End of Year Writing Meme 2024

[thisbluespirit]

The usual writing meme for the year. (Last year's post is here.)

Stats
List of Completed Fic

Near Miss (Dangerous Corner, G, 509 words. Freda Kaplan, Olwen Peel. For 100fandoms, allbingo, genprompt_bingo & 100_women)
In Sunlit Fields (Towers in the Mist, G, 487 words. Joyeuce Leigh/Nicolas de Worde. For allbingo, 100fandoms & 100ships

These Old Familiar Things (Sapphire & Steel/Dean Spanley, Teen, 1489 words. Henslowe Fisk, Steel, Sapphire. For intoabar 2024, & also 51pluscrossoverfandoms, 100fandoms & genprompt_bingo)

For the September 8 character round of no_true_pair:
it's just a jump to the left (Legends of Tomorrow/Discworld, G, 958 words. Mona Wu & Death. Also for lyricaltitles, 100fandoms, genprompt_bingo & 51pluscrossoverfandoms
weirdest side of the street (DW, G, 1311 words, Thirteenth Doctor & the Brigadier. Also for lyricaltitles & allbingo)
Sweet Danger (DW, G, 554 words. Ruby Sunday & Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.)

yuletide 2024
that strange unmerciful tyrant (Shadow of the Tower, Teen, 2256 words. John de la Pole/Henry VII, for misura)
it's the end of the world as we know it (The Net 1995, Teen, 4805 words. Angela Bennett/Jack Devlin, zombie apocalypse AU for unhindered_dreams)

& the furthest stars came thundering at the door (The Winslow Boy, G, 4455 words. Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow, for NYR/@yuletide for edwardianspinsteraunt) (Technically 2025 now, so won't be counted with the stats, but I can't possibly think of it as belonging to any year other than 2024.)


Total number: 8

Total word count: 12,369

Ship/character breakdown: 1 of each character/ship I wrote.


Characters appearing more than once: Nope.

This may be the least fanfic I have ever written in any one year, even if you add in the bonus NYR fic. Halfway through the year all I had managed were two ficlets in two incredibly obscure canons I was the only one who had ever written for, and, honestly I was quite pleased with myself for that, but then I had to go and write almost popular normal things for intoabar and no_true_pair. (Also yuletide, but tbh, those weren't really less obscure, they just were fandoms of at least two where I got beautiful comments from the recip, which is more than enough in itself.)

Joking aside, I am pleased really, because my aim was to manage my writing more steadily, which I actually did with the rainbowfic original pieces, for the most part. Summer and Yuletide broke that a bit, which again, does show, that I still need to keep to that. (Not necessarily always rainbowfic, but steadily.)

It meant that I actually did complete my intoabar fic, even if belatedly; I did complete my Yuletide assignment, and even wrote treats, and I managed the September round of no_true_pair nicely too. I still can't counter all of the long low periods I have every month, but what I'm doing is making it a bit more manageable.

So, it was a low-fanfic year, and I didn't write as much rainbowfic as I have at other times, but I got a better handle on the state of me and how that affects my writing.


Specifics:

(As usual, I refuse to answer the 'worst' ones because it's bad enough as it is, thank you.)


Best/worst title?

it's just a jump to the left isn't earth-shattering in itself, but it was a fic for Legends of Tomorrow crossed with Discworld for the lyricaltitles pormpt "Meme Song" using a time travel meme song that fitted perfectly.

Otherwise I would pick the furthest stars came thundering at the door because I like it, and also I was impressed that I lucked out by picking London Bridge station for my London starting point and then there was a contemporary poem that had multiple lines I could have used. But idk if I can count that one.


Best /worst summary?

I was only saying to astrogirl on their version of this that I seem to have wound up at "mundane sentence or two" and, er, yeah. I have.

So, of those few options, probably "Nothing out of the ordinary happened here tonight." from Near Miss


Best first line?

(Wow, this meme is very hard when you don't write much, though.)

"Stop thinking about it," said the man standing next to him. (These Old Familiar Things)

Even given my usual "Statement + elaboration" or "Someone says a thing!" approach, the pickings are slim this year. But that is a reasonably intriguing way to begin, and it does fairly immediately tell you that the man must be Steel, even if the other character doesn't know it yet. Only Elements start with things like that.


