End-of-year writing meme, 2018 edition
Jan. 1st, 2019 09:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
This year's fic stats:
Total number: 45 on my main account, plus some snippets and short things that haven't been crossposted yet.
Total word count: 202,585 words on AO3
Ship/character breakdown: Category breakdown first:
21 Gen
19 M/M
3 F/M
2 F/F
8 were Chris/Victor, 7 were Victuuri, 5 were Yakov & Victor, and then it's a smattering of other things. Victor was tagged in 23 of the fics, just over half. (36 of the fics are for Yuri on Ice, so he shows up in almost two-thirds of those.)
Specifics:
Best/worst title? Worst: various boring ficlet titles - 'Hearsay', 'Flagged', 'Nursing Wrath' (really had no idea what to call that one), etc. I like 'Birds of Different Feathers' and 'Merrily, Merrily, Maritally' is fun to say, and so is 'Step and Dress Alike Express'. 'Melancholy Madness of Poetry Without the Inspiration' is one I keep going back and forth on - it's a bit long/not easy to say, but it's vivid to me.
Best/worst summary? Best: 'You spend a day at work, checking papers, checking pictures, listening to yet another sob story. Today is a good day, because it does not end with a terrorist attack.' Worst... there are several blegh ones I don't really want to choose between, like the one for 'Read the Page of Destiny', which I struggled with. I still have a habit of trying to write really short summaries.
Best/worst first line?
A couple I like:
"You are fortunate enough to live in that odd middle ground where you are far enough from work that the walk is drudgery in winter, yet not so far that you can take the public transport to save time."
"The war has been devastating to the Southern Water Tribe in many ways – culturally, structurally, and spiritually – and they can't do everything they need to rebuild by themselves."
One I don't:
"It wasn't in the least unusual for Yakov to get calls expressing interest in his coaching."
(there are some that aren't that exciting, but not a lot that I would call terrible)
Best/worst last line?
A few I like:
"At least they are free, and plentiful enough even for his dreams."
"You know that means tomorrow will be a different story."
"The water between them moves, gently, as they talk, push and pull, and they stay there all the night long."
"Imagined them on the podium under the bright lights at the Olympics, both of them beaming, though he didn't really bother coloring in the medals."
"No matter how much he combed his hair, the crimped waves stayed."
Ones I don't:
(see various fics where I throw my hands up and have the characters fall asleep together)
General questions:
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? I wanted to write more origfic this year and edit more of what I have. ...oh, well, there's this year. Not that surprised by the wordcount. Writing is my main hobby nowadays and I've learned what gets me into the groove.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? Papers, Please fic! Tale of Genji fic! (According to nonnies, it has the most dignified and refined descriptions of a tentacle dick that you'll ever read, lol.)
What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. I still really like 'Bonnie and Blythe', the one where Yakov and Lilia adopt mysterious bb!Victor. Also 'Workaday', a short Papers, Please fic that I'm happy with. I like the tone and rhythm of 'Pulling Tides', an Avatar fic about Katara 'communing' with Yue. 'Melancholy Madness (etc etc)' makes me happy to work on even as I worry over it.
Okay, NOW your most popular story. 'Cupiditatem' - which is not what I would have expected. It's Yuuri/Yuri with me not thinking too hard about Yuri's age in the fic - but it's also sex pollen, so. I think people just really like sex pollen. After that, it's 'Bonnie and Blythe'.
Story most underappreciated by the universe? Small fandom fic aside (I was thrilled to get a single comment on one of my Betrayal in Antara fics!), 'Melancholy Madness (etc etc)' finally equaled the hit count on the other fic I wrote with the same ship after six chapters \o/ Other one was sex pollen for an exchange. And not a WIP. Oh, well. The regular readers seem to like it. I was pretty pleased with 'Sea-Deep Till Morning', a gen Yakov & Victor fic, but it didn't get many hits at all. But it did get nice comments, so I can't really whine about it.
Story that could have been better? I think 'Read the Page of Destiny', about Yakov teaching bb!Victor and bb!Georgi, needs something more, but I'm not sure what. It just felt kind of clunky in some way.
Sexiest story? 'Merrily, Merrily, Maritally' (crossdressing clothing kink roleplaying fun) and 'Second Skin' (more clothing kink + Yuuri getting off on wearing Victor's costume, specifically)
Saddest story? On my main? I didn't write anything that sad this year. Maybe 'Melancholy Madness (etc etc)' with its focus on burnout and a healing relationship that needs to stay hidden and isn't a panacea? Or 'Workaday', a Papers, Please fic.
Most fun? 'Common Tongue', where Yuuri can secretly speak Russian. 'Spell My Name with a', the one tagged with 'Character's name spelled as Victor' :p The Olympic condoms drabble and the Genji fic.
Story with single sweetest moment? 'Feather in Hand' (human-hating Executive lets bb!Haruitsuki see his youkai form), 'A Problem Shared' (three friends look out for each other after a battle), and dunno which moment but 'Bonnie and Blythe' has some cute ones.
