#what started as a little 6-chapter first foray into non-one shot fic writing

[whatsagirltoblogabout]

For some reason I am very amused by the chapter titles of this fic, specifically the way they look in my to do list:

[myevilmouse]

2019 Fic Year In Review

2019 was the year I joined AO3 and the year I also joined tumblr. So my year in review is literally everything I have written for the Star Wars fandom.  I was not going to do one of these posts but then realized some people here may not be on AO3 and appreciate links directly to something that sounds interesting.  So if you want to know more...

I do not plot, I do not plan. I either write to an idea or a prompt or create a challenge for myself, so I will give you that little background for each fic, in case you care 😉  I like reviewing how I wanted to write the fic and how it ultimately turned out…so here we go, in chronological order, more or less:

1.            Command Performance

Idea: write hot springs sex and try to work in a non-con type scenario/fantasy

Result: My first foray into Luke/Mara. Fun and hits many of my kinks.

2.          Unity

Idea: Wanted to try writing Thryce smut and was given the TV Trope dialogue prompt “YOU!”

Result:  Wound up being long and not smutty at all, but I enjoyed writing those two self-sabotaging fools and decided I would do more of it.  Basically the fic that convinced me to write more Thryce.

3.          Deal With You

Idea: Wanted to write dubcon/hatesex, set post-TIE Defender factory blowup when Thrawn tells Pryce he will “deal with you later.”

Result: didn’t succeed in writing dubcon/hatesex, instead a power play between these wicked Imperials which wound up with an odd and unexpected happy ending.

4.          The Annual Stormtrooper Relief Fund Ball

Idea: write something cute and short for Thryce Discord “Friday Fluff”  

Result: A Gone With The Wind-inspired dance auction which still gives me those fluffy fuzzies.  I like this one.

5.          Artoo’s Viridian Adventure

Idea:  write something my young nephews could read AKA non-smutty.  Husband insisted Pikachu be involved.

Result:  Crack crossover that is suitable for all ages

6.          Corrupted Cake

Idea:  write Sex Pollen for Luke/Mara

Result:  wrote “how they got together” story for Luke/Mara.  What started as a one-shot turned into a three-chapter fic that is one of my most popular and probably most romantic.  

7.          Conduct Unbecoming

Idea:  write Uniform Kink for the fic whining circle kink challenge

Result:  Mara and Luke in a married roleplay

8.          Interpreter

Idea:  Thryce Discord talking about an AU with Pryce in Vanto’s role

Result:  One of my fave fics, as it plays to basically all my kinks. 

9.          Camera Obscura

Idea:  inspired by Phantasmagoria, a fic by @teagrl​, what would happen if sub!Luke stopped playing by the rules?

Result:  It would not go well for him.

10.     Endure

Idea:  HOW CAN THERE NOT BE ANY LUKE/MON MOTHMA FICS WHEN SHE IS LIKE THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE OT HE’S NOT RELATED TO???

Result:  Something I am proud of, written in a fragmented, experimental style since I figured the audience who dared to read would also be open-minded enough to humor my muse.

11.       Something of Significance

Idea:  Thryce Discord May the Thirst Be With You prompt:  Naboo Wine

Result:  Something sweet?  I hope? That allowed me to indulge in my wine and chocolate kinks.

12.     Common Thread

Idea:  using randomly chosen Kiss and Dialogue Prompts for inspiration, write a series of ficlets about Luke.

Result:  Lots of different scenarios, mashing Luke’s lips with many different women but usually Mara, and inspired a couple other fics!

13.     Kinetic Countermeasures

Idea:  written for “Ascension Week” challenge on the Thryce Discord, and I always wanted to write fuck-or-die…

Result:  The closest I’ve gotten to writing a threesome so far (waves at Vanto), and strangely romantic. I like this one, and had fun coming up with the chapter titles 😊

14.     Something Real

Idea:  Thryce peeps wanted a sequel to Something of Significance

Result:  This “how they got together” story for Thrawn and Pryce

15.     The Warrior’s Dancer:  Sienn’s Tale

Idea:  Another woman Luke isn’t related to, available for Jedi-lovin’! What if Luke/Sienn/Oola had a threesome?!

