Annual End of the Year Writing Meme 2022

[thisbluespirit]

[Another post I (mostly) made earlier!]

And, as ever, the writing meme for the year. (Last year's post is here.)

Stats
List of Completed Fic
To Catch A Spider (Dracula 1968, 2082 words. Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, John Seward, Mrs Hoskins.) For chocolateboxcomm
Morning Prayer (Dracula 1968, 902 words. Mina/Lucy, Dracula.) For chocolateboxcomm
Inner Demons (Dracula 1968, 3867 words. Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker/John Seward.) For chocolateboxcomm
Lost Luggage (OUaT, 590 words, Henry Mills & Rumplestiltskin) 500 prompts meme.
The Practical Application of Moral Considerations (The Assassination Bureau, 550 words. Ivan/Sonya) For 100fandoms
Saltwater Echoes (Mirage, 631 words. DiMag/Simorh, Gamora) For 100fandoms
When the Bartender Gives You Lemons (Doctor Who/The Librarians, 2793 words. Thirteenth Doctor & Ezekiel Jones.) For intoabar

Then 3 Unconventional Courtship efforts in honour of john_amend_all's birthday:
Just Desserts (Doctor Who, 678 words. Three & Delgado Master, Jo Grant.)
Getaway Bus (Doctor Who, 855 words. Lucie Miller, Graham O'Brien, Eighth Doctor.)
the simple things you see are all complicated (Doctor Who, 607 words. Missy/Clara.)

Two for justmarriedexchange:
Farewell Tour (Doctor Who, 11974 words. Brig/Liz/Three.)
Legal Requirement (Doctor Who, 2627 words. Five/Tegan.)

And then I had a truly lovely time with no_true_pair over August & September:
Mixed Messages (Doctor Who/Department S, 1506 words. Annabelle & Jason & Stewart, Annabelle/the Brig) Also for 51pluscrossoverfandoms
Of White Knights and Wonderland Days (OUaT/The Librarians, Alice Jones & Jenkins)
Snakes and Ladders (Doctor Who/Sapphire & Steel, 1154 words. Copper, the Brig, Gold.)
Postscript (Doctor Who/Sapphire & Steel, 1376 words. Copper, Clara.) Also for hc_bingo
Seize the Day (Doctor Who/Department S, 1135 words. Sixth Doctor & Annabelle, Jason King.)
Box of Secrets (Doctor Who/The Librarians, 1345 words. Sixth Doctor & Jenkins.) Also for 51pluscrossoverfandoms

Open and Shut Case (Taste the Blood of Dracula, 804 words. Jeremy Secker, Inspector Cobb) Also for Whumptober & 100fandoms & genprompt_bingo
Lavender's Green (Sapphire & Steel, 5314 words. Silver, Emerald, Iron.) Also for Whumptober & hc_bingo & genprompt_bingo
Red Sky in the Morning (Forsyte Saga, 1316 words. Anne/Jon, Fleur/Jon, Michael/Fleur.) Also for Whumptober & hc_bingo, genprompt_bingo, 110ships and 100fandoms

And the end of the year wound up with mostly the Genremixer meme and the reverse writing meme:
Why Don't You... (S&S, 1539 words. Silver, Osmium & Antimony) Genremixer meme & for genprompt_bingo
Mirror Mirror (Doctor Who, 1786 words. Mel & Eleven.) Ditto & for genprompt_bingo
Breathing Space (Doctor Who, 1023 words. Four & Leela.) For the 500 Prompts meme instead, & for genprompt_bingo
Nursing a Chill (OUaT, 686 words. Snow & Regina.) Reverse writing meme and also for hc_bingo
Mistletoe at Midnight (Doctor Who, 1289 words. Five/Tegan.) Reverse writing meme & for genprompt_bingo


Total number: 26

Total word count: 50,877


I also wrote some things for rainbowfic, but I'll talk about that elsewhere someday.


Ship/character breakdown:

As with 2021, I had a fairly even selection of characters and ships, but ships that appeared more than once:

Five/Tegan (2)


Characters appearing more than once:

Brigadier (3)

Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, John Seward, Third Doctor, Clara Oswald, Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Annabelle Hurst, Jason King, Jenkins, Copper, Six & Silver (2)



Specifics:

Best/worst title?

