here are next year's resolutions:
to recap
1. Write some sequels and follow up on what I have done before.
2. Write longer stories. For a minimum of 500 words
3. Post more of my own story ideas -- 4 non-challenge stories.
4. finish desert prince. (The eternal resolution)
5. Be kinder to myself and try to curb some of the negative self-talk about my work. (Though I am not sure how I would measure this.)
Otherwise, I think my big resolution for the year will be to participate in some cycling event. It looks like the STP is out assherrold will need time to train as I plan on joining her and her partner for the long ride, so we're currently talking about the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party). We'll just have to see.
SGA
Breaking the Bank (7K, McKay/Sheppard)
The Power of Love (12K, McKay/Sheppard)
Locusts and Wild Honey (36K, McKay/Sheppard)
Pier Glass Reflection (31K, McKay/Sheppard)
The Big Gay History of the World (157K, McKay/Sheppard, Lorne/Parrish, Teyla/Sam Carter, Elizabeth/Ronon, McKay/Cowan implied)
Summer in the City ( 6K, Sheppard and McKay)
Cocktail, Ginger ale (7K, Sheppard/McKay)
Come Into My Parlor (4K, Sheppard/McKay)
Bananas and Raspberry Crème (7K, Sheppard/McKay)
Extensive Properties (33k, Sheppard/McKay)
With Needle and Thread ( 3K, Sheppard and Teyla)
Fault Tolerance ( 39K, Rodney/Radek, and Sheppard)
Lesser Homes and Gardens ( 20K, Lorne/Parrish)
Winter Discontent ( 17K, Lorne/Parrish)
Love, War, and Reunions ( 5K, Lorne/Elizabeth)
The Jumper Lesson ( 4K, Lorne and Miko)
HL
Desert Prince Chapter 34 ( 30K, Duncan/Methos)
Jump Inn (27K, Duncan/Methos)
Other Fandoms
Old Bones and Memories ( 7K, Tortall)
Downside Up ( 8K, National Treasure)
I started keeping a posting log to try and make sorting through the data easier, and the result is just crazy. I include last year's yuletide and other anon stories in this, but not this year's yuletide, anon holiday stories, or my zine story; I have been using the year a story was published under my name as my cut-off year, so I am sticking with it.
This is the link to last year's review, for those that want to compare. In summary, my 2006 resolutions were:
1. I'd like to write a Novella next year, something over 20K words. --Done.
2. Still working on putting all finished stories, including drabbles, on my website. --Done.
3. Try not to let the challenge stories distract me from some of the other things that I want to write. --Try again. I wrote more challenge stories this year than I ever had, and fewer of 'my' stories.
4. finish desert prince. --Try again later.
Total number of published pieces: 41.
Drabbles: 21
Stories: 20
Total word count: approximately 70k words
Drabbles: 2300 words
Stories: 67,700 words
Average story length, not including drabbles: 3370 words
Average story length, including drabbles: 1700 words
Het: 4. Gen: 13. Slash: 24
Fandoms: 8. Dr. Who, Tortall, National Treasure, Anita Blake, Invisible Man, Highlander, SG-1, SGA.
Pairings: 13. Teyla/Rodney, Carson/Teyla, Rose/Nine, Elizabeth/Lorne, Sheppard/Lorne, Sheppard/McKay, Lorne/Parrish, Duncan/Methos, Jack/Daniel, Methos/Nine, Methos/Rodney, Rodney/Radek, Carson/John
I also wrote one grey area team!fic/OT4.
End of the Year' Meme
My favorite story of this year:
Breaking the Bank I don't know why, but I really love the idea of this, John and Rodney as card sharks and maybe con men, with the whole Atlantis team pulling a 'long con.' Even though this story is short, it brings all of that up for me, and I would love to see them do it.
My best story this year:
Fault Tolerance I had to work really hard to get a story idea that fit in with the challenge premise, which was to write something that could have been seen on the show. I've heard that this needs a cuddle follow-on though, so I may get around to doing that some day. *g* I think that emotional resolution was a problem with all of my fiction this year, and I'm not sure any of them would ever make a 'best of' list, but this one, to me, has the strongest chance of doing that.
Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
The Big Gay History of the World I worked my ass off to get this story done in the timeframe the challenge required, and, god, it still needed work when it was done. It was the longest story I have written by myself in years, and darn it, I wanted more appreciation.
Most fun story:
Winter Discontent Because I had a lot of fun writing a "Parrish saves the day" story. Every now and then, I have these...little hiccups, where I don't want the series regulars to be the big heroes and solve all the problems. I want 'Marine number 12' and 'Third Scientist" to be the guys that figure it out and put the pieces together. This story gave me a chance to indulge that urge, along with a little bit of H/c, which is always a plus.
Most sexy story:
Pier Glass Reflection This one was tough because I basically had an epic that I was trying to cram into 3000 words (as is my wont). I think the language and imagery in the story make it very sensual, very physical, so you get a sweet-and-sour combo between the sultry atmosphere and Rodney's body image issues. It also gave me a great excuse to play with a mirror.
