2023 Fanfic Year-End Summary-Type Thing
21/8/24 02:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neveralarchThis is sooo belated. Usually I get the year-end summary out in January, maybe February - in 2016 I got it out in April and looking back this was a big sign of my bad mental health at the time. So, uhh. Hello. It is August. I'm feeling okay, actually! I was just totally unable to engage with most of my 2023 output until now.
I fell out of Transformers fandom really abruptly right at the end of last year and had this weird period of not wanting to engage with it at all - and because I've pretty much only been interested in Transformers and nothing else for a good five years I was like ??? what's going on? Am I having another depressive episode? But I have so much energy for playing music and learning Cantonese and doing fun things... Just not my main source of dopamine...
And then a couple months ago I got into Naruto and the writing energy was like HELLO I'M HERE. And I'm starting to enjoy engaging with Transformers again too :) So that's a story for next January, and in the meantime I'm feeling better able to contemplate this summary thing.
I posted 93,830 words of fanfic last year! Truly a lot of things until I hit that wall in December. This breaks down into 13 stories: 1 story/1,637 words of Yuletide, and 15 stories/92,193 words of Transformers. I also wrote, I have to say, a LOT of porn.
Yearly questions and answers under the cut. Note that as above, a lot of the fics linked are NSFW/adult.
Best/worst title?
I was pretty happy with A Miracle Opened Wide (TF Jazz/Ratchet), which is from this ICP song haha. One of my favorite tricks to do with titles is to find a reference (in this case, magnets, how do they work?) and then reference a line before that so that I get the reference but it's not exactly so on the nose. This is what passes as amusing to me.
In general you can tell I wasn't writing with Dez much because all of the titles are pretty simplistic (except This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video [TF Rodimus/Ultra Magnus] which is from the tumblr post that inspired the fic). I'm not the happiest with The Sword and the Pylon (TF Megatron/Optimus, Starscream/Deadlock) because it's not really an evocative title. This is a SILLY fic and the title sounds like it's from a period drama. Looking back I see that I was trying out a lot of goofy titles and none of them were sticking... and I hit a deadline haha. More (Radiant Emperor, Ma/Zhu) is another one of those 'ugh there's a deadline here's a title' things.
Best/worst summary?
A lot of these are a pretty similar format, like 'here's the set up. paragraph break. or is it??' I think this works and certainly I keep doing it, but it's not like 'wow I'm so good at summaries' haha
I think this, from The Sword and the Pylon is a good one - Dez helped me workshop it quite a bit.
My Lord Protector is Cybertron's most popular dating show. When a new Prime is chosen, it's their duty to participate in an eight-episode competition extravaganza culminating in the most luxurious conjunxing ceremony ever projected on holoscreen. Optimus is not looking forward to it.
Best/worst first line?
Really like this one, from This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video:
Rodimus strongly considered slumping on top of his desk and pretending to be dead when Ultra Magnus knocked on his open door. Sure, Mags had already seen him looking alive and well, but the galaxy was unpredictable. Battery failure could strike anyone at any time.
That's Rodimus! Also love something that's funny right from the get go, so often I have to kind of ease myself into it just to set the scene
Honorary mention to The Sword and the Pylon:
The scene opens to the romantic strains of kazoo and keytar.
I make the exact same reference every time I have anything to do with Cybertronian music and it never fails to make ME smile. Who cares about the rest of you people.
There's nothing I think is egregiously bad this time around but there's a couple where I'm not sure I hit the tone just right. Something about this one from Flip Switch (TF Jazz/Springer/OC) strikes me as off:
Jazz was already feeling good when he walked into the club proper. It was honestly kinda weird. Usually he came to the club when he was feeling itchy under his armor and uneasy in his spark, looking for someone who could twist his release valve and let all the tension out. So to speak.
But tbh Jazz is kinda feeling weird in that fic so maybe it's him giving me that vibe!
Best/worst last line?
Ohh, this one from More is very good, especially from a challenge fic. (Light NSFW)
"I can't give you more," said Zhu, even as she pressed her ethereal fingers as deep as they could go. She kissed Ma's neck, savoring the musk of her sweat. "You have all of me already."
