Fic Year in Review - 2012

[jedibuttercup]

I wrote fewer words this year-- not a surprise, given that my media consumption was higher, and I had family critters (nephew and new niece) sucking up time as well. Valid distractions, yes?

So there were less story posts after all, but oddly enough-- the average and median post sizes were almost exactly the same as last year. And, of course, you may notice that as usual, 99% of my posts round out to an even hundred words. I'd call it OCD, but given that half the time it encourages me to comb back through a story several more times to fiddle with phrasing, I'd rather call it "editing incentive". =)

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2012 Fanfiction Totals

(FYI, I still count Yuletide stories with the year following, in which the reveals happen; so this year's count includes the Yule 2011 stories and not the Yule 2012 ones.)

Of the 215,450 words I wrote this year, 88,100 of them were non-crossover. That's higher than last year's 26% or so of content; on the order of 40%, more consistent with preceding years. A big chunk of that, though, was my Terra Nova big bang, and my Person of Interest episode tags from the latter half of Season 1.

For comparison purposes, here are the previous years' totals:

2011 - 272,200 (72,500 non-cross)
2010 - 207,200 (91,500 non-cross)
2009 - 189,412 (97,800 non-cross)
2008 - 45,058 (25,758 non-cross)
2007 - 141,018 (24,300 non-cross)
2006 - 163,612 (26,136 non-cross)
2005 - 47,878 (All crossovers)

2002, 2003, and 2004 between them totaled about 196,000 words, or an average of 65,000 words a year, most of it composed of My First Fanfic Epic set in the Buffy/Angel universe.

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Breakdown of Fic, by Category and Length:

Book and Movie Fandoms, Non-Crossover Fic:

A True Test of Skill - AvP bookverse, 800 words, Dachande/Machiko (yuletide)
The Only Puzzle Worth Solving - Star Wars EU bookverse, 1000 words, Thrawn/Pellaeon (yuletide

forging lady thorn - The Man With the Iron Fists, 300 words, Chi Chi/Zen Yi
Problem Solving in Complex Systems - Jurassic Park, 1900 words, Alan/Ellie/Ian (yuletide)

I Am the Cause of Your Effect - Men in Black III, 1600 words, Jay/Kay
Louder Than Words - Death Race, 3000 words, Jensen/Joe
no straightforward fairy tale - Transporter 3, 700 words, Frank & Tarconi (comment_fic)
ninety-nine percent perspiration - Mission Impossible: GP, 500 words, Brandt (ghotocol_kink)

I Whom You Seek - Mummy, 4000 words, Ardeth & Rick (yuletide)
Only the Journey is Written - Mummy, 1000 words, Ardeth & Rick (yuletide)

TV Fandoms, Episode Tagfic:

2.5 - Between the Skitters and the Deep Black Sky - Falling Skies, 500 words, Tom

1.10 - What He Can Live With - Person of Interest, 500 words, Fusco
1.11 - Down the Rabbit Hole - Person of Interest, 500 words, Carter
1.12 - Looking Underneath the Underneath - Person of Interest, 500 words, Reese
1.13 - Connecting the Dots - Person of Interest, 500 words, Finch
1.14 - Cat and Mouse - Person of Interest, 500 words, Carter
1.15 - St. Peter, Don't You Call Me - Person of Interest, 500 words, Fusco
1.16 - Building His Wings On The Way Down - Person of Interest, 500 words, Reese
1.17 - This Is Not the Grand Arena - Person of Interest, 500 words, Reese
1.18 - Never Been Alright-Er - Person of Interest, 500 words, Finch
1.19 - All Out of Faith - Person of Interest, 500 words, Carter
1.20 - Bloody, But Unbowed - Person of Interest, 500 words, Reese
1.21 - Confirmation Bias in the Palm of My Hand - Person of Interest, 500 words, Carter & Reese
1.22 - Johnny's In America - Person of Interest, 500 words, Finch

TV Fandoms, Other Non-Crossover Fic:

Something a Good Deal More Dangerous - Terra Nova AU, 20000 words, Jim/Elisabeth, Jim/Taylor, others

As a Queen, Sufficient - B:tVS, 1500 words, Kendra (rarewomen)
Taking Up the Torch - B:tVS AU, 1200 words, Kendra
Truths Uttered Before Their Times - A:tS AU, 6000 words, Fred/Wes/Gunn (not_primetime)

Aboard, About, Above, Across - Firefly, 2100 words, Ensemble (letsgetitdone)
First Advisor - Tin Man, 200 words, Glitch
once, in flight school, she was laconic - Firefly, 600 words, Zoe (comment_fic)
So Few and Such Morning Songs - Grimm, 2000 words, Aunt Marie (yuletide)
Testing the Leash - Grimm, 2600 words, Monroe/Nick (yuletide)
There's Always a Loophole - Dresden Files (tv), 2000 words, Harry & Bob

