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I seem to be incapable of sleeping in any later than nine a.m. This is: a) one of the most bizarre and unexpected developments of my life (as anyone who knows me well can attest), and b) an indication that I probably shouldn't stay up until four in the morning reading fic.
In any case, since I have the time for a little reflection :
1. Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
Quite a bit more. I'm a slow and undedicated writer, so I usually expect myself to write five stories a year. This past year I wrote ten...which, granted, still isn't very many at all, but is nonetheless twice the amount I thought I'd write.
2. What pairing (or genre or fandom) did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2003?
The Harry Potter thing took me entirely by surprise. It began so innocently, with just a couple of crossovers, and now it's become the primary focus of my writing. And, speaking of crossovers, there's absolutely no way I could have predicted writing Wilfred Owen/Draco Malfoy.
3. What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest.
Payback, because it's the most perfect amalgamation of my real life and the story I wanted to write. By which I mean both that it draws heavily from my experiences growing up--I read it to my brother, and he nearly had hysterics over some of the scenes with Jane Carter--and that I think the narrative really works.
4. Did you take any writing risks this year? (See above for unexpected pairings, etc.) What did you learn from them?
I wrote non-popslash, which was both exciting and intimidating. There's a much more clearly defined framework within which to write, and I've always enjoyed that, but, on the other hand, I have to keep reminding myself that the characterizations are similarly more defined. In popslash the characters simply had to be plausible; in Harry Potter they have to be imitative.
I also wrote incest, which was this big, scary, looming thing when it was only a plot bunny, and which in practice was just like writing any other piece of slash.
5. Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
I need to get better at conveying ideas through dialogue and action, so that I can do away with the boring, clunky bits of exposition that interleave my stories. Less generally, I'd like to write at least one story each of Remus/Draco and Sirius/Harry; I have an unfortunate tendency to not write my favorite pairings, but I have a few story ideas for each pairing that I really want to see completed. Oh, and I want to write some femslash, since it's a bit ridiculous that my only RL relationship so far has been with a woman and all of the stories I write are about gay men.
On an entirely different note, I've been having fun playing with Which HP bunny will bite you next?, but have realized that there's no way for me to know my "right" answer. There's the matter of do I use Jain, sweetrickitten, or [my real name], but that's only three different options, which isn't too bad. The real problem is: how in the world am I supposed to determine my favorite vegetable? Asparagus, artichokes, avocadoes, red peppers, sweet potatoes, spinach, brussels sprouts, greenleaf lettuce, mushrooms (which aren't technically a vegetable, but how often are you asked to name your favorite fungus?), garlic, summer squash...entirely too many candidates, and no way to choose among them.
In any case, since I have the time for a little reflection :
1. Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
Quite a bit more. I'm a slow and undedicated writer, so I usually expect myself to write five stories a year. This past year I wrote ten...which, granted, still isn't very many at all, but is nonetheless twice the amount I thought I'd write.
2. What pairing (or genre or fandom) did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2003?
The Harry Potter thing took me entirely by surprise. It began so innocently, with just a couple of crossovers, and now it's become the primary focus of my writing. And, speaking of crossovers, there's absolutely no way I could have predicted writing Wilfred Owen/Draco Malfoy.
3. What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest.
Payback, because it's the most perfect amalgamation of my real life and the story I wanted to write. By which I mean both that it draws heavily from my experiences growing up--I read it to my brother, and he nearly had hysterics over some of the scenes with Jane Carter--and that I think the narrative really works.
4. Did you take any writing risks this year? (See above for unexpected pairings, etc.) What did you learn from them?
I wrote non-popslash, which was both exciting and intimidating. There's a much more clearly defined framework within which to write, and I've always enjoyed that, but, on the other hand, I have to keep reminding myself that the characterizations are similarly more defined. In popslash the characters simply had to be plausible; in Harry Potter they have to be imitative.
I also wrote incest, which was this big, scary, looming thing when it was only a plot bunny, and which in practice was just like writing any other piece of slash.
5. Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
I need to get better at conveying ideas through dialogue and action, so that I can do away with the boring, clunky bits of exposition that interleave my stories. Less generally, I'd like to write at least one story each of Remus/Draco and Sirius/Harry; I have an unfortunate tendency to not write my favorite pairings, but I have a few story ideas for each pairing that I really want to see completed. Oh, and I want to write some femslash, since it's a bit ridiculous that my only RL relationship so far has been with a woman and all of the stories I write are about gay men.
On an entirely different note, I've been having fun playing with Which HP bunny will bite you next?, but have realized that there's no way for me to know my "right" answer. There's the matter of do I use Jain, sweetrickitten, or [my real name], but that's only three different options, which isn't too bad. The real problem is: how in the world am I supposed to determine my favorite vegetable? Asparagus, artichokes, avocadoes, red peppers, sweet potatoes, spinach, brussels sprouts, greenleaf lettuce, mushrooms (which aren't technically a vegetable, but how often are you asked to name your favorite fungus?), garlic, summer squash...entirely too many candidates, and no way to choose among them.