I Suddenly Remembered My Charlemagne

So that happened!

I am not doing the full fic review for the first time IN THE HISTORY OF THIS LIVEJOURNAL, because last year I wrote 853 words of fanfic: The Future Will Be Green, for Mad Max: Fury Road.

It was a good year for me. I had two books come out, PRAIRIE FIRE in the spring and A THOUSAND NIGHTS in the fall. PRAIRIE FIRE had a quiet, but well-received, launch, and NIGHTS, well. NIGHTS is certainly a thing!

I revised three books (NIGHTS, SPINDLE and BEARS!!!), and wrote two (SPINDLE and VICTORIANS), and there's another thing to work on in January that is wonderful and exciting and terrifying. Then it's time to fix VICTORIANS and write proposals. I am not afraid. Much. :)

I read about 50 books, I think. I didn't count them very well. I have one more to finish tonight, and then an enormous stack for...whenever my schedule clears up enough to read again.

I saw five movies in theatre: Jupiter Ascending, Mad Max: Fury Road, Spy, Inside Out, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You may notice a theme.

Lifewise, my spine is better. I am not strong enough, but I can get stronger. I'm less tired. I remember to eat. I like food again. I have too many books for this apartment. I still love my bed. I probably need another dresser. I wish cleaning didn't hurt so much.

I am so excited for 2016. My word for 2014 was "yes". I said yes to everything. In 2015, my word has been "focus", and I've done well by it. 2016 is when that starts to pay off. So my word is: breathe.

I can do this. We can do this. Good luck to you.

Further up and further in.

Man, AO3 really makes this easy!

I wrote 19487 words of fic in 2013. The most popular was, far and away, Better Tomorrows, to the surprise of absolutely no one who has ever spent time on the internet. My fourth-most popular story was completed yesterday. Make what you will of that.

Anyway, let's talk details.

Favorite Story of the Year: Timshel, no question. It hurt a lot, as stories are wont to do when the first scene you see in them is a funeral dirge, but it was also very therapeutic. I got to spend a lot of time in Dis's head. Of all the things that I love about what's come about as a result of the Jackson movies, the expansion, on the part of fandom, of the female roles has been one of the best. It was nice to play too. Also, it means that every time emmaorgana watches the "Mr. Dwalin!" scene, she'll cry...but I will too, so I suppose it's okay. :)

My Best Story: In my head, this is THREE WHOLE YEARS, but since I'm a terrible person who hasn't finished the story yet, it's probably Whispers in the Dark. They say you can't have plot and characterization in a Five Times story. I respectfully disagree. ;)

Most Fun Story: AHAHAHAHAHAHA, I did not write anything fun this year. Not even a little. No seriously, go and check. I'll wait.

Sexiest Story: Better Tomorrows. I am as proud of this story as I am of some of my best James Watson fic, and I didn't think that would ever happen.

Hardest Story to Write: Better Todays. Dwalin is a tough nut to crack!

Easiest Story to Write: Heart of Stars. To be fair, I've been writing this in my head since we found out that Tauriel was going to be a character, but since all of the scenes I want to write happen in Part II, I still think I did pretty well. Who knew that I still felt this way about Legolas?

Biggest Changes This Year: I only wrote in TWO FANDOMS this year. This is, I believe, an ALL TIME LOW. (Okay, I started writing fic in October of 2002, and managed two fandoms that year, so I guess it's not an ALL time low, but it FEELS that way). Aside from that, nothing really changed. I was, perhaps, bolder in my 'ship choices? That seems to increase every year anyway. I am looking forward to Part II of Heart of Stars, whatever I end up calling it, and then...well, I guess we shall see.

Goals: Further up and further in!

In addition to fic, I wrote 76K of PRAIRIE FIRE, 15K of NIGHTS and 21K of THAT INEVITABLE VICTORIAN THING. I also revised OWEN, but nothing majorly enough to contribute to a word count. I feel very scattered about my pro-writing this year, but hopefully next year I'll be able to nail down both NIGHTS and TIVT, and whatever else comes my way.

