End of year, taking stock
Dec. 31st, 2024 10:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereTime for me to natter about the things I finished this year and the stuff I'm planning on.
Main point of improvement this year was actually completing projects in a reasonably timely manner. Five works posted on AO3! The best I've ever managed before in a given year was three, so I'm really proud of this. It also means after three years on the site, I have finally achieved double digit numbers of work (11, baby). Small potatoes, I know, but for someone who spent my entire life before fanfiction dabbling at artistic efforts and barely finishing anything, this is kind of amazing.
For Highlander, A Lasting Impression. G rating. Gen, with Duncan/Methos subtext.
This one taught me that I'm not actually the best judge of my own work, as I hated this with a fiery passion and felt like a total fraud (more than usual, anyway) when I posted it, but it was very well received (and instantly topped all my other creations for number of hits and kudos, no doubt owing to the magic of Methos). I finally revisited it and don't hate it anymore, but it definitely traumatized me into being extremely hesitant to ever write Methos again. And I like writing slippery sons of bitches! It being so short and simple (except nothing's ever simple with Methos) is what killed me. Geez, cooperate a little, would ya?
My other Highlander fic was for Shortcuts, and I can't talk about that until reveals.
For Jeremiah, Other Angels. T rating. Kurdy/Elizabeth, Elizabeth & Theo.
This one I am really proud of. My first attempt at fix fic. I had a great time figuring out the butterfly effect, descending into timeline hell and saving both Elizabeth and Ezekiel (and Kurdy's poetry, which atrophied after her death in a depressingly realistic way). I think I finally managed to capture Theo's voice, too. I remember wondering if it would supplant my Sims story, Life in Death, as my least read work, and as of the end of the year... They're tied, with 16 hits each, and I'm over here grinning because I would never have expected either of them to reach such a ridiculously large number.
For Teen Wolf, Without a Witness. T rating. Lydia/Peter.
Oh man, do I still feel guilty about this. And gleeful and giddy. It's so fucked up. However, the actual writing process was a turning point for me, because it's the first time I really felt like I knew what the hell I was doing and was confident enough in my ability to structure the story that I could actually post it by chapter rather than tear my hair out trying to finish the entire thing before daring to display the result. The editing process on all my earlier multi-chapter work was a damn nightmare compared to this thing.
And right under the wire, 2/4 chapters of In Abeyance, the sequel. M rating. Lydia/Peter. Lydia/Allison. Lydia/Aiden.
I poured on the coal here, both because of the first one's amazingly enthusiastic reception, and because it was a perfect test case for how my brain interprets works in progress. I've held off on posting my Jeremiah sequel based in large part on worry that it might sap my motivation and feel "done." Having a smaller series to work on is proof of concept that my mind cooperates with me on this, and motivates me to continue writing. It also reduces my tendency to fall into perfectionist editing spirals by sweeping chapters off the plate, letting me move forward rather than get entirely stuck on the big picture.
And that's a nice segue to my WIP Plans for 2025. So yes, I'll be finishing In Abeyance and continuing through the remaining four installments of Ghost Impulses at whatever pace I can reasonably manage.
I will also start posting the first nine portions of my giant Jeremiah project, because I think that will help me regain my focus and motivation for the remainder. I can't guarantee it will be worth the wait but at least it will exist and be judged.
However, before I dig into that project again, I'm determined to finish my Erin/Theo road fic (ETA? Jan-Feb?), because it's languishing at two thirds done, and I was making good progress with it until Shortcuts came around.
Speaking of Highlander, since my main projects in other fandoms are so long and angsty, I'm keeping this in reserve for when I need a break. My main hope is to deal with the Hard Core Logo fusion idea Killabeez put me on to. Despite my ever-present burning desire to save Brian Cullen, it is reliant on being in a properly punkish mood before I can attempt to do it justice. When that happens, I'll give it a whirl. I rewatched the film to make a rough map, and it's surprisingly straightforward. Pipefitter to Bruce: "I bet you we're gonna be here a lot longer than you will." :D
As always, I am super grateful for all the good conversations I've had on DW, AO3 and Discord this year and hope there will be many more in the offing.