Result:  This fic got way longer than intended and didn’t turn out the way I had planned (no threesome sorry) but I love Luke in it and had fun fleshing out the character of Sienn who is from a short story in the Tales from Jabba’s Palace collection.

16.     THRYCE:  The Musical

Idea:  What if I did @ap-trash-compactor​’s fic A Dealer In Hope as a musical using only Billy Joel songs?

Result:  Yup, exactly the ridiculousness you would expect.

17.     Fan Mail

Idea:  Epistolary challenge in the fic whining circle

Result:  Hopefully amusing view of Luke Skywalker’s fan club and his life as a celebrity Jedi.

18.     Five Times Luke Skywalker Surprised Ahsoka and One Time She Surprised Him

Idea:  Write Luke/Ahsoka after my Common Thread chapter got such positive feedback on them, limit it to 5 + 1 format so I don’t get carried away.

Result:  I like it.  This is a ship that needs more love.

19.     Conflicting Aesthetics

Idea:  written for the SW Rare Pairs fic exchange, @elsajeni​ requested Thrawn/Original Art Forger.

Result:  My longest fic to date, completely took on a life of its own. I had way more fun than expected creating an OC, and there are way too many plot bunnies for sequels in my brain.

20.   The Art of Disguise

Idea:  Halloween Fic for Thryce, prompted by my sister suggesting Pryce dress as Thrawn for Halloween and my adamant refusal that would never happen in a gazillion years.

Result:  Fluff

21.     Corporeal

Idea:  Halloween fic for Luke/Mara, where I keep trying to get these two non-conny, and I tried to sneak a ton of Shakespeare into the fic just add to the complications of writing it

Result:  Hopefully something disturbing and spooky.  Also needs a sequel.

22.   Impetuous

Idea:  Play in @celinamarniss​’ Thrawn/Luke/Mara sandbox but get Pryce in there!

Result:  I got Pryce in there but had to neglect Mara, oops.

23.   Uneasy Alliance

Idea:  write a Padme/Thrawn treat for @theartofcertibbs​

Result:  in the course of my research, learned Zahn ships it.

24.   Anamnesis

Idea:  write Hera/Thrawn for the SW Rare Pairs fic exchange for @ysalamiri-queen​

Result:  something disturbing

25.   The Politics of Gifting

Idea:  write a holiday Thryce fic

Result:  fluff from Faro’s POV

26.   Catalysts

Idea:  write a holiday Luke/Mara fic for the Secret Santa fic exchange with two dialogue prompts and trying to get them to huddle for warmth, a trope I’ve always wanted to write.

Result:  fluff and tropes and wampas, oh my!

Other stuff:

Sonnets:     I wrote a bunch of sonnets about Luke’s outfits and one about Han for @jadedjo​.  I love sonnets.

31 Days of Star Wars:  I put all my Fictober prompts into one fic on AO3.

It’s been a productive year and I want to thank everyone in the Luke/Mara fandom and the Thryce fandom and all the other readers who encouraged and supported me.  I’m really happy to have found this creative outlet this year and look forward to providing you more fluff, smut, and angst in 2020!

[something-tofightfor]

2019 writing recap!

I’ve seen a couple of people do this, and it seems like a fun way to go back through what I’ve done this past year in terms of writing + give some recognition to the other talented people in this fandom.  

Answers under the cut because it’s long! (Everything is linked because SCREW YOU TUMBLR)

favorite fic you wrote this year: I have two favorites. 

1. Neon Lights, which started out as a prompt request based on a song, and has spawned 100,000 words via the stories, the HCs and the random character asks… and has given me a much better understanding of Ryan Brenner as a character. 

