#sorry this took so long Gabolange

[my-little-yellowbird]

I was tagged by @gabolange (months ago!!) to do the one-shot fic writer meme, and why not!                                                        

list your five longest one-shot fics on AO3 (not chaptered works or series) with the word count, fandom, year, and comments/kudos/bookmarks. one-shots are the short stories to fandom’s books and a distinctly different process in my experience.

OK, so here’s the thing.  I’ve written over 120 Call the Midwife fics on My-Little-Yellowbird.com, most of them multi-chapter.. Only 8 are posted on ao3 and 30 or so CtM fics are on ff.net--it’s where I got my start.  I’ve always felt funny cross-posting my fics to different platforms, but that’s silly.  Writers that get paid to write don’t hesitate to promote their own stuff. Why shouldn’t fic writers??  I mean, we do this for FREE.  If a reader sees my stuff they can always scroll past.  the best person to promote your stuff is you. So maybe one day I’ll post them all to both fan sites.

Oh, and aside from a ridiculous there’s-only-one-bed-but-the-floor-is-made-of-lava Blake fic and a silly shout-out to Mary Poppins, it’s all Call the Midwife.

1. Dearest Friend -- 3,252 words, Turnadette, 2014, original publication 2017 on ao3. 32 kudos, 3 comments, 3 bookmarks.  This is an early tale written during the hiatus after s3.  I love eponymous stories, and we all have imaginings of what Patrick wrote to Shelagh during those long months in the sanatorium.  My head canon is built on the idea that both Sister Bernadette and Patrick adhered to a strict honor code.  Patrick would never put Sister Bernadette in the position where she would be asked to renounce her vows.   I will admit to almost having him push the envelope a bit, if you’ll excuse the pun, in a hidden letter.  In the end, I worked very not to say too much, or not enough.

2. His Safety Net -- 2242 words, Turnadette, 2015 - 33 kudos - 6 comments - 3 bookmarks. 2015 original pub, 2017 ao3.  When asked about my favorite fics, this one always comes to mind.  Again, so much of what makes the Shelagh / Patrick relationship work is their ability to say so much with so few words.  I wanted to get that across with physical gestures that speak to their level of emotional intimacy.  I also wanted to deal with the idea of commitment.  They’ve just weathered another storm partly brought about by the fact that while they do communicate, there are still secrets between them.  Has Patrick learned to trust her?  Will he ever?  In the end, it doesn’t matter, because they are bound together by more than romance.

3. How the Brownies Saved Christmas -- 1986 words, Turnadette 11 kudos - 3 comments - 0 bookmarks. 2018,  This one might have been a bit passive aggressive.  The holiday season is ridiculously stressfull for mothers of young kids (I blame Martha Stewart and Pinterest). This is one of my complaints about Shelagh, as well. W never really see HOW SHE DOES IT.  So I gave her helpers. 

4. Losing Her Breath --1,514 words, Sister Bernadette, 2009 (orig pub) - 14 kudos - 3 comments - 0 bookmarks). 2017.  Breathing is a thread through Turnadette (I know that sounds dumb, but bear with me).  TB, polio, smoking are all obviously big ticket items, but many of the most wonderful Turnadette moments have no words.  We just feel them breathe each other.  So I used the idea for this fic, set during the time when they were just starting.  Sister Bernadette is indeed losing her breath, as the TB is already growing within her, just as Patrick takes her breath away.

5. A Moment’s Peace -- 7,464 words, Turnadette 2019, 1 kudos - 18 comments, 1 bookmark. 2019  This was my first “commuter fic,” written onboard the train to Grand Central. My new job was pretty miserable, and the four hours on the train every day were near unbearable.   My betas gently encouraged me to try and redirect my new anxieties into classic Turnadette.  Hence--a coffee shop fic!

Funny thing is, I’m sure there are newer Nonnatuns that are just now learning that I have ever written a fic. I wrote most of my stuff before I went back to work, and all the kids were in school all day. Believe me, I’m trying!