2022 Writing (Year in Review)
Jan. 2nd, 2023 11:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yelpThis year, I posted 90k words on AO3. This is just 15k short of what I posted last year (maybe ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
highadrenalineexchange being moved to spring accounts for the difference?), and again more than I planned!
I kind of categorize my AO3 works as "for exchanges" or "for myself". Before checking, I had thought I'd written literally nothing in the latter category this year, but it turns out they were only clustered towards the beginning of the year, before I fell into the exchange hole again, haha. I'll once again express my faint goals to dial it back on exchanges this coming year. I have a WIP that I didn't update in all of 2022 (sorry, readers!), and there are always personal projects that I keep saying I will work on too!
On the other hand, I've enjoyed participating in exchanges very much, including the opportunity to write for fandoms and pairings I would never have otherwise considered. I also have a better sense of what kind of exchanges I'm likely to enjoy, so I hope I'll still be able to participate responsibly.
My AO3 stats at the end of the year:
Meme questions:
Best title: "Hungry Eyes (in Every Guise)" I like the way it sounds, and I like how it references Corinthian's bitey teeth eyes.
Worst title: "Wall and Void" There were a lot of strong contenders for this category, but this one was an attempt to pun on "Null and Void" and fell just a bit flat.
Longest title: "Alchemy Is Full of Secrets (and Alchemists Are Too)" (51 characters) Also a contender for Worst Title, tbh...
Shortest title: "Earth Goods" (11 characters)
Best first line: "They say anyone can make a deal at the crossroads on a night of fullest moon—anyone desperate. Bury something you can't afford to lose, ride away with straight back and not a look over your shoulder, and your heart's desire will meet you where you go."
Worst first line: "Ugh, back to the football field, and this time the three of them had zero choice in the matter."
Best last line: "It was as sweet as the light of his own sun, and just as warm."
Worst last line: "You eat spiders??" Actually, a lot of my worst last lines are when I try to end on some dialogue. Need to work on this (dialogue and endings both).
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? Last year I predicted 60k, so I beat that handily. I am really trying to take a step back from exchanges this time though, so let's predict 40k for 2023. (Hmm, could it be that I always feel worn out at the end of the year, and under-predict? We will see for next time...)
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? I didn't realize writing song fandoms would be so fun, but I did it twice this year and really enjoyed delving into the lyrics and video! Music is great.
What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. I wouldn't say this is my best work, but The Devil's Cut is a story that I had on the brain for a long while, and I was very happy to get it out there (motivated bysmallfandombang, though I ended up falling short of the wordcount). In my research for a title, I finally also understood why Diluc's bar was called Angel's Share!
Okay, NOW your most popular story. You've Won: A Date With Ms. Hina! Wow, I tried to guess what it would be without looking, and would never have expected this short, fluffy piece. To be fair, Itto/Gorou is probably one of the most mainstream pairings I wrote this year, and it also has the advantage of having been posted at the start of the year, so it had longer than my other fics to accumulate stats.
Story most underappreciated by the universe? Nohighadrenalineexchange fic to put in this category this year XD. I can't help but call the Genshin Impact rarepairs I wrote underappreciated. I enjoyed exploring these relationships for various prompts, but in general, it's easy for small pairings in fast-moving fandoms to get lost!
Story that could have been better? I feel that for the reddit posts I made for FIAB, I could have generated more comments and discussion. Might have been a fun way to get more of the cast involved.
Saddest story? I want to lay down in a field of bone, perhaps. Everything I wrote this year had a fairly positive ending, but this one probably had the most melancholy narrative? Which is ironic, because the song it's based on is actually quite upbeat!
Most fun? Devil’s in the Defaults, very light-hearted joking around about exchanges.
Most fucked-up story? Hungry Eyes (in Every Guise). Well, there's the torture...
Hardest story to write? Intermundium. I don't think it's the worst thing I wrote, but it's the story that I worked on hardest versus how satisfied I was with the results. I received feedback (during writing, aka while I still had time to change it) that more shippyness would probably have been appreciated by the recip, which I agree with, but it's not really something in my wheelhouse.