2. You’re all going to be super surprised at this…. But it’s Here Comes the Sun, because it gave me a chance to write Logan in a VERY different way than I did with Tonight… and seeing him wholly happy is so nice.

least favorite fic you wrote this year: The First of Many, which was my one foray into writing for Frank/Karen… and I killed Billy in it, so that was a disaster. 

favorite line/scene you wrote this year: A few of the ones that stick out to me: 

 Neon Lights, chapter 4:   “Hey, I’m listening to what you’re sayin’, but if it’s alright, I’m gonna kiss you now.” The words were quiet, his voice a little hoarse. Yes, God, yes. You reached up with the arm that he wasn’t holding on to and touched his hair while you nodded, and then his lips met yours. You sighed into the kiss, and unless you were imagining things, he did too. It was brief, but when he pulled away he was smiling. “I’ve wanted to do that since yesterday.”

Take a Sip, part 2: “Caspian?” You met his eyes and he saw that you were trying to hold it together. “Will you help me get this dress off, please?” He moved quickly, pulling you to your feet and unlacing the front of your dress, fingers shaking as he untied the strings. His hands moving to your shoulders, he squeezed them before turning you gently around, undoing the buttons on the back of your dress - so much like he had the first night he’d ever touched you, the dress falling to your waist and then to the floor, revealing a shift beneath it. “Thank you, my King.” 

He heard the tears in your voice and blinked back his own as he lowered his head, pressing his lips to the bare skin of one shoulder and then the other, fingers gathering your hair to lift it and expose more of you to him. But you didn’t let him linger as you turned, giving him a small smile as you reached forward, pushing the jacket off of his shoulders and waiting until he’d shrugged it off before moving to help him remove his vest. Neither of you spoke, but he knew what you were thinking - that it could be the last time you touched each other, the last time…

Remember What You Told Me, part 2: When Logan and Reader confront William in the bar... it was so damn satisfying. 

He’s Not Here (Interlude): History: This was such a fun scenario to write because... why would Billy ever think that someone would need him to take care of them when they’re sick? I loved exploring this side of him, and helping him learn that it was OK to open up. 

total number of words you wrote this year: Based on adding up everything on my Masterlist pages + including the word count of the HNH file… 620,000 words… and that doesn’t include anything that I’ve got a few paragraphs of in WiP files, the HCs or the character asks that I’ve done. 

That’s …. 1557 pages in a typical novel…. So basically, because I love writing, I wrote FIFTEEN HUNDRED PAGES WORTH OF WORDS. Yikes. 

most popular fic this year: People have really seemed to connect with He’s Not Here, and that makes sense, because it’s my longest running series and Billy’s... been given a chance to be different, which is always nice to write and read about. 

Exit Row was also super popular. 

But the most popular single post of 2019 for me? Billy Russo’s NSFW alphabet. 

least popular fic this year: Tonight, which disappoints me, because I love it. I get that it’s a little dark, but... it was necessary, because Logan’s not perfect. 

And Neon Lights/Just a Place… which is super disappointing, because it’s Ryan and everyone should love him. 

longest completed fic you wrote this year: Neon Lights ended up being 60,000 words. 

shortest completed fic you wrote this year: All of the drabbles that I wrote in March are super short (I think they averaged about 700 words) … but I think that “On the Spot” is the shortest thing I’ve ever written at 500 words EXACTLY. 

longest wip of the year: He’s Not Here… which is currently (after 20 chapters) at 82,000+ words - for the main story. 

shortest wip of the year: Hmm… I’m thinking that this is PROBABLY the second part of Ink, which has been sitting in my WiP folder since September, and is only about 200 words long right now. 

favorite character to write about this year: This is a very unfair question, because I love all of my characters and stories, but...I honestly, (and this will come as no surprise) loved writing Logan the most in all forms. There’s so much that can be done with his character, and exploring it has been a LOT of fun for me. 