FINAL TALLY: 130643. I'll take it.

Also: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK.

Kind of a quiet year for me, writing wise, though after the blitz that was 2011, I suppose that is to be expected. I did manage to draft a novel and add 18K to the novel I sold (OMG, IN THREE HOURS I CAN START SAYING "MY BOOK COMES OUT NEXT YEAR!"), and I wrote some fic. So there's that. The total stands at 16,857 words of fic (thanks to a late showing from THE HOBBIT), and approximately 75K of original novels.

Anyway, let's talk details.

Favorite Story of the Year: On The Shoulders of Giants, KORRA. I love this one because the actual show didn't let us suffer and be miserable over the hiatus. Instead, we got a happy(ish) ending, and then we got to go back and fill in the blanks ourselves. I very much enjoyed this, mostly because the aaaaaangst to that point nearly killed me, but the point is that I couldn't have written this story with a sad ending, and I didn't have to.

My Best Story: The Hammer and The Ice, Avengers. You guys. I love this story SO. FREAKING. MUCH. And it has been so well received! IT MAKES ME HAPPY.

Most Fun Story: Something, Something, Something, Radiation, Avengers, which, for the record, makes this the second year in a row where my answer has involved turning people into cats (and some dogs).

Sexiest Story: Frozen, Avengers? I...guess?

Hardest Story to Write: A Long Time Traveling (Far Away From Home), Once Upon a Time. I wanted this story to be PERFECT. And it isn't. Also, there is currently 5K of unfinished Darcy fic sitting on my desktop and if you think that doesn't EAT AWAY AT MY SOUL, you must be new here.

Easiest Story to Write: The Toymaker, The Hobbit. faith_king asked, and I did it. I didn't even really think.

Biggest Changes This Year: Drop in output, FOUR new fandoms, trying to do more with less, falling in love with Captain Freaking America and also some dwarves, and writing a novel that is probably more telling that I intended it to be. ALSO I SOLD A FREAKING BOOK.

Goals for 2013: Write more, I guess? I mean, and continue to love it? And...yes.

I haven't got around to doing that "10 Most Popular Stories on AO3" meme (not that I haven't checked, of course, because I am obsessed with numbers, but still). penknife has invented a new meme where you post the stories that haven't necessarily got hits, but that you adore to pieces anyway and wish people would read. (And if you cannot limit yourself to 10, you can go higher. I will do my best to stick to 10.)

1. Great Friends (~6K, SGA, "gen", Teyla)

I say "gen" because the story was supposed to be Teyla/Lorne, but then they decided to make it all profound and talk about Athosian culture, and then Halling showed up with all these suggestions about Athosian kinship traditions and I was pretty much screwed. Basically, though, this is the story of how Teyla decided to have a child, and how she has really, really great friends.

2. Adversus Luna Ne Loquiter (~20K, Harry Potter, Remus/Tonks)

Another story that didn't do what I thought it would, I wrote "Adversus" to explain not only why Lupin leaves Tonks, but also why he goes back. Instead I wrote how they met and got over each other's issues (mostly with Sirius), an then chickened out before the actual angst started. I also made up a lot of stuff about werewolves, but I think it's okay.

3. Until You Are Dead (~8K, Criminal Minds)

I could write SO MUCH FIC for this show! Well, I could have. But all the stories would be the same: team solves crime in a way that makes me feel better about it, so I held myself to one.

4. Transcendence (~6K, Angel)

I wrote the first three parts of this series in 2003 and this instalment in 2007. You can actually see the exact point at which I stopped writing for four years. I'm still a bit surprised I finished it. You can probably blame eolivet. Anyway, I like this story because I am still very much in love with the idea of Hannah, even if the actual writing in the first three parts makes me cringe.

[for the record, I feel similarly about my SG-1 story "Harceisis", which is not on this list because...I feel *really* cringey about the writing!]

5. Dreams of Convenience (~10K, SGA, gen)

I wanted to write a huge team!fic story where they have to deal with The City Itself and it maybe tries to kill them (or just teaches them a lesson?). I put Radek and Kate together because I needed Kate to be able to talk to SOMEONE, and Radek is smart enough to not freak out on her. I kind of love the title.

