Annual End of the Year Writing Meme

[thisbluespirit]

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

Stats
List of Completed Fic
The Long Way Round (SW, G, 4386 words. Obi-wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn.) For Dragonlindar in Chocolate Box.
Under a Cloud (SW, T, 4200 words. Padme/Obi-Wan.) For genprompt_bingo & 100fandoms
Some With Arrows, Some With Traps (SW, T, 13,944 words. Padme/Obi-Wan.) For Prix in Chocolate Box.
Masquerade (SW, T, 1234 words. Padme/Obi-Wan.) For rosestone in Chocolate Box.
Trees Too Tall To Climb (SW, Obi-Wan's Mother.) For allbingo, halfamoon, 100_women
You Made No Impression (Spooks, Ruth Evershed.) For allbingo, halfamoon, 100fandoms & 100_women
Mission of Mercy (SW, Padme/Obi-Wan.) For allbingo & halfamoon
One Step Forward (Two Steps Back) (Jonathan Creek, Jonathan/Maddy). For enchantedsleeper in NYR, my belated yuletide assignment.
Nothing at the End of the Lane (DW, Thirteen, One, Three). For allbingo & genprompt_bingo
Desert Phantoms (SW, Padme/Obi-Wan). For misbegotten in the Kissathon.
Swords & Stones (SW/B7, Obi-Wan, Dayna.) For hc_bingo April amnesty challenge & genprompt_bingo
it's the rain that will strengthen your soul (SW, T, 10,926 words. Padme/Obi-Wan.) For anr in Space Swap.
Game Night (B7/ST:Voy/B7, 400 words. Janeway, Vila, & Clara Oswald.) For a writing meme.
Don't Try This at Home (B7/SW, 440 words. Jyn Erso, Jenna Stannis, Dayna.) For the same writing meme.
A Novel Approach (Department S, 1250 words. Annabelle/Jason/Stewart.) For 100fandoms.
AU Meme: Vila Restal (B7, 1158 words.) AU Meme
AU Meme: Gytha Ogg (Discworld, 1232 words.) AU Meme
AU Meme: Lynda Day (Press Gang, 989 words.) AU Meme.
Fire and Feathers (SW, 1973 words. Padme/Obi-wan). For Shadaras in May the 4th & for genprompt_bingo.
AU Meme: Silver (S&S, 1060 words.) AU Meme
Though the Light Fails (Dracula 1968, 3952 words. Jonathan, Mina, John.) For genprompt_bingo, allbingo & hc_bingo May Amnesty Challenge.
Anomalies (SW, 11,478 words. Padme/Obi-Wan.) For Shadaras in the Hurt/Comfort Exchange
Locks & Keys (OUaT/S&S, 1904 words. Regina & Silver.) For intoabar and genprompt_bingo
AU Meme: Sapphire and Steel (S&S, 1135 words.) AU Meme
Nature is Red (DW, 539 words. Ten/Leela) UC b'day fict for john_amend_all
Night Birds (DW/Dracula 1968, Lucy/Charley). UC b'day fict for john_amend_all
Undercover Operation (DW/Red Dwarf, 964 words.) UC b'day fict for john_amend_all
AU Meme: Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek, 1046 words.) AU Meme.
Remnants of an Unlife (The Magellan & Creek (Deceased) Remix) (Jonathan Creek, Jonathan/Maddy, Carla, Joey, Adam). For still_lycoris in remix_revival
in the still of the night (DW/Cadfael, 1328 words). for meneleth in the 500 prompts meme; also for allbingo, hc_bingo, 100fandoms & 51pluscrossoverfandoms
tear your world to shreds (DW, Seven & Ace, 1508 words.) For jjpor in the 500 Prompts Meme, Whumptober & 100fandoms
Brief Candles (Daisy Dalrymple, 1058 words. Daisy/Alec). For delacourtings in the 500 prompts meme, Whumptober, hc_bingo, 100fandoms
Red Skies (Dracula 1968, 2030 words. Jonathan/Mina/John.) For Whumptober & hc_bingo.
Broken Vessels (Dracula 1968, 4083 words.) For calliopes_pen in yuletide 2020
Hell Bats are Not Just for the Night of the Conjunction of Capricorn With Saturn (Hammer Horror, 1024 words.) Also for calliopes_pen in yuletide
AU Meme: Kerr Avon (B7, Avon, 765 words.) For jaxomsride2 in the AU Meme.
All the Way Home (Upstairs Downstairs, 1647 words.) For philomytha in yuletide
AU Meme: Charley Pollard & Eighth Doctor (DW, 1595 words.) For romanajo123 in the AU Meme


Total number: 38

Total word count: 97,319


Ship/character breakdown:

Padme Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi - 7

Jonthan Harker/Mina Harker - 2
Mina Harker/Lucy Weston - 2
Jonathan Creek/Maddy Magellan - 2


A clear winner for once & a proper ship too! I also wrote a handful of others, including the first Ten/Leela fic on AO3.