Best last line?

There is, John finds, a strange peace here, to die in his king's arms, false though both of them remain. (that strange unmerciful tyrant )

I'm still very pleased with this one.

Honorary mention for "Just try to refrain from burning the place down while we're there." (weirdest side of the street)



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?

Hmm. I mean, I think I imagined more, but then halfway through the year, I thought maybe I would just write four evenly placed perfectly obscure ficlets and that would be impressive in its own way, and then I wrote normal things instead.

So, more and less, quite a bit on both fronts.



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

The Net, Jack/Angela Zombie AU fic, although, tbf, while I did not expect to ever write the pairing, I thought somebody should, and while I would have scoffed at me doing it this year in general, if the time traveller had added, "It was for Yuletide and they had a cracky Zombie Apocalypse prompt" I would have been a lot less surprised.



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

Actually, I really like several of these, which is nice, and I'm not sure which the most:

recency bias and also I managed to do another canon I didn't know if I'd ever manage when I first watched it and I wound up, despite fighting it a lot, really enjoying it and the result - the furthest stars came thundering at the door

it's just a jump to the left because it was such a great prompt (Mona Wu & Death), and I'd wanted to write Mona for a while & this came out pretty much as sweet and fun as I'd hoped, and a few other people liked it too.

These Old Familiar Things - I had not, as you can see, been managing fic, and this got me back, it came out quite well I think, and I loved Dean Spanley a lot, it was so very good, and then I always miss S&S when I haven't been writing it. There is no other fandom like it.


Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Going by kudos, weirdest side of the street, which tbh would be next on my list of stories I had fun with and liked. The Brigadier goes on holiday and oh hello Thirteen, also ensuing explosions, what's not to like? (Another great no_true_pair prompt)


Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Near Miss. idk, you write super obscure fic for one of J B Priestley's Time plays that will make no sense to anyone who hasn't watched/listened to it because apparently they're just talking about sandwiches, and then the crowds of AO3 do not flock to your door. Astounding.

;-p

Honestly, can it even count as an answer when I'm amazed some random person was kind enough to kudos it?


Story that could have been better?

Meme, you ask me this every year, and every year, the answer is ALL OF THEM. Always.

A bit silly to pick one that was one of my obscure writing exercises, but I do feel like In Sunlit Fields needs another going over, but not quite what it is I needed to switch around a bit. It should be just a little prettier than it is or something? It feels very very nearly but not quite somewhere to me.


Sexiest story?

Oh, look, gosh, I actually have a contender! it's the end of the world as we know it They have implied sex and everything, at least twice. Amazing.

Of course, it's really that strange unmerciful tyrant because dying in your rival for the throne's arms is obv sexier. ;-p


Saddest story?

I suppose I should therefore say that strange unmerciful tyrant but I don't think it was all that sad.

Both Near Miss and These Old Familiar Things are a bit melancholy, and the former is sad in some ways (if you know canon) and the latter is also sadder if you know canon, because there's a possible sadness implied in it that I didn't want to spell out, in case some mythical Dean Spanley fan would prefer not to think of that. So, er, it's not sad because the implication is only in my mind, ignore me.


Most fun?

Sweet Danger & probably also it's just a jump to the left


Story with single sweetest moment?

Sweet Danger is about mysterious possible alien cupcakes, so... XD

In the other way, hmm, maybe Mona trying to cheer Death up at the end in it's just a jump to the left


Hardest story to write?

I had trouble with the furthest stars came thundering at the door, but that was mainly about timing and me not quite figuring out what I was doing in time, whereas These Old Familiar Things is nearly 3/4s shorter, I did know what I was doing with it before I typed it up and yet it took so much doing for no reason other than my illness that I didn't believe the word count wasn't twice as long because it felt like it.

I was pleased with it in the end, though. As I was with the furthest stars


Easiest/most fun story to write?

Probably, it's just a jump to the left, but all three of those no_true_pair prompts were a delight and came very easily.


Most overdue story?

None of them were WIPs from past years or anything, but These Old Familiar Things was not in time for intoabar, probably more so than the furthest stars came thundering at the door was not in time for yuletide.