favorite writing song/artist/album of this year: I wrote  LOT while listening to the “Feeding the Wolves” album by 10 Years (it’s GREAT for Billy). I also think that I wrote almost all of Neon Lights while listening almost exclusively to acoustic guitar covers of songs that had NOTHING to do with the story.  

a fic you didn’t expect to write: I never thought I’d write Caspian, and here we are, 6 chapters later + a follow up with His Favorite Place.

fic(s) you completed this year:  I don’t even know, it’s got to be close to 40, maybe more with all of the prompt requests and all that. It doesn’t seem like that many, but I just scrolled through my masterlist, so I guess it must be. 

fics you’ll continue next year: Just a Place. He’s Not Here. Here Comes the Suniverse. Ben/Reader Exit Row universe… so many.  

current number of wips: Too many. At least 15. It’s insane. 

any new fics to start next year: There’s one for sure that I want  to write ASAP because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it for like a solid week and a half. 

most memorable comment/review: I love each and every single one of you that takes the time to comment - or even to message me and keysmash - but I think that the handwritten comments from @its-my-little-dumpster-fire and @the-blind-assassin-12 are some of my favorites (and I’m sure those of you that have also received them will agree) .... it’s just overwhelming to me. And so is hearing that I overwhelmed you, or made you smile, or that you felt like you were IN the story. I am shit at replying to every single comment, but I try my best, and I can’t thank you enough for all of your kind words and encouragement. 

events you participated in this year: I participated in zero events aside from the ones that I set up for myself when I asked people for requests. 

fics you wanted to write but didn’t: There’s  Logan story that I’ve been sitting on since last December (I remember wrapping presents and contemplating it) … there’s a Logan one shot that I want to write and don’t want to write at the same time. I have a Caspian story that is ITCHING to be written, and might be one of the first things I write in 2020. 

favorite fic you read this year: 

Death of a Bachelor by @delos-mio: Logan Delos X Reader ... and it’s a RIDE.I vividly remember pulling my phone out in between bands at a concert to read the most recent chapter and I can’t wait for her to finish it 

With Courage by @halfwit-halfblood : Caspian x OC, and it features one of the strongest and most relatable OCs that I have ever read in my life. I am absolutely sucked in every new chapter. 

By Design by @luminex3: Billy Russo x Reader... and it’s literally everything that I could ever ask for in a non-canon Billy, because he’s still Billy, but he’s much less of an idiot than the REAL Billy. And her details? The dedication to her characters? It was BEAUTIFUL. 

... there were so many others, if you want more suggestions, please feel free to ask, because I have so many favorites. 

a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read:

‘Deed I Do by @its-my-little-dumpster-fire: John Whittaker x Reader .... and it’s PERFECT. And it’s spawned so many fun companion pieces. (PARTICULARLY ‘My Private Affair’... which literally KILLED ME. 

Oblivion by @the-blind-assassin-12: Logan Delos x Reader... and it’s a lot to handle, but it shows just how strong Logan could truly be if he was given the chance/motivation

A Familiar Face by @illshowyourhurricanes/ @suchatinyinfinity: Ryan Brenner x Reader... and it shows why the simple moments are the most important. Her Ryan is so thoughtful, and I just love him. 

 number of favorites/bookmarks you made this year: I liked a LOT of stories on Tumblr. A ton, in fact. A literal fuckton. I read a lot this year. 

favorite fanfic author of the year: It’s really unfair to make me choose a favorite, so I’ll list some that I truly enjoy in no particular order: 

@halfwit-halfblood

@delos-mio

@the-blind-assassin-12

@its-my-little-dumpster-fire

@madamrogersstorytelling

@logans-chestnuts

[missfaber]

author interview

I was tagged by @orangeflavoryawp, thank you so much! 

