Fanfiction: A Year in Review (2008)
Jan. 11th, 2009 12:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
abby82I didn't do one of these in 2007 which had 3 Forever Knight stories (1ficlet), 1 Smallville, and 1 Blood Ties dialogue exchange.
Any hey we haven't reached the mid point of January so I say this is still valid.
Fanfiction I wrote this year
January
What Would Happen [Forever Knight/Smallville, Natalie Lambert/Clark Kent]
When Fates Collide: Chapter 8--The Rebellion [Masters of the Universe, WIP]
May
Nacida y criada [The X-Files, Monica Reyes]
Crackerjack [The Border, Maggie Norton]
Cutthroat Business [Forever Knight, Janette]
June
Man Bites Dog [Smallville, Lois Lane]
September
Twenty-Five Minutes [Forever Knight, Captain Amanda Cohen]
November
Flight of the Imagination [Forever Knight, Nick/Nat]
Rogue Vampire [Forever Knight, Janette]
Total stories: 9 stories in five fandoms, 8 (whoa!) stories were in response to challenges
My favourite story this year: "Man Bites Dog", a Smallville missing scene story featuring Lois Lane that was written for the "Because We Are Awesome" all about the girls challenge. Finding Lois' voice is hard for me but this one came so easily that it really excited me. It also incorporates the world of journalism which fascinates me. However it saddens me that Smallville has never fully committed to fleshing out that aspect of the show. This story was me exploring Offscreenville.
My best story this year: "Man Bites Dog". I had two fantastic betas for this story. They were helpful and enthusiastic and great cheerleaders. I was already feeling pretty good about the story before I sent it off to beta but I was feeling great when I finally posted it. The story also received some wonderful feedback from writers who I greatly admire.
Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: This one has two candidates. "Nacida y criada" my first X-Files story which centered on the character of Monica Reyes. That automatically is a strike against. No Mulder or Scully? No go is what the major of the fandom would say. And I'll admit that if I had come across this story I probably wouldn't have read it either. Yet I saw the prompt of 'Mexico' and I jotted some cursory things down, never expecting it to become a story but it did. I'm rather proud of it. I like it a lot and I like that it was an exercise in really trying to get across a sense of place in a story. The story showed a side of Reyes we never got to see. I couldn't figure out how to post to alt.tv.x-files.creative for dissemination to Ephemeral and Gossamer. That played a role in it not getting out to the Reyes fans that I know are out there. Once I figure that out I'm sure it'll find its audience.
The second story would be my Forever Knight/Smallville crossover "What Would Happen" which also happens to be my first adult story. I'm a little skittish when it comes to posting adult stories so that's a strike against it. The fandoms that are crossed also make it an odd one. Obviously there's a time discrepancy. First season Forever Knight was 1992 but it crosses paths with a Smallville futurefic and that would be post 2009. Still, this was a prompt based story and pairing Clark and Natalie was an interesting experiment.
Most fun story to write: "Man Bites Dog". Yep this one isn't hard to single out. It's Lois and her complete disregard for boundaries and throwing herself head first into a new passion.
Most sexy story: "What Would Happen" I like the idea of Natalie and Clark, two people with very complicated lives, taking refuge with each other, even if just for a single night.
Story with single sexiest moment: "Flight of the Imagination" Natalie's whisper in Nick's ear, "Touch me."
Hardest story to write: "Twenty-Five Minutes" and "Flight of the Imagination". The former is kicking my butt because it's still not quite where I want it. The latter was hard because it was written for a porn battle but at the same time given that Nick is a vampire it's a little difficult for there to be a sexual encounter between him and Natalie without certain reprecusions. I also didn't want to write a PWP story so for me I needed to include some character development that I would feel comfortable with.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: "Twenty-Five Minutes" Even though it's not finished this story has really led me to think about Amanda Cohen's life decisions. She's a woman who's a former federal agent. She's working in a male dominated profession and in a leadership position. Yet there's this entirely different side to her that the series only hinted at. You get the impression that even though she commanded the night shift it was almost like she was always at the precinct but at same time she's a mother and wife.
Biggest disappointment: The lack of progress on "When Fates Collide". My last posted chapter was 8 back in January 2008 and chapters 9, 10, and 11 are so intertwined that I don't want to risk wrapping up chapter 9 and it not meshing with 10 and 11.
Story I don't like: No candidates here. There are elements in all my stories that I like and am very proud of.
Biggest surprise: That I can find Lois and Janette's voices long enough to complete stories. I find them both tricky.
Things to work on in 2009: I need to go with my gut. Usually there's a line, or a word, or a paragraph that still doesn't quite work but I'm just so attached to it that I leave it in. Deep down I know I should alter or remove it entirely but I don't. Then 9 times out of 10 a beta suggests the exact same thing. I need to follow my initial instincts and do exactly that. I shouldn't waste my beta's time like that if I already know there's a problem.
Fic projects I definitely want to get finished this year: My Tracy Vetter Forever Knight story called "Five Facets of a Metro Homicide Detective". The prompt was Nick Knight. It's so close to completion I can taste it. Also, at least one of the two Forever Knight stories that have been stalled in neutral since I started writing FK fic. Of the two the one entitled, "Break So Easy", which is a Natalie and Richard Lambert story set in 1978 is the one closest to completion. I'd like to get my Border/Forever Knight crossover off the table as well as my Journalism!Clark story for Smallville. I also have an AU X-Files story and my first time writing Mulder and Scully that I started for a porn battle. What's sad is that with the exception of my X-Files story and the crossover all of the stories mentioned were begun in 2007 and they're not even half of the stories that still lie waiting for the muse. ::sigh::
Any hey we haven't reached the mid point of January so I say this is still valid.