Hardest story to write? 'As the Crow Flies', because it's a very complicated relationship in my mind and we haven't seen that much of it in canon. I also had trouble putting the scenes in my head together into a story.
Easiest/most fun story to write? 'Never Say Never', Antara fic based off of one of the in-game songs. 'Blue and Deep' is cute and took me back to my study abroad in Japan. 'Pulling Tides' just flowed out. 'Hearsay' was fun to put in a Genji-esque style.
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? I think 'Bonnie and Blythe' did, for Yakov and Lilia, and made me more attached to them. Certainly I've written most of my gen fic featuring either of them since starting that, and I've become more confident in writing Lilia (she's one of those characters who are vivid enough to make a strong impression, but has little enough screen time that I find it tricky to write her).
Most overdue story? 'Hiding From the Lights' is something I should have cross-posted last year. 'Every Stroke Anew', although written for RSOI, was based on a scene I had started writing... maybe last year, even, and didn't know how to continue.
Did you take any writing risks this year? I participated in a charity zine. Wrote weird ships because I like them. Wrote more complicated relationships that I don't think I would have been willing to try a couple of years ago. Wrote spirit/human sex (that was fun). Wrote two WIPs, one of which needs to be finished, aha. Wrote various kinks that are not really my kinks in particular (the mirror sex, the hair bondage, and the Amazon position ones turned out to be fun). Does second person count as a writing risk?
What are your fic writing goals for next year? First, what were they last year? I don't even remember.
Take 'Bonnie and Blythe' to Ao3 and finish it: check
Write something longer than 20k: check twice over
Maybe a sequel?: maybe this year?
More editing and origfic: ...maybe this year.
This year: post my not-Victuuri bang fic, maybe write a sequel to that one fic, finish my WIP, and edit/write more origfic. Maybe put something up on Amazon and see if I can get a little skating money from it. It would be really fun to write some interactive fiction for an exchange or something, but I don't know if that will happen.
Total number: 45 on my main account, plus some snippets and short things that haven't been crossposted yet.
Total word count: 202,585 words on AO3
Ship/character breakdown: Category breakdown first:
21 Gen
19 M/M
3 F/M
2 F/F
8 were Chris/Victor, 7 were Victuuri, 5 were Yakov & Victor, and then it's a smattering of other things. Victor was tagged in 23 of the fics, just over half. (36 of the fics are for Yuri on Ice, so he shows up in almost two-thirds of those.)
Specifics:
Best/worst title? Worst: various boring ficlet titles - 'Hearsay', 'Flagged', 'Nursing Wrath' (really had no idea what to call that one), etc. I like 'Birds of Different Feathers' and 'Merrily, Merrily, Maritally' is fun to say, and so is 'Step and Dress Alike Express'. 'Melancholy Madness of Poetry Without the Inspiration' is one I keep going back and forth on - it's a bit long/not easy to say, but it's vivid to me.
Best/worst summary? Best: 'You spend a day at work, checking papers, checking pictures, listening to yet another sob story. Today is a good day, because it does not end with a terrorist attack.' Worst... there are several blegh ones I don't really want to choose between, like the one for 'Read the Page of Destiny', which I struggled with. I still have a habit of trying to write really short summaries.
Best/worst first line?
A couple I like:
"You are fortunate enough to live in that odd middle ground where you are far enough from work that the walk is drudgery in winter, yet not so far that you can take the public transport to save time."
"The war has been devastating to the Southern Water Tribe in many ways – culturally, structurally, and spiritually – and they can't do everything they need to rebuild by themselves."
One I don't:
"It wasn't in the least unusual for Yakov to get calls expressing interest in his coaching."
(there are some that aren't that exciting, but not a lot that I would call terrible)
Best/worst last line?
A few I like:
"At least they are free, and plentiful enough even for his dreams."
"You know that means tomorrow will be a different story."
"The water between them moves, gently, as they talk, push and pull, and they stay there all the night long."
"Imagined them on the podium under the bright lights at the Olympics, both of them beaming, though he didn't really bother coloring in the medals."
"No matter how much he combed his hair, the crimped waves stayed."
Ones I don't:
(see various fics where I throw my hands up and have the characters fall asleep together)
General questions:
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? I wanted to write more origfic this year and edit more of what I have. ...oh, well, there's this year. Not that surprised by the wordcount. Writing is my main hobby nowadays and I've learned what gets me into the groove.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? Papers, Please fic! Tale of Genji fic! (According to nonnies, it has the most dignified and refined descriptions of a tentacle dick that you'll ever read, lol.)
What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. I still really like 'Bonnie and Blythe', the one where Yakov and Lilia adopt mysterious bb!Victor. Also 'Workaday', a short Papers, Please fic that I'm happy with. I like the tone and rhythm of 'Pulling Tides', an Avatar fic about Katara 'communing' with Yue. 'Melancholy Madness (etc etc)' makes me happy to work on even as I worry over it.
