Annual Fic Summary -- 2014
Mar. 22nd, 2015 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kelly_chamblissBack in early January, I prepared this annual summary of my HP fic output for 2014. I intended to post it as soon as all my fest reveals took place, but I never did, because I also intended to revise my ![[info]](https://stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
hp_concrit_fest fic before I dumped the summary on you. Yet me being me (i.e., Queen of the Procrastinators), I still haven't done my revisions.
But since I don't want to deprive you of my summary any longer (I'm sure you've been waiting for it), here it is -- Kelly's "What I Wrote in 2014" Fic Meme.
After the annus horribilus that was 2013, I rebounded at bit during 2014 in terms of fic writing. (Okay, so 2013 wasn't "horribilus" in any serious sense, but psychologically, it wasn't one of my best times.)
In 2014, I trebled my story output (13 fics compared to four in 2013) and nearly doubled my word-count (~45,000 for 2014 compared to ~23,000 in 2013). But I participated in a whopping (relatively speaking) eleven fests, compared to four in 2013. I'm still nowhere close to my early days in fandom, when I averaged 20 stories a year and approximately 100,000 words, but considering that I'm always saying that I don't have anything more to say about the Harry Potter world, I manage to natter on quite a bit!
The Fics
Femmeslash
• Battle-Axe (Minerva/Rolanda; PG; 2400 words)
• Bespoke (Minerva/Wilhelmina; pre-slash Millicent/Ginny; R-ish; ~5900 words)
• Subversive (Griselda Marchbanks/OC; light R; ~8400)
Gen
• Chromatic (Grey Lady, Luna;PG; 200 words)
• Imp (Severus, Minerva, Neville, OC [background Minerva/Severus and Hannah/Neville]; PG-13; ~1100 words)
• Conversations with Yourself (Severus, Draco, Myrtle, Harry, Albus; PG-13; 1750 words). This fic is a remix of Conversations with the Dead by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lunabee34.
• Much Abides (Minerva, Severus, Albus; PG-13; ~5100)
Het
• Night and Day (Minerva/Severus; 500 words)
• Accommodations (Minerva/Severus; PG-13; 2860 words)
• Vigil (Minerva/Severus, Filius; PG-13; 4200 words)
• Roses in December (Minerva/Neville; R; 12,600 words)
M/M Slash
• Seek and Find (Severus/Lucius; R; 300 words)
• Brave New World Redux (Albus/Gellert; R; 500 words)
My Fest Participation, 2014
• Kinky Kristmas at![[info]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/c0b679d12b01/195039-296834/www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif)
daily_deviant
•rarepair_shorts "Summer Wish List" fest.
•hp_humpdrabbles
•![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
trope_bingo
•hoggywartyxmas
•hp_beholder
•hp_concrit_fest
•hp_silencio
•hp_halloween
•minerva_fest
• Remix Redux 11.
Some Stats
Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # of Fics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .# of Words
2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123,645
2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,150
2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107,253
2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,225
2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,500
2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,710
Fics Under 1000 words = 4
1000-4999 words = 5
5000-9999 words = 3
10,000+ words = 1
Total number of het fics = 4
Total number of femmeslash fics = 3
Total number of gen fics = 4 (two with het background)
Total number of m/m slash fics = 2
Total number of fics that include Minerva McGonagall in the main pairing or focus = 8
Total number of HP fics in which Minerva is mentioned but is not central = 2
Total number of Minerva-free fics = 3 (a new record!)
Most common pairing: = Minerva/Severus, with a total of five. For various reasons, I'd moved away from this pairing and so didn't write it much in the last couple of years. But this year, I felt like returning to MM/SS, so I did.
Total number of pairings I'd never written before = 4 (Minerva/Neville, Albus/Gellert, Severus/Lucius, Griselda Marchbanks/Goblin OC)
Total main characters I'd never written before = 5, sort of (Vala the Goblin [OC], the Grey Lady, Gellert [these last two in drabbles], and indirectly, Draco and Myrtle)
Other Fandom Activities for 2014
• I served as moderator of the fourthminerva_fest.
• I did a couple months' worth of reccingcrack_broom.
• I continued for a fourth year as an editor atquibbler_report.
• I got to spend some RL time withalbalark and dueltastic, always a treat.
Fic Q and A
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? More. Given the low output of 2013, I could hardly have written much less and still had anything to list.