6. Beetle's Nothing (~15K, SGA-1, "gen", Daniel/Janet)

I wanted to bring back Janet. I wanted to write Gates and archaeology. I actually gave myself lines (though, really, you'd have to know what I look like). But I still really adore this story.

[Funny Story: #4-6 were all stared in 2003-2005 and completed during the same weekend in 2007. 15+K in two days. It's still one of my favourite weekends of all time.]

7. An Agony In Eight Fits (1.5K, Sanctuary, Gen)

I wasn't going to put any Sanctuary stories on this list because they're still...percolating, but this story nearly KILLED me, and I am desperately, desperately proud that I managed to make (nearly) the whole thing rhyme without bashing my head into the wall (too many times).

8. Paper, Scissors, Yak (~2K, SG-1, Daniel)

Arguably my most popular SG-1 story ever (I say "arguably", because somehow "Let Them Eat Cake" is still popular), I have no idea why this story pushes so many buttons. I literally wrote it in ten minutes during a lecture on the degradation of leather artefacts in peat bogs.

9. Thorn In The Side Of Man (~1.5K, SG-1, Ba'al)

Oh, I loved Ba'al. Back when he was all posturing and ridiculous. And so I loved him in Continuum. And then I wrote this in my head on the way home from work when I was in Korea (by the end, I was nearly running up the mountain, because I had to get to a pencil before my head exploded). It has a couples lines of which I am particularly fond (and have already lifted to use in original fic), but mostly, I love the myth-parts of SG-1, and this was my attempt to write it.

10. Ninety-Nine Days (3K, SG-1, gen)

Not my best work, really, but Window Of Opportunity is just SO MUCH FUN, and I wanted to write a story about what the heck happened to everyone else while Jack and Teal'c were looping. It still makes me giggle.

11. Alfred the Great (~2K, Batman/Narnia)

I was going to stick to 10, but I'm including this one because it's a BATMAN/NARNIA crossover, and...I think it works?

Seriously, though, if you're only going to read one of my stories? Read "Great Friends".

I know I said this last year, but I really think that this year might be the year I kind of stop doing fanfic. I have many other plans, and the summer is looking to be a total write-off (uh, no pun intended). But if this year taught me anything it's not to make predictions, so I guess we'll just see!

Total Word Count: 20,359, give or take a penguin

Total Number of Stories: 14

Fandoms: Defying Gravity, Battlestar Galactica, Harry Potter, Stargate SG-1, Warehouse 13, Fringe, Stargate Atlantis, Awakenings and Inception.

My favourite story this year: Hmmm...this year feels like it's been SO LONG. I barely remember "Against the Moon". But my favourite story is probably "River to the Sea", because Leoben tried to tell me a story for a long time after BSG ended, and when I finally let him do it, it was kind of awesome.

My best story of the year: And, Begin. It just worked so well thematically and the fractured style I've loved since I started using it back in my early BSG days works really well for Inception.

Story most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I guess it would be "Against the Moon". I worked hard on that series and it kind of sank. I guess that's what happens when you write obscure pairing fic for a dying fandom...

Most fun story: "The Business of Ferrets". I did not set out to write Fringe/Warehouse 13 crossovers, but here we are.

Sexiest story: "String Theory", clearly. The reviews kind of cracked me up. "I don't know what just happened, but it was hot!" and so on.

Hardest story to write: I think that would be "Defying Gravity" (I'm not counting "work in progress", because I totally gave up and half-assed it at the end). I was terrified of Yuletide, and realized that I didn't know as much about the fandom as I hoped I did...but I pulled it out of the fire.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? More. Lots more, actually.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I wrote fanfic for people I actually know! ;)

Do you have any goals for the New Year? Not really. I'm just going to see what happens.

( List o'Fic )

And I think I'll do the original fic round up in another post.

