anti-undead anniversary gifts

I have been on LJ for 5 years today! According to Wikipedia, the fifth anniversary is wood (traditional) or silverware (modern.) Perhaps I will go with a silver-bound wooden stake, to cover all the bases.

Things I did this year: Wrote more, and wrote different types of stuff. Started a bunch of things I am still excited about but haven't finished. (This is actually somewhat unusual for me - I previously tended to write one, maximum 2, stories at a time, whether that was all in one chunk or over days/weeks.) Made new friends. Allowed a teensy bit more to sneak through the RL/LJ barrier.


This year's authorial output:

Supernatural

all we are is dust in the wind - Sam/Dean, PG13, crossover/fusion with His Dark Materials, ~5800 words, written for the spn_j2_xmas exchange.

First time writing a crossover. This daunted the heck out of me; I am only aware of a few HDM crossover fics and they are really good! I didn't want to let the side down. I found this universe really interesting, and there will be timestamps, at least.


bright the vision that delighted - Sam/Dean, PG13, ~12,500 words of AU season 6 casefic with Castiel and Claire Novak, written for spn_reversebang.

First time writing for a piece of art. Neat experience. This one took off on me.


Green Means Go - CWRPF, J2 AU, R, ~35,000 words, written for spn_j2_bigbang.

I'm proud of this. It's long, I managed to keep the plot together, it got recs and good reviews (even from the anonmeme), and I still like it even after all the time I spent on it. First bigbang, first time collaborating with an artist, and a great experience all round.


for a relative value of weird - CWRPF, J2 'non-AU', NC-17, ~3650 words, started for a prompt from apreludetoanend and finished for her birthday.

Not much to say about this. I write what I like. Gotta own it. ;)


Buffy/Angel:

Surgical Strike, chapter 1, Spike/Xander, PG13, for iadorespike on her birthday.

Speaking of which, that auspicious occasion is coming up again rapidly, and I did promise her I'd finish the story eventually. Huh.

Gwen drabble, 'Play', for open_on_sunday

Ficlet in which Xander/Riley adopt a puppy, UTTER SCHMOOP, for entrenous88 on her birthday.


Things that are blindingly apparent: 1) I have switched primary fandoms, 2) I need occasions/deadlines to actually complete anything.

I wrote around 60,000 words this year, which is three or four times as much as the year before (depending on whether you count the Dollhouse meta which was at least 1/3 of my output in 2009.) That's mainly due to bigbang, of course. I enjoyed it, I'd like to write a prequel this year, but I'm not sure if I'm up to doing it again. However, madame_meretrix says she will if I will, so... :)

I like this year's writing. I think I'm tougher on myself these days. I find Dean and Sam hard; they're complex, and there's a lot of pain and darkness that needs to be there, or at least taken into account, if the story is going to have any real weight or believability to it. One thing I realized this year is that I don't like taking characters through the dark places, I tend to subconsciously pull back. But if I don't, I will never get the level of meaning that I want. It's not just angst for angst's sake, it's the crucible. It's why fleshflutter and candle_beck can hit me so hard; they go there, they take their characters through hell and back, and make the trip worth the emotional investment.

Thanks to everyone who's chatted, commented, beta'd, listened to me brainstorming, encouraged people to sign up for challenges, and just generally been here. Fandom is a weird and wonderful place, and five years ago I didn't know it existed. You are all really neat people and I'm glad I know you. ♥