What pairing/genre/fandom/character did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Several pairings! Never would I have predicted Minerva/Neville. Or Griselda/Goblin, for that matter. And the m/m slash: I really never saw myself writing either Severus/Lucius or Albus/Gellert (though they're in drabbles, so it's not as if I've fully explored these pairs.)
What's your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? Always hard to choose, but probably "Roses in December." Such an unlikely and implausible pairing, but I really had fun trying to figure ways to make it believable (to the extent that it can be, of course). And "Subversive."
Okay, NOW your most popular stor "Subversive," without questions. 32 comments before reveals at Hoggywarty-- a personal best! My thanks to all the wonderful commentators.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Yes, I did (unusual for me). Not in terms of content or characters, because I mostly went with my usual characters and/or thematic concerns. But I tried a "last drabble writer standing" fest; I took on the challenge of writing a dialogue-free story forhp_silencio, and I did hp_concrit_fest. I was a bit nervous about this last -- opening myself up to literary critics /g/ -- but it turned out to be a valuable experience.
What did I learn? Some useful lessons about audience -- how different my work appears to readers who aren't already "sold" on my particular characters/pairings.
From my past year of writing, what was....
My best story of this year: None of them is really "best," I don't think. I fell into a habit of "telling" too much; I need to work on dramatizing more and narrating less. Plus, in looking back, I think at least a couple of my stories fell into "lecture mode," where I made my points with too heavy a hand.
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I always get far more appreciation than I have a right to. I suppose "Bespoke" got the least attention. For a long time, there were only two or three comments at Kinky Kristmas (and currently only one at FFN), but then there was a lovely explosion of kind comments on KK just before and after reveals. I was very pleased. And FFN traditionally doesn't pay much attention to femmeslash, let alone old-lady femmeslash, so there's no surprise there.
Most fun story to write: "Subversive." I had a grand time creating a goblin OC and imagining goblin culture.
Story with the single sexiest moment: "Bespoke" has a nice, tender Minerva/Wilhelmina sex scene. It didn't get very high on the kink scale (despite being for Kinky Kristmas), but I liked it.
Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: Probably Minerva/Neville.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: I'd never written (or even thought) about the Grey Lady, but even doing a drabble about her made me think very carefully about the horror of her story: a victim of domestic violence who has to spend eternity with her murderer.
Hardest story to write: "Much Abides" (for the Concrit Fest) and "Vigil" (for HP_Silencio). Each was for a challenge that was new to me, so I did a lot of second-guessing. Also, oddly, my 200-word drabble for HP_Halloween just gave me fits. The first two versions were simply unusable; the final version was okay but not great.
Easiest Story to Write: "Imp" -- total humor/fluff written in a couple of hours.
Story That Could Have Been Better: All of them, of course. But "Imp," definitely, considering what a total rush job it was. The Hump Drabble entries were also done very quickly, and they don't read all that well to me now (at a distance of several months from their composition.)
Story With the Single Sweetest Moment: Either the ending of "Roses in December" or the ending of "Subversive."
Most Overdue Story: This year, the prize goes to my Kinky Kristmas fic. Somehow, despite the fact that on some level, I knew the fest started posting on December 1, I had convinced myself that the deadline was December 15. Don't ask me what I was thinking. But the very kind mods gave me an extension.
Story That Made You Cry: None.
Did You Meet Your Writing Goals for 2014? Yes. My goals were to write for my three favorite fests (hp_beholder; minerva_fest ; hoggywartyxmas), and I did. I'm very glad I was part of the final Beholder fest; it will always be a model of quality and delight for me, and I'm so sorry it had to end (though I understand why it did).
What Are Your Writing Goals for 2015?
I suppose just to keep writing a bit of HP. I keep feeling "written out," as if I have nothing more to say about these characters, but I don't yet want to give them up.
I do want to do some of my own writing, too -- non-fanfic.
Also, as I read what I wrote last year, I think I'm falling into a habit of explaining too much or not dramatizing enough. I'll often write several paragraphs of background before I get to any action/dialogue, and sometimes I fear I fall into lecture mode, making my political or thematic points too obviously. I want to look at this tendency to see if I can decide when it works and when it doesn't and what the differences are.