I already know I’m going to enjoy this way too much, writing is such a lonely endeavor and I just love talking about it, sooo... I apologize in advance for rambling. 

name: Madeline/Maddie 

fandoms: this is complicated because there’s fandoms I very much consider myself a part of because they’re just a huge part of my life, even though I don’t contribute content to them, and then there’s fandoms I do create content for. So idk where the line is drawn! 

fandoms I contribute/ have contributed to: Avatar the Last Airbender, Game of Thrones, Merlin BBC, Once Upon a Time, Legend of Korra

fandoms I haven’t contributed to but are so dear to me: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings (my two favorite things ironically lol), and lots more 

where you post: AO3, used to be ff.net and livejournal too

most popular one shot: by kudos, it’s as if death itself was undone (zutara, atla: katara wakes up to azula in their house and wants to find out a) why she is welcome b) why zuko is acting so weird) 

most popular multichapter: by kudos, it’s soldier, go bravely on (jonsa + gendrya, got, complete, rewrite of the last episode of got with sweetness and angst and action, and may i say some common sense?)

favorite story you wrote: fuck omg this is difficult lol! because I both criticize and love all my stories in equal measure, I honestly don’t write anything that i don’t love, that doesn’t give me butterflies / actual chest pain (from angst). I feel like I’m being asked to choose a favorite child lol. so I’ll try to justify these picks somehow... 

closest to my heart: soldier, go bravely on (also mentioned above). this is the fic that brought me back to writing fic, and to tumblr even! I was on hiatus (that I didn’t know was a hiatus because I had no intention of coming back) for six years before writing this fic. I wrote it so quickly after the got finale, it was such a passionate and fevered few days and it just sucked me back in to everything I used to love as a teenager. It was also a nice stretch out of my comfort zone, because of the dialogue (which was so tightly planned it’s ridiculous, I wrote the whole fic as a screenplay type thing first to make sure there wasn’t a single dialogue word not needed) and tv-episode style. It’s also such a wish-fulfillment fic that I can’t read certain parts without getting a bit teary. for all those reasons and more, this fic will always be so special to me. 

most proud of: wolf, circle north (jonsa, got, alternate season 7 & 8). this is the longest fic I’ve ever attempted and the number I’ve hours I’ve sunk into it is astounding and i should be ashamed.  It’s going to be obscenely long (my outline is 70+ chapters) and when I pull it off, best believe it’s going into a bound book so I can look at how thicc it is and be like, “I did that!” lol. The range of POVs is one of the most challenging but most rewarding part of this fic, and why I’m so proud of it. This is another wish-fulfillment fic for me, not just because it’s another fix-it fic but because I have been writing bits and pieces of this fic for about three years. I kept thinking of jonsa scenarios and little scenes I would have loved to see after season 6 and writing them in a little secret doc, just for me, as I never thought I’d write fic again. After writing “soldier” i had already broken my hiatus and I realized this fic was an actual possibility, so I put it out into the world. I couldn’t be more happy that I did that. Not only did it give me the chance to be in such an excellent, lovely fandom, but the feedback I get is so validating after having this be my secret little project for so long.  

most formative: Coffee & Cigarettes, (merthur, merlin bbc) I’m ashamed to list this and the merthurs reading this 100% want to kill me for having the audacity because it’s incomplete and hasn’t been updated since 2013 when there’s only one chapter left so what’s my excuse?  I call this the most formative for me because until I published this I didn’t really have a fic that people followed and liked, eagerly awaited updates for, and commented regularly on. I was writing a lot of one-shots and atla stuff on tumblr (I used to RP lmao I was like 15 ok?) This was the first time I experienced so many fic-life things, like being excited to get AO3 emails, etc. This was the first time I started to really focus on character which is so important to me now, my writing is completely character driven. Not to mention Merlin and Arthur’s dumbassery and sheer attraction and denial is just... *chef’s kiss* 

guiltiest pleasure: my recent foray into nedsei, who am I??? one more word and you won’t survive, just international hate sex

story you were most nervous to post: ummm idk I’m usually excited not nervous, since for me fic writing is just fun, I write things I’d enjoy reading and that I’m proud of. I read my own fics more than anyone else does, I guarantee it. am I a narcissist? who knows I guess I’ll say “soldier” again because I hadn’t posted fic in six years.

