2023 fic year in review

[bluerthanbluets]

 

 

Word count: 103,458

Fics written: 6

Current fandoms written in: SEVENTEEN, ASTRO

 

Looking back, did you write more fic than you though you would, less, or about what you predicted?

Less. I thought I would write more, like, fic numbers wise. But word count is astounding to me. I think it has to do with how one of my fics this year was almost 50k.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
Although I published first kiss, my ASTRO (Seungkwan/Moonbin) fic in January, I never would have predicted I'd go there myself. I love that fic though, and hold it very close to my heart. Other than that, probably my last wonchan... wonchan as a fic pairing is so polarizing. Either you get into their "canonized" dynamics as written by its wonchan authors or you don't. I don't know if my take on them holds in the midst of all their fics out there, but well, it is out there! 

 

What’s your own favorite story of the year?
I'd say it's a tie between my CYOA scoups day fic and my chancheol 50k actor industry au. 

 

Did you take any writing risks this year?
Hell yeah. Publishing unfinished and unpolished chaptered fics. Twice. 

 

Events you participated in this year?
I did three! HAPPIEST MOMENT was for svt rarepair, Jeon Wonwoo vs. The Dark Fold for ficmix, and daddy loves you for emofest. 

 

Do you have any fanfic goals for 2024?

I have an ongoing WIP for a chan-centric fest, haha which is shaping up to be my most favorite fic ever-- I do say this a lot, so perceive this with a grain of salt but do anticipate! And running Fic Feelings, I guess! 

From my past year of writing, what was…

 

My best story (or scene!) of this year:

yearsafter, my first try for a long fic set in idolverse with a perfect word count number of 13,000. And a scene of scoups and kkuma cuddling.

 

My most popular story of this year:
HAPPIEST MOMENT, which is also my longest story this year. And also my most commented fic ever with 79 comment threads. 

 

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
Well, everything. Especially Jeon Wonwoo vs. The Dark Fold which is for a mostly famous pairing, but I guess the format scared readers away lol.

 

Shortest story of the year:

daddy loves you. I intended this one to be short and tight and with the most practiced grace so to see that it is indeed my shortest this year makes me happy!

Most fun story to write:
Jeon Wonwoo vs. The Dark Fold, obviously. And yearsafter too, also an exciting format. I also thoroughly enjoyed HAPPIEST MOMENT. Imagining and writing Chan as an actor in itself is literally the most fun a dinonara can do.

 

Story that needed the most research:

HAPPIEST MOMENT, for all the casting and shooting and behind the scenes shenanigans. Got into some dark Reddit threads for this one. And mano a mano, for all the places I was plotting, the guns and firearms they were using, all the wound tending... learned a lot, haha. 
 

Story with the single sexiest moment:
From mano a mano:

And he does. Chan goes down on his knee with a strong thud and the hut buries itself deeper into the bed of the East Sea. Wonwoo feels Chan touch the back of his knee. The broken, misshapen one. The right one that just stopped working since that afternoon Wonwoo asked for proof and got it. Proof of cruelty and power he carried in his body through the hell he walked through and then back here. To this room with the man he’s supposed to kill. Who is also supposed to kill him.

 

Chan cradles Wonwoo’s broken knee and then kisses him through the ragged trousers he’s wearing. 

 

Everything moves.

 

Everything is motionless.

 

Story with the single cutest/sweetest moment:
This scoups and kkuma scene in yearsafter:
 

Seungcheol twists and faces Kkuma. He smiles and stops counting. He touches her pink hairclip, tugging it back in place. Her long, thick, white fur overdue for a trim. She leans closer into Seungcheol’s palm, tongue lolling out. Rough and damp. Seungcheol lets out a little laugh. Feeling steadied.

 

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:

Probably for daddy loves you. I was told my choice to go for gyujun for this kind of premise was a bit surprising, but that it did make sense in the end. Especially for choosing Jun as the salesman. I think I was just going off this one moment in svt's old guesting in... Idol Weekly was it, when Jun did an intro like a salesman but writing his character in this one made me dig deeper and really situate Jun in the story. And I did like where it went in the end, so it was gratifying to see the idol (or my perception of him) fit into the character into the story.

