2006: A Year in Fanfiction

[annakovsky]

The reveal has happened! For yuletide I wrote The Beams of Our Houses Are Cedars, which is Big Love and is like 7 pairings of just about every character (Ben/Margie, Margie/Barb, Barb/Nicki, Nicki/Roman, Roman/Rhonda, Rhonda/Sarah, Sarah/Heather). Good times.

Happy 2007, everybody! As always, it's time for the my-year-in-fic meme, this time gacked from likethesun2.

The other stuff I wrote this year:
By Fandom
Grey's Anatomy (1)
--One Thing That Didn't Happen at Seattle Grace the Time Everyone Almost Blew Up. George O'Malley/Miranda Bailey. PG. 2500 words. Dr. Bailey's husband died, and George is there. (February 14, 2006)

Law & Order: SVU (2)
--All Summer It Hurt to Look at You. Elliot/Kathy, Elliot/Olivia. PG. 4200 words. The summer Elliot's marriage failed. (March 23, 2006)
--No more than a stone in a pasture full of stones. Elliot/Olivia. PG. 2500 words. Post-"Fault". (May 2, 2006)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel (1)
--Les Cousins Dangereux. Connor/Dawn incest. NC-17. 9100 words. For the lynnevitational. After Connor's mind-wipe, he gets inserted into the Summers family. (May 15, 2006)

The Office (10)
--Pack Up Your Bags, It's Never Too Late! or And That's How the Kids Got Married!. Jim/Pam. PG-13. 11,100 words. Jim and Pam go to a paper conference and pretend to be married. Cliche fic at its most embarrassing. (June 19, 2006)
--O*F*F*I*C*E. Canon pairings. The Office M*A*S*H AU. PG. 4700 words. Office characters in a MASH unit in the Korean War. I don't know. (July 6, 2006)
--In Case of Flash Flood. Pam/Toby. PG. 750 words. For office_romances. Pam updates the emergency contacts. (July 12, 2006)
--Five Games of Truth or Dare Jim and Pam Never Played. Co-written with kyrafic. Jim/Pam. PG. 6300 words. (July 20, 2006)
--Things Jim Can't Remember. Jim/Mark, Jim/Pam. NC-17. 1700 words. For office_romances. Post-"Casino Night", Jim and his roommate play Madden football at 2 am. (July 23, 2006)
--Crossing the Line: Rules for the Modern Workplace. Jim/Pam. NC-17. 4400 words. Post-"Casino Night", Jim and Pam secretly date. (August 3, 2006)
--Way Back When and the People We Were. Gil/Toby. PG. 382 words. office_romances. Gil and Toby meet at a high school reunion. (August 19, 2006)
--Five Ways Pam Almost Finds Out About Jim's Crush on Her and One Way She Does. Jim/Pam. PG-13. 714 words. Five Things meme. (September 4, 2006)
--The Semiotics of Concealment. Jim/Karen (Jim/Pam, Jim/Jan). R. 2200 words. Set between "Branch Closing" and "The Merger". (November 30, 2006)
--Caution: Objects May Be Closer Than They Appear. Jim/Pam. NC-17. 4000 words. warning_labels. Takes place during "Email Surveillance", while Jim and Pam were having secret sex all along. (December 7, 2006)

M*A*S*H (2)
--(O*F*F*I*C*E. Canon pairings. The Office M*A*S*H AU. PG. 4700 words. Office characters in a MASH unit in the Korean War. I don't know. [July 6, 2006])
--Pierce Our Skins. Peg/Hawkeye. PG. 1000 words. sitcomathon. Most marriages don't survive the death of a child. (November 3, 2006)

The Daily Show RPF (1)
--In What Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. Steve Carell/Stephen Colbert. PG. 2500 words. Set after the "Responsible Drinking" clip, Stephen takes a drunk Steve home. (October 24, 2006)

Big Love (1)
--The Beams Of Our Houses Are Cedars. Ben/Margie, Margie/Barb, Barb/Nicki, Nicki/Roman, Roman/Rhonda, Rhonda/Sarah, Sarah/Heather. PG. 3000 words. (December 19, 2006)

By event
1 for warning_labels
3 for office_romances
2 co-written with kyrafic
1 for the sitcomathon
1 for the lynnevitational
1 for yuletide

That's 17 stories in 7 fandoms, totalling about 61,000 words. Which is way fewer stories and fandoms than 2005, but is, weirdly, the exact same number of words. Huh. That is kind of creepy.