Romance!!
Overall I think the endings are pretty good. The only one I'm not the happiest with is this, from Over the Counter (TF Sunstreaker/Impactor/Whirl):
Impactor must’ve followed instructions, because he didn’t say anything else. Sunstreaker put his hand over Impactor’s where it rested on his chest. He wouldn’t really recharge, not like this. Too close, too warm, too sticky. He offlined his optics anyway.
And really that's only because ending with the characters falling asleep always feels like the easy way out of a PWP. I see that's what I was annoyed about in 2022 also - at least I only did it once last year!
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
It was about what I expected - I usually end up around 100k unless I'm having a really bad or a really good year. Last year my goal was to try and stretch myself a little and I think... I didn't really do that. It was all fic that was kinda fun and comfortable for me. So what I would've predicted, but not what I was shooting for. But this is emphatically not my job, I can do what I want :p
Where did you publish/archive your stories?
All AO3 again! I kinda dropped off of twitter during this year, it just got so frustrating to log into even just to do fic announcements. One of the things I'd like to do this year (in the 3 or 4 remaining months) would be to set up a website - not to move off of AO3 but just to have another archive in a place where I have more control.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
This was all pretty predictable - lots of Jazz stuff haha. The only thing is that I got into Impactor/Sunstreaker who do NOT interact at all in canon. I just saw a good piece of art and I was off thinking about femme kink. BUt if you'd told me in January that was gonna happen I would've been like yeah that sounds like me.
What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
Mmm I think probably This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video. I really like hypno stuff and I hit a kind of sweet spot there where I wrote exactly the kind of thing I always want to read :) Also carboncopies made an aMAZing podfic of it so I got to enjoy it in different mediums
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
The Sword and the Pylon got a recent boost from some really amazing fanart, but I think it was already up there haha. Fun Megop story! Starscream is also there! Part of a Big Bang event where I partnered with an amazing artist! It's got everything.
Story most under appreciated by the universe?
I think they're all pretty appreciated. It's wild how comment-rich TF-fandom is, I noticed the drop off right away when I drifted into a new fandom.
Story that could have been better?
Mmmm I think Flip Switch is CUTE but there's something about it that didn't quite click for me. But it's got Aglet in it. Gotta have Aglet.
Sexiest story?
Like I said earlier this was a very porn heavy year so this has a LOT of contenders. Stretched Lace (Sunstreaker/Impactor), This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video, and Settling Down (TF First Aid/Vortex) are basically all me mashing the buttons on my id a bunch. Threeway tie.
Most fun story?
Oh The Sword and the Pylon for sure. That one is so funny to read, and it's LONG too. And the art!! I think the experience of working with an artist really contributes to me looking back at a fic and being like yeah this one is Good
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?
The Springer series definitely got me thinking a lot about Jazz... I don't know that it changed my perception of him totally, but I was playing with a different version of him here and it made some things click. I can see it the most in Weld Lines
Hardest story to write?
I always struggle with the challenge fics and Yuletide just happens at the busiest time of the year for me. I needed to write More right when I'd hit that fandom wall with TF, and in the middle of term grading. It's not very long so once I got into it, things went pretty quickly... but I still remember that struggle haha
Easiest story to write?
It's hard to remember this far back but I'm pretty sure This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video was a super quick write. Hit with the bat of horny inspiration
Most overdue story?
Nothing that I actually posted. WIP check-in: Megastar snuff play where Starscream can't actually die so they have fun with it. The last fic in what was supposed to be the Sunstreaker/Impactor trilogy where they get married as a kink thing. I'd really like to finish at least the Sunstreaker/Impactor one since that IS an unfinished series in my head but I lost all my TF steam for a bit so... We'll see.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
Mmmm I think I wrote a lot of stuff that was mashing on a particular kink, which isn't necessarily a risk but does sometimes leave me feeling a little vulnerable about it. Otherwise this was a pretty standard year, writing wise. Once again just out here writing weird robot sex.
Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?
