Well, 2011 was an amazing year for fic – a whooping 525,000 words. This year… not so much. BUT, before we begin to look at the details, what’s, why’s and wherefore’s, let’s take a moment to appreciate the grandest achievement of 2012:

*victory dance* It doesn’t matter to me how long ago I reached this word count (several months, I believe), it’s my proudest moment of 2012. I set the goal and made it, and by gods that’s something to celebrate! :D

*ahem*

and the actual meme…

This year I wrote and posted:
23 stories (or drabble series) for an approximate total of 320,000 words.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?
Less. However, I finally landed a good-paying job and I feel the exchange was fair. After all, writing fanfiction may be fabulous but it doesn’t pay the bills!

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
To be honest, I did not deviate much from my usual pairing, and I definitely did not stray into any new fandoms, though I was tempted to do so once or twice. Star Trek is, simply put, my writing fandom. When you can write AUs, the possibilites are endless! So yeah, I tend to play in the same sandbox each time I settle down to write.
However, I did write a character I didn’t think I would: Sam Kirk in The Skiff and its sequel. Kind of sad but lovely too, in its own way.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
Definitely the two-parter The Desert Children and The Oak Queen. It was by no means popular but it was different than my run-of-the-mill soap opera-ish fics. I love fairy tales, and I wanted to write something haunting, almost mystical, that involved my favorite trio. Suffice to say, I poured a lot of love into both stories.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
Do sad endings count? No, probably not since I write at least two to three of them a year. I would say it was a risk to do what I did to the children in The Oak Queen. It is never fun writing something so tragic.

From my past year of writing, what was….
My best story of this year:
I’m gonna have to go with a one-shot from my J ‘N B Series: The Man in the Shed. It’s so atmospheric that I still shiver each time I re-read it. And it is a great premise for a much longer story!

My most popular story of this year (based on comments):
For the Sake of Nothing. I think its initial popularity was the reason I decided the original one-shot needed more story, and thus turned it into nearly a 100,000 word story by the end. Not sure who was the fool there… XD

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
It’s not a story but a fanmix for the Riverside ‘verse. Do y’all have any idea how much blood, sweat, and tears went into those graphics? I think I permanently damaged one eye by coaxing pixels into place in Photoshop. Also, I tried very hard to tell more story of Riverside through a series of pictures.

Most fun story to write:
My space_wrapped story, The Holiday Waywards, was the most fun to write simply because I was so excited about its premise and the ‘verse itself was like a rendition of Playtime. I mean, Archer was back. How could it not be fun?!

Story with the single sexiest moment:
Haha. Of Perky Starfleet Bottoms, of course! The Chair has the best vantage point in the galaxy.

Most “Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story:
I’m almost ashamed of myself for this:

Jim lifts his hands and says jokingly, “Hey now, I’m a renowned ladies’ man…”
“MAKE OUT WITH THE VULCAN!!”
“…but I’ll try anything once!” he finishes more loudly than necessary.

(excerpt from Sexiest Human in the Alpha Quadrant)

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
I stand by my claim that I cannot write TOS!Kirk worth beans… but Rest in Peace, as a holiday gift to a friend, came out pretty well. It’s one thing to portray Reboot!Kirk as a troubled young man that doesn’t quite have a direction in his life that suits him, but it’s another thing entirely to show the illustrious Captain Kirk of the Original Series in a moment of weakness. Also, it made me realize exactly what one of my readers said so succinctly: the death of an enemy doesn’t always bring you peace.

Hardest story to write:
Sticks and Stones. I was so freakin’ worried about Khan taking over Riverside. In that regard, I hated myself for bringing him into the story in the first place because he immediately commandeered the plot and wreaked havoc with all of the characters’ lives.
Khan almost won in the end, too. :/

Biggest Disappointment:
I am not terribly disappointed with any story I wrote this year. I am disappointed that I didn’t write more. I am disappointed I don’t have the kind of time I had in the first two years of my writing craze to bring you fun and exciting fic.

Biggest Surprise:
There are two stories which surprised me:
A Comfort to Share. I didn’t think I could pull off the premise without a romantic subplot when I first thought of it… but everything sort of fell perfectly into place.
What Could Be Possible. It’s really easy to write everyone as ideally accepting of a threesome relationship. Then Joanna had something a little different to say about it, and she showed me how the idea can take some time to get used to (if you aren’t a rabid K/S/M fan like I am).

Most Unintentionally Telling Story:
An Absence Acknowledged wins this one. It’s easy to write a bantering Spock and McCoy but a scene where they choose honesty over prickly conversation? There’s something subtle about the beginning of this story that I can’t quite put my finger on. That, and I just want to them to show their respect and appreciation for each other sometimes.

Fic-writing goals for 2013:
Do you really want to know? It’s silly. I want to reach 1,500,000 words. It’s all about the words. If I didn’t care about the words, I wouldn’t find have the motivation to pursue writing. No writing means no more stories. I’m closing in on 1.2 million, so can I write another 300k this coming year? Here’s to hoping so!

A/N: I’d like to thank all of my fandom friends – new and old – for seeing this year through with me. Each one of you has special influence on what I write and, in particular, you give me the courage and energy to stay in this fandom. Without you, there is no klmeri. *hugs*

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 2013?

Related Posts:

• 2011 Writing Recap – from December 29, 2011