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The writing meme

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Fics I wrote in 2007:

Alpha and Omega: an historical slash AU.
An extra chapter of smut for Alpha and Omega, written for Moonridge.
(...The whole of A&O including the above chapter can be found here. 41,250 words).

A Child of God, slash. Written for Moonridge. 29,000 words.

Angel Dust - the first sequel to Chasing Rainbows – is still with its winner; should be posted sometime mid-January. Slash, but I’ll be putting a gen version up, too. 42,000 words.

And I’m still mired in an as-yet un-named WIP in which Blair goes to the Academy then leaves and… if you’re a member of that community, you’ll know all about it. 38,000 words completed so far and about half complete.

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

Less. Way, way less. RL has been a bitch.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2006?

None. Jim and Blair are my OTP, TS my One True Fandom.

What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?

I really enjoyed writing Alpha and Omega. It was a plot-bunny I’d been feeding for a couple of years. I sketched it out to

alibongo at her kitchen table and together we came up with a satisfyingly angsty plot. It wasn’t at all an easy one to write but I loved immersing myself in that world – the research was a joy, the writing hard but satisfying and I was unusually happy with the final result.

Did you take any writing risks this year?

A Child of God – another long-nurtured bunny that I hesitated to write because the subject matter was so dark and likely to squick and I knew it was probably going to be my least popular story (and judging by the paucity of fb it's had, I’d guess this was true. *G*) but the idea just wouldn’t leave me alone; it had to be written. I was pleased with the way it came out – it’s a lot less dark that I think readers assume it’s going to be when they see the warnings; it’s a story about the enduring, eternal nature of love, but it is definitely the least popular of all my stories to date.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?

Fanfic: To finish the Academy story; to get the third and final part of the Chasing Rainbows trilogy done quickly and well.
Profic: To write my new novel – something that I’m totally blocked on at the moment. Also to finally publish my Cuban novel, Picking the Low Mangoes – currently with the Susanna Hill agency in Paris, and maybe even my road book – also about Cuba - though I'm a little pessimistic about the latter.
Finally getting my fiction into print is my big goal for 2008

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

My Best Story:

Angel Dust

Story Most Under-appreciated by the Universe:

A Child of God

Most fun:

The Academy story.

Most disappointing:

I’m not disappointed by any of my stories.

Most sexy:

Not for me to judge.

Story with single sexiest moment:

Alpha and Omega; the bit when Jim sucks honey from Blair’s finger.

Story with single sweetest moment:

Hmmm. That’s a hard one. Probably the end of A Child of God, when Jim comforts a tearful Blair on the plane.

Hardest to Write:

All of them. I am a slow writer who (seriously) agonises over almost every word.

Easiest story to write:

The Academy one – it’s basically writing itself (though it’s still hard work! – see above)

Most Unintentionally Telling:

Urm… I’m not really sure what that means. Maybe someone could tell me? (o:

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Still an impressive tally, even if less than you wanted. 150,000-odd words of fanfic, and that's not counting the profic!

And I liked a Child of God...

You say the sweetest things. *G*

I can't tell you how happy I am to have you on my coms, betaing my stuff, hon - you are one of the best writers in the fandom; I've loved all your stories so much.

Edited for wine-induced typos. (o:

Oh, gosh, Gilly...::blushing ferociously::...that's just so incredibly sweet of you to say!

Whatever you're drinking, I'll be happy to buy you more of it...*g*

I still wonder if I should do this one, too. I've already done the listing of my fic, though...

I loved Alpha&Omega, btw (I hope I told you that), and it showed that it was fun project to write (in a good way, of course).

I'm very sorry to hear that "A Child of God" has been under-appreciated so far. That is such a strong story, and I wasn't squicked one bit, because you dealt with the subject matter in a very respectful, fitting way. It wasn't there just for the story or its shock effect. But you also didn't shirk around it and you didn't euphemise it. You were empathetic toward it and the different characters. I honestly think that, if it had been real people you were writing about, they wouldn't have minded. All in all it was a great story and a very demanding writing project that turned out perfectly.