Easiest/most fun story to write? Girl Out of Time. Considering I'd never written these characters before, I was surprised by how easily the story came out. (Part of a story being fun to write is also that, as I'm writing it, I'm actually pleased with what's coming out - so that helped!)
Top five scenes you would like to see illustrated: This came in handy when doing fandom auctions, so I'm taking this question more seriously now, heh. I'd say Kid and Hiruma at the crossroads in The Devil's Cut, cyberpunk Hiruma and Musashi (and what parts of them became cyborg parts) in Transient Lunar Phenomena, someone's takes on my OCs in Wall and Void so I can explain how important it is that bruiser Callum is a skinny shrimp and Doctor Void is a bulky giant, Merman!Shin in Catch of the Day. Come to think of it, I just want to see my AUs illustrated!
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I think I branched out more in writing for new-to-me fandoms and pairings, ones I've never even given any thought until I saw someone's request for it. I've been enjoying it a lot. I find that I tend to run out of content if I keep writing for the same characters, like I've said everything I've had to say about them. I also find that the process of writing about a new character or ship helps me to understand them better and makes me enjoy them more. So that's one really positive aspect of exchanges/prompts for me, and one I should keep seeking out!
What are your fic writing goals for next year? Finish WIPs. Work on personal projects. Avoid the siren song of exchanges (as much).
highadrenalineexchange being moved to spring accounts for the difference?), and again more than I planned!I kind of categorize my AO3 works as "for exchanges" or "for myself". Before checking, I had thought I'd written literally nothing in the latter category this year, but it turns out they were only clustered towards the beginning of the year, before I fell into the exchange hole again, haha. I'll once again express my faint goals to dial it back on exchanges this coming year. I have a WIP that I didn't update in all of 2022 (sorry, readers!), and there are always personal projects that I keep saying I will work on too!
On the other hand, I've enjoyed participating in exchanges very much, including the opportunity to write for fandoms and pairings I would never have otherwise considered. I also have a better sense of what kind of exchanges I'm likely to enjoy, so I hope I'll still be able to participate responsibly.
My AO3 stats at the end of the year:
Meme questions:
Best title: "Hungry Eyes (in Every Guise)" I like the way it sounds, and I like how it references Corinthian's bitey teeth eyes.
Worst title: "Wall and Void" There were a lot of strong contenders for this category, but this one was an attempt to pun on "Null and Void" and fell just a bit flat.
Longest title: "Alchemy Is Full of Secrets (and Alchemists Are Too)" (51 characters) Also a contender for Worst Title, tbh...
Shortest title: "Earth Goods" (11 characters)
Best first line: "They say anyone can make a deal at the crossroads on a night of fullest moon—anyone desperate. Bury something you can't afford to lose, ride away with straight back and not a look over your shoulder, and your heart's desire will meet you where you go."
Worst first line: "Ugh, back to the football field, and this time the three of them had zero choice in the matter."
Best last line: "It was as sweet as the light of his own sun, and just as warm."
Worst last line: "You eat spiders??" Actually, a lot of my worst last lines are when I try to end on some dialogue. Need to work on this (dialogue and endings both).
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? Last year I predicted 60k, so I beat that handily. I am really trying to take a step back from exchanges this time though, so let's predict 40k for 2023. (Hmm, could it be that I always feel worn out at the end of the year, and under-predict? We will see for next time...)
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? I didn't realize writing song fandoms would be so fun, but I did it twice this year and really enjoyed delving into the lyrics and video! Music is great.
What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. I wouldn't say this is my best work, but The Devil's Cut is a story that I had on the brain for a long while, and I was very happy to get it out there (motivated by
smallfandombang, though I ended up falling short of the wordcount). In my research for a title, I finally also understood why Diluc's bar was called Angel's Share! Okay, NOW your most popular story. You've Won: A Date With Ms. Hina! Wow, I tried to guess what it would be without looking, and would never have expected this short, fluffy piece. To be fair, Itto/Gorou is probably one of the most mainstream pairings I wrote this year, and it also has the advantage of having been posted at the start of the year, so it had longer than my other fics to accumulate stats.