Okay, NOW your most popular story. 'Cupiditatem' - which is not what I would have expected. It's Yuuri/Yuri with me not thinking too hard about Yuri's age in the fic - but it's also sex pollen, so. I think people just really like sex pollen. After that, it's 'Bonnie and Blythe'.
Story most underappreciated by the universe? Small fandom fic aside (I was thrilled to get a single comment on one of my Betrayal in Antara fics!), 'Melancholy Madness (etc etc)' finally equaled the hit count on the other fic I wrote with the same ship after six chapters \o/ Other one was sex pollen for an exchange. And not a WIP. Oh, well. The regular readers seem to like it. I was pretty pleased with 'Sea-Deep Till Morning', a gen Yakov & Victor fic, but it didn't get many hits at all. But it did get nice comments, so I can't really whine about it.
Story that could have been better? I think 'Read the Page of Destiny', about Yakov teaching bb!Victor and bb!Georgi, needs something more, but I'm not sure what. It just felt kind of clunky in some way.
Sexiest story? 'Merrily, Merrily, Maritally' (crossdressing clothing kink roleplaying fun) and 'Second Skin' (more clothing kink + Yuuri getting off on wearing Victor's costume, specifically)
Saddest story? On my main? I didn't write anything that sad this year. Maybe 'Melancholy Madness (etc etc)' with its focus on burnout and a healing relationship that needs to stay hidden and isn't a panacea? Or 'Workaday', a Papers, Please fic.
Most fun? 'Common Tongue', where Yuuri can secretly speak Russian. 'Spell My Name with a', the one tagged with 'Character's name spelled as Victor' :p The Olympic condoms drabble and the Genji fic.
Story with single sweetest moment? 'Feather in Hand' (human-hating Executive lets bb!Haruitsuki see his youkai form), 'A Problem Shared' (three friends look out for each other after a battle), and dunno which moment but 'Bonnie and Blythe' has some cute ones.
Hardest story to write? 'As the Crow Flies', because it's a very complicated relationship in my mind and we haven't seen that much of it in canon. I also had trouble putting the scenes in my head together into a story.
Easiest/most fun story to write? 'Never Say Never', Antara fic based off of one of the in-game songs. 'Blue and Deep' is cute and took me back to my study abroad in Japan. 'Pulling Tides' just flowed out. 'Hearsay' was fun to put in a Genji-esque style.
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? I think 'Bonnie and Blythe' did, for Yakov and Lilia, and made me more attached to them. Certainly I've written most of my gen fic featuring either of them since starting that, and I've become more confident in writing Lilia (she's one of those characters who are vivid enough to make a strong impression, but has little enough screen time that I find it tricky to write her).
Most overdue story? 'Hiding From the Lights' is something I should have cross-posted last year. 'Every Stroke Anew', although written for RSOI, was based on a scene I had started writing... maybe last year, even, and didn't know how to continue.
Did you take any writing risks this year? I participated in a charity zine. Wrote weird ships because I like them. Wrote more complicated relationships that I don't think I would have been willing to try a couple of years ago. Wrote spirit/human sex (that was fun). Wrote two WIPs, one of which needs to be finished, aha. Wrote various kinks that are not really my kinks in particular (the mirror sex, the hair bondage, and the Amazon position ones turned out to be fun). Does second person count as a writing risk?
What are your fic writing goals for next year? First, what were they last year? I don't even remember.
Take 'Bonnie and Blythe' to Ao3 and finish it: check
Write something longer than 20k: check twice over
Maybe a sequel?: maybe this year?
More editing and origfic: ...maybe this year.
This year: post my not-Victuuri bang fic, maybe write a sequel to that one fic, finish my WIP, and edit/write more origfic. Maybe put something up on Amazon and see if I can get a little skating money from it. It would be really fun to write some interactive fiction for an exchange or something, but I don't know if that will happen.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-01 07:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-01-02 06:54 pm (UTC)I know 2019 will at least bring more Yakov & Victor gen (I want to get it finished before the movie comes along) and a Chris/Yuuri AU (since I'm writing it for the not-Victuuri bang). Other than that, who knows. Probably more rare pairs, the occasional weird thing, and a few cute Victuuri fics where I try not to geek out too much about languages and skating. I'm a little surprised I've gotten so much out of this one-cour anime, but it's still a nice comforting spot for me.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-05 08:31 pm (UTC)Same here! I kind of thought I was done at the end of 2017, but 2018 has been an active year for me too, even if the fandom is dropping off month by month. Probably I'll end up getting sick of it about when the movie is released, which will be a shame but there you go. I suppose part of my motive, like yours, is getting some potentially 'jossed' ideas out of the way before the movie comes along.
Also, all the geeking out about languages you can do will be more than welcome as far as I'm concerned. :)
no subject
Date: 2019-01-02 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-01-03 09:38 am (UTC)