Characters:
Obi-Wan Kenobia - 11
Padme Amidala - 8

Qui-Gon Jinn - 3
Jonathan Harker - 3
Mina Harker - 3
John Seward - 3

And with 2 - Silver, Yoda, Vila Restal, Cally, Kerr Avon, Roj Blake, Dayna Mellanby, Clara Oswald, Sapphire, Steel, Kathryn Janeway, Jonathan Creek, Maddy Magellan.


Specifics:

Best/worst title?

Nothing at the End of the Lane and it's the rain that will strengthen your soul. ("It's not the sun that will make you whole/it's the rain that will strengthen your soul.") Or maybe Some With Arrows, Some With Traps.


Best /worst summary?

Probably It's been hundreds of years, and nobody believes in the Jedi any more. from Under a Cloud.


If I was doing worst, there would be such competition this year I can't tell you. I think I've moved past caring about summaries. Pfft, who reads those? ;-p



Best first line?

Hmm...

The clouds that billow around the Senate building are tinged with black and sulphurous yellow today; yesterday was violet-and-red. from Under A Cloud

She dreams of fire swallowing everything: all the flowers in her garden burn and die. from Trees Too Tall to Climb.

It wasn’t all that bad, being dead. from Remnants of an Unlife.


Best last line?

I think it has to be this one: In the end, she can even die twice and never cause the faintest stir. from You Made No Impression. But I quite like The end of everything, it turns out, is only the beginning. from it's the rain that will strengthen your soul.

Although, if I can have slightly more than one line, there's Then he frowned. “What do you mean, Ghost of Christmas Past? It’s Easter!” from One Step Forward (Two Steps Back).



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?

Probably more. In fact, I did almost exactly what I wanted to in my goals from last year, except in a way I was then unhappy about, because that is how these things go.


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

I suddenly broke out in Star Wars and Obidala, and I did not see that coming. I mean, I'd wistfully wanted to at least try a Padme/Obi-Wan fic some time, but I could never get it to happen, because SW is such a difficult fandom to shift into writing, because there's just so much information for everything out there.


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

I'm not sure - I think maybe Under A Cloud, which was my first Prequel thing (despite order of posting), and I was so pleased with it. It's even picked up a few other people who like my weird AU now, and I found a wild rec on tumblr, which also makes me feel better about liking it. I was so taken with it at the time if one SW person had commented, I'd have continued it. (Where are all those "write more!" people when you actually want them? The moment has passed now, though. :lol:) I don't think it's maybe all that good, but I loved the idea of it in my head so much.


Okay, NOW your most popular story.

it's the rain that will strengthen your soul by just about every metric, and I really can't argue with it. I think there are parts of it that could still have been a little sharper/tighter, but it probably is the best thing I wrote this year. It is also one of my favourites as well, so I'm happy with that.


Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Night Birds, but given that it's a crossover UC generator ficlet for Big Finish and Dracula 1968, the audience was pretty much only ever going to the person it was written for.


Story that could have been better?

Why do you ask me this every year, meme? ALL OF THEM, of course!


Sexiest story?

Probably none of them, really, although Jonathan and Maddy do discuss the necessity for eventual ghost!sex in Remnants of an Unlife. Maybe Masquerade? Idk, it's probably one of the Obidala ones. Answers on a postcard or something, thank you.


Saddest story?

I was going to say that I seem to have been a lot less bleak and depressing this year, and then I remembered Nothing at the End of the Lane. Also Trees Too Tall to Climb


Most fun?

Probably the AU Meme for Gytha Ogg.


Story with single sweetest moment?

I think probably a lot of it's the rain that will strengthen your soul. Someone left me the loveliest comment, saying that it had "kintsugi vibes" and I hadn't thought of it like that, but, yes, that was exactly what I was going for with it. It was a lovely thing to do, to build that just-slightly-happier AU out of Revenge of the Sith because Padme lives.



Hardest story to write?

A toss up between Anomalies and Some With Arrows, Some With Traps, and probably Anomalies wins, because it took a lot of working out to do at all, whereas at least Some With Arrows was powered by an initial rush of repressed SW-Obidala feelings. I think I've been in this awkward place with exchange fic generally lately where I have ideas for and insist on trying to write things that I am simply not well enough to do within the limits of an exchange, which then makes it very frustrating, because I'm falling short of what I wanted to accomplish even more than the usual.



Easiest/most fun story to write?

Nothing at the End of the Lane - but not fun. Probably some of the AU Memes again, especially AU Meme: Gytha Ogg and AU Meme: Vila Restal.


Most overdue story?