The More I Find, The Less I Know - Person of Interest, 3200 words, Carter (yuletide)
Pattern Formation - Person of Interest, 600 words, The Machine
Redefining the Pattern - Person of Interest, 1000 words, The Machine (for moonbeamsfanfic)

1. take my yoke upon you (ye who labour and are heavy laden) - The Walking Dead, 1600 words, Daryl & Rick
2. cleave unto (for this cause shall a man leave) - The Walking Dead, 1000 words, Lori
3. let no man put asunder - The Walking Dead, 2600 words, Daryl & Rick/Lori

F is for Tal Shakka Mel (I Die Free) - Stargate SG-1, 800 words, Bra'tac (for gen alphabet soup)
G is for Gate (The One, Two Story) - Stargate SG-1, 350 words, Mitchell (for gen alphabet soup)
L is for Lvalue - Stargate SG-1, 800 words, Chloe (for gen alphabet soup)
No Simple Recon Mission - Stargate SG-1, 350 words, Mitchell

Non-BtVS Crossover Fic:

Put Your Funderwear On - Fast Five/Transformers, 17500 words, Hobbs & Ensemble

Couched in Mumbo Jumbo - Dresden Files (tv)/SG-1, 3600 words, Dresden & Dr. Jackson (for xiorlanth)
Saving the World, One Hexus at a Time - Dresden Files/Transformers, 2300 words, Dresden (for moonbeamsfanfic)
What Lives on the Other Side - Dresden Files/SGA, 3500 words, Harry & Marcone (for jenna_marianne)

2. Is There a Problem, Officer? - Dresden Files/STXI, 2900 words, Ensemble (for jilltanith)
3-4. Tying Up the Loose Ends - Dresden Files/STXI, 5200 words, Ensemble (for jilltanith)

Only a Signal Shown - Leverage/Bourne Legacy, 1000 words, Eliot & Aaron (for hiddencait)
The Leverage Initiative - Leverage/Avengers, 1100 words, Fury & Ensemble (for beege22)
The Supervillain Job - Leverage/Avengers, 1000 words, Nate & Loki (for deepfishy)
There's Always Room For Family - Leverage/Fast Five, 1800 words, Eliot & Brian (for pprfaith)

Crash Upon a Distant Shore - Firefly/Falling Skies, 3500 words, Anne Glass & Ensemble (for edenfalling)
Like Something Out of Science Fiction - Firefly/ST:TNG, 1300 words, Kaylee & Data

Breathe In, Breathe Out: More Village - Person of Interest/The Prisoner (2009), 1200 words, Reese
Interested Parties, Table for Two - Person of Interest/Avengers, 2000 words, Joss & Natasha (for kerrykhat)
Someone With the Skills to Intervene - Person of Interest/Dresden Files, 3000 words, Ensemble

A Little Family Drama - Castle/Percy Jackson and the Olympians, 2300 words, Alexis & Martha (for graycardinal)
Neuralysis for Naturals - Harry Potter/Men in Black III, 200 words
Out of the Shadows of History - SA/Avengers, 2100 words, Balthazar & Loki (for graycardinal)
Regardless of Make - Fast and Furious/SG-1, 1600 words, Dom & Jack (for misse)
Supply, Demand, and Zauberer - Harry Potter/Grimm, 1200 words, Rosalee & Snape (for treppie)
What Makes The Men We Are - ST:TOS/STXI, 1600 words, Jim & Bones (for kerravonsen)

Buffyverse Crossover Fic:

Best Job Share Ever? - B:tVS/Avengers, 11300 words, Buffy & Ensemble

In Shattered Reflection - Angel/Firefly, 1300 words, River
It Seems To Be Powered By Some Sort of Electricity - 1900 words, Tony & Kaylee (for blienky27)
Stripping Away the Thorns - B:tVS/Firefly, 3500 words, Mal & Zoe
Tell 'Em All I Ain't Coming Back - Angel/Firefly, 2250 words, Fred & Kaylee

acquit me henceforth of cruelty - B:tVS/Leverage, 1200 words, Ellot & Faith & Buffy (for maevebran)
Entertaining Angels - B:tVS/TMNT/Trio for Lute, 2500 words, Buffy/Raphael (for sulien)
Exorcizing Old Memories - B:tVS/Dresden Files, 2000 words, Harry/Buffy (for musesinspire)
Should Have Gone to Alaska - B:tVS/Pirates of the Caribbean, 1400 words, Cordy (for earcmacfithil)
Slayer of Interest - B:tVS/Person of Interest, 1500 words, Finch (for beckyh2112)
some things you can't disguise - B:tVS/Walking Dead, 200 words, Buffy/Daryl (for musesinspire)
The Truth That Is Given Us - B:tVS/White Collar, 2200 words, Buffy & Neal (for xgirl2222)

