2012 Review and 2013 Goals

[rachel500]

So I have LJ to blame for the delay this year!

Format was snurched from annerb with her permission 2009. :)

Fanfiction (13, plus 2 WIP and 1 unpublished): (links to the fics can be found on the relevant fanfic index page in the right hand navigation)
Stargate SG1 (8, 1 WIP) A Valentine's Wish (Sam/Jack), A Valentine's Wish Reply (Sam/Jack), Road Trip (Sam/Jack), Theoretically Possible (Sam/Jack), Anchor (Sam/team friendship, Sam/Jack), Every Darkness has a Light (Daniel/Sha're, Daniel/team), It's All in a Name (Teal'c/team friendship), Clearing the Air (Jack/team friendship, Jack/Sara), Twelve Days (WIP, Sam/Jack)
Stargate Atlantis (1): Before I Ascend (Elizabeth/team)
Hawaii Five-0 (1) A Bump in the Road (Danny/Rachel, Rachel/Stan)
Harry Potter (1, 1 WIP, 1 unpublished) The Greatest Prank (Sirius/James, James/Lily), A Marauder's Plan [WIP posting and writing under penname CatsAreCool on fanfiction.net only] (Sirius and Harry father/son relationship)
Iron Man Layers (Pepper/Tony)

Meta (1): Stargate: The Women of Stargate (WOTG LJ)

Published Non-Fic (20+) a geekspeakmagazine.com

The Questions

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

Much, much less than I thought I would write in quantity of number of stories yet about what I predicted in terms of word count.  Most of that is down to two things - one, I lost my Stargate writing mojo in a big way; and, two, I had this epic HP fic that took over my brain (currently at 300k words posted, with another 100k in draft, and predicted 150k to finish).  My non-fiction writing also slowed to give me time to study.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2012?

Honestly, I never expected to be writing Harry Potter.  I got hooked after doing a writing exercise where I tackled a pairing that was a challenge for me (Sirius/James) and from there my muse wanted a Harry and Sirius family story which is what I've been writing all these months.  
 
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I think the writing exercises were risks - taking on board a challenge from a fandom/pairing perspective and writing outside of my comfort zone.  I think there's two lessons: one that I struggle with writing in a vacuum of knowledge about the canon and thus will always centre myself there in fanfic.  Secondly, that there may not always be an audience for the fics you write.  There is one fic that I haven't published at all which was done as a writing challenge and it deals with an AU Harry Potter universe where James survives but can't deal with his grief at losing Lily and it emerges in an inappropriate way when he's faced with renewing his relationship with his son who is being raised by Sirius.  I wrote it and I think it's a good fic but it's not something I ever want to post because the subject matter is disturbing and explicit.  Which probably means that I won't be writing hardcore thrillers any time soon.

My Best Story of the Year

For me, the best story I wrote, outside of the epic ongoing Harry Potter monster, is Road Trip.;Everything just came together with that fic from the mystery of what had happened to Sam to the underlying love and support of her relationship with Jack, from her recovery of herself and identity;to her friendships with the others; it just worked.

Story Most Under Appreciated by the Universe in My Opinion

I was disappointed with the lack of response fo A Bump in the Road.  The other two stories in the series had received good reviews and reception by the H50 fandom but this one didn't seem to resonate.  I think partly it was a matter of timing (the UK is behind on the episodes), partly the pairing (gen/het fics don't receive a lot of attention), and maybe the fact that this is the third of a trilogy and deals with the breakdown of Danny/Rachel which was a plot twist fans hated on the show so...I think this is a good fic and would have liked it to have had a bigger audience. 
 
Most Fun Story

So, I'm going to with Theoretically Possible which was a Stargate homage to Star Trek dealing as it did with Jack's foray into another universe which seems to be Trek based.  It was a fun lighthearted poke at all things Trek which is my one of my first loves.
 
Most Sexy Story

Yeah, I'm still not really writing sexy stories!! 

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters

From a Stargate perspective, it's interesting to me that many of my stories now take place post the show and deal with Sam and Jack as an established couple and what does that mean for them.  Before I Ascend was a good foray into Elizabeth-land, and allowed me to get a better handle on her character.  Really, the whole Harry Potter epic thing came out of my shifting perspective of Sirius and want to redeem him from the canon version who, despite his want to be there for Harry, in the end isn't there for him in all the ways that matter.
  
Biggest Disappointment

Losing my Stargate writing mojo and therefore sadly not writing any Aftershocks at all in 2012.   

2013 Goals
1. Finish SG1 Aftershocks S8
2. Finish A Marauder's Plan

Comments

Theoretically Possible/Aftershocks

[bethany (from livejournal.com)]

I just wanted to say that I agree that "Theoretically Possible" was a super-fun story. I laughed out loud reading it, and then read it out loud to my husband and we both laughed.

I know you have faced unexpected health problems in your family and are therefore not optimistic about finishing S8 of "Aftershocks" this year, but I will be here, silently cheering you on anyway. "Aftershocks" has pretty much become my personal headcanon and has changed (for the better!) the way I watch the show. It's actually made me think more and contributed to a better understanding of what the characters might be thinking and why they're doing what they're doing, especially Daniel's arc in S5-S6. I've shared the series with a couple of friends who have been SG-1 fans for years, and they've both been completely wowed by your stories too. So thank you, again, for putting so much time and energy into the stories you have already written! And fingers crossed you'll write more eventually. :-)

Re: Theoretically Possible/Aftershocks

[rachel500.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the lovely comment and feedback. :)