Story with the single sexiest moment:
::Blinks:: Pier Glass Reflection was my sexy story for the year, though there are moments in both Breaking the Bank and Extensive Properties that are good. Hmm, I think I'll go with this bit from Breaking the Bank:
John took a sip of his scotch, loving the way Rodney looked right now, totally high and completely bowled over. He set Rodney's drink down and let his fingers brush over Rodney's.
--single climactic moment, sexual or not,
Old Bones and Memories It all builds to that one single kiss, with the dawning realization of what has happened. I did a couple of slow reveals this year, and this is the one that I consider to be the one that flows the most smoothly.
"Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story:
Locusts and Wild Honey Because unresolved partner!non-con/quasi-con is pretty much wrong. But The Power of Love is also wrong, if just for putting Rodney in gold lame.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
Downside Up I didn't really know Riley, Ben or Ian all that well when the story started, but by the time I was done, I felt like Riley was my guy, and I empathized with his obsessive, geeky life. He should show up in Stargate, with his alien obsession. Or at least run into Mulder somewhere.
Hardest story to write:
I'm going with Extensive Properties . BGHOTW was a hard to write, and the zine story, but EP should have been simple, but wasn't, as I wanted to disguise my style a little and see if I could get people to vote for someone else. I went through several ideas and possible styles, before I settled on the trapped underground in an ancient outpost for my scenario. (I have one called the 'love machine' that was to be done in the style of
eleveninches, that I am so glad I didn't go with as that is the same idea as the story that eleveniches actually posted.) So I kept pounding myself on the rocks of schmoopiness and freaking out over it; I went so far as to drag out the 'romance phrase book' to write it. But after it passed through beta, I had to go back and cut some of the phrases, as I just...couldn't...do that. But in the end, it must have worked as so many people guess lovelokest as the author.Biggest Disappointment: The Big Gay History of the World Novellas are always disappointments, but I didn't really have the time to make this one work as well as it should have. I stuck too close to the original story, and it came out with a lot of other novellas, so there was nothing that really stood out about it. It died pretty quickly, as people moved on to other things.
Biggest Surprise:
The Jumper Lesson I had no idea how well a gen Miko, Lorne, and puddlejumper story would be received. It was one of my more popular stories this year.
Most Unintentionally Telling Story:
Hmm. This one is the most difficult for me to figure out every year. I think it may be Love, War, and Reunions as I used some of my own experiences growing up in a small Mormon town in the west to craft the story, and the attitudes of the people in it.
This was the year of the anonymous story post for me, with half of the storys (10 of them) being first posted without my name on them. (2 for yuletide, and 8 for
atlantis_lvw.) Of the other stories, 7 came about from challenges, and only 3 were independent stories (Desert Prince; Locusts and Wild Honey; and Winter Discontent--which was started for a challenge, and finished later.) I blame that last fact for my feeling of disconnection from the fandom at large; I spent so much time writing for a specific individual or for a specific challenge that I didn't get enough 'me' time. I love the stories I wrote, and certainly, writing to spec with deadlines helped me finish a lot of stuff, but I didn't get to play with details as much as I like. I think the stories for next year will be fewer, as I am going to limit the number of challenges I sign up for. I am hoping this gives more of a chance for me to play and get tired of what I am writing before kicking it out of the door, instead of feeling like I am on a treadmill trying to turn something out that meets the criteria and moving on to the next. I need some time between stories to catch my breath.
With that in mind, here are next year's resolutions:
to recap
1. Write some sequels and follow up on what I have done before.
2. Write longer stories. For a minimum of 500 words
3. Post more of my own story ideas -- 4 non-challenge stories.
4. finish desert prince. (The eternal resolution)
5. Be kinder to myself and try to curb some of the negative self-talk about my work. (Though I am not sure how I would measure this.)
Otherwise, I think my big resolution for the year will be to participate in some cycling event. It looks like the STP is out as
sherrold will need time to train as I plan on joining her and her partner for the long ride, so we're currently talking about the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party). We'll just have to see.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 12:19 am (UTC)(Reposted with correct icon... ;->)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 12:59 am (UTC)You know, much as I am always looking forward to more of The Desert Prince - which remains one of my all time favourite stories, all fandoms, all categories - I have to say that I don't mind that it takes so long between parts. It's like waiting for the next Harry Potter book or something: it'll appear when it appears, and regardless of when it appears, it'll be something of an event, and I'll be certain to read it. It's special, hence I can wait indefinitely. :)
Oh, and the fact that The Desert Prince is still going strong after so many years gives me hope for my own endlessly delayed Smallville WiP "Captured". When I despair of having any readers left by the time I get to the last chapter, it helps to remind myself that I'm still reading The Desert Prince, all this time later. That's an encouraging thought.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 06:29 pm (UTC)Plus the whole 'comedy' vs. 'angst' thing also comes up, plus there was a huge plagiarism discussion centering on using movies as the basis of fan fiction at the time that all the
no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 07:24 pm (UTC)