Come Full Circle and Start Anew - Angel/Harry Potter, 1500 words, Wes & Illyria (for beatrice_otter)
If the Play Ran a Little Different - Angel/Percy Jackson and the Olympians, 2000 words (for vesselandpestle)
Stepping Up - Angel/Stargate SG-1, 2000 words, Ensemble (for kerravonsen)

A Miracle of Rare Device - B:tVS/SGA, 1000 words, Buffy & Dawn
Conferring With The Flowers - Angel/Tin Man, 3100 words, Lorne & Glitch
Double Twisted Fast With Wire - Angel/Harry Potter, 900 words, Lilah
Meant For More - B:tVS/Diablo III, 1300 words, Buffy
Off the Beaten Path - B:tVS/Eureka, 1500 words, Buffy & Taggart
Quis Custodiet - B:tVS/Grimm, 800 words, Nick
Worth Waiting For - Angel/Expendables, 1200 words, Cordy

4. You Have a What? - B:tVS/CSI, 1000 words, Gil/Sara (for beatrice_otter)
5. Amazingly Convenient Timing - B:tVS/CSI, 3000 words, Gil & Buffy (for beatrice_otter)
6. The Rest is Still Unwritten - B:tVS/CSI, 1200 words, Gil & Buffy

1. A Litle More than One Million BC - B:tVS/Terra Nova, 2000 words (tthdrabbles)
2. Paging Eryishon - B:tVS/Terra Nova, 2000 words, Buffy & Josh
3. One Foot in Fairy Tale - B:tVS/Terra Nova, 2800 words, Buffy & Taylor
4. Taking Up the Quest - B:tVS/Terra Nova, 2500 words, Buffy & Taylor
5. Hunting Wabbit - B:tVS/Terra Nova, 2400 words, Buffy & Willow & Wash
6. Applying Leverage - B:tVS/Terra Noval, 2000 words, Buffy & Nathaniel & Mira

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Major WIP Series/Entries

backagainharry (Harry Potter post-DH time-travel AU)
Chapters: Fifteen | Sixteen | Seventeen | Eighteen

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The Year In Review

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

A little less. But then, it would have been hard to match last year's total, with everything else going on in my life. I'll sacrifice a little writing time for a little nephew and niece time, and for keeping up with my health, any day; I never want to end up as isolated and overweight as I was in 2008, ever again.

I did get four chapters out for "Back Again, Harry?" though; I'm counting that a win!

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

Pairings? Jay/Kay, definitely. Buffy/Neal Caffrey and Buffy/Daryl Dixon, for crossovers.
Fandoms? Terra Nova and Walking Dead. Funny how inspiring shows that make you want to strangle characters can be.

3. Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Hmmm. I wrote from the POV of some characters this year I'd never have dared try to capture before (Thrawn, for example, and a more in-depth Ardeth Bay), and sketched in some extreme crossovers, but I don't know that I'd consider them any more risky than the usual growth and stretching of writing skills. I guess it feels like a "one more time, with feeling" kind of year overall? Fitting, as it's been a decade since I started!

... Oh, oh, wait, I did find something! Meant For More, that Buffy/Diablo III crossover. I finally wrote video game fic. *grin* It was interesting, ficcing a source with so little characterization to work from.

4. Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?

Last year, I said I wanted to clear my slate of obligations and WIPs so I can start adding in original fiction in 2013. I didn't quite manage that, but I did make some progress. So, let's say, aim for 2014.

5. my favorite story (of mine) this year:

This is really hard to pick this year. But I think overall, Put Your Funderwear On, my Hobbs POV crossover romp featuring the casts of Fast Five and Michael Bay's Transformers. Oh, and It Seems To Be Powered By Some Sort of Electricity, in which Tony Stark meets Kaylee Frye. ♥

6. my best story this year:

I don't know. What criteria do I choose by? Maybe Only a Signal Shown, my little Eliot Spencer meets Aaron Cross story, or So Few and Such Morning Songs, my (now slightly jossed) attempt at the POV of Grimm's Marie Kessler.

