2009 in fic (as in, my fic) meme

[leigh57]

Well. I’m supposed to be organizing my entire life, but naturally I’m not doing that. Instead, I’m doing this fic meme, because lowriseflare did it, and she’s so cool that I want to be just like her even though I can’t. Anyway! Bring on the fic navelgazing. First, a list of stories I wrote this year. There are a lot more than I thought. A lot more. Geez.


1. Waterfall

2. Fusion

3. Restraint Part 1

4. Restraint Part 2

5. Sutures

6. 24 frames per second

7. Not Dark Yet Part 1

8. Not Dark Yet Part 2

9. Challenge Fic: Kim and Renee

10. Harvest

11. Meme Fic: Elliot and Olivia

12. Four Times Five Things

13. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness

14. The Night Before Christmas

15. I’ll dream that you’re not left alone


My favorite story this year (my own): “24 frames per second.” I find this absolutely hilarious, given that it’s the least “me” style story I’ve ever written, but something about the song prompts and the jigsaw puzzle challenge of fitting each piece into a hundred words just did it for me. Also, this one caused me pretty much no stress for some reason I have yet to figure out. Granola bars to dealan311, without whom the story wouldn’t even exist.

My best story this year: Wow I’m bad at choosing stuff like that. I’m going to go with “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.” I somehow managed to stay calm in the middle of having five betas (yeah I must have been on something, but in the end I think it made the story stronger). Also, it actually has a plot, there is at least a nominal thematic arc (at which I usually fail), and I think it’s one of my more in-character stories. And generally attempting to meet word counts cut down at least a little on my usual five clause sentences.

My worst story this year: Tossup between “Restraint” and “Not Dark Yet.” “Restraint” is just dumb because I wrote it so damn fast, trying to be done before getting jossed by the next ep. “Not Dark Yet” sucks for a whole long list of reasons. Ahoy.

Fic that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Probably “Fusion,” because it was so early in the game and I was still so new at playing with them. I was still so unsure about what I could do with Jack, and I felt as if I kinda learned by touch (yeah no pun intended) as I went through that one.

Sexiest story: Finally, a no-brainer. “Fusion.” Well, it’s pretty much nothing but sex? In lots of different places? And there’s jerking Jack off in the shower (still no clue how I got myself to write that), so win!

Most fun story: Tossup between “24 frames per second” and “Harvest.” “24 frames per second" because OMG it was just so different and weird and not ME and I was making them up while I was on the fucking treadmill, and “Harvest” because I wrote it in like five minutes and had so much fun letting Jack and Renee banter and be goofy and happy. I’m a stooge like that. God am I a stooge.

Best title: “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness,” because I adore that song, had wanted to use that title forever, and finally managed to break out of my own rut where I have to name everything with one word. (24 frames is an exception because Kay titled it.) I think I’m officially over it.

Hardest story to write: God. Another no-brainer. “Not Dark Yet.” That one is just eroaighaesio;rghiozsgijhzesghdzbhizfjADJWFikdgh;ezhgehwijfihga;. For real. It came on the heels of the most epic writing confidence crisis I have ever experienced (and please let me not have another one to top it, but you never know!), and god does it show. My Renee is ludicrous, the dialogue is often clunky and ridiculous, and it goes on for fucking ever without actually saying anything. Made. Of. Win.

Most unintentionally telling story: Okay, at the risk of turning beet read I’m just going to be honest. “Fusion.” Because it showed me exactly how far I am willing to go when I have Jack and Renee on the brain. Oy.

Biggest surprise: Tossup again. I can never choose. Either the Elliot/Olivia fic, because really wtf I am so over them (thanks a lot, lowriseflare!) and “The Night Before Christmas,” which I entirely didn’t mean to write and came fully out of nowhere in about an hour and a half. eta: Oh! And in case Kay reads this later, another huge surprise was my insane Larry love. If you start my stories from the beginning, you can just feel how much he annoys me in "Waterfall" and "Fusion." By the time we get to "Sutures," the entire story is about Renee trying to deal with Larry's death and has so much Larry love it's hilarious. Oh, Kay, I can't get over how right you were. At least I'm big enough to admit it, so there's that.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Wow. That’s a difficult one. When I first started watching 24 I had no intention of ficcing anything about it. Jack is just too difficult to write, as far as I’m concerned. So when I wrote “Waterfall,” because I couldn’t stop myself, that was a risk, just attempting to write him. Also a risk? Posting in an entirely new place. I barely knew what LJ was before I posted “Waterfall.” What a difference a year makes, huh?

This year’s theme: Well, embarrassing as it is, let’s be real. This year’s theme is . . . (drum roll, please) JACK AND RENEE HAVE SEX. Okay okay. Maybe it’s not quite THAT bad. More like, Jack and Renee are ludicrously sappily happy in a way they will never ever be on the show, and they also have lots of sex. Yeah. That works:-P

Comments

[adrenalin211.livejournal.com]

I think it's because we're all geeks, but I find this writing insight stuff SO interesting.

I'm with K on actually really loving Not Dark Yet. Huge huge tight hugs for the crisis overcome....eventually. I'm so excited, though, to have an actual list because now I can just bookmark this and come back to it when I want to reread one of your stories.