It is SO late it feels very disingenuous doing this haha. Get really into Naruto and write so so so many kakagai fics. I should do that! Make a personal website like I mentioned above. And get the 2024 summary posted before June :p
I fell out of Transformers fandom really abruptly right at the end of last year and had this weird period of not wanting to engage with it at all - and because I've pretty much only been interested in Transformers and nothing else for a good five years I was like ??? what's going on? Am I having another depressive episode? But I have so much energy for playing music and learning Cantonese and doing fun things... Just not my main source of dopamine...
And then a couple months ago I got into Naruto and the writing energy was like HELLO I'M HERE. And I'm starting to enjoy engaging with Transformers again too :) So that's a story for next January, and in the meantime I'm feeling better able to contemplate this summary thing.
I posted 93,830 words of fanfic last year! Truly a lot of things until I hit that wall in December. This breaks down into 13 stories: 1 story/1,637 words of Yuletide, and 15 stories/92,193 words of Transformers. I also wrote, I have to say, a LOT of porn.
Yearly questions and answers under the cut. Note that as above, a lot of the fics linked are NSFW/adult.
Best/worst title?
I was pretty happy with A Miracle Opened Wide (TF Jazz/Ratchet), which is from this ICP song haha. One of my favorite tricks to do with titles is to find a reference (in this case, magnets, how do they work?) and then reference a line before that so that I get the reference but it's not exactly so on the nose. This is what passes as amusing to me.
In general you can tell I wasn't writing with Dez much because all of the titles are pretty simplistic (except This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video [TF Rodimus/Ultra Magnus] which is from the tumblr post that inspired the fic). I'm not the happiest with The Sword and the Pylon (TF Megatron/Optimus, Starscream/Deadlock) because it's not really an evocative title. This is a SILLY fic and the title sounds like it's from a period drama. Looking back I see that I was trying out a lot of goofy titles and none of them were sticking... and I hit a deadline haha. More (Radiant Emperor, Ma/Zhu) is another one of those 'ugh there's a deadline here's a title' things.
Best/worst summary?
A lot of these are a pretty similar format, like 'here's the set up. paragraph break. or is it??' I think this works and certainly I keep doing it, but it's not like 'wow I'm so good at summaries' haha
I think this, from The Sword and the Pylon is a good one - Dez helped me workshop it quite a bit.
My Lord Protector is Cybertron's most popular dating show. When a new Prime is chosen, it's their duty to participate in an eight-episode competition extravaganza culminating in the most luxurious conjunxing ceremony ever projected on holoscreen. Optimus is not looking forward to it.
Best/worst first line?
Really like this one, from This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video:
Rodimus strongly considered slumping on top of his desk and pretending to be dead when Ultra Magnus knocked on his open door. Sure, Mags had already seen him looking alive and well, but the galaxy was unpredictable. Battery failure could strike anyone at any time.
That's Rodimus! Also love something that's funny right from the get go, so often I have to kind of ease myself into it just to set the scene
Honorary mention to The Sword and the Pylon:
The scene opens to the romantic strains of kazoo and keytar.
I make the exact same reference every time I have anything to do with Cybertronian music and it never fails to make ME smile. Who cares about the rest of you people.
There's nothing I think is egregiously bad this time around but there's a couple where I'm not sure I hit the tone just right. Something about this one from Flip Switch (TF Jazz/Springer/OC) strikes me as off:
Jazz was already feeling good when he walked into the club proper. It was honestly kinda weird. Usually he came to the club when he was feeling itchy under his armor and uneasy in his spark, looking for someone who could twist his release valve and let all the tension out. So to speak.
But tbh Jazz is kinda feeling weird in that fic so maybe it's him giving me that vibe!
Best/worst last line?
Ohh, this one from More is very good, especially from a challenge fic. (Light NSFW)
"I can't give you more," said Zhu, even as she pressed her ethereal fingers as deep as they could go. She kissed Ma's neck, savoring the musk of her sweat. "You have all of me already."
Romance!!