 

Hardest story to write:
No hard feelings but mano a mano. I was fighting for my life in that doc, my goodness... I think it also didn't help that grades were due the week I was set to finish the last chapter but I swear I was really writing this up until the time I clicked post on the last update-- something I honestly haven't done before! I usually let the draft stew 2-3 more days before hitting post, and I'm also always early meeting the deadline so I have time in case I miss out on some errors or want to add whatever. But this one, oh boy. I was hanging by a thread. I do like how it turned out but wow, I struggled.

 

Biggest disappointment:

Again mano a mano. I wiiiiiiish I had more time to work on this-- and maybe I will go back to it and edit it more next year! This really was just a genre that I've been wanting to try out before and I don't think it turned out the way I was imagining it to when I started it.

 

Biggest surprise:

Jeon Wonwoo vs. The Dark Fold. One, that a distant friend still could tell this fic was mine even on anon. Two, that it did not do well.

 

Most unintentionally telling story:

What does this mean? Most unintentionally Kit-esque fic? HAPPIEST MOMENT. Because of the Seungcheol easily.

 

Favorite lines from anywhere:
From daddy loves you, this whole scene where they were in the water:

It was a long day ending without dusk. The water was cold. Sujin was gone. And Mingyu’s life on earth had been measured by one loss after inscrutable loss. But now, see. The hand in his was warm. The tingling in his skin, real. They’re floating, held up steadily by the water. 

 

It’s impossible to feel dead when you’re alive.
  

From yearsafter:

When it ends, a bewildering softness or joy or gratitude bucks fiercely inside Seungcheol he almost bows on instinct as the video fades to black, as he bids farewell to his paradise. Thank you, this has been…

Final thoughts:
I think this is the year I felt saddest writing. I wrote all the fics I've been meaning to write-- the 2-pov format in first kiss, which I first tried out in a now-scrapped jicheol because it ended up looking like it was going to reach up to 70k words; my chan actor magnum opus; an experimental CYOA; the android fic I started on since last year... but it truly felt like I was telling these stories so eagerly into an empty room. This realization just guts me because I got into fic writing thinking and feeling like yes, this is where I can write within a community! Joy! Sharing! Etc! And mostly, in the process, there's that. Friends check in on you and write alongside you, but I found out, or more like validated, that the process after hitting post on a fic is just as important as the process of writing it. 

In general, I just observed that the whole ficdom, as I'm exposed to in my small circle and the view it allows me, is getting bigger and bigger but also unfortunately more siloed and vacuumed into small, private pockets closed off from the entire community. If a writer you're not friends with or who does not reach your tl normally writes something in the same pairing or even collection as you, nowadays I notice you'd hardly care about their work. Even if you're both writing for the same idol member. Which sucks honestly-- socially, and stats-wise, but also just, in terms of reading practice. Because this attitude and individualism in this kind of generative space leads to an almost homogenous style and standard in writing. 

I honestly wish we'd talk more about this. There was a tweet a few days ago about how essentially fic writers who get into publishing lack skills, and I qrt-ed to say maybe it's because writers do not read outside of ao3. I was being conservative. I think it mostly has to do with reading the same people and tropes and regurgitated, maybe even copied off themes and characterizations. Of course it lacks depth if you're just echoing the same thing about the same dynamics. If you are adamant on only enjoying fics as they are, as a way to exhaust brainworms and the pure unbridled joy seeing A and B come together and kiss, then good on you. You may stop reading here. But I do think there is suuuuuuch an immense opportunity to learn and practice and grow in this space too, so it's such a waste to not explore and read widely and make friends with fans who would be willing to push you to read and write outside of your comfort zone or to teach you how to do things on the page.

There are so many talented writers out there, and frankly, it's a major privilege to be able to read their works for free and in just a click. So let's read these people, and show our appreciation for them, before they stop writing entirely. Maybe this should be everyone's 2024 resolution: let's read widely, interact more, and try out weird, and new, and exciting things you haven't done in a story before.