brightknightie | 2009 Fanfiction Year-in-Review

This year, I posted seven total fanfiction stories (~40,200 words). One was in Highlander, three in Forever Knight, and three in the Buffyverse. Six were for ficathon prompts, and one was just because. They're all gen, in the old-fashioned way I usually think about classifications, but in more contemporary terms, I suppose three are gen, three are het, and one is het and femmeslash.

Table of 2009 Stories

Posted	Fandom	Story	Rating	Beta(s)	Words	Summary	Why	Commenters
January	HL	"So This is Home"	G	Valerie and Jo	5.4K	Near Christmas, there is a theft at the shelter where Angie works. (Starring Richie, Duncan, Tessa and Angie.)	oldschoolfic	4
February	FK	"Three Fireweed Seeds"	PG-13	Jo and Havoc	3.3K	Three very short stories revisit an alternate universe in which Janette brought Fleur across. (Starring Fleur, Nick, Lacroix and Erica.)	Claire Rankin Fest	8
May	BtVS	"Fortune Prove"	G	Amilyn, Jo, Valerie and Shelley	14.0K	A Hellmouthy glitch imperils a software presentation to the faculty. (Starring Willow, Jenny, Giles and Buffy.)	femme_fic	3
May	FK	"When Donut Met Button"	G	Elisabeth and Amilyn	2.0K	Tracy receives advice from Schanke on partnering with Nick. (Starring Tracy and Schanke.)	Just Because	5
July	AtS/BtVS	"From Now On"	PG	Elisabeth and Shelley	6.0K	Nightmares and visions predict a wave of darkness pouring from Sunnyvale. (Starring Faith and Wesley.)	gen_ficathon	4
September	BtVS	"What Remains has Always Been"	G	Larah	2.3K	Dreams twist memories of growing up. Comfort is waking at the other end of history. (Starring Xander and Willow.)	oldschoolfic	2
December	FK	"In a Family Way"	PG-13	Jo and Amilyn	7.2K	Nick makes friends with his fellow travelers on a flight to Paris to see Janette. (Starring Nick, Lacroix and Janette.)	oldschoolfic	2

2009 Fanfiction Reflections

Best this year? "Fortune Prove" (BtVS). I wrote my heart out, and I believe I succeeded in producing a strong, resonant, episode-like story.

Favorite this year? My runner-up favorite is "So This is Home" (HL), which reminded me how fervently I love HL. If I had a place to post and people to play with... and time! Always time. But the winner? You'll never guess. ;-) It's "Three Fireweed Seeds" (FK). I understand and accept that it failed ¹/₃ of its ficathon prompts, and that other people do it better all the time. But. I just enjoy it. I know what happens after and around, and what might have happened but doesn't, and every corner of that London inn. Being back in the "Fireweed" universe was a revelation; I honestly didn't know that I could return! And that anyone would follow me there? Thank you!

Most disappointing this year? "What Remains has Always Been" (BtVS). I just couldn't get it to gel by the event deadline. I suspect I have little business writing romance, and none at all writing a-canonical romance.

Biggest lesson? Home is where the heart is. Most of my fanfiction this year was written for multi-fandom ficathons, and consequently I wrote my very first Buffyverse fiction -- and then second, and third, in quick succession. I did my best, and learned much. (For example, dream sequences in BtVS canon are more frequent and pivotal than I previously recognized.) However, by the end of that run, I was longing to come home to my own dearest fandoms. It feels almost like a lost fannish year, with so much effort spent where no one -- except my esteemed, indispensible beta readers -- plays with me. Other people are much more fannishly versatile than I am, and this year I learned something of the intense energy that must take. I am impressed!

Most fun? The vamp-dusting scene in "From Now On" (AtS/BtVS). Action! Faith brings it. Most surprising? "Responses" from "Three Fireweed Seeds" (FK). It turned out to be much bigger and more intense in my head than on the page, which was surprising after the fact; and that I tried it at all was surprisingly daring for me, as I haven't attempted a non-villainous biting scene in almost a decade. Sweetest? "So This is Home" (HL). Angstiest? "In a Family Way" (FK). Easiest to write? "When Donut Met Button" (FK). Most research to write? "Fortune Prove" (BtVS). I meant for it to be from Jenny Calendar's newlywed perspective, but the more I read about modern Romani, the more ignorant I understood myself to be, until I didn't dare.

2010 Fanfiction Resolutions

I hope to post at least six FK stories in 2010, and I would like to post one every other month. I resolve to be more prudent about multi-fandom ficathons, and scrutinize my sign-ups for potential overlap in secondary fandoms across events. I wonder whether it might even be possible to finally resolve "Amaranth" in 2010? (It's been hanging around one hard-drive after another since 1996.) And I am looking forward to fkficfest!

A very happy New Year to everyone! To paraphrase Bill Watterson, I am so glad and grateful to have a big blank new sheet of paper before me -- and all of us. May everything in the world go better from here on out.