#i was SO CLOSE to a 2k a day average in 2022

[aparticularbandit]

Self.

Please remember.

If you have not hit word count this month.

Most (not all) of your writing has been second writing, which means you've been going through a lot of words, just not adding a lot of new words.

Word count is not always an indicator of progress.

You're okay.

[ilightmytorch]

My Year in Writing, 2022

I wrote 139,257 words of fanfiction in 2022, a new record for me.  Since 2017, I’ve written 672,659 words.

On average, I wrote 381.5 words/day in 2022.  I wrote more during the three NaNoWriMo event months (42% of all words for the year in 25% of the time), with July being my most productive month at 24,108 words.  Looking at non-NaNo months, I wrote 291.8 words/day.

Other than 119 words for “We’ll Find a New Way of Living” (Teen Wolf), everything I wrote in 2022 was for Julie and the Phantoms.  62.5% of all words written were for Electric Boogaloo, and the other 37.5% included The Thief and the Dude of Honor, the two rain soulmate AUs, and F or Stay Dead and its sequel.

I published 17 fics in 2022, 2 for Teen Wolf and 15 for Julie and the Phantoms, for a total of 124,866 words.  I’m up to 266,809 words total and 43 works.  More than a quarter of a million words published--that’s very cool, I think!

Plans for 2023:   Every year I look at the WIPs lingering on my writing timesheet and decide which ones I’m going to “trunk” rather than copy over onto the next year’s list.  I’ve already decided I’m trunking “I’ll Build a House,” my Allison lives AU, with a few chapters published as one/two-shots.  I’ve also trunked Two Years, Seven Months--I just can’t see myself writing for Olicity anymore.  I’m going to look over the various pieces of You Can’t Spell Family without I-L(ove)-Y(ou) to see if any of them can be separated out as one-shots, and then that’s also getting trunked.  (I really love that fic, but it needs 100k+ to finish it, and I just don’t have the will to focus that long on anything that’s not Julie and the Phantoms.)

The only WIPs I’m planning on keeping on the active list other than my JatP stuff in progress are Wrong Coast, because it’s so close it’s painful, like just another 1-2k words, and BIDWTW.  BIDWTW is a WIP I haven’t worked on 2017, and I know I keep talking about it, but I’m starting to think I actually want to pursue publishing original fiction so finishing something novel-length would boost my confidence.

I had something on last year’s year in writing that I didn’t do, but want to:

I also want to start critiquing at my writing and working on my weak areas–description and plot come to mind.  I’ve literally never read a book of writing advice, and I glance over posts on tumblr but I’m not sure how much sinks in, so studying writing advice in a more purposeful way is also on my list for 2022. 

I didn’t do any of that because of a combination of working on other things in my free time like computer projects and because I feel like I shouldn’t focus on writing when I need to be job hunting--I still haven’t found a decent job.  So I almost feel like job hunting, for a non-writing related job, should almost be part of my writing plan for 2023 because the sooner I can get that part of my life settled the sooner I have more free time and mental energy for writing improvement.

In terms of actual projects for 2023, I expect Electric Boogaloo to take up most of my time--I’ve finished 30 scenes out of about 80 for the season, so working on the remaining 50 will take more than all the words I’ll write in 2023.  And I expect to have side projects--the Willex rain soulmates AU, BIDWTW and Wrong Coast, and I’m sure there will be others.

[formula1neverleft]

Il Predestinato - Charles Leclerc

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x female! reader 

Summary: Post Spanish GP

                 Charles doesn’t want pity. He just wants you. 

Warnings: smut, praise kink central, swearing

Some posts that *inspired* me: BASED ON THIS GIF AND THIS GIF ALONE (creds to biscottifosi) 

Song Recs: Cosmic Love by FLorence + the machine // Disconnect by Clean Bandit // I Never Learn by Lykke Li 

Author’s note: *dodges tomatoes* okay guys i know people are waiting on some of my other wip’s but this had to be done it was out of my control really. This is a work of fiction and not a reflection of the real people involved!! Not proofread. Feedback is very much appreciated!! Enjoy xx 

Words: 2k (short and sweet) 

Barcelona, Spain, May 22nd 2022

 Charles had long since learned that he couldn’t blame himself for an engine failure. 

To be fair, he couldn’t even blame the mechanics or the team as a whole. 