The Academy thing (I thought you'd decided to call it "The Owl"?): I actually still haven't caught up, but I am about to (reading it on my palm these days, making annotations :-); I love my palm! *g* )

Angel Dust. I still regret not having been there for all of its creation, but now I look forward to reading the finished fic very much (easier to download to my palm; im so lazy.)

The most "unintentionally telling" thing... maybe a story that told the reader more about yourself (your likes/disklikes/kinks?) than other stories?

And I'm wishing you the best of luck and success with getting your writing published this year!

'I still wonder if I should do this one, too. I've already done the listing of my fic, though...'
Well me too, but talking about yourself and shameless self-pimping is never a waste of time, is it? ::giggle::

I'm still tinkering with the title of the Academy thing - it'll have some variation on the Owl theme. It's semi-inspired by Nicolas de Restif de la Bretonne in the French Revolution so maybe something that alludes to that....?

And I'm glad you enjoyed COG. It hasn't exactly overwhelmed the fandom if the fb is anything to go by (I've had almost 50 emails about Chasing Rainbows - COG has had five.(o:) but that's not important - fb is nice but it's not why I write and I really did want to write COG; the notion had been bugging me for two years and I'm glad I finally got it out of my system and was happy with the end result - but I can understand why so many people found it a bit heavy and a lot won't touch it with a barge pole. *g*

I have no idea if anything in my stories is unintentionally telling or not - nothing I can think of anyway. (o:

'And I'm wishing you the best of luck and success with getting your writing published this year!'
Thanks so much. I don't make NY Resolutions but I have made a sort of one to work very hard on the new novel and really push trying to get the older novel into print this year. I think another is to Leave More Feedback; I am sometimes really remiss and it shames me. Good luck with all your endeavours this year too - your writing goes from strength to strength hon; I should tell you that more often.

I think Child of God was a great piece of writing - it was one of my favourite stories last year, and I'll come and bite anyone who's mean to it... kidding!

And gosh golly - look at the word tally - and you say you're slow?

Finally getting my fiction into print is my big goal for 2008

::joins the cheering team for that one:: Go girl, go!

Don't be so nice to me, I might get a taste for it.

'and you say you're slow? '
Oh I am - very! Really, you should watch me write; it's painful and unpleasant to see.

And... I don't really *know* that COG was unloved but it's had almost no fb compared to my gen stuff; its had even less than A&O. (o: i think the theme has put a lot off - I had 2 people email to tell me they looked at the warning and wouldn't read it, but like I told Skye, it was a story that had been eating at me for two years and - incredibly lovely though it is, I don't write for the feedback. I'm especially thrilled that you liked it, hon; you have impeccable taste. *g*

'::joins the cheering team for that one:: Go girl, go!'
::Blushes. Simpers. Is impossibly pleased::

.
Um, yeah. Your word-count is more than twice as much as mine. I don't count you as 'slow' either.

And -- oooh, somehow, I missed The Sentinel Affair. I know what I'll be reading during lunch!
.

LOL - really, *EVERYONE* missed the Sentinel Affair! It's only ever had one bit of fb (from Nightowl, bless her heart!) - I can't begin to tell you how completely and utterly gobsmacked I was to see it nommed - and then to get an 'hon mench'...?! It was my first TS fic evah - an attempt at a story in a 'Man From UNCLE' universe as requested by its winner. Not the sort of thing I usually write, but probably none the worse for that. It was an attempt at humour; I hope you like it. (o:

'I don't count you as 'slow' either. '
Ah, you know, I see some people's story counts (casts envious glare across the room at Jane D) and I feel so... inadequate. ::sigh:: My big problem is that I can't write short stories; I set out with that intention but the thing grows and grows... Add to that that I actually do this for what I laughingly call 'a living' and sometimes, by the time I hit the fic, I'm all writered out.

I do write slowly - really, stories are dragged from me and I'm an awful post-tinkerer too, but thanks for the ego boost, I can't tell you how appreciated it is. (o:

edited for yet more insane typos - the wine is really kicking in here. (o:

Gonna bookmark this post for sure. *g*

I hope I wrote feedback to Child of God because I REALLY like that story and most definitely will read it again! VERY well written and moving.