how you choose your titles: wow the hardest part of fic writing for me!!!!! thanks!!!!! lol. Okay so for my work titles, which are always terrible and I literally regret them immediately after posting, it’s usually just some words I play around with and string together that are somewhat thematic and related to the work... they’re always terrible lmao, I hate making titles. I mean, look at “soldier, go bravely on” and “wolf, circle north” for god’s sake, I hate them lmao. But I have to pick a title to post, so!!! For chapter titles and one-shots I’ll usually go with a song lyric, and especially for my chapter titles I spend so long seeking out the perfect one that reflects some thematic or emotional content of the chapter somehow. I’m very proud of my chapter titles for wolf, circle north. I have a doc on my scrivener just for chapter titles that I created in the very early stages of writing it, where I just dumped HUNDREDS of song lyrics that I thought I might use. Then by them I wrote some scenarios where they could work. here’s a screenshot:

It’s so helpful now. Sometimes posting an update will take an hour more than necessary because of me going through that doc, finding the perfect lyric. 

do you outline: OH, DO I OUTLINE... Hell Yeah, I outline. I couldn’t live without outlining. I love outlining. My outlines have outlines. I’m a planner centric, calendar centric, bullet-journal bitch so of course I love outlining. In all seriousness though: I write out of chronological order. I feel my writing is best when I write the scene I’m in the mood to write- unfortunately this scene could be ten chapters down the line from the chapter I’m gonna post next. This is the biggest reason outlining is necessary for me. If I didn’t have an outline, my story would be a non-post-able mess. 

I wasn’t kidding when I said my outlines have outlines. For wolf, circle north I have, um, a few. Character/location centric outlines where I bullet every scene that needs to happen for that plot to happen cohesively (these were all more or less completed before I even started writing the fic), then a “loose” outline that I copy everything from the other outlines into for some semblance of chronological order, then a Polished Final Outline that I write from. I know that sounds psychotic. It’s how my brain works. Some photo evidence/explanation:

And here’s a screengrab of my Final Outline, this is pretty much how it is all the way down- The POV character is italicized in the front, I talk to myself a lot in there, let myself get carried away, will sometimes write out whole segments of the scene if they come to me while outlining. Spoilers for chapters 1-3 of w,cn I guess!!!

Then, because scrivener is awesome, I get to see this outline in the corkboard view (I input every scene as a card) and so I get to see every part of my outline as a Synopsis on the right hand side of the doc where I’m writing the scene:

The POV and status tags (which are completely customizable) on the lower right are helpful too. This post is just a scrivener ad. 

complete: 9 works 

in progress: 4 works

coming soon / not yet started: I have so many fics in the works, I’m an indulgent person so if an idea comes to me I usually go with it for a time. I’ve had a very not-serious Jonsa PLL AU I’ve been writing on and off since summer. I have three different fairytale AUs (also jonsas) I’ve been working on and one time travel AU for @sunbeamsandmoonrays. I can’t say when or if any of these will see the light of day, because my priority is my WIPs and my original writing. But the most prevalent are my Halloween fics (one jonsa, one gendrya, one merthur) which I really want to be able to put out this month, but only if I meet some other goals. I’m trying to rein in my indulgent ass, ya’ll. 

do you accept prompts: no. sorry! but I do workshop ideas with friends, for example the nedsei fic happened that way by talking with @flibbertigiblet. But I don’t take writing prompts in my inbox. 

upcoming story you are most excited to write: my halloween merthur fic. it’s witchy, sassy, and I’m so excited to get back into the heads of these characters.

Tagging! @uchihabat @anniebibananie @noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth @sailorshadzter @vivilove-jonsa and any other lovely writer soul who wants to do this!