Main point of improvement this year was actually completing projects in a reasonably timely manner. Five works posted on AO3! The best I've ever managed before in a given year was three, so I'm really proud of this. It also means after three years on the site, I have finally achieved double digit numbers of work (11, baby). Small potatoes, I know, but for someone who spent my entire life before fanfiction dabbling at artistic efforts and barely finishing anything, this is kind of amazing.
For Highlander, A Lasting Impression. G rating. Gen, with Duncan/Methos subtext.
This one taught me that I'm not actually the best judge of my own work, as I hated this with a fiery passion and felt like a total fraud (more than usual, anyway) when I posted it, but it was very well received (and instantly topped all my other creations for number of hits and kudos, no doubt owing to the magic of Methos). I finally revisited it and don't hate it anymore, but it definitely traumatized me into being extremely hesitant to ever write Methos again. And I like writing slippery sons of bitches! It being so short and simple (except nothing's ever simple with Methos) is what killed me. Geez, cooperate a little, would ya?
My other Highlander fic was for Shortcuts, and I can't talk about that until reveals.
For Jeremiah, Other Angels. T rating. Kurdy/Elizabeth, Elizabeth & Theo.
This one I am really proud of. My first attempt at fix fic. I had a great time figuring out the butterfly effect, descending into timeline hell and saving both Elizabeth and Ezekiel (and Kurdy's poetry, which atrophied after her death in a depressingly realistic way). I think I finally managed to capture Theo's voice, too. I remember wondering if it would supplant my Sims story, Life in Death, as my least read work, and as of the end of the year... They're tied, with 16 hits each, and I'm over here grinning because I would never have expected either of them to reach such a ridiculously large number.
For Teen Wolf, Without a Witness. T rating. Lydia/Peter.
Oh man, do I still feel guilty about this. And gleeful and giddy. It's so fucked up. However, the actual writing process was a turning point for me, because it's the first time I really felt like I knew what the hell I was doing and was confident enough in my ability to structure the story that I could actually post it by chapter rather than tear my hair out trying to finish the entire thing before daring to display the result. The editing process on all my earlier multi-chapter work was a damn nightmare compared to this thing.
And right under the wire, 2/4 chapters of In Abeyance, the sequel. M rating. Lydia/Peter. Lydia/Allison. Lydia/Aiden.
I poured on the coal here, both because of the first one's amazingly enthusiastic reception, and because it was a perfect test case for how my brain interprets works in progress. I've held off on posting my Jeremiah sequel based in large part on worry that it might sap my motivation and feel "done." Having a smaller series to work on is proof of concept that my mind cooperates with me on this, and motivates me to continue writing. It also reduces my tendency to fall into perfectionist editing spirals by sweeping chapters off the plate, letting me move forward rather than get entirely stuck on the big picture.
And that's a nice segue to my WIP Plans for 2025. So yes, I'll be finishing In Abeyance and continuing through the remaining four installments of Ghost Impulses at whatever pace I can reasonably manage.
I will also start posting the first nine portions of my giant Jeremiah project, because I think that will help me regain my focus and motivation for the remainder. I can't guarantee it will be worth the wait but at least it will exist and be judged.
However, before I dig into that project again, I'm determined to finish my Erin/Theo road fic (ETA? Jan-Feb?), because it's languishing at two thirds done, and I was making good progress with it until Shortcuts came around.
Speaking of Highlander, since my main projects in other fandoms are so long and angsty, I'm keeping this in reserve for when I need a break. My main hope is to deal with the Hard Core Logo fusion idea Killabeez put me on to. Despite my ever-present burning desire to save Brian Cullen, it is reliant on being in a properly punkish mood before I can attempt to do it justice. When that happens, I'll give it a whirl. I rewatched the film to make a rough map, and it's surprisingly straightforward. Pipefitter to Bruce: "I bet you we're gonna be here a lot longer than you will." :D
As always, I am super grateful for all the good conversations I've had on DW, AO3 and Discord this year and hope there will be many more in the offing.
