2016 year-end word count closed at:

This year I wrote and posted:
11 stories for an approximate total of 165,000 words. Not surprisingly 50% of that total is the last Holiday series story, which became a six-month endeavor. Am I regretting any of it? Heck no. I reached two million words partly because of stories that wouldn’t end, and boy was it nice to finally achieve my long-term goal!

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?
I wrote less frequently but produced longer stories. And nearly all of those stories focused on Kirk/Spock/McCoy. I blame McSpirkHolidayFest for this, because I believe in ‘doing as I do, not as I say’ and had to reserve most of my writing energy to bring good game to the challenge rounds. So, overall what I wrote is about what I predicted going into 2016.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
I fulfilled more prompts than personal headcanons in 2016, so to be honest I think my work was very predictable and unsurprising for the year.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
A Union to Remember. It was a Spock-POV story that fell perfectly in sync with its original outline. As a writer, you can’t ask for more than that.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
The biggest risk was undertaking a story I knew would require more work around maintaining story continuity and developing characterization than plot. Since it’s part of a series that I had started over three years ago, that was plenty of time for me to forget everything important and unique about the series. Lesson learned is this: keep good notes for your AUs. You never know when you’ll need to reference them!

From my past year of writing, what was….
My best story of this year:
Walking the Worlds. It’s no joke to kill off a beloved character and, in the process, rip out the hearts of those who loved him. I tried my damnedest to make the reader fall in love with McSpirk all over again right before the unthinkable happened. Call me evil but I call myself serious about my craft. This story demanded no regrets.

My most popular story of this year (based on comments/kudos):
New Light to the Darkness. People just adore oblivious!McCoy for some reason. (Psst, so do I!)

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
Bids and Blessings. I mean, c’mon, who really cares about Jim reflecting upon his estranged relationship with his mother? Well. Jim does. And Spock and McCoy.

Most fun story to write:
It’s a tie between two stories. Joanna is always such a lovely little – and devilish – matchmaker in my headcanons. This time she had her grandmother to partner up with in Keeper of the McCoy. On the other hand, For the Greater Good Too had puppy!Jim and Triumvirate snowball fighting. Both stories made me laugh a great deal.

Story with the single sexiest moment:
Nothing too sexy happened in 2016, unless you count all the flirt-fighting that McCoy and Spock engaged in during practically every story.

Most “Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story:
Spoiler Alert!!! I made McSpirk non-existent at the end of Walking the Worlds. That felt pretty wrong to me. Still did it anyway.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
Holiday Revenge. Archer and parenthood. A year ago I would have said it wasn’t possible, but then again he has always been one to step up his game when needed, hasn’t he? The other surprise is Kirk, of course. He’s already got Pike for a dad. Why would he accept anyone else? Writing the progression of these two has been arduous but valuable experience.

Hardest story to write:
Walking the Worlds. Anon’s prompt wanted me to kill McCoy. I agreed. And then I wallowed for the longest time over how to do it and cried a few actual tears once it was done. I try not to remember that experience too deeply.

Biggest Disappointment:
Story-wise, none. But I’m once again aggravated at myself for letting real life take away a large portion of my time and focus from happier pursuits—those pursuits being the celebration of the great characters Kirk, Spock, and McCoy in as many incarnations as possible.

Biggest Surprise:
New Light in the Darkness. Spock was pretty damn serious with those reports on Kirk and McCoy. I didn’t realize that until about halfway through and by then I had to just go with it.

Most Unintentionally Telling Story:
Keeper of the McCoy doesn’t have just a funny side; there’s a soft side too. If you really pay attention to what the characters let slip into the narrative now and then, you realize they care too much about each other. I’ve always been of the belief that courage is what makes McSpirk possible, so it’s a particularly favorite scenario of mine to write them just upon the cusp of having that courage to pursue the path of their hearts. And it’s even better when others come along to offer a word of advice and the final nudge. ;)

Fic-writing goals for 2017:
More TOS stories. It was great to have the movie Beyond give us more canon for AOS, but I’m feeling the lack of the TOS Triumvirate within the fandom in light of it. I should send the TOS crew on new adventures in 2017.

Related Posts:

• 2010 Writer’s Recap and Survey – from January 5, 2011
• 2015 Fic Recap – from January 4, 2016
• 2014 Fic Recap – from January 2, 2015
• 2012 Fic Recap – from December 31, 2012
• 2011 Writing Recap – from December 29, 2011