snow on the sahara

The more time I spend in fandom, the more I'm convinced that the most extreme, hardcore members of a given 'ship faction don't actually care about their own pairing. They just want the opposing pairing to be Wrong. It's like the emotional equivalent of minmaxing number-crunchers who will do complex math about the propulsion and weapons systems of fictional spaceships in order to prove that Star Trek/Wars totally sucks compared to Star Wars/Trek, when the actual point is that laser swords and laser guns both rule.

I think my analogy went a little off-course there. Eh.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
Way more. Waaaaaay. Nine completed fics might not seem like much to those more prolific than me, but that's like my entire run of posted (and possibly unposted) fics in Trigun fandom, and that was spread over four years. Bleach just ignited something with me. I've also got 75+ pages of WIP along with assorted random scenes, one-liners, drabbles and such floating around the ether. I hope to fic in a couple other fandoms, notably Avatar, but we'll see. In any case, though I wish I'd finished some things faster, overall I'm thrilled. I still want to go back and fix a few things in the stuff I posted, but like I keep telling Ten and Ray, you can't fix words--even lame ones--until they're on the page. Or monitor. Whatever.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2006?
Ironically, probably Ichigo/Rukia. For just about the entire time fadingembers and I were making our way through Bleach to catch up with current episodes shortly before the end of SS arc, I just knew I liked the way their personalities bounced off of each other. I liked them together in whatever capacity--the friendship, the partnership. It wasn't until I started poking for fic and naturally gravitated towards ichi_ruki that I realized "Oh, huh, I do ship them." I like them in spite of the fact that they're the lead characters, not because of it.

Also, Rukia/Ikkaku/Yumichika. Who could see that coming?

What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
Hair of the Dog. Like everything I write, there's always SOMETHING I'd go back and fix, but overall I think it's a funny fic and I enjoy seeing ships I like through other characters' eyes, and it had that. Also Yoruichi + Urahara + bar = fun. And it's probably the only title I've ever thought of that I'm damn proud of!

Did you take any writing risks this year? (See above for unexpected pairings, etc.) What did you learn from them?
I suppose Cherrypicked was a risk in the sense that I figured it was too weird to place in the ichi_ruki contest...and I was right. (Plus the ones that did place kicked ass.)

I also wrote a sequel to an unfinished WIP before the original was done (see next question) and I learned that that's a great way to keep me going on a multi-chapter longfic, even if I'm slow. Can't post the sequel until I finish the original, and I don't want to leave them unposted, so hey. Motivation.

Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?
Finish Dead Ichigo (tentative possible title: The Second Season) and finish revising Elopefic (rejected title: A Less Perfect Union. I don't hate it, but I don't want to re-use a friend's title, even if it's in an entirely different genre) and post both.

From my past year of writing, what was...

My Favorite Story: Aside from HotD, probably Phoenix Rising. I wrote and posted in quick succession, so it's rough in a couple spots, but even in its brevity it got across the short, sharp, brutal image that came to my head while I was driving. Rarely do what I imagine and what I write match up so well.

My Best Story: I hate that I can't include the unfinished ones, because even though they need editing, I think they're pretty good--but probably Cherrypicked again, just because it was a little more polished than some of the other stuff.

Or hell, maybe Hair of the Dog still. I dunno. I don't think I'm the best judge of this one.

Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe: All We Know of Heaven. Because it's gen, and this is fandom.

Most Fun: Hair of the Dog for drunken shenanigans. It always comes down to drunken shenanigans.

Most Disappointing: After School Special. I don't think it's awful, but it's not very memorable, and sophiap is so great I wanted to write something better for her for the exchange.

Most Sexy: In the Midnight Hour cuz...it's porn.

Story with a Single Sexy Moment: Mmf. If I can't use the porn, and Cherrypicked is too silly...then I'm gonna have to cheat and say the wedding night scene from Elopefic.

Hardest to Write: Dead Ichigo, because there's so much HISTORY in my head that won't fit into the story, and it had a rough start--had to re-write two and a half chapters. But for a non-cheating answer, Redefinition since I don't want to put Cherrypicked again. Getting the shades of gray of Rukia's choice down plus just making it believable that she'd be in that situation to begin with were not the easiest tasks.

Most Unintentionally Telling: I don't think anyone else but me would notice, but Redefinition, because in retrospect, it shows my fascination with how a relationship that by all rights shouldn't exist might work--and that leads to Dead Ichigo, which shows how it might not.