I liked the simple things you see are all complicated because it fitted well, although whether quotes count here, idk. Also Of White Knights and Wonderland Days for an Alice and Jenkins fic, and even though it's simple, Lavender's Green.

I don't think I think any of them are terrible this year - even the simple ones are doing a decent job for that fic. I definitely feel I should have come up with something other than Inner Demons - something to match the tone of the fic better, but I still don't know what, and it does work at least. And I did always feel I was on the cusp of something better than When the Bartender Gives You Lemons, but OTOH I do quite like that one anyway. But I'm sure there was something obvious lurking in my brain!


Best /worst summary?

Hmm. I quite like:

Clara writes a letter to a man who may not exist. He answers anyway. (Postcript)

“Doctor,” said the Brigadier, “you’re not saying you’ve stranded all three of us on an alien planet, with no way back home – and we’re married?” (Farewell Tour - That was always, always going to be the summary for it. Pretty much the first line I had for the fic in my head, too. XD)


I don't think I had anything really outstanding in either direction, though. I seem to have stuck to a fairly simple pattern but one that I think works reasonably well.



Best first line?

"It was Tuesday at UNIT, and a UFO had been found somewhere in deepest Derbyshire during the expansion of a golf course." (Farewell Tour)


The Doctor walked into the bar exactly like a normal person, wearing a completely normal tux, and not a scarf or celery or anything odd. (When the Bartender Gives You Lemons)


“How do you feel about the ethics of murder in a case of kill or be killed?” (The Practical Application of Moral Considerations)


Best last line?

I hate this one, because last lines so often need context. I mean, I think the best is "She faced the raven." in Postscript, but it isn't anything much alone, and I also liked ending with the "I told me so!" verse of Lavender's Green in Lavender's Green, but those weren't even my words.


So, I think, maybe: Copper has a certain measure of faith in strangers, too. (Snakes and Ladders)


General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I wrote a little more, but still around what I had hoped, for the most part. I wanted to keep from getting too carried away with longer things and find reason to write ficlets and shorter pieces that I'd feel happier with, and overall, I really think I did. I am much happier with this collection of stories than I have been for years when looking back for this review.



What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

That I genuinely, after all these years, really got to write Five/Tegan for an exchange is definitely new! I'm really happy about that. I also did not expect the whole Martin Jarvis thing, nor did I expect to finally take the plunge on no_true_pair, although goodness knows why it took corvidology to give me that shove, since it might as well have had my name on it, as fests go.


What's your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Oh, that's hard. I genuinely do have a few that I feel happy with - nearly all the no_true_pair ones (Seize the Day, Of White Knights and Wonderland Days, and Box of Secrets especially), and Farewell Tour and Lavender's Green, and Mirror Mirror as well.

Maybe When the Bartender Gives You Lemons, because it was a fun idea, it seemed to come off, and other people seemed to enjoy it, too.



Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Also When the Bartender Gives You Lemons! I often do feel happiest about the one that I get the most positive feedback on. I know you're supposed to be all cool and confident and not care about comments and kudos and what have you, but I'm not and I do, a lot.


Story most underappreciated by the universe?
Red Sky in the Morning, because there are not many people into the 60s Forsyte Saga at the moment. plus it was just an off the cuff little ficlet, because I had feelings again. But in compensation, I think I made it hit a record number of prompts and bingo squares!


Story that could have been better?

Meme, you ask me this every year, and the answer is always all of them! I edited two first and last lines just while checking them over again for this.


Sexiest story?

Well, it is implied that people had/would be having sex in Farewell Tour, Legal Requirement and Inner Demons, so those three, I imagine.

Answers on a postcard to enlighten the author, please, as to which of these wins, if any. ;-p


Saddest story?

Open and Shut Case, I suppose? The protagonist was unalive to begin with and then it got worse? Probably not sad as such, just a bit dark.


Most fun?

When the Bartender Gives You Lemons. I did get stuck at the very end, but I set out to write a full on ridiculous Librarians fic with the Doctor in the middle of it, and I did. intoabar is so great for this kind of thing.