One Step Forward (Two Steps Back) was meant to be last year's Yuletide assignment, and I posted it in March in the end. Of those not posted, I actually have my Just Married story drafted out in full in a notebook, and I really should type it up, even if not for the original recip any more.


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

I risked writing SW and learned how to do that and even how to write Yoda, which was the single most terrifying thing I did last year, writing-wise. I am so used to being able to pick up speech patterns from just watching things enough, but no matter how many times I watched the films with Yoda and read books, it took some doing to get the hang of it. So, my accomplishment of the year: I wrote Yoda and didn't die in the attempt!


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

I'm not sure what the theme is, but the story is unquestionably it's the rain that will strengthen your soul because it is.



What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Keep up this general level of output if possible - it's about right, if I can keep it more evenly spread and better paced. And in the interests of doing that and not making myself ill, I shall probably have to not sign up for any exchanges until Remix and Yuletide. I'm pining already, because if I could, I would do at least half a dozen more. But I can't.

I hope I write something - I hope I have fun - I hope I manage to make some other people happy for a brief moment when I do. That is enough.

Comments

[seal_girl]

That's a lot of fics :D

[thisbluespirit]

I do mostly do short stuff, & it adds up.

[isis]

You wrote a lot of words! congratulations!

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you.

[adriennefae]

Congrats on writing so much, and on figuring out how to write a character who was particularly hard for you to get the hang of!

And I hope you have fun with whatever you write in 2021, too!

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thank you.

[astrogirl]

Geez, look at that word count! Even when you write fewer individual stories than me, even when you have periods where you aren't feeling very well, and even on my most productive year ever, you still manage to outstrip me! (Not that it's a competition or anything, obviously. I just find it kind of amusing. :))

Where are all those "write more!" people when you actually want them?

I had to laugh at this. It's just so utterly typical, isn't it? Readers. They are a perverse lot, and somehow never seem to want to ask for the right things at the right time. :)

[thisbluespirit]

Even when you write fewer individual stories than me, even when you have periods where you aren't feeling very well, and even on my most productive year ever, you still manage to outstrip me!

:lol: You know what they say - it's quality that counts, not quantity! And I definitely do feel like I do more quantity than quality too often. But not always, thankfully. I have at least a few moments/fic each year.

Also if I didn't know for a fact that AO3 was better at counting than me, I'd question that word count. I swear it was at c.60k last time I looked at it! I've written five short pieces since then - that does not add up to 30k! *squints at it*

It's just so utterly typical, isn't it? Readers. They are a perverse lot, and somehow never seem to want to ask for the right things at the right time.

They are. *nods*

ETA: Not that it's a competition or anything, obviously. I just find it kind of amusing. :)

Speak for yourself - I totally wrote those Yuletide treats just to beat you obv. :lol:

[astrogirl]

Speak for yourself - I totally wrote those Yuletide treats just to beat you obv. :lol:

Ha! Clearly I'll have to try harder this year. :)

[eve11]

Wow, you wrote a lot! I'm super impressed :)

[thisbluespirit]

It wasn't too bad. As usual, I'm still not happy with it!

[corvidology]

Congrats on all that wordage!

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you.

[luthien]

Wow, you've been prolific! Well done!

[thisbluespirit]

Short stuff adds up, too! XD

[liadt]

A lot of words, bravo!

The 'write more' people are a tricky lot!

I hope the writing keeps going:)

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you. ♥

[elen_nare]

Lot of writing! *claps*

I love "it's the rain that will strengthen your soul" as a title, it's beautiful and I am jealous. Your best lines are great, too!

I think I've moved past caring about summaries. Pfft, who reads those? ;-p
Exactly, who cares about those? :P (To quote that tumblr post, "I already wrote the fic, you want me to write it again but tiny???")

Writing Yoda sounds extremely difficult!

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you!

I love "it's the rain that will strengthen your soul" as a title, it's beautiful and I am jealous.

Aw, thanks. That fic had at least three potential titles that would have all have been good and never any summary I was happy with. "It's the rain..." though is just nicked from a song I was listening to: I Have Made Mistakes, which turned out to be perfect for the fic.

Exactly, who cares about those? :P (To quote that tumblr post, "I already wrote the fic, you want me to write it again but tiny???")

*nods* I'm sure I used to like writing summaries once upon a time - I get worse at these things, not better. Heh.

[elen_nare]

I like the song! Song quotes are often very useful for titles.

I don't think I was ever good at summaries, and it doesn't seem to improve with time!

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, I wondered if you might!

And, heh, as to song titles, fanfic authors frequently think alike: https://allegoriesinmediasres.tumblr.com/post/639960515774447616/partywithponies

XD (I'd seen the Hallelujah one go round, but there's this as well now!)

[elen_nare]

That post is brilliant! My favourite part of that and the Hallelujah one are how all the repeated lyrics are different fics.

[thisbluespirit]

Xd

When fandom really loves a song, it really loves a song!