Sadly, I have written only one story so in 2015. Normally at this time of year, I'd be looking forward to the incomparablehp_beholder, but alas, it is no more. But I do have some thoughts for the future: I'm going to run minerva_fest for at least one more year; last year's participation was small, but good, and I'm not ready to put the fest to bed just yet. (Minerva, now -- I may put her to bed, though.) And I have a couple of other ideas, too.
hp_concrit_fest fic before I dumped the summary on you. Yet me being me (i.e., Queen of the Procrastinators), I still haven't done my revisions.But since I don't want to deprive you of my summary any longer (I'm sure you've been waiting for it), here it is -- Kelly's "What I Wrote in 2014" Fic Meme.
After the annus horribilus that was 2013, I rebounded at bit during 2014 in terms of fic writing. (Okay, so 2013 wasn't "horribilus" in any serious sense, but psychologically, it wasn't one of my best times.)
In 2014, I trebled my story output (13 fics compared to four in 2013) and nearly doubled my word-count (~45,000 for 2014 compared to ~23,000 in 2013). But I participated in a whopping (relatively speaking) eleven fests, compared to four in 2013. I'm still nowhere close to my early days in fandom, when I averaged 20 stories a year and approximately 100,000 words, but considering that I'm always saying that I don't have anything more to say about the Harry Potter world, I manage to natter on quite a bit!
The Fics
Femmeslash
• Battle-Axe (Minerva/Rolanda; PG; 2400 words)
• Bespoke (Minerva/Wilhelmina; pre-slash Millicent/Ginny; R-ish; ~5900 words)
• Subversive (Griselda Marchbanks/OC; light R; ~8400)
Gen
• Chromatic (Grey Lady, Luna;PG; 200 words)
• Imp (Severus, Minerva, Neville, OC [background Minerva/Severus and Hannah/Neville]; PG-13; ~1100 words)
• Conversations with Yourself (Severus, Draco, Myrtle, Harry, Albus; PG-13; 1750 words). This fic is a remix of Conversations with the Dead by
lunabee34.• Much Abides (Minerva, Severus, Albus; PG-13; ~5100)
Het
• Night and Day (Minerva/Severus; 500 words)
• Accommodations (Minerva/Severus; PG-13; 2860 words)
• Vigil (Minerva/Severus, Filius; PG-13; 4200 words)
• Roses in December (Minerva/Neville; R; 12,600 words)
M/M Slash
• Seek and Find (Severus/Lucius; R; 300 words)
• Brave New World Redux (Albus/Gellert; R; 500 words)
My Fest Participation, 2014
• Kinky Kristmas at
daily_deviant •
rarepair_shorts "Summer Wish List" fest.•
hp_humpdrabbles•
trope_bingo•
hoggywartyxmas•
hp_beholder•
hp_concrit_fest•
hp_silencio•
hp_halloween•
minerva_fest• Remix Redux 11.
Some Stats
Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # of Fics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .# of Words
2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123,645
2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,150
2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107,253
2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,225
2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,500
2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,710
Fics Under 1000 words = 4
1000-4999 words = 5
5000-9999 words = 3
10,000+ words = 1
Total number of het fics = 4
Total number of femmeslash fics = 3
Total number of gen fics = 4 (two with het background)
Total number of m/m slash fics = 2
Total number of fics that include Minerva McGonagall in the main pairing or focus = 8
Total number of HP fics in which Minerva is mentioned but is not central = 2
Total number of Minerva-free fics = 3 (a new record!)
Most common pairing: = Minerva/Severus, with a total of five. For various reasons, I'd moved away from this pairing and so didn't write it much in the last couple of years. But this year, I felt like returning to MM/SS, so I did.
Total number of pairings I'd never written before = 4 (Minerva/Neville, Albus/Gellert, Severus/Lucius, Griselda Marchbanks/Goblin OC)
Total main characters I'd never written before = 5, sort of (Vala the Goblin [OC], the Grey Lady, Gellert [these last two in drabbles], and indirectly, Draco and Myrtle)
Other Fandom Activities for 2014
• I served as moderator of the fourth
minerva_fest. • I did a couple months' worth of reccing
crack_broom.• I continued for a fourth year as an editor at
quibbler_report. • I got to spend some RL time with
albalark and dueltastic, always a treat.Fic Q and A
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? More. Given the low output of 2013, I could hardly have written much less and still had anything to list.
What pairing/genre/fandom/character did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Several pairings! Never would I have predicted Minerva/Neville. Or Griselda/Goblin, for that matter. And the m/m slash: I really never saw myself writing either Severus/Lucius or Albus/Gellert (though they're in drabbles, so it's not as if I've fully explored these pairs.)
