End of Year - Writing Meme - Goals for next year!

[mab]

I didn't do the end of year writing meme and new year's goals last year and I'm kicking myself for it. So this year, I am doing one. I feel rather accomplished looking back over the past year. I took a lot of risks and feel that I have passed another mile marker on my journey as a writer.



A list of what I wrote in 2013 in order:

Reflections:

1. Closer to God (Voldemort/Draco - 1000) — The Dark Lord chewed his way deeper inside Draco each and every night, burrowing like cancer, creating a new shell to inhabit.

2. Changes (Draco/Teddy, Draco/Astoria - 5700) — Teddy will do whatever he can to have Draco even once.

3. Albus Severus, Unplugged (Harry/Albus Severus - 1500) — Of all his children, Albus Severus is the one that Harry has a hard time with.

4. Familial Predilections (background Harry/Draco, Lucius/Draco - 8600) — Lucius Malfoy has always been proud of his resilience, though the measures he takes to ensure his survival come at a price. He doesn’t realise exactly how much he stands to lose until a letter intended for Draco opens his eyes.

5. Better Than a Little Blue Potion (Harry/Draco, Albus Severus/Scorpius - 1950) — Catching Albus and Scorpius in the act may just be the luckiest thing that has happened to Harry in months.

6. Where Your Treasure Lies (Harry/Draco - 21,000) — "The girl survived, Harry," Dumbledore said kindly. "You saved her from the fire and died a hero as you were always meant to."
"But I didn’t mean to," Harry whispered, horrified. "Draco, he needs me … I promised …"

7. Dispelling the Gloom (Harry/Teddy - 3400) — You need to move through life with your eyes open if you're ever to find your way forwards.

8. Riddikulus (Teddy Lupin - 3700) — Facing your fears is not always the best idea, especially when your fear wears your face!

9. Broken Dreams (Harry/Draco, past Harry/Ginny, Harry/Charlie and Draco/Blaise - 30,000) — When Healer Malfoy answers an Auror field emergency summons, being stuck experiencing Harry Potter's memories while he sleeps is not at all what he wants to be doing, but it seems that the curse that joins them is only the tip of the crime about to be unravelled.

10. Rise Above the Moon (Harry/Draco - 16,000) — It's not easy to make a living when your past misdeeds colour your life, but when the saviour of the wizarding world offers a possible way out, Draco Malfoy isn't stupid enough to let the opportunity pass.

11. Thicker Than Blood cowritten with curlee_cue (Albus Severus/James, unrequited Albus Severus/Scorpius and Scorpius/Lily - 4400) — After Scorpius kissed Albus, everything changed.

12. Like a Real Family (Harry/Draco - 10,800) — Harry thought he had all he wanted in life, raising Teddy and being the parent he's always wanted to be, until he experiences what life with a partner could be like. Now if only Draco wasn't straight.

13. Fallout (Harry/Draco - 1400) — Dying for the one you love is the measure of heroism, but surviving hurts.

14. Father Knows Best (Lucius, Draco, Harry - 2600) — It was Lucius's duty as a father to take care of his son and to cultivate his mind, but like a persistent weed, Draco required regular pruning.

15. Like a Moth to Flame (Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald - 2200) — The first Christmas after losing all he held dear, Albus looks back on past events.

16. Lord of the Manor Poem cowritten with writcraft (Death Eaters at Christmas - 560) — Christmas at the Manor the last year of the war is not pleasant for the Malfoys.

Total word count for year: 114,810




Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? I did write much more than I thought I would.

Where did you publish/archive your stories? Ao3

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
So many. I really branched out this year. Draco/Voldemort (never thought I'd go there) Draco/Lucius (or there either) Then the slippery slope led me to Harry/Albus Severus, Harry/Teddy, Draco/Teddy, and finally to Dumbledore/Grindelwald. I am an HD shipper... wtf am I smoking?

Did you take any writing risks this year?
I took some big risks. I embraced my love of dark!fic and wrote many dark themes, Death!fic, child loss, suicide, incest, torture, non-con, a/b/o. It was a year of risks, but I feel great having taken them and I feel I've grown as a writer because of them.


Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year?
My goal this year is to not overdo it. I'm planning to take part in hd_remix, co-mod the comm hp_darkarts and maybe participate in hd_smoochfest (if the theme turns out to be one I cannot resist). Other than that I plan to try and get permission to work on an ambitious podfic project and write a fic that I need to write, but can't do with a deadline. I do plan to read a great deal and write recs and leave comments for other writers.

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

My personal favourite story of this year: Where Your Treasure Lies This fic touched me so deeply and in a very special way. I just love it to pieces and I do wish it would get more attention, but I understand how the content warnings will scare people off.

My most popular story of this year: Rise Above the Moon This was my first and likely only attempt at a/b/o fic. It was HARD to write and not to squick myself (I just don't like the idea of being boxed in by biology or injury). Apparently I succeeded at it, because it has more comments/kudos/bookmarks than anything else I've written.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Thicker Than Blood and that really sucks because curlee_cue and I worked hard together on it and it's totally brilliant and full of sad feels, but I do understand people not wanting to take the risk of reading it because of the warnings.

Most fun story to write: Riddikulus Manipulating canon to explore boggarts was fun and exciting, but more than that, I got to play with Teddy Lupin and really get under his skin a bit.

Story with the single sexiest moment: Broken Dreams There is an 8000 word long sex scene in this fic. The foreplay, the feels, the connection, the ragged bliss... It was a fucking blast to write.


Most "holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: Albus Severus, Unplugged because parent/child incest... wtf? But OMG I liked writing it.

Hardest story to write: Like a Moth to Flame I don't know if it's because I spent so long trying to find the right voice and researching canon like mad to make sure it fit well, or if it's just the idea of Dumbledore in a romantic relationship that is hard to pull off for me (even though he's young in this) but this damn fic from hell took me a month and half to churn out and it's only 2200 words!

Biggest disappointment: Changes I just don't think I did a great job with this one and the comment count reflects it. I love Teddy Lupin and his metamorphmagus abilities in fic, and I feel I did improve some when I wrote him with Harry in Dispelling the Gloom. I do have room to improve with him in fiction though and I'm looking forward to the challenge.


Did you reach last year's goal?

I didn't make a goal last year, but I feel as though I made a lot of progress.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year?

This coming year I'm going to put my word count goal at 50,000 words total, and say that more than word count, I want to take risks with subject matter and focus strongly on revising my words until they shine.