Overall I think the endings are pretty good. The only one I'm not the happiest with is this, from Over the Counter (TF Sunstreaker/Impactor/Whirl):
Impactor must’ve followed instructions, because he didn’t say anything else. Sunstreaker put his hand over Impactor’s where it rested on his chest. He wouldn’t really recharge, not like this. Too close, too warm, too sticky. He offlined his optics anyway.
And really that's only because ending with the characters falling asleep always feels like the easy way out of a PWP. I see that's what I was annoyed about in 2022 also - at least I only did it once last year!
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
It was about what I expected - I usually end up around 100k unless I'm having a really bad or a really good year. Last year my goal was to try and stretch myself a little and I think... I didn't really do that. It was all fic that was kinda fun and comfortable for me. So what I would've predicted, but not what I was shooting for. But this is emphatically not my job, I can do what I want :p
Where did you publish/archive your stories?
All AO3 again! I kinda dropped off of twitter during this year, it just got so frustrating to log into even just to do fic announcements. One of the things I'd like to do this year (in the 3 or 4 remaining months) would be to set up a website - not to move off of AO3 but just to have another archive in a place where I have more control.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
This was all pretty predictable - lots of Jazz stuff haha. The only thing is that I got into Impactor/Sunstreaker who do NOT interact at all in canon. I just saw a good piece of art and I was off thinking about femme kink. BUt if you'd told me in January that was gonna happen I would've been like yeah that sounds like me.
What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
Mmm I think probably This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video. I really like hypno stuff and I hit a kind of sweet spot there where I wrote exactly the kind of thing I always want to read :) Also carboncopies made an aMAZing podfic of it so I got to enjoy it in different mediums
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
The Sword and the Pylon got a recent boost from some really amazing fanart, but I think it was already up there haha. Fun Megop story! Starscream is also there! Part of a Big Bang event where I partnered with an amazing artist! It's got everything.
Story most under appreciated by the universe?
I think they're all pretty appreciated. It's wild how comment-rich TF-fandom is, I noticed the drop off right away when I drifted into a new fandom.
Story that could have been better?
Mmmm I think Flip Switch is CUTE but there's something about it that didn't quite click for me. But it's got Aglet in it. Gotta have Aglet.
Sexiest story?
Like I said earlier this was a very porn heavy year so this has a LOT of contenders. Stretched Lace (Sunstreaker/Impactor), This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video, and Settling Down (TF First Aid/Vortex) are basically all me mashing the buttons on my id a bunch. Threeway tie.
Most fun story?
Oh The Sword and the Pylon for sure. That one is so funny to read, and it's LONG too. And the art!! I think the experience of working with an artist really contributes to me looking back at a fic and being like yeah this one is Good
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?
The Springer series definitely got me thinking a lot about Jazz... I don't know that it changed my perception of him totally, but I was playing with a different version of him here and it made some things click. I can see it the most in Weld Lines
Hardest story to write?
I always struggle with the challenge fics and Yuletide just happens at the busiest time of the year for me. I needed to write More right when I'd hit that fandom wall with TF, and in the middle of term grading. It's not very long so once I got into it, things went pretty quickly... but I still remember that struggle haha
Easiest story to write?
It's hard to remember this far back but I'm pretty sure This Meeting Could Have Been an Erotic Hypnosis Video was a super quick write. Hit with the bat of horny inspiration
Most overdue story?
Nothing that I actually posted. WIP check-in: Megastar snuff play where Starscream can't actually die so they have fun with it. The last fic in what was supposed to be the Sunstreaker/Impactor trilogy where they get married as a kink thing. I'd really like to finish at least the Sunstreaker/Impactor one since that IS an unfinished series in my head but I lost all my TF steam for a bit so... We'll see.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
Mmmm I think I wrote a lot of stuff that was mashing on a particular kink, which isn't necessarily a risk but does sometimes leave me feeling a little vulnerable about it. Otherwise this was a pretty standard year, writing wise. Once again just out here writing weird robot sex.
Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?
It is SO late it feels very disingenuous doing this haha. Get really into Naruto and write so so so many kakagai fics. I should do that! Make a personal website like I mentioned above. And get the 2024 summary posted before June :p
