Fic year in review

[emmagrant01]

I've never done this meme, and I've always wanted to.



Fics: 23
Word count: 130,000

January
By the Light of the Moon (Harry/Bill). This one was written for merry_smutmas so technically it's a 2005 fic, though I posted it on my LJ in 2006. I worked really hard on it, but it didn't get as much attention as I hoped it would. In fact, a few people who usually like my fic said they didn't like this one. I'm still not sure why.

Unexpected Encounter (Remus/Draco). Written for the slushes mixers challenge. Written while fairly drunk. Heh. It's cute, considering.

In Boots (Harry/Draco). Written for hp_quince. This fic probably has one of the highest comment to writing effort ratios of anything I've written. It got tons of comments, and I literally spent 15 minutes on it, per the rules of the challenge.

Head Over Feet (CYA fic). One of the biggest disappointments for me last year was hp_infinities. I had high hopes for it, but it pretty much fizzled. My idea was to create an invitation-only fic community that would be very inclusive, which was probably a really stupid idea, because hey - people want to belong to those because they're exclusive. The initial response to the idea of a Choose-your-own-adventure community was good, and then... not much happened. I wrote the beginning to this fic. Gorgeous art by sherant.

February

Scotch Neat (Harry/Draco). Written for almost_hd's first kiss challenge. I seem to have a tendency to end my fics in places that are unsatisfying for readers, because people frequently ask for more. This is one of those fics! But for me, it ends in a very appropriate spot. Hmmm.

March

The Bet (Bill/Harry/Fleur). Written for the hp_loveletters exchange. I was really happy with this fic. I worked really hard on getting Fleur's dialogue right, and while it's not perfect, I think it's not bad.


April

Keys to Desire (Harry/Draco). Another hp_infinities fic. I wrote an ending for this one, and I enjoyed doing it.

Flicker (Remus/Draco). This was written for hp_springsmut, and I think it's the best fic I wrote last year. Certainly, it's the one I'm proudest of. I worked so, so hard on it, and was very happy with how it turned out. It was one of those stories that felt very rich and real in my head, and my challenge was to put it in writing. I LOVE this Draco, and I love the ending. I could read this over and over. :-P

Small Comforts (Harry/Draco). This is an example of something I wrote quickly as a gift and posted un-beta'd, that then received a tremendous number of comments. Don't get me wrong -- I sincerely appreciate every comment I get, but sometimes I am surprised by the response to a certain fic. I didn't work very hard on this, and it's very short. It's also complete fluff, something I almost never write (or read, for that matter). And despite the fact that people in general don't seem to think highly of fluff fic, it sure gets a lot of comments from readers.

May

Downloading Porn (Harry/Draco). Written for the pantymelts computer sex challenge. This was a reversal of what I usually do with this pairing, and that was fun. Usually my Draco is gay and Harry is the one who comes out over the course of a story, but in this one, it was the other way around.

Room Service (Harry/Ron). I think this is the only Harry/Ron fic I've ever written. I like the pairing, but I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it. But reallycorking drew a gorgeous scene that I just had to write a story around.

June

The Next Best Thing (Harry/Draco). I wrote this fic while traveling in England and France; in fact, I wrote a good chunk of it on the Eurostar! There are parts of it that will always remind me of where I was when I wrote it. I really, really enjoyed writing this one, and I was happy that the response to it was so great. It was inspired by the film Eating Out, and I thought it would be short. In the end, it was the longest fic I wrote last year!

Playing Hearts (Pansy/Ginny). I had been wanting to write femmeslash, and I got stuck on the idea of Pansy/Ginny as being sort of a female analogue of Harry/Draco. I was really happy with the way this one turned out. I almost didn't post it, because I thought I could probably change the names and submit it to an erotica collection. In the end, I decided to post it, though. It got a lot of "I usually don't read femmeslash, but.." types of comments, which made me really happy.