Over time, it became clear to him that every single person was putting their heart and soul into their work, and sometimes things don’t end up the way you had expected them. Sometimes, life just wasn’t fair. 

Despite knowing all this, he couldn’t help the hollow ache in his chest as he made his way back to his trailer after finishing his interviews. 

In passing one of the screens in the media penn, he caught a glimpse of Max gaining the lead, and Charles quickly redirected his gaze towards his own feet, hoping they could carry him to his destination faster so that he wouldn’t risk running into anyone else who would undoubtedly give him a sympathetic pat on the back, maybe even a “tough luck, mate” to accompany the gesture. 

Charles knew their intentions were good, but it was the last thing he needed at this very moment. 

He’d seen you too, right after he had gotten out of the car, giving him a comforting smile as you gave him the space and time to shake hands with the mechanics first. 

You knew him better than anyone else, and he silently thanked you by shooting a wink your way as you turned on your heels and disappeared from his view. 

Charles closed his eyes in appreciation of the cold air that washed over him when he entered his trailer, as he leaned his back on the closed door and basked in it for a short while. 

He had almost forgotten how hot he’d been in the car, and somehow even hotter during the interviews, having to voice his obvious disappointment time and time again while being asked the same questions way too many times. 

At this moment, he felt like he could breathe again for the first time since stepping into the car. 

When he opened his eyes again, you were there. Leaning against the doorframe that led to the small bedroom section of the trailer, wearing nothing more than one of Charles shirts that rested barely halfway down your thighs. 

 Yeah, you really did know him better than anyone else. 

 “You okay, baby?” you asked sincerely, unable to hide the worry that always formed whenever he had a tough race, whether it was his fault or not.  

 “No, i’m not okay” Charles said with a sigh as he pushed himself off the door and started closing the distance between the two of you. 

 “but I don’t want pity” he continued, now so close to you he could rest his forehead against yours. 

 “you know that’s not what I need right now” he concluded as he finally connected your lips together. He wastes no time, pushing you up against the wall, hands planted firmly on either side of your head.

 His tongue explored your mouth, passionately but not too much, never too much. Before he met you he had never considered himself an above average kisser, but you had always praised him for it, and now it was all Charles could think about when he kissed you. 

As you recoiled from him in desperate need of some air, he focused his attention on your neck, kissing and licking all your sweet spots as his hands drifted lower, playing with the hem of his shirt before trailing them upwards slowly. 

You tried your best to not get lost in how good he was making you feel, knowing that after the day he’d had, he needed you to talk to him. 

To tell him how good he was being. 

 “feels so good Charles, I love your mouth” you spoke as your hands made their way into his hair, pulling and stroking, leaving his hair even more messy than was already the case after wearing his helmet. A small noise of appreciation left his lips at your praise, and in response, he pulled you with him into the bedroom. The bed was barely big enough to fit one person, let alone two, but you knew a way or two to get around that problem. 

 “Sit down, baby” you put your hands on Charles shoulders and pushed down slightly, prompting him to sit down on the bed, facing you. 

You hands made quick work of getting him out of the race suit that was tied around his hips, fireproofs following soon after. You took the time to look at him, lips swollen and parted, his hair a mess, drops of sweat still visible on his temples. He looked beautiful, and desperate. 

 “You did so good today,” you continued as you eventually freed him from his boxers. He was already so hard, drops of pre-cum leaking onto the trail of hair that strailed from his belly button to his crotch. 

 “you did so good that I’m gonna suck your dick for you, but you knew that already when you got out of the car, didn’t you?” 

You could see the effects your words were having on him, his breathing getting even heavier, his lower lip clenched tightly between his teeth. Deciding to give him some much-needed relief, you get to work. Leaning your head slightly on his thigh, you give the side of his cock a few slow licks, focusing on one side and then the other. 

He was moaning now, a continuous stream of whimpers leaving his lips, his mouth falling open as his eyes screwed shut. 

Then you took him into your mouth fully, hands taking care of the part of him that you couldn’t fit into your mouth. Occasionally, you took him as deep as you could, hands holding onto his thighs as your head bobbed up and down. Charles’ hands found their way to your hair, getting it out of your face and into a make-shift ponytail as you doubled down on your efforts, a few barely intelligible “thank you’s”  coming from his lips. 

The noise that filled the room was absolutely filthy, a combination of your mouth and his moans, as you made a conscious effort to remember the sound for the next time you were alone and missing Charles. 