Same with The Sentinel Affair. If I didn't write fb for that, I really WAS in a daze! I've read that twice and I always try to send fb when I enjoy a story that much. I'm really sorry if I haven't told you before how much I enjoyed that one. =>}

Go you! =>}

Gosh, I wasn't fishing for fb! Honestly, I don't post a tale then sit there waiting for the LoCs to come in, the only reason I mention it at all is because it's my only way of judging how well-liked a story was.

I'm really glad you liked the stories but I really, truly, honestly don't mind about the fb! I hope you'll enjoy the new ones when they eventually appear.

I KNOW I'll enjoy the new ones. *g*

I didn't think you were fishing for fb at all. LOL. I was just appalled with myself that _I_ hadn't sent fb, since I try to send it every time I enjoy a story! At least now I know I have. =>}

I really suck at FB. I hate that I come across all mush&gush when it's something I really like. But I have loved your stuff!! I have yet to read everything, but I loved CoG. The flow of your words speak of an intelligence and that you truly know the ins and outs of words. When you say you agonize over every word it shows. I mean, the word chosen is like the perfectly fitted puzzle piece.

crap, here I go again. Anyway, I like your stuff :)

You say you suck at this? That's probably some of the best fb I've ever had. And the most flattering - I hardly know what to say to that except, thanks very much! Wow...

And I'm the last person to complain about fb since I'm so bad at sending it myself. It's on my list of NY resolutions (OK, I never make resolutions but I do intend to send out way more comment and fb than I have in the past).

But, if I can reiterate - I wasn't fishing for more fb! It's lovely to get an email from someone saying they liked your story - or even if they're being critical (and I've only ever had one of those) because at least it lets you know it's being read and that person cared enough to let you know how they felt. BUT - I know from the hits that only one in about 100 people who read something will write, and that's fine, honestly! It's not the reason I write. If I never got a single piece of fb... being honest, I wouldn't be happy *G*, but it wouldn't stop me writing and posting stories.

But I'm very glad you liked COG because I was very invested in it but it hasn't been popular, to put it mildly. *g* Though the little fb I have had on that one has been the most positive and thoughtful of all.

I read all your stories on your website, and while I know I told you I love your writing, I read them when I was in my 'afraid to email people' stage. ( I had an irrational fear of being spammed if my email address was just loose out there in cyber space. I think I'm over it now).

The Sentinel Affair -- I liked the hippie references(naturally) and Blair being sent to Conover and having to recant everything he said to appear sane. He lost his reputation, but was still being Blair in the commune. Jim was seduced despite himself. Jim doing the covert ops kind of thing but getting sucked into Blair's orbit - I liked that a lot.

Child of God -- No bad guys, just people in pain.

The way I've always seen it, Naomi either knew who Blair's father is and is keeping the information to herself for either a good reason to protect Blair - like she did in this story, or to deny the father access to Blair or the father's family access. The other theories are she doesn't know because she was raped by an unknown person, or she was incapacited due to drugs or alcohol -- still rape if she was not able to give informed consent; or she was doing a one night stand or with several guys that she quickly drifted away from without really knowing who they were. That might seem a little out there, but I've worked with several kids who the mother really didn't know who the father was, and their guesses, due to DNA testing, were wrong.

You have to feel for Naomi, because incest causes such damage to a person. Her imparied ability to have healthy relationships, the way she uses her body seducatively, all can be attibuted to the incestual abuse.

And Blair-- maybe it was confirmation of his worst fears and dashing of his hopes. Jim, wanting to show his support. And the pain her father was in -- that made him less than rational.

It wasn't an easy story but it was an excellent one.