Fanfiction I wrote this year
January
What Would Happen [Forever Knight/Smallville, Natalie Lambert/Clark Kent]
When Fates Collide: Chapter 8--The Rebellion [Masters of the Universe, WIP]
May
Nacida y criada [The X-Files, Monica Reyes]
Crackerjack [The Border, Maggie Norton]
Cutthroat Business [Forever Knight, Janette]
June
Man Bites Dog [Smallville, Lois Lane]
September
Twenty-Five Minutes [Forever Knight, Captain Amanda Cohen]
November
Flight of the Imagination [Forever Knight, Nick/Nat]
Rogue Vampire [Forever Knight, Janette]
Total stories: 9 stories in five fandoms, 8 (whoa!) stories were in response to challenges
My favourite story this year: "Man Bites Dog", a Smallville missing scene story featuring Lois Lane that was written for the "Because We Are Awesome" all about the girls challenge. Finding Lois' voice is hard for me but this one came so easily that it really excited me. It also incorporates the world of journalism which fascinates me. However it saddens me that Smallville has never fully committed to fleshing out that aspect of the show. This story was me exploring Offscreenville.
My best story this year: "Man Bites Dog". I had two fantastic betas for this story. They were helpful and enthusiastic and great cheerleaders. I was already feeling pretty good about the story before I sent it off to beta but I was feeling great when I finally posted it. The story also received some wonderful feedback from writers who I greatly admire.
Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: This one has two candidates. "Nacida y criada" my first X-Files story which centered on the character of Monica Reyes. That automatically is a strike against. No Mulder or Scully? No go is what the major of the fandom would say. And I'll admit that if I had come across this story I probably wouldn't have read it either. Yet I saw the prompt of 'Mexico' and I jotted some cursory things down, never expecting it to become a story but it did. I'm rather proud of it. I like it a lot and I like that it was an exercise in really trying to get across a sense of place in a story. The story showed a side of Reyes we never got to see. I couldn't figure out how to post to alt.tv.x-files.creative for dissemination to Ephemeral and Gossamer. That played a role in it not getting out to the Reyes fans that I know are out there. Once I figure that out I'm sure it'll find its audience.
The second story would be my Forever Knight/Smallville crossover "What Would Happen" which also happens to be my first adult story. I'm a little skittish when it comes to posting adult stories so that's a strike against it. The fandoms that are crossed also make it an odd one. Obviously there's a time discrepancy. First season Forever Knight was 1992 but it crosses paths with a Smallville futurefic and that would be post 2009. Still, this was a prompt based story and pairing Clark and Natalie was an interesting experiment.
Most fun story to write: "Man Bites Dog". Yep this one isn't hard to single out. It's Lois and her complete disregard for boundaries and throwing herself head first into a new passion.
Most sexy story: "What Would Happen" I like the idea of Natalie and Clark, two people with very complicated lives, taking refuge with each other, even if just for a single night.
Story with single sexiest moment: "Flight of the Imagination" Natalie's whisper in Nick's ear, "Touch me."
Hardest story to write: "Twenty-Five Minutes" and "Flight of the Imagination". The former is kicking my butt because it's still not quite where I want it. The latter was hard because it was written for a porn battle but at the same time given that Nick is a vampire it's a little difficult for there to be a sexual encounter between him and Natalie without certain reprecusions. I also didn't want to write a PWP story so for me I needed to include some character development that I would feel comfortable with.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: "Twenty-Five Minutes" Even though it's not finished this story has really led me to think about Amanda Cohen's life decisions. She's a woman who's a former federal agent. She's working in a male dominated profession and in a leadership position. Yet there's this entirely different side to her that the series only hinted at. You get the impression that even though she commanded the night shift it was almost like she was always at the precinct but at same time she's a mother and wife.
Biggest disappointment: The lack of progress on "When Fates Collide". My last posted chapter was 8 back in January 2008 and chapters 9, 10, and 11 are so intertwined that I don't want to risk wrapping up chapter 9 and it not meshing with 10 and 11.
Story I don't like: No candidates here. There are elements in all my stories that I like and am very proud of.
Biggest surprise: That I can find Lois and Janette's voices long enough to complete stories. I find them both tricky.
Things to work on in 2009: I need to go with my gut. Usually there's a line, or a word, or a paragraph that still doesn't quite work but I'm just so attached to it that I leave it in. Deep down I know I should alter or remove it entirely but I don't. Then 9 times out of 10 a beta suggests the exact same thing. I need to follow my initial instincts and do exactly that. I shouldn't waste my beta's time like that if I already know there's a problem.
Fic projects I definitely want to get finished this year: My Tracy Vetter Forever Knight story called "Five Facets of a Metro Homicide Detective". The prompt was Nick Knight. It's so close to completion I can taste it. Also, at least one of the two Forever Knight stories that have been stalled in neutral since I started writing FK fic. Of the two the one entitled, "Break So Easy", which is a Natalie and Richard Lambert story set in 1978 is the one closest to completion. I'd like to get my Border/Forever Knight crossover off the table as well as my Journalism!Clark story for Smallville. I also have an AU X-Files story and my first time writing Mulder and Scully that I started for a porn battle. What's sad is that with the exception of my X-Files story and the crossover all of the stories mentioned were begun in 2007 and they're not even half of the stories that still lie waiting for the muse. ::sigh::