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

Yes. I wrote it's the end of the world as we know it, which I had decided, before typing it up, was too much outside my wheelhouse and I wouldn't be able to do it. But then I just watched The Net a lot and typed till I was ill and it turns out that somehow I can still do that at need if I must.


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

There's probably still a fair bit about Time/Memory/Dreams in one form or another, I suppose. Ish. I mean, there isn't a theme. It is a very small and random sample of fic. Random is my theme?


What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Try to keep being fairly steady about things, but since I am also trying to move and I am not very well, my main aim for everything is merely to somehow be moved and maybe not entirely too ill to do anything for months after.

Comments

[astrogirl]

Random is reasonable theme. :)

[thisbluespirit]

Do we need a theme as well? I mean.

[astrogirl]

I always seem to end up with ones that I didn't exactly intend. It can be weirdly disconcerting.

[theseatheseatheopensea]

and then I always miss S&S when I haven't been writing it. There is no other fandom like it.

So true!

There's probably still a fair bit about Time/Memory/Dreams in one form or another, I suppose. Ish. I mean, there isn't a theme. It is a very small and random sample of fic. Random is my theme?

It's the very best theme!

Good luck for this year (for moving, writing, health, and everything!) <3

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thank you!

[paranoidangel]

I seem to have wound up at "mundane sentence or two"

That seems to be my approach to summaries too.

[thisbluespirit]

I mean, it works, right? *fistbumps*

[ragnarok_08]

Neat answers for the meme!

[thisbluespirit]

Thanks!

[sovay]

Near Miss. idk, you write super obscure fic for one of J B Priestley's Time plays

Hey, I just hadn't seen that one!

This may be the least fanfic I have ever written in any one year, even if you add in the bonus NYR fic.

Your original fiction seemed to be going like gangbusters.

Try to keep being fairly steady about things, but since I am also trying to move and I am not very well, my main aim for everything is merely to somehow be moved and maybe not entirely too ill to do anything for months after.

*hugs*

[thisbluespirit]

Hey, I just hadn't seen that one!

<3 It's about sandwiches and I'm fairly sure there's a Martin Jarvis in the background.

Your original fiction seemed to be going like gangbusters.

I was steadier with it, but I've written more origfic and more fanfic on most previous years, plus I still had long stretches without writing. I'm happy enough; I wrote plenty, and I got a better handle on current problems by the end of the year. But it was overall, for me, definitely a pretty low writing year, numerically and on word count, possibly my lowest ever save maybe 2011 when I was most ill.

And thank you! <3<3<3

[sovay]

But it was overall, for me, definitely a pretty low writing year, numerically and on word count, possibly my lowest ever save maybe 2011 when I was most ill.

Understood. May this year be kinder to you.

*hugs*

[thisbluespirit]

♥

It's been all right! I've been happier than many other years with what I've done - but numerically/factually, it definitely is less total pieces, fewer words than most years.

[hamsterwoman]

Of course, it's really that strange unmerciful tyrant because dying in your rival for the throne's arms is obv sexier. ;-p

Ha! I was already intrigued by the quoted last line but that was the point in the meme where I clicked on the story and was pleased to discover that I could enjoy it canon blind (i.e. with just very vague historical knowledge) :D

[thisbluespirit]

Ha! I was already intrigued by the quoted last line but that was the point in the meme where I clicked on the story and was pleased to discover that I could enjoy it canon blind (i.e. with just very vague historical knowledge) :D

Aw, thank you! And also, lol, I mean, nothing says I love you like a dagger in the heart, or the back, right? XD

[luthien]

Story with single sweetest moment?

Sweet Danger is about mysterious possible alien cupcakes, so... XD

*cackle*

Well done on finishing all of those stories. I'm glad you had fun with them.

[thisbluespirit]

Hee, thanks! <3

[mab_browne]

Congrats on it all. :-)

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you!

[liadt]

Of course, it's really that strange unmerciful tyrant because dying in your rival for the throne's arms is obv sexier. TRUTH

All the best with steady writing and I hope the move is as smooth as possible *hugs*

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thank you! <3

Of course, it's really that strange unmerciful tyrant because dying in your rival for the throne's arms is obv sexier. TRUTH

I knew you'd agree!