7. the story most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

Scanning back ... huh; only two of my stories had less than a hundred hits on AO3 this year, and those were single-fandom drabbles that still got several kudos. I don't know that that's ever happened before. *taps chin*

I guess I'd say Something A Good Deal More Dangerous, my Terra Nova big bang; I poured a ton of effort into it, only to have my artist bail on me and the fandom (which runs chiefly to Taylor/Wash and Mark/Maddy fans) largely ignore it. But I do get why. Believe me, I do. The pairing and tag chain alone is a little eyebrow-raising.

8. most overrated story, in my opinion:

Much as I adore it, I'm perfectly aware that the primary reason Best Job Share Ever? shot so high in the hits and kudos counts is because I struck while the Avengers iron was hot, and it's one of the mecca fandoms of the year. Not because it's just that good, or anything.

9. most fun story:

Oh, there were several this year. *grin* Eliot losing against a pair of Slayers, Kaylee meeting Data, Nate Ford vs Loki, Balthazar Blake vs Loki, and so on.

But even considering my answer to #8, the fic that has to take the number one slot overall is Best Job Share Ever?, wherein Buffy goes to work as Tony's PA and the Scoobies start to mix with the Avengers.

10. story with the sexiest moment:

Looking back through the list... I only wrote a few R-rated stories this year, one of which was definitely for the zombies, not the romance. So I'd have to say Truths Uttered Before Their Times, my Angel-verse fixit story starring the OT3 of Fred/Wes/Gunn.

11. story with the sweetest moment:

Definitely Aboard, About, Above, Across, which is entirely composed of Firefly-verse post-movie toothrotting fluff.

12. most friendshippy story:

Probably either Stripping Away the Thorns, in which Zoë talks to Mal about her past as Jasmine, or take my yoke upon you, the Daryl Dixon & Rick Grimes story I wrote to fit between Seasons 2 and 3 of The Walking Dead.

13. Holy crap, that's wrong even for you!

I wrote Human/Predator (Machiko/Dachande), Human/Sentient Turtle (Buffy/Raphael), and Human/Android (Kaylee & Data) this year, but none of those are exactly new to me?

So on a silly note, then, I guess: Neuralysis for Naturals. Gilderoy Lockhart joins the MIB!

14. the story that made me cry:

The one that probably came the closest this year is Taking Up The Torch, in which I finally wrote the backstory of the Ring of the Gods 'verse's Kendra. Hint: the Terakans turned out not to be pansies.

15. story that shifted my own perception of the characters:

cleave unto, definitely; it helped me get a grip on Lori Grimes. And As A Queen, Sufficient, which gave me a deeper appreciation for B:tVS's Kendra.

...And in a category of its own, there's also Breathe In, Breathe Out: More Village, one of my more successful "canon would make a lot more sense if..." fusions (the 2009 Prisoner TV miniseries with Person of Interest, in this case).

16. most unintentionally telling story:

I usually put the stories I wrote because of issues I had with canon rather than 'wow, there's a story hook I want to grab hold of' in this category.

This year, the most notable are probably Worth Waiting For, a Cordy-centric Angel/Expendables crossover, and Between the Skitters and the Deep Black Sky, a mid-season angsty drabble for Falling Skies.

17. hardest story to write:

The Only Puzzle Worth Solving; writing from the POV of Grand Admiral Thrawn was a real challenge! And I did a lot more research than probably shows on I Whom You Seek.

Of non-Yuletide stories, though, I'd have to say What Makes The Men We Are, that ST:TOS/STXI crossover, in which kerravonsen's prompt butted up against some of my own rather strongly held opinions about the latter version of Star Trek. Doing justice to it was definitely a challenge!

18. biggest disappointment:

I wish I'd spent more time on Should Have Gone to Alaska, my Cordy meets Davy Jones fic. And I wish I'd done a better job with L is for Lvalue, too. It was for an SG-1 challenge, which I forgot about until right before the deadline!

19. biggest surprise:

That my Machine fic was so popular, in POI fandom. The way anything touching the Avengers fandom took off like a rocket. And the Jay/Kay fic! That one came out of nowhere.

20. story I wish I'd finished:

I actually did make progress on BAH! Other than that: Book's Legacy is rising to the top of the "WIPs I haven't touched in a while" stack. But of the new ones, probably Someone With The Skills To Intervene, that POI/DF crossover I started.


Past years' analysis: 2011 | 2010| 2009 | 2008 | 2007: Part I & Part II | 2006

Comments

Argh LJ was fine until 830 a.m. pst and then blammo

[pronker]

editing incentive As good a phrase as any for that urge to prune, prune, prune and shape, shape, shape. Interesting that the median and other statistic turned out the same.

BAH is beloved, it seems.

Niece and nephew are entirely worth the attention - you've heard it before, but they do change so quickly. It is humbling to realize that we did the same thing.