My favorite of yours to read and reread and...reread again, well. I don't have to SAY it, do I?

Your theme is hilarious. I hope that continues to be the theme this year. My goal for this year, though, is to write more than one story. Oh and to finally write something Mulder/Scully.

Hugely impressed with your list, am I. Like I was saying to Katie, I remember all of these so fondly and I LOVED betaing them and being a part of the writing process and Eeeeeeeeeeee! I hope you manage to write MOAR after the season. (I hope they don't fuck things up so bad that you don't want to write.)

Love!

Okay really really gonna be productive now.

[leigh57.livejournal.com]

I am such a geek for writing meta. I could bore the entire world to death all day just talking about it. As evidenced by this meme. Oy. But I'm glad you liked it.

You have got to get over NDY. It's all good now. Seriously. And I'm so happy you love that story, because it was your song prompts and I still adore that playlist and listen to it often. As I said upthread, I don't hate the whole thing. I just think there are stories of mine that are a lot more well executed.

My favorite of yours to read and reread and...reread again, well. I don't have to SAY it, do I?

*dies laughing* Ho. That's intents.

I think my theme is um, pretty safe, don't you? I mean what else do I think about? And YES to your goal of writing more than one story. I am so behind this idea like woah. I will beta like a mofoing mofo and make sure that you are not in the arms of a dying man. Wow Mulder/Scully huh? I fear that one tiny attempt will forever languish on my hard drive. You know one thing I realized? Honestly, Mulder and Scully gave me so much of what I needed that I didn't feel as much compulsion to fic them. It's like Buffy and Angel. I could fic them, but there's already so much of what I want THERE.

And babe. Seriously. There is not enough thanks in the world for you just . . . being you. From the whole thing with M we won't get into because this is not flocked to just being the most rock solid writing supporter in the world, thank you doesn't cover it.

Yes, please let them not fuck things up so badly this season that I don't want to write at all. Because we all know what happens to my brain when I can't write, and it ain't pretty.

OMG I have wasted this day. I would make a comment that I will now not make. Cryptic, eh? Love you!

[adrenalin211.livejournal.com]

I could listen to you talk about writing meta for... a very long time. I just love discussing and being a part of your writing process and it totally gives me SUCH a thrill when we brainstorm and you use one of my ideas or a title, or something. It makes me happy.

I will totally work on NDY. It's definitely a good thing that it all turned out okay, because otherwise, you know me. . .

Yeah sometimes I just... it's such an effort for me to write dark things. SUCH an effort. And I feel like my writing style is more...conducive to Mulder and Scully, even though they're like... also really hard characters to get right. I think it's worth trying. I've always wanted to, not because they didn't give me enough on the show, but because I always want more, because I'm a big greedy ho like that. And they never had a well lit hot hot kiss or a sex scene of any kind. In 9 years. So. idk.

Awww hon! Muah. I'm just me and that's all! But you KNOW I am always... here. Yep. I can't see that ever changing nor did I ever want it any differently.

I have SO wasted my day too! I need to read for class. I'll do that now. I think.

[leigh57.livejournal.com]

You know? I totally agree that like, my writing style works for Jack and Renee and you're probably a lot better suited to Mulder and Scully than I am. I wish you'd write them. I wish it like woah. I mean I just want you to write. Whatever you want.

Also, because you know me, you, and TMI (also I love how this LJ isn't even flocked so I'm technically TMIing with the entire world if anyone cares), I just don't know if I could write Mulder/Scully sex. YOU could. I know you could. I'm must not sure mine would uh, come out right. Bwahahahahaha. Shutting up now.

Muah. Did you read?

[adrenalin211.livejournal.com]

You know? I just feel like internal monologue for Mulder and Scully is just... well. There's more to work with, because you have evidence of letters they write or their way of retelling stories and you've seen them in every situation imaginable and what have you. And that gives them a very specific voice that would be so SO easy to fuck up BUT. Like, you'd know if you nailed it, or if you didn't QUITE get it. If that makes any sense.

With Jack and Renee I feel like you only get to see a couple sides of them, making it a challenge to guess how they'd react in this situation and that situation. And THAT'S a challenge too, because while you know how they WON'T act, you don't necessarily know how they would. So that's up to the writer and you always do that so believably.

To sum up?

Mulder+Scully fic = more emotional spectrum to work from, very specific voices, easy to fuck up

Jack+Renee fic = Character knowledge drawn 99% from intense time-sensitive situations, very limited knowledge of behavior in other settings, must make educated guesses, just as easy to fuck up (if you guess wrong).

Like, you're drawing from what would SEEM to be their reaction to things, and not what you KNOW. SO much more up for personal interpretation.

Okay. So have I said enough yet? Have I confused you?

I've read like 2/5 things I'm supposed to. *snicker* So much to reaaaad. This is really grad school, huh? YEP.

[leigh57.livejournal.com]

What's scary is that I think I mostly know what you just said there. Mostly. Also, I am scared of fucking up Mulder and Scully because I never got Scully the way I get Renee. Or Mulder actually. Which isn't to say I love them less. I just . . . get them less. Which really makes no sense given that as you pointed out, there is so much more of them to get. *fails*

hahahaha. Grad school! Yes! Now you are learning:-P