July

The Slasher's Guide to Rome. Non-fiction! I had a lot of fun putting this together. MDH helped me scour Rome for slashy sights.

August

Not Entirely Unexpected (Harry/Draco). Written for the Demelza House Fundraiser at The Quidditch Pitch. I really adore post-war troubled!Harry fics. I don't know why, but I guess I like to see him dealing with all the crap he's gone through in canon, and coming out on the other end of it in less than perfect condition. It seems more realistic to me. And it also means he needs someone to help him put his life back together... The response to this fic was really huge, too. I think it got the most comments of anything I wrote this year.

September

Still the Sun (Harry/Draco). This was an interesting little scene I'd been playing with for a while, and it was originally going to be part of a larger post-HBP Harry/Draco/Snape fic. But that never really got going, and I decided to write this scene as a short fic of its own. I labeled it "borderline-noncon" as an afterthought, even though it doesn't really contain noncon at all, and a bunch of people told me they didn't read it because of that. That caught me by surprise, because not only is there no actual noncon here, but it doesn't occur because the "victim" gets the upper hand. I had to stop and re-evaluate my labels for fics after that, because labels like "noncon" are so very loaded.

October

Wow, I wrote no fics in October! I was watching my way through Buffy at the time, and plotting out my holiday exchange fics.

November

Sometimes They Burn (Harry/Draco). This was written for TQP's Demelza House Fundraiser, and I spent a loooong time writing it. I knew where I wanted the story to go, and I really struggled to write it. And though I was really happy with the result, one of my betas didn't like the fic, and still doesn't. She thinks I tried to do too much in the story, and I haven't yet decided if I agree with her. She told me she thought I should cut out the whole storyline of searching for the DE and rewrite it, focusing instead on the relationship between Harry and Draco (which she thought was rushed). But for me, the development of that relationship is carried by the search for the DE, so I don't know how I could do it differently. In the end, I decided it was just a fic that didn't work for her, and that was that. I'm still not sure I agree with her, though, because I like it. It's dark and uncomfortable in places, and it explores bdsm themes that I hadn't really played with before. It was a challenge to write, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Same Time, Next Year (Buffy/Angel). This was my first ever fic in the Buffyverse, and I have to say I was disappointed in how it was received. I really, really like the way it turned out, but it only got a handful of comments and many of those were negative. For example, people didn't like my characterization of Angel, and when I pressed them on it, it turned out most of them hadn't actually watched Angel. So they were criticizing a characterization they didn't know anything about! That left me a little WTF, I have to say, and really dampened my enthusiasm for writing in that fandom.

December

Out of Focus (HP/AtS crossover, Snape/Lilah). This was written for the btvs_santa exchange, and I had fun writing it. I love the idea of HP/BtVS crossovers, because the universes fit so well together. On top of that, Harry and Buffy are the same age in real time, which opens up a hell of a lot of possibilities. Of course, the recipient of this fic has yet to comment on it -- and so my enthusiasm for writing in the Buffyverse diminishes even further. :-P

You Say It's Your Birthday (Harry/Draco). A gift for silentauror, and it was fun to write. It's fluff, and a completely unoriginal plot device, but it got a lot of comments!

Anonymous exchange fics:

smutty_claus: I had a GREAT time writing this fic, and I was stunned by the response to it. Not only did it get a lot of comments, but the comments were qualitatively different from comments I typically get on slash fics. It seemed like every person who reviewed it went to great lengths to tell me exactly what they liked about it. That's probably some of the best feedback I've gotten on a short fic in this fandom.

hd_holidays: I wibbled greatly over this fic, as some of you know. I scrapped it twice and picked it up again, and was convinced that the recipient wouldn't like it. And she loved it, and so did a lot of other people, and it turns out I was all worried for nothing! I'm looking forward to the reveal on this one, because I think people might be surprised that I wrote it.

merry_smutmas: I was happy with the way this one turned out. It got a large number of comments, considering when it was posted, and I feel good about it. I don't know if it's obvious that I wrote it or not. One of my betas said she thought it read like an "Emmafic" and that I ought to blind it more. Heh.