Story with single sweetest moment?

I think several of the no_true_pair encounters were - maybe Annabelle and Six comforting each other in Seize the Day?



Hardest story to write?

Inner Demons, with Farewell Tour second. There is a reason one of my intentions this year was not to write anything longer/plotty for exchanges this year, and trying to make sure I got a longer-than-planned fic down in the middle of summer was what I was trying to not be doing. (Sorry not entirely sorry, because I am also happy I did it! :p)

Inner Demons, though, has to come first because I'd been trying to write it for ages and kept getting stuck one way or another, and it probably could still have been expanded a little more, but see above re. exchanges, length, deadlines and illness. /o\



Easiest/most fun story to write?

Getaway Bus, several No True Pair pieces,When the Bartender Gives You Lemons, and Mirror Mirror. Honestly, I did actually have fun writing again, which was the point of "write less", really.



Most overdue story?

Inner Demons. I wrote the first draft as a Yuletide fic, I think, a year or two ago, which was intended as the first Time in a Five Times piece, except it got too out of hand before I even got to the other Times, so clearly that wasn't going to be workable in the time I had - but I thought it was fun enough that I kept itching to pull it out and finish it off as its own thing, and was glad to finally manage it for Chocolate Box - for the same recip. (There is only calliopes_pen who requests that fandom, apart from me!)


Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Not really, but since the whole point was not to take risks, so that's good. And where I did, to some degree, I learned that I will always try to write something overambitious for my current state if I sign up for an exchange, no matter how careful I am about what I offer. Farewell Tour was so much shorter in my head. ( I'm still not sure what happened there.)


This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it most:

Probably random encounters? The theme for every other year, ahem. (idk, please do tell me.)


What are your fic writing goals for next year?

To do much the same, as it seemed to work - a mix of prompts and bingos and especially more laid back fests like no_true_pair, with some random ficlets for whatever I've been reading/watching if I need something slight to get me going again - and much as I love exchanges, try to keep to one or two at the very most, if that - and not in summer, not until and unless I get a bit more stable health-wise.

And I'm keeping an eye on no_true_pair for sure...

Comments

[persiflage_1]

💙💙

[thisbluespirit]

♥ ♥ ♥ back at you! Especially for all the beta-ing!

[persiflage_1]

You are, as always, most welcome!

[astrogirl]

I liked the simple things you see are all complicated because it fitted well, although whether quotes count here, idk.

I think they should probably count. I mean, if nothing else, it requires good judgment to steal the right thing from the right source, doesn't it?

Meme, you ask me this every year, and the answer is always all of them!

I know! How can anybody ever answer anything else to that one? Who among us has ever written The Perfect Story, and who among us would feel entirely satisfied with it even if we had? It really ought to say "story you think had the most room for improvement" or something.

[thisbluespirit]

I had to edit a typo just in the process of making this version of the post and like three before when I was actually typing the post!! XD

<—— needs to make / find more icons one day

[romanajo123]

Nice!!

I’ve seen several people do this meme ( and might attempt it myself) . Was randomly thinking about your Lost Luggage story the other day out of nowhere.

Wow… that word count!!

Re: <—— needs to make / find more icons one day

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thanks!

and try icons and fandom_icons and use the tags. There should definitely be a whole bunch of OUaT ones still around. PLus, I've made a handful here and there as well. <3

[lirazel]

A productive year!

The Doctor walked into the bar exactly like a normal person, wearing a completely normal tux, and not a scarf or celery or anything odd.

love this!!!

[thisbluespirit]

Thanks! <3

love this!!!

She was doing undercover so well, you would not believe. A perfectly normal person in a perfectly normal bar just looking for a perfectly normal Zygon artefact! XD

[a_phoenixdragon]

Whoot!! So many awesome fics!

*Dances*

[thisbluespirit]

THank you! ♥

[liadt]

\o/ for being happy with your writing last year! I hope 2023 is just as good:)

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you! It is a bit of a novel feeling, and I won't count on it happening again - but I'll try to continue to be careful about not pushing myself (either at writing, or at the other things that take me away from writing). <3