 Eventually, you leaned back and let him fall from your mouth, continuing your praise of you got up and started to undress yourself. 

 “Pole position and led the race, had all of the drivers behind you praying for your engine to give out, ‘cuz they know that’s the only way they were beating you” you said as you pulled the shirt over your head, leaving you just as naked as Charles was now. 

 “Lay down for me” 

 Charles immediately obeyed you, laying himself down on his back, not letting his eyes stray from you even for one second. 

 “Max is still out there trying his best to scramble some point now that you’re not there, while your here, about to fuck me so good, aren’t you?” 

Charles was barely able to mutter out a “yes, baby” as you settled on top of him, just enough room on the narrow bed to fit your knees on either side of him. 

 “He probably wishes he was here right now instead of in that car, but this is only for you, Charles” you said as you finally sank down onto his cock. He looked unreal, eyes watering from the pleasure and cheeks flushed red as his mouth momentarily formed a teasing smirk, knowing you were getting off on this just as much as he was, but it was quickly replaced with a low whine as you started to move. The moans that you both let out simultaneously were obscene, but you quickly found your rhythm and regained your composure enough to continue your praise.  

 “ next time, you’ll be on that podium again, and if it's not next time then it’ll be the time after that, because you were meant for this, baby, you know that right? What is it they called you again…Il predestinato?” 

As soon as the words left your lips, Charles dug his hand into the skin of your hips, his knuckles turning white in the process. 

 “Call me that again” he muttered as his hands helped guide you in your rhythm, transitioning into a slow grind, feeling him so deep inside you that it made your toes curl. 

You repeated the word a few more times, feeling him twitch inside you each time. 

Before you could continue however, you felt the beginning of your orgasm blossoming, and instinctively Charles removed one of his hands on your hips to place his thumb on your clit to help you get there, knowing the exact movement and amount of pressure that you liked. 

“fuck yes, please make me cum, Charles, yes-” you pleaded as you firmly grabbed hold of his wrist to keep him there. 

 “You look so pretty like this, mon amour. You’re making such pretty noises for me, am I making you feel that good, huh?” Charles suddenly switched it up and decided to praise you for a change, and all you could do was nod before your orgasm washed over you as you buried your face into Charles’ neck, riding out your high as you spasmed around him. 

All Charles needed to follow suit was you saying his name over and over again as you game, followed here and there by a lewd “so good, baby”, as he came too while holding you down firmly onto him. 

The only noise in the room was now your pants as you lay there in silence for a few minutes, basking in the post-sex haze. Both of you now sweaty, skin sticking to each other and his come dripping from you as you leaned forward slightly, his cock still half-hard when he pulled out of you. 

Charles closed his eyes as his fingers trailed lovingly up and down your spine, making goosebumps arise in their wake. 

 “You know you’re more than just the number of points on that championship board, right?” you said earnestly as you looked up at him. 

 “Yeah, I know” Charles answered, giving you a comforting smile and a kiss on your forehead 

“ As long as I have you, I can handle it. We can make it through anything, together” 

His words made tears prickle the corner of your eyes, but Charles was quick to follow up his sentimental comment with a joke. 

 “I will ask the team to DNF more frequently if it means that I get this kind of consolation prize,” you quickly responded by giving him a playful jab to the ribs. 

 “Ow!” he replied melodramatically, causing you both to break out in a fit of laughter. 

A few more minutes passed before you spoke up once more. 

 “Are you ready to go back out there? race is probably over by now” 

 “Just give me a few more minutes here, ma cherie” he replied as he closed his eyes, not ready to face the world outside of the trailer just yet. 

You didn’t have to be told twice, and laid your head down on his chest, hearing the steady beat of his heart underneath you. 

You could stay here forever if he wanted to

[natigail]

September 2022 - natigail recap

As a comedown from PEDIA, I took it easy for a bit, but I did still write and post a fair amount! And I was happy to wrap up my skz vampire/lawyer AU, and get my svt mafia AU and my skz wolfpack AU on a regular schedule. It also seems a month of no spilled thoughts posts meant I had a lot built up.

