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Fanfic Year in Review Meme
(via ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
john_amend_all, who also links to a handy template)
Stats:
List of Completed Fics:
Bring Out the Lady (441 words)
Fandom: Chess (Board Game)
Characters: Queen (Chess), King (Chess)
Summary: The queen moves fast. The king can't keep up with her. There's a reason for that.
Uncommon Readers (232 words)
Fandom: Unusual Dragon Hoards - iguanamouth
Characters: Original Dragon Character(s)
Summary: There are many treasures to be found in the Hoard of Random Scraps of Paper.
The Question of Caroline Louisa (477 words)
Fandom: Kay Harker Series - John Masefield
Characters: Caroline Louisa, Eduardo da Vinci
Summary: "Do you ever miss it?" Edward asks suddenly, interrrupting his own description of his latest plan to raise the statue of St George from the ocean bed. Caroline Louisa takes a sip of tea while she considers the question.
Plus a couple more stanzas of last year's filk song, a few comment fics whose locations I can't now entirely recall, an![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
isurrendered entry, and a reasonably substantial involvement in an LJ roleplay.
Total number:
3. ish.
Total word count:
The three stories add up to 1150 words.
Ship/character breakdown:
Every story in a different fandom with a different set of characters, and they're all gen.
Specifics:
Best/worst title?
Assuming the internet list of chess jargon I borrowed it from didn't lie to me, "Bring Out the Lady" is a pretty good title for the story it's attached to.
About the only thing I can think of to say in favour of "The Question of Caroline Louisa" is that every other title I came up with for the story was worse.
Best/worst summary?
The summary for "The Question of Caroline Louisa" is the old "quote the opening sentences" trick, but I think it gives a pretty good feel for what the fic's about and what it's like.
Nothing in the preceding sentence is true of the summary for "Uncommon Readers".
Best/worst first line?
Boy, I like the long opening sentences, don't I? Although there's also some uninspiringly short ones.
And having said that, even though the opening sentence of "Bring Out the Lady" is the longest of the lot, I think it's probably also the best:
For the worst, we'll go with uninspiringly short; the opening sentence of "Uncommon Readers" does nothing by itself:
(Although in that respect, I suppose it's thematically appropriate.)
Best/worst last line?
The last line of "The Question of Caroline Louisa" gracefully brings the story back around to where it began, and is also the only closing line of the set that isn't a big old cliché:
The last line of "Uncommon Readers", on the other hand, is not only hackneyed but also a tacit admission that there's more to the story which I lacked time or inclination to finish:
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?
About what I expected, though maybe less than I hoped. (I'd hoped for at least one story with more to it than a single-scene vignette.)
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
Unusual Dragon Hoards didn't exist last year, making that the easy answer. All the others I think I'd considered at some point as possible, if not always plausible, that I might write for them some day.
What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
"Bring Out the Lady". Consistent with last year's answer, it's the one I spent the most time and effort on.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
Looks like it's "Uncommon Readers", with the most hits, the most kudos, and the most comments. A Yuletide fic, which helps visibility, and in one of this year's more popular fandoms.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
As with last year, I don't think I have any candidates. If I were to go strictly by numbers, there's "The Question of Caroline Louisa" with only one kudos and one comment, but they're both from the one person for whom the story was written, and it's a very appreciative comment.
Story that could have been better?
I'm sure they all could have been; is there ever a story that couldn't? Depending on what mood I'm in, "Uncommon Readers" feels like just a gesture in the direction of the story it might have been if I hadn't started it so near the deadline. It's not a bad gesture, though.
Sexiest story?
Not applicable to any of the stories in this set.
Saddest story?
None of them are outright Sad, but "Bring Out the Lady" definitely has Undercurrents.
Most fun?
"Uncommon Readers".
Story with single sweetest moment?
"Bring Out the Lady", but don't ask me which of the moments is the single sweetest.
Hardest story to write?
"Bring Out the Lady" required the most conscious effort, with multiple drafts and everything. On the other hand, "The Question of Caroline Louisa" was more stressful, because it was trying to get in-depth with an established character, and it might well have gone into multiple drafts too if I hadn't started it too late for such luxuries.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
"Uncommon Readers".
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?
Offering a fresh perspective of the characters, in as much as there are characters in chess, is pretty much the point of "Bring Out the Lady", so of course I had to come up with the fresh perspective first. (It's a case in point of the old dictum that you tell better stories if you don't settle for the first answer that comes to mind.)
"The Question of Caroline Louisa" required thinking in depth and at length about an aspect of Caroline Louisa I'd mostly skimmed over before. (I had a Doylist answer to the Question, which was completely useless for the fic. Now I have not one but two separate and contradictory Watsonian theories, which is actually a good result, because it means the fic is suggestive and ambiguous and contains nothing like a clear and detailed explanation - just like the canon.)
Most overdue story?
None of these three, because they were all for Yuletide Madness, which has a Deadline.
There are of course all the incomplete things from previous years which are are only getting dustier each year.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
"The Question of Caroline Louisa" felt like a risk when I was writing it; I don't think I've often, if ever, done that kind of character work in a fic before. (Last Yuletide, for instance, I stuck to Cookie Monster, who's very difficult to get wrong.) I don't know if I learned anything specific, beyond the fact that now I know I'm capable of writing that sort of thing.
And also, starting earlier gives you more time to notice mistakes and places that could be improved.
What are your fic writing goals for next year?
Let's try "Sign up for at least one prompt meme or ficathon or bingo card or like that" again. It might even happen this year.
john_amend_all, who also links to a handy template)Stats:
List of Completed Fics:
Bring Out the Lady (441 words)
Fandom: Chess (Board Game)
Characters: Queen (Chess), King (Chess)
Summary: The queen moves fast. The king can't keep up with her. There's a reason for that.