What's your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? Always hard to choose, but probably "Roses in December." Such an unlikely and implausible pairing, but I really had fun trying to figure ways to make it believable (to the extent that it can be, of course). And "Subversive."
Okay, NOW your most popular stor "Subversive," without questions. 32 comments before reveals at Hoggywarty-- a personal best! My thanks to all the wonderful commentators.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Yes, I did (unusual for me). Not in terms of content or characters, because I mostly went with my usual characters and/or thematic concerns. But I tried a "last drabble writer standing" fest; I took on the challenge of writing a dialogue-free story for
hp_silencio, and I did hp_concrit_fest. I was a bit nervous about this last -- opening myself up to literary critics /g/ -- but it turned out to be a valuable experience. What did I learn? Some useful lessons about audience -- how different my work appears to readers who aren't already "sold" on my particular characters/pairings.
From my past year of writing, what was....
My best story of this year: None of them is really "best," I don't think. I fell into a habit of "telling" too much; I need to work on dramatizing more and narrating less. Plus, in looking back, I think at least a couple of my stories fell into "lecture mode," where I made my points with too heavy a hand.
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I always get far more appreciation than I have a right to. I suppose "Bespoke" got the least attention. For a long time, there were only two or three comments at Kinky Kristmas (and currently only one at FFN), but then there was a lovely explosion of kind comments on KK just before and after reveals. I was very pleased. And FFN traditionally doesn't pay much attention to femmeslash, let alone old-lady femmeslash, so there's no surprise there.
Most fun story to write: "Subversive." I had a grand time creating a goblin OC and imagining goblin culture.
Story with the single sexiest moment: "Bespoke" has a nice, tender Minerva/Wilhelmina sex scene. It didn't get very high on the kink scale (despite being for Kinky Kristmas), but I liked it.
Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: Probably Minerva/Neville.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: I'd never written (or even thought) about the Grey Lady, but even doing a drabble about her made me think very carefully about the horror of her story: a victim of domestic violence who has to spend eternity with her murderer.
Hardest story to write: "Much Abides" (for the Concrit Fest) and "Vigil" (for HP_Silencio). Each was for a challenge that was new to me, so I did a lot of second-guessing. Also, oddly, my 200-word drabble for HP_Halloween just gave me fits. The first two versions were simply unusable; the final version was okay but not great.
Easiest Story to Write: "Imp" -- total humor/fluff written in a couple of hours.
Story That Could Have Been Better: All of them, of course. But "Imp," definitely, considering what a total rush job it was. The Hump Drabble entries were also done very quickly, and they don't read all that well to me now (at a distance of several months from their composition.)
Story With the Single Sweetest Moment: Either the ending of "Roses in December" or the ending of "Subversive."
Most Overdue Story: This year, the prize goes to my Kinky Kristmas fic. Somehow, despite the fact that on some level, I knew the fest started posting on December 1, I had convinced myself that the deadline was December 15. Don't ask me what I was thinking. But the very kind mods gave me an extension.
Story That Made You Cry: None.
Did You Meet Your Writing Goals for 2014? Yes. My goals were to write for my three favorite fests (
hp_beholder; minerva_fest ; hoggywartyxmas), and I did. I'm very glad I was part of the final Beholder fest; it will always be a model of quality and delight for me, and I'm so sorry it had to end (though I understand why it did).What Are Your Writing Goals for 2015?
I suppose just to keep writing a bit of HP. I keep feeling "written out," as if I have nothing more to say about these characters, but I don't yet want to give them up.
I do want to do some of my own writing, too -- non-fanfic.
Also, as I read what I wrote last year, I think I'm falling into a habit of explaining too much or not dramatizing enough. I'll often write several paragraphs of background before I get to any action/dialogue, and sometimes I fear I fall into lecture mode, making my political or thematic points too obviously. I want to look at this tendency to see if I can decide when it works and when it doesn't and what the differences are.
Sadly, I have written only one story so in 2015. Normally at this time of year, I'd be looking forward to the incomparable
hp_beholder, but alas, it is no more. But I do have some thoughts for the future: I'm going to run minerva_fest for at least one more year; last year's participation was small, but good, and I'm not ready to put the fest to bed just yet. (Minerva, now -- I may put her to bed, though.) And I have a couple of other ideas, too.