Two chapters and an epilogue of The Vampire Client

One chapter of 돈’t Lie (at least not to me)

One chapters of Rest in the Belly of the Wolf

And then no less than 8 (!!) spilled thoughts post: (one about finishing PEDIA this year), (one about having written so much within the walls of my childhood home), (one about Dan Howell doing his first live show in years), (one about the first joint video from Dan and Phil in 2022), (one about coming out to someone for the first time in person), (one about a local bookstore closing down), (one about getting a nosebleed for the first time ever) and lastly (one about wanting to cut my hair really short).

And now onto the writing for this month. So much skz it’s not even funny, I didn’t realise that I’ve almost exclusively written for this fandom until I looked at my chart. 

I had adjusted down the daily goal after having it high during July and posting every day in August, so I had it at 1.5k a day. I can say that the low goal definitely did not deter me and I got to an average of 1.9k a day still! Most of my words went to The Vampire Client, which I had planned to finish within PEDIA but I kept writing more and pushing the ending further out. I did finish it this month! I also started a prologue to my Rest in the Belly of the Wolf, which felt so wonderful and indulgent. And then a writing a bit on that main fic, and also a little editing to 돈't Lie (at least not to me). And then of course, all of the spilled posts to tumblr.

In October, I’ll put the goal back to 2k and I have a whole week off mid-month with nothing planned but relaxation, so I’m hoping to get lots of words done then too. I’ve currently got four updating fics, partially posted (phan Stardew AU, svt mafia AU, skz wolfpack and wwx journal), so I’m going to try and focus on writing on them. Wish me luck!

[jamieclawhorn]

Have £2k to spend? I’d buy this FTSE 250 dividend stock and hold it for 10 years

The share price renaissance over at Domino’s Pizza Group (LSE: DOM) since the start of the year well and truly hit the skids this week.

The fast food giant saw its share price plummet in the wake of fourth-quarter trading details, a drop that has raised the question of whether 2019 will prove another disastrous period for its stock value (in 2018 Domino’s saw its market price collapse by almost 33%).

International troubles…

Not for me, though. In my opinion this is good opportunity for dip buyers to swoop in and grab a slice of the action.

Let’s look at that difficult trading update, then. In it, Domino’s hacked back its full-year forecasts for 2018 and said that underlying pre-tax profits are likely to register at the lower end of expectations, at between £93.9m and £98.2m. Profit on a comparable basis tallied at £96.2m in 2017.

The pizza powerhouse downscaled its guidance on the back of a challenging period for its international businesses because of “growing pains this year, particularly in Norway, where we have faced business integration challenge.” Sales in its overseas territories fell 2% in the 13 weeks to December 31 to £26.6m, as a consequence of those troubles in converting the Dolly Dimple’s stores, which it acquired in 2017.

The pace of the Domino’s European rollout strategy meant that some hiccups were always a danger. I would suggest, though, that the sell-off which greeted Tuesday’s trading update has been far too severe.

… but Britain booms

In fact, I prefer to concentrate upon the terrific trading performance of its core UK and Irish units. Signs of increasing sales momentum in these territories provide plenty of comfort considering the growing fears over competition in the takeaway market. In the fourth quarter, aggregated sales in these two regions boomed 6.2% year-on-year to £312.9m, with like-for-like sales in the UK rising 4.5%. This compares to the 2.2% like-for-like advance that Domino’s printed in the prior quarter.

As the business commented, the market opportunities remain abundant through the next several years. It cited estimates that the British delivered food market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8% and be worth some £9.3bn by 2022. And by expanding its domestic store network — it plans to have 1,600 stores up and running versus 1,261 as of the close of 2018 — Domino’s is giving itself an excellent opportunity to ride this pony.

Some astonishing numbers in this week’s update underlined the intensity of our love affair with the doughey delight that has long made Domino’s a great growth stock. The FTSE 250 company said that it sold a staggering 535,000 pizzas in one day on Friday, December 21, smashing all previous records and representing one dish sold every 12 seconds.

Too cheap!

While City forecasts of double-digit earnings growth in 2019 are likely to receive downgrades following the latest news at Domino’s, I believe that a forward P/E ratio of 14.1 times looks mighty tempting, considering its bright profits outlook.

What’s more, above-average dividend yields of 4.1% and 4.5% for 2019 and 2020, respectively, give investors an extra tasty treat. Domino’s has been lifting dividends at a terrific rate in recent years and I believe that still-soaring demand for its pizzas should keep this ultra-progressive policy in business for many years to come.

Want To Boost Your Savings?