Uncommon Readers (232 words)
Fandom: Unusual Dragon Hoards - iguanamouth
Characters: Original Dragon Character(s)
Summary: There are many treasures to be found in the Hoard of Random Scraps of Paper.
The Question of Caroline Louisa (477 words)
Fandom: Kay Harker Series - John Masefield
Characters: Caroline Louisa, Eduardo da Vinci
Summary: "Do you ever miss it?" Edward asks suddenly, interrrupting his own description of his latest plan to raise the statue of St George from the ocean bed. Caroline Louisa takes a sip of tea while she considers the question.
Plus a couple more stanzas of last year's filk song, a few comment fics whose locations I can't now entirely recall, an
isurrendered entry, and a reasonably substantial involvement in an LJ roleplay.Total number:
3. ish.
Total word count:
The three stories add up to 1150 words.
Ship/character breakdown:
Every story in a different fandom with a different set of characters, and they're all gen.
Specifics:
Best/worst title?
Assuming the internet list of chess jargon I borrowed it from didn't lie to me, "Bring Out the Lady" is a pretty good title for the story it's attached to.
About the only thing I can think of to say in favour of "The Question of Caroline Louisa" is that every other title I came up with for the story was worse.
Best/worst summary?
The summary for "The Question of Caroline Louisa" is the old "quote the opening sentences" trick, but I think it gives a pretty good feel for what the fic's about and what it's like.
Nothing in the preceding sentence is true of the summary for "Uncommon Readers".
Best/worst first line?
Boy, I like the long opening sentences, don't I? Although there's also some uninspiringly short ones.
And having said that, even though the opening sentence of "Bring Out the Lady" is the longest of the lot, I think it's probably also the best:
As the queen walks down the long corridor that runs from the throne room to the great entrance of the palace, preparing her mind for the task ahead, her gait shifts from the short, careful steps that go with lavish dresses and robes of state to a long, easy, distance-eating stride.
For the worst, we'll go with uninspiringly short; the opening sentence of "Uncommon Readers" does nothing by itself:
"Look at this one!"
(Although in that respect, I suppose it's thematically appropriate.)
Best/worst last line?
The last line of "The Question of Caroline Louisa" gracefully brings the story back around to where it began, and is also the only closing line of the set that isn't a big old cliché:
"Now, have a macaroon, do, and tell me more about this pontoon you're considering."
The last line of "Uncommon Readers", on the other hand, is not only hackneyed but also a tacit admission that there's more to the story which I lacked time or inclination to finish:
And that's where it all begins.
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?
About what I expected, though maybe less than I hoped. (I'd hoped for at least one story with more to it than a single-scene vignette.)
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
Unusual Dragon Hoards didn't exist last year, making that the easy answer. All the others I think I'd considered at some point as possible, if not always plausible, that I might write for them some day.
What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
"Bring Out the Lady". Consistent with last year's answer, it's the one I spent the most time and effort on.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
Looks like it's "Uncommon Readers", with the most hits, the most kudos, and the most comments. A Yuletide fic, which helps visibility, and in one of this year's more popular fandoms.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
As with last year, I don't think I have any candidates. If I were to go strictly by numbers, there's "The Question of Caroline Louisa" with only one kudos and one comment, but they're both from the one person for whom the story was written, and it's a very appreciative comment.
Story that could have been better?
I'm sure they all could have been; is there ever a story that couldn't? Depending on what mood I'm in, "Uncommon Readers" feels like just a gesture in the direction of the story it might have been if I hadn't started it so near the deadline. It's not a bad gesture, though.
Sexiest story?
Not applicable to any of the stories in this set.
Saddest story?
None of them are outright Sad, but "Bring Out the Lady" definitely has Undercurrents.
Most fun?
"Uncommon Readers".
Story with single sweetest moment?
"Bring Out the Lady", but don't ask me which of the moments is the single sweetest.
Hardest story to write?
"Bring Out the Lady" required the most conscious effort, with multiple drafts and everything. On the other hand, "The Question of Caroline Louisa" was more stressful, because it was trying to get in-depth with an established character, and it might well have gone into multiple drafts too if I hadn't started it too late for such luxuries.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
"Uncommon Readers".
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?
Offering a fresh perspective of the characters, in as much as there are characters in chess, is pretty much the point of "Bring Out the Lady", so of course I had to come up with the fresh perspective first. (It's a case in point of the old dictum that you tell better stories if you don't settle for the first answer that comes to mind.)
"The Question of Caroline Louisa" required thinking in depth and at length about an aspect of Caroline Louisa I'd mostly skimmed over before. (I had a Doylist answer to the Question, which was completely useless for the fic. Now I have not one but two separate and contradictory Watsonian theories, which is actually a good result, because it means the fic is suggestive and ambiguous and contains nothing like a clear and detailed explanation - just like the canon.)
Most overdue story?
None of these three, because they were all for Yuletide Madness, which has a Deadline.
There are of course all the incomplete things from previous years which are are only getting dustier each year.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
"The Question of Caroline Louisa" felt like a risk when I was writing it; I don't think I've often, if ever, done that kind of character work in a fic before. (Last Yuletide, for instance, I stuck to Cookie Monster, who's very difficult to get wrong.) I don't know if I learned anything specific, beyond the fact that now I know I'm capable of writing that sort of thing.
And also, starting earlier gives you more time to notice mistakes and places that could be improved.
What are your fic writing goals for next year?
Let's try "Sign up for at least one prompt meme or ficathon or bingo card or like that" again. It might even happen this year.