Story most underappreciated by the universe? No
highadrenalineexchange fic to put in this category this year XD. I can't help but call the Genshin Impact rarepairs I wrote underappreciated. I enjoyed exploring these relationships for various prompts, but in general, it's easy for small pairings in fast-moving fandoms to get lost! Story that could have been better? I feel that for the reddit posts I made for FIAB, I could have generated more comments and discussion. Might have been a fun way to get more of the cast involved.
Saddest story? I want to lay down in a field of bone, perhaps. Everything I wrote this year had a fairly positive ending, but this one probably had the most melancholy narrative? Which is ironic, because the song it's based on is actually quite upbeat!
Most fun? Devil’s in the Defaults, very light-hearted joking around about exchanges.
Most fucked-up story? Hungry Eyes (in Every Guise). Well, there's the torture...
Hardest story to write? Intermundium. I don't think it's the worst thing I wrote, but it's the story that I worked on hardest versus how satisfied I was with the results. I received feedback (during writing, aka while I still had time to change it) that more shippyness would probably have been appreciated by the recip, which I agree with, but it's not really something in my wheelhouse.
Easiest/most fun story to write? Girl Out of Time. Considering I'd never written these characters before, I was surprised by how easily the story came out. (Part of a story being fun to write is also that, as I'm writing it, I'm actually pleased with what's coming out - so that helped!)
Top five scenes you would like to see illustrated: This came in handy when doing fandom auctions, so I'm taking this question more seriously now, heh. I'd say Kid and Hiruma at the crossroads in The Devil's Cut, cyberpunk Hiruma and Musashi (and what parts of them became cyborg parts) in Transient Lunar Phenomena, someone's takes on my OCs in Wall and Void so I can explain how important it is that bruiser Callum is a skinny shrimp and Doctor Void is a bulky giant, Merman!Shin in Catch of the Day. Come to think of it, I just want to see my AUs illustrated!
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I think I branched out more in writing for new-to-me fandoms and pairings, ones I've never even given any thought until I saw someone's request for it. I've been enjoying it a lot. I find that I tend to run out of content if I keep writing for the same characters, like I've said everything I've had to say about them. I also find that the process of writing about a new character or ship helps me to understand them better and makes me enjoy them more. So that's one really positive aspect of exchanges/prompts for me, and one I should keep seeking out!
What are your fic writing goals for next year? Finish WIPs. Work on personal projects. Avoid the siren song of exchanges (as much).
no subject
Date: 2023-01-02 09:06 pm (UTC)Your best first line is gorgeous. I was going to ask you where it was from, but then I clicked into your favorite story. ;)
"You eat spiders??
I still grin thinking of this line, though! :D
And <3 on saddest story!
cyberpunk Hiruma and Musashi (and what parts of them became cyborg parts) in Transient Lunar Phenomena
that would be lovely. :D And cookies, please? :D
Avoid the siren song of exchanges (as much).
I feel like this is a goal I see for many exchange people (myself included). Good luck to us all!
(And oh!! Now I also know why it's the Angel's Share.)
no subject
Date: 2023-01-03 06:13 am (UTC)Cyborgs eating cookies! Ahh, the dream.
Good luck to us all! <3
no subject
Date: 2023-01-03 06:32 am (UTC)I want to see the cookies, as well! Ah, if I could art, I would art it for you!
no subject
Date: 2023-01-03 03:44 pm (UTC)Wishing you the best with your 2023 goals!!
no subject
Date: 2023-01-07 02:23 pm (UTC)I can definitely see what you mean about voices beginning to sound too similar too. Definitely something I need to work on as well.
Best to you also!
no subject
Date: 2023-01-06 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-07 02:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-11 02:33 pm (UTC)Congrats on all your writing last year, and good luck with your goals for this year <3