Do you want to retire early and give up the rat race to enjoy the rest of your life? Of course you do, and to help you accomplish this goal, the Motley Fool has put together this free report titled “The Foolish Guide To Financial Independence”, which is packed full of wealth-creating tips as well as ideas for your money.

The report is entirely free and available for download today, so if you’re interested in exiting the rat race and achieving financial independence, click here to download the report. What have you got to lose?

More reading

Is FTSE 250 stock Domino’s Pizza a knife worth catching after falling almost 10% today?

Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Domino’s Pizza. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

[aparticularbandit]

So. Let's do this.

I literally posted last year's goals within an hour of January 1st last year, and then, well. January happened. February happened.

As of note, I only met one of these goals, which was to finish and post one multi-chap fic.

Technically, I made it to stretch goal 3 on that list because I finish and posted three. (Four, if you want to count Thrall, which I started in December of 2022 but primarily wrote in 2023.)

I did not meet any of the rest of those goals.

(I was close on the book reading goal, though. I just didn't finish a book in September. Alas.)

So - this year's goals are going to be...smaller in terms of the bare minimum, just based on this past year, but there will probably be bigger stretch goals.

Something like that.

Oh, also, as in earlier goal setting years, I will be adding stuff that's religious-ish? So. That's a thing.

Write five days a week. I get Sundays off and then I will give myself an additional day off. (This also helps with really bad migraine days, which are usually ~48hrs.) Stretch Goal #1: Write an average of 1k daily by the end of the year (aka write 366k+). Stretch Goal #2: Write 400k by the end of the year. Stretch Goal #3: Write 500k by the end of the year. Stretch Goal #4: Write 600k by the end of the year. Stretch Goal #5: Write 700k by the end of the year. Stretch Goal #6: Write an average of 2k daily by the end of the year (aka write 732k+). This last stretch goal has been a general goal of mine for a while now, and it would be really cool if I made it. I was very close in 2022. But we'll...we'll see.

Finish the rough of another profic. Specifically, finish the rough of immortal witch riding hood. Stretch Goal #1: Finish the rough of two profic. Specifically, finish the rough of the currently unstarted shade fic.

Revisit Soulless. By which I mean, this one will take a lot of editing and restructuring. The idea of everything this will need done to it is intimidating to me but I would like to revisit it. So here it goes.

Finish and post at least one multi-chapter fic. By which I will specify that I mean it can be a fic I started in a previous year, so long as it is finished this year, it will count. I'm not going to add stretch goals to this because this past year I did a lot of one-shots instead of multi-chapter fics, and I don't want to prioritize one over the other. I'm not sure I even want posting to be a goal so much as the other writing goals. But this is a hold over? So we'll see how I feel at the end of this year.

Finish one book a month. No stretch goal here. I just want to keep reading.

Maintain current Bible memorization (Ephesians).

Finish current Bible memorization (2 Timothy) and maintain it.

Add to Bible memorization and maintain it. I know this sounds very nonspecific. The reason the maintain is on here is because I've memorized chunks of Scripture before and haven't kept them up, and I would like to make sure that I keep what I've memorized. I also have specific books in mind to memorize next (as well as specific chapters in the Psalms and one to review in Isaiah), but I don't want to specify those to hold me to them instead of going as led. But! I really like Bible memory! I like being able to catch whenever those verses are used and say them with the speaker! And a lot of time memorizing helps me to actually understand what's written better, particularly with context, particularly noticing stuff that gets repeated. And it's a way for me to meditate on the Word. All of which are good things! So!

So that's the goals. Most of the minimums haven't changed, and now there's a new thing, so. Yeah? We'll see how that goes?

And y'all can feel free to check in on them throughout the year if you want, too! That'd be cool? I guess? Either way, these are primarily for me to look back on next January. ^^

goals for this year:

30-31k written a month

consistent Bible study

continued Bible memorization (right now i’ve been reviewing Romans - and reciting stuff so frequently brings different things to light; it’s cool)

be able to use household utensils and eat food cooked at the house (ocd sucks, my friends)

finish at least the rough draft of one multi-chapter project (probably fanfic, probably carla or if you lived here, you’d be home now)

get? a? job?????

PLAY DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION

PLAY POKÉMON

maybe play clara’s travels through kalos to make sure that’s actually legit and not me bsing pokemon

these seem accomplishable, right?