Wind Whispering: I love the way Jim and Blair's relationship starts out with suspicion on Jim's part and for Blair the familiar feeling of being judged by his looks in that negative way. And Blair's in grief, and he can't share that -- the girl who is more than she appears at first, the boy who isn't the bad guy at all. The resuce in the snow, Jim's thawing about Blair and Blair wanting to help Jim, even knowing he's risking being rebuffed... Loved all of it. Jim bringing Blair to his cabin and letting him stay there. Blair being sick and Jim feeling like a jerk when he finds out why. Jesus just listing this stuff from my memory makes me want to read it again.

Chasing Rainbows -- loved the meshing of the spirit plane with reality in Blair's world. Loved him being stripped of his intellect, his BSing ability to have the sweet core of his personality being the dominant feature people see about him. Loved Jim wanting to caretake him and bring him out of it. Loved the waking coma idea -- is that real, by the way, or did you make it up? Loved the speech problems at the end, because it made his recovery more realistic.

Absolutely loved Blair giving Simon a hug, and Simon having to let him.so as to not scare him. Loved the murder case you worked into it also.

Can't wait to read the sequel.

Loved Alpha and Omega - the way you made it historical and fresh at the same time. Cried when Jim had to decide if Blair had to die or not. Simon being jealous -- that worked nicely.

So Gilly, much apologies for not giving specific FB before.
You are a wonderful writer and I love your stories
Laurie

Now I feel really guilty because everyone's apologising for not sending me fb and I REALLY don't want anyone to think I was fishing for compliments! Really, the only reason I mentioned it was because the meme asked the questions and the only way I have of judging if a story was liked or not is from the fb and comment and some stories, tis true, got very little compared to others so I naturally conclude that those stories just weren't as well liked which is a shame but I ain't losin' sleep over it. (o:.

And quite honestly, I'm THE worst person to complain about the lack of fb because I'm just *terrible* at sending it myself.

But...

Having said all that...

Thanks so much for taking the time and the trouble to work on all that comment, hon. It is massively appreciated. I'm consistently surprised and pleased beyond measure when people like the stuff I churn out because I'm my own worst critic and I don't think I've ever posted a chapter or a story without cringing because it always seems to me to be - not as good as it could be; could do better - you know? I don't think I've ever been 100% happy with anything I've done so when people write marvellous stuff saying they like it, I come over all Sally Field and start making a fool of myself. (o:

I'm still absorbing this delicious ego-massage you've sent me. It means even more coming from a writer I respect as much as you so, thanks again - I'm looking forward to returning the compliment very soon (ie write more hon, it's eagerly awaited. (o:)

Jim and Blair are my OTP, TS my One True Fandom

And just keep it that way, okay? :-)

I am a slow writer who (seriously) agonises over almost every word.

The agonizing part -- much empathy here; me, too. (Not agonizing over *your* words -- I love them -- but I do that too, over my own.) But that's part of the end result; fic worth reading and re-reading, that says what it wants and says it wonderfully and beautifully and vividly.

But "slow"? -- oh give me a break. ::bops you gently on the back of your head:: :-) I'm at six months now on a 5000 word Moonridge fic for PatK (and haven't written anything else to speak of during that whole time) -- see, *that*'s slow. 150,000 words in a year just can't be 'slow', okay?

And I for one (for so very many! :-)) have loved everything you've written. (And I was definitely not squicked by ACoG; you handled it gently and lovingly, despite the pain (and God knows we TS fen love pain, anyway).)

But back to the original point -- Jim and Blair are my OTP, TS my One True Fandom ::beams at you, pretending she isn't keeping a pair of handcuffs handy just in case you ever show signs of Leaving ::

'I'm at six months now on a 5000 word Moonridge fic for PatK (and haven't written anything else to speak of during that whole time)'
Oooh - something to look forward to - I don't care how long it takes. (o:

'And just keep it that way, okay? :-)'
I've never found a pairing with the allure of Jim and Blair. I think my fandom loyalty is pretty fixed, now.

As is yours, I hope? (o: Thanks for the kind words, sugar, they are hugely appreciated.

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The writing meme

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Aw... Shameless smooching and doxie-lke ego massage over here, under the big red light...

Re: Aw... Shameless smooching and doxie-lke ego massage over here, under the big red light...

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Shucks...

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