My favorite story this year (my own): Pack Up Your Bags, It's Never Too Late!, by a long shot. This story is so ridiculous -- kyrafic and I were talking about the horrible cliches of fic that the thirteen-year-old girls inside us secretly love, and characters pretending to be married topped both of our lists. And then we decided we should totally write Jim and Pam doing that to the best of our abilities, even though it's about the most implausible premise ever. I don't know -- it was very late. So then we spent a week co-writing it, which was maybe the most fun week of my life. I hardly did anything else -- I barely slept. I'd stay up until 3 a.m. finishing my part so I could email it to her, and then I'd get incoherent emails from her at 8 a.m. as she was running late for work because of reading it, and then she'd email me sections in the middle of the day, and I'd get to read them and send incoherent emails back, and I remember a few awkward conversations with my parents where they'd ask me if I'd gotten certain things accomplished and I'd have to say vaguely that I was working on a "project" and kind of distracted. Hahahaha. I think at the end of that week, we went to the beach and brought a printout of the fic, and in a Friendly's in Peabody we made notes of more things to add in the margins. GOOD TIMES. Even though we could literally only conquer our embarrassment and make ourselves write it through planning to publish it under a pseudonym. True story. It's so ridiculously fluffy, but I could seriously read it forever, and I have no idea why I waited so long to write guilty pleasure fic. I highly recommend it. (Uh, writing guilty pleasure fic, not reading my fic. Haha.)

My best story this year: Maybe either Les Cousins Dangereux or O*F*F*I*C*E? They were both written in that period of my life where I wrote slowly and steadily and actually felt proud of things, unlike everything from September on, when I suddenly could hardly get anything out and am still unhappy with the quality. Ah, well. O*F*F*I*C*E is a totally bizarre premise but was really fun to do -- it's also, secretly, a Hawkeye/BJ fic, and a manifesto on how differently relationships are seen on TV if they're male/female versus same sex. (Jim/Pam and Hawkeye/BJ are almost the same relationship, but Jim/Pam is canonical UST and Hawkeye/BJ are just good friends, etc.) Er -- I mean, it's just fic, for fun?

Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Eh, I think all my fic was adequately appreciated -- things that got less feedback generally got it for a reason, IMO. Plus, Office fandom in particular is insanely generous with feedback, which is kind of incredible for a really small fandom.

Most fun story: Hee. Obviously for me it was Pack Up Your Bags!, though something else might actually be more fun to read.

Sexiest story: Probably Crossing the Line: Rules for the Modern Workplace, which is just 4000 words of Jim and Pam joking around by email and then having sex at work. Class-ay.

Hardest story to write: Everything after my brain fried in September, and I think it shows.

Most unintentionally telling story: The Semiotics of Concealment, which is not a particularly good story, but is an unfortunately accurate look at how my thought patterns can go if I'm not careful.

Most "OHMIGOD HEY *I* WROTE THAT" fanon-turned-canon-moment: There were actually a ton of these for The Office, most notably going to a paper conference and Pam/Toby becoming canonical. And, of course, that time they were doctors in the Korean War.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2006 At this point, I don't think I could write anything so out there that it would surprise me. I did write a lot less gen this year than usual, though. Stupid het ships.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Honestly, I'm getting really bored with my own writing and feel like I have a few tics that I just fall back on over and over. Dulllllllllllllll. But in some ways I think this year my writing was a little more -- I don't know what the word is. Id-vortex-y? More self-indulgent? Which feels a little risky, like, here are my most retarded fantasies, world. Here's my blood, it's red, just like yours. So love me. Etc. Hee.

In conclusion, check out my new pretentious icon! (In Greek, it says, "I'm in the city, killing the men." Memes: funnier in ancient Greek?)

Comments

[calendae.livejournal.com]

omg PONY !11!!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

HEE. OhmyGOD, I had totally forgotten about that!!! I was just sitting here like, that is an inside joke and I totally don't remember the context, but then it hit me. Heeeeeeeeee. Pique: still the cutest!

[calendae.livejournal.com]

I wish I still had my pony icon. It was so random and Pique is definitely still the cutest. I found strongbow at a grocery store in Seattle and had to buy it. In memory of that weekend.

[fitofpique.livejournal.com]

N'awww! Now I feel all kinds of nostalgic. I miss you guys! I think it's time to look for that pony icon! Calendae, if I find it I'll email you. Hee.

And I think I might finally break down and watch The Office. I'm missing everything!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Meeeeeeee too. Remember when you commando crawled under the coffee table? I squish PastPique all up! And PresentPique!!

Omg if you started watching The Office I would die of joy!!

I meant to tell you this, like, three months ago.

[cleversimon.livejournal.com]

I made my partner, who doesn't even read fanfic, read "Pack Up Your Bags," and she LOVED IT. She liked it better than the show. So, um. You win!

Re: I meant to tell you this, like, three months ago.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh man, are you serious? Wow, that's crazy!

