I’m doing this recap of 2011 a little early but that’s because I don’t foresee any fic-posting until Sunday, the first day of the new year. Consider that a warning… XD.

This EOY (end-of-year) writing meme is stolen from sullacat. I thought a meme might be more organized than me blathering on like I did last year. :) We begin with the color-coded Fic Table of 2011 (not to be confused with the Master Fic List, LOL)…

and the actual meme…

This year I wrote and posted:
37 stories (or drabble series, lol) for an approximate total of 525,000 words. If you will recall, 2010’s word count was 350k, so I am a little shocked at this… o.O

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?
I worried I would run out of ideas, yet instead I seemed to stumble upon more than ever! I do try valiantly to shy away from repeating the same storylines over and over, however. For example, I didn’t write nearly as many creepy mind-hoodoo stories as I did last year. LOL.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
A full-fledged Doom crossover with a Rebooted Space Seed called Of Sacraments and War. The undertaking made me nervous but I had an excellent beta to help me bring the idea to life. I am ridiculously proud of it.
Also, AUs. Why am I writing so many AUs, whether they be short drabbles or neverending epics?

What’s your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
It’s a toss-up between Waking Up (I think my creativity really shines through here) and The Man Who Never Was (I always wanted TOS!McCoy to get the credit he was due – I <3 you, McCoy!). Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
Oh yes. Self-insertion, which is probably on the not-to-do list of every serious writer. I worried for two months straight that Of House Guests and Winter Twins might be a flop because I was determined to tell a story by almost literally telling a story. But, hey, it worked out. (Probably because I didn’t insert myself into the ST universe – how awful would that have been, lol!?)
Also, I’m pretty sure I killed McCoy at least twice – maybe thrice? – in the last 12 months… My readers are so wonderful to stick by me or skip my angsty fics despite my proclivity for tearing out hearts with unrestrained writing glee.
Sigh. I am always re-learning a simple fact: you must do your best in spite of your fears, and you have to be proud of it.

From my past year of writing, what was….
My best story of this year:
It’s actually a drabble in the J ‘N B Series called In the Keeping of a Spirit. It begins thus:
Leonard buries Grandfather Tiberius’ soul in the attic. He puts it deep in a cardboard box full of mothballs and discarded clothes, but it refuses to stay there. This is when he begins to realize there may be no way to win against a man who is long dead.
I think it’s the best intro I’ve written all year. :D

My most popular story of this year (based on comments):
I guess that would be Along Comes a Stranger. But it could easily be explained by the fact the story was over 125k in length and people just wanted me to finish the damn thing. XD

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
The Glory of the Sands, definitely. I think even I under-appreciated it.

Most fun story to write:
Riverside ‘verse (Along Comes a Stranger, etc) due to Lady Q and the massive whump-age of James Kirk.

Story with the single sexiest moment:
Ahahaha. None. I like to delude myself that picturing the characters is sexy enough for my readers ’cause I fail at writing actual sexy-times. Hence why I generally allude to them instead.

Most “Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story:
I wrote Mr. Roddenberry (the time traveler?) hitting on Spock in the seventh drabble of A Series of Laughs. *facepalm* I know. WTH, brain?

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
The Man Who Never Was. At the end (I didn’t really hint at this in the story) I realized it is epicly hard to change Kirk and his ways – and because of that, McCoy may always take a backseat to Spock, no matter how many times Kirk acknowledges McCoy’s importance on a professional and personal level.
[My poor McCoy! The best I can do is fight hard for you in fic-dom!]

Hardest story to write:
Many Bells Down. Once Khan began his reign over Riverside, everything went to shit. In fact, things are still in the height of Epic Shit. I am struggling to cope with that as a usually optimistic writer. Though, folks, I can officially say there IS more Riverside ‘verse coming your way VERY soon.

Biggest Disappointment:
…is not any story, per se, but the lack of response to The Rogue of Ciraea. Yet I knew it was going to float unheeded in the nameless void of fiction (a lonely place created by small fandoms such as the Black Jewels series). So I guess I should be disappointed in a general fact of life and not my actual story-telling skills.

Biggest Surprise:
I am surprised I can write Kirk/McCoy without feeling guilty about leaving Spock out; and I am more surprised I have no less love for K/S/M now than I did a year ago, despite that I may have “written” the pairing to death at this point in time. Something strikes me as so naturally right about Kirk, Spock, and McCoy being together. While I can imagine other pairings – and write other pairings – I always itch to return to my K/S/M stomping ground and re-affirm that these three men are the mightiest triumvirate in Starfleet history.

Most Unintentionally Telling Story:
Probably the entire Playtime ‘verse but moreso Ready, Set, Run! It’s telling about yours truly as a person, heh. I ache deep down for and can’t abide when a Jimmy Kirk who doesn’t have a solid father figure in his young life. So I gave him one in Pike. (Archer was just icing on the cake…)

Fic-writing goals for 2012:
ONE MILLION WORDS. Srsly?!? Why is this so hard to achieve? Ugh.
Otherwise I just write whatever pops into my head. :)

I would be interested to read other opinions and/or comments. Did you have a favorite story of mine this year, or perhaps something you thought I shouldn’t have written? Is there a story in particular I need to write in 2012? More HEAs and less sad fic?

Related Posts:

• 2012 Fic Recap – from December 31, 2012