Once again, I am here and I haven't finished all the fic I wanted to this year. Which is funny, you know, because I did myself proud this year. But still, the Remus/Tonks trilogy mocks me. :)

Total Number of Words: 57,043 (agh, so close to a PB!)

Total Number of Stories: 18

Fandoms: Battlestar Galactica, Legend of the Seeker, Stargate SG-1, Doctor Who, Stargate Atlantis, Avatar the Last Airbender, Harry Potter, Angel, The Bourne Trilogy, Dollhouse and Criminal Minds.

( Big Ole List )

( My Thoughts )

For the record, I also wrote two original stories this year.

"A Turkey for Mrs. Eckhart" is about my mum and my babysitter and my hometown and a turkey. I wrote it for the CBC Literary Awards competition, and also for my mother’s birthday. It was hard, on account of not involving a dragon or magic or explosions, but it was also a lot of fun. It clocked it at just over 2100 words.

And "The Stone Thief", which you can read about in its tag. 30 days, 84,421 words, more than 40 times through the BSG soundtrack and a lot of tea. I can’t wait to start the next one. :)

GRAND TOTAL: 143, 598 words GO ME!

Previous Installments:
2008
2007
2006
2005
I seem to not have one for 2004, which is weird given that this was the year of both "Blood Night" AND "Harceisis".

Here are some snippets from my 2007 fics.

( Cut to spare the bored )

And some clips of Fics to Come:

Jack and Jonas turned their horses over to a boy who had come forward and followed the chief towards the tent. There was a lot of smoke coming from it. Whoever was in that tent was receiving the full attention of the Medicine Man. The young men moved out of the way when Jack and Jonas drew near, Skaara looking determinedly at his feet, and Kasuf held the tent flap back for them to enter.

At first Jack saw nothing as his eyes adjusted to the light. He squinted through the haze of the smoke and the smell of the herbs and made out the shape of a woman lying on a bedroll next to the fire. Beside him, Jonas gasped loudly, immediately seeing why everyone was so nervous.

The woman was no Indian. Lying Down With Dogs


"It's a trifle unbecoming for a man of God to be named after a heathen barbarian, do you not think, reverend?" The young woman's tone was light and inquisitive, but beneath the veneer of civility lurked her utmost disdain.

"The men of Northern Europe were among the first to come to the Cross, child," It was said that Reverend Thor could move the very rocks when he set his mind to it, and he could masquerade civility with the best of them. "Perhaps when you have completed your education in the history of the faith you would peddle, you will understand." Workers for the Cause



Marcus has been a sleepwalker all his life, and he never left a tidy room behind him on his nightly journeys. A few modifications to the door had been enough to hinder most of his ambling, but for some reason he had made it out of his room this time. His pillows and sheets were strewn everywhere and on top of them were several of his canvasses, torn down from their wall hangings. In their places, propped against the wall, were portraits he didn't remember painting. The expedition leaders stared down at him, small pieces of their faces falling off and forming other shapes in murky backgrounds and everywhere Sheppard leered at him.

He had to talk to Kate. Mulberry Bush

In the year of 2007, I wrote a masters dissertation that was 14,998 words long, plus another 5000 words or so in tables and appendices. I mention this only to provide context. I realize that everyone else out there balances life with fic, but I've always wondered if because my life is mostly writing for grades (right now), it makes some kind of difference.

Probably not, eh?

Anyhoo:

I wrote 25 stories in 2007, in 9 fandoms and I used 61968 words to do it. That's over 5000 words a month, about 1200 words a week and a little over 150 words a day. Not too shabby, all things considered. Especially when we gloss over the part where I wrote almost a quarter of them in one weekend in order to finish "Dreams of Convenience" and "Beetle's Nothing".

New fandoms for me, writing wise, included Doctor Who and The West Wing.

( Looking Back )

I am not going to post 25 links because that would be silly. If you click "fic" in my tags and scroll far enough, you'll run into all of my fandoms. Alternatively, you could go to the Pit of Voles and read them there. There is also my website, which you can link to at the side bar. And...there's also a link to ff.net there too. Go figure.

Anyhow, failing all else, ask me and I'll give you the link.