Any guesses as to which ones were mine? :-D

Comments

[ashe-frost.livejournal.com]

I've been in this fandom for five years and I never have any idea who wrote which challenge fic. I'm really proud of the participant's this year, though. A lot of great stuff was produced.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I have guesses, but I'm not that confident in them! :-P

[nimroddess.livejournal.com]

I am so very behind reading exchange fics. I still have some links from last year I haven't read! But there was a merry_smutmas fic that I thought had your name all over it, which then made me suspicious that it wasn't you because it seemed so much your style. But my original opinion was reinforced when I noticed the author anonymously posting thank you messages to a lot of the comments, because you respond to comments, at least in your own journal, more than I've seen from any other fic author I follow.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Actually, I don't reply to comments on exchange fics anonymously. In fact, I think it's kind of cheesy, and it makes it look like the author is trying to increase their comment count. :-/ So that wouldn't be mine!

After the reveal, I'll probably go back and reply in person. But that's going to take a while, heh.

[nimroddess.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I didn't think of it that way, because I don't tend to judge entries by their comment counts, but I suppose I can see why some people would. It makes more sense to wait until after the reveal anyway, now that you mention it :)

[quimtessence.livejournal.com]

Due to differing time zones, it is 5:45 a.m., January 1^st over here, making this, technically and practically, my first comment on LJ in 2007.

Point is, I just wanted to say, in view of your post, that you've done well in 2006. You're a writer whose work I enjoy immensely. I expect even better fic in 2007, as per always.

Okay. That is all.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I wrote quite a lot in 2006! It's interesting to go back and actually look at all of them. I probably didn't beat my word count for the previous two years, since I wrote novel-length fics in 2004 and 2005. ;-)

[quimtessence.livejournal.com]

True that, but you've managed to diverge from your usual pairings at times and tried different things in 2006, including a new fandom, which you hadn't done before. As much as I enjoyed your novel-length fics, I'm more excited about the new things you endeavour to write.

I expect great things for 2007, as trite as that (may) sound. *grin*

[snottygrrl.livejournal.com]

okay, i'm going to be forced to leave a comment about small comforts. i find it interesting to see that you were so surprised by the response. first i'd differ with the idea that it's fluff, draco is in an entirely unfluffy mood in the story despite the fact that harry is in comfort mode. and besides the fact that it's a well written small slice of time, it's a well written slice of time that everyone of us has experienced. i doubt there is a person that read that fic that hasn't been in some version of either draco's position, or harry's position or both at some time in there lives. everyone of us could intimately relate and feel what they were feeling. and that makes us all weepy and comment-y.

a story doesn't have to be long or complex to touch us (though your long and complex fics touch us as well). ♥

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! I typically put H/C fic in the fluffy category, because there isn't any big conflict between the characters. I don't really have a good reason for doing it. I'm mostly just surprised when people respond to fics that seem like such small snippets of a story. I guess their length and emotional resonance make them appealing, though. It's daunting to start reading a novel-length fic, but short and sweet really can hit the spot sometimes. :-)

[maya231.livejournal.com]

I had a bit of a hunch about your merry_smutmas fic, but it sounds like you posted late, and the one I was thinking of was posted early. I'm going to post my guesses at the comm.

You have written so much this year!

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

It's really hard for me to guess who wrote what. I have a few guesses as to who wrote my gift fic in Smutmas, but I don't expect to get it right! ;-)

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you've posted this, because it makes it easy for me to go back and read some of the fics of yours I missed this year. :)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten about some of these, actually. :-)

[fodirteg.livejournal.com]

Popping in to say thanks for so much good fic!

[herenmyhead.livejournal.com]

By the Light of the Moon was what made me friend you and keep an eye out for your name as an author. I loved it and have gone back and re-read it several times since.