[nos4a2no9.livejournal.com]

I just realized, upon looking at this list, that the only Office fandom stories I've read and liked have been penned by you. Not that I'm all crazy on the Office or anything (I'm a due South gal) but what I've read has come from you, either as you posted here on LJ or what was rec'd on crack_van. Thanks for making this fandom seem relevant, funny, interesting, and sexy, at least to a newbie like me. Happy new year!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh man, thanks so much, that's totally flattering! <3 <3 <3 Happy new year to you too!

[likethesun2.livejournal.com]

"O*F*F*I*C*E" might well have been my favorite story I read all year. So. totally. awesome. So yes, major kudos there.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh MAN, are you serious? That means so much to me, because I really, really value your opinion. <3 <3 <3

[honey-wheeler.livejournal.com]

Haha, I just tallied mine up and I've got, like, four times as many stories, but only 20,000 more words than you have. I was totally padding my stats, man!

Which feels a little risky, like, here are my most retarded fantasies, world. Here's my blood, it's red, just like yours. So love me.

Oh, the world loves you, Kovsky. The world wants to marry you and have a million of your babies. Kovsky/World = OTP

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Heeeeeeeeee. Yeah, 20,000 words is practically nothing, man! I am completely in awe of your FORTY-WHATEVER Office stories. You own this fandom.

Hahahahahaha. I LOVE YOU TOO WORLD.

(And your ICON. Every time. EVERY TIME.)

RIP Tokyo

[honey-wheeler.livejournal.com]

::rampages::

::MOIST::

[moireach.livejournal.com]

I need to make a flipbook of things guaranteed to put me in a good mood and every time you use this icon would be one.

::EARNEST::

[honey-wheeler.livejournal.com]

Jonathan's here to help you! Let him love you! RAWR.

[dont-know5.livejournal.com]

No more than a stone in a pasture full of stones is simply perfection! I can´t get enought of this story. I keep re-reading it. And your take on those characters and how those characters would behave is dead on! I mean, at least it´s up with my take on it. Which makes it dead on!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh man, thank you so much! That really means a lot to me - I love SVU, but it's such a smaller fandom in comparison, so you don't hear as much when you write stuff. So thank you!

[kyrafic.livejournal.com]

I miss June. Never have I behaved more shamefully with more enthusiasm for such an extended period of time. Uh, at least not with another human being knowing about it.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Heeee, RIGHT? It was all folie a deux or whatever. I wish all my fandom experiences could live up to that.

[tieleen.livejournal.com]

I should have commented when I first read it, so I'm glad this reminded me: Thank you for writing that story, which felt like it was a present specifically to me (pretty neat seeing as how I wasn't part of the Yuletide project this year at all). It's exactly the story I never really thought Big Love would get to have, and the characters are spot on.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked it.

[projectcyborg.livejournal.com]

OMG THAT WAS YOU! actually I haven't read the story yet, but I saw it recced and bounced up and down and up and down because sisterwives slash is one of my greatest cravings in the entire universe! and yes, I will read it, when I get to my massive yuletide todo list for after I finish the Paper of D00m. want to post it to sisterwives??

and how much do I want to read George/Miranda?! A. SO MUCH.
I might even want to read Elliot/Olivia, despite it being my anti-OTP. mandysbitch has corrupted me on that front.
and I almost certainly want to read Even Stev(ph)en slash!

le sigh. totally the trojan horse of fic! so much of it, and so little time.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I totally didn't think about posting it to sisterwives, that's a really good idea!

And heee, seriously, so much fic, so little time! I read a ton of yuletide, but then got a serious case of yuletide burnout. More than a thousand fics is almost more trouble than it's worth, I'm sorry to say.

(Heh. Elliot/Olivia - I have a serious partner kink, which is a problem, but I know it is a wretched, wretched ship.)

I hope the paper's going well!

[allthingsholy.livejournal.com]

Oo, "Big Love" fic. Niiiice. And the year in fic wasn't so bad, yeah? "OFFICE" was definitely one of my faves of the year. So fantastic. Might have to re-read tonight, in fact.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks! I love the year in fic meme - I really liked reading yours, even though I think I forgot to comment!

[allthingsholy.livejournal.com]

Thanks. And it is fun to do it, even if vaguely depressing.

[allthingsholy.livejournal.com]

Oh, and! I read your "Big Love" fic and it was lovely and awesome, as usual. I haven't managed to get my hands on the season finale yet, but the show's awesome and the fic as well. Nicely done.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much!! I really appreciate that.

(Oh, the season finale is SO GOOD, you have to see it as soon as you can!)

[atomicpagan.livejournal.com]

This is random, but mind if I friend you? I'm loving your fic. I just read "a Sucession of Small Mistakes". You really nailed the characters. (So to speak.)

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh, definitely, friend away! Thanks so much, on the fic! I really appreciate that. :)