Adventures in Writing

Thoughts and Ruminations on the Year That Was (2024 edition)

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 21:51:06 GMT

( I decided not to post a year-end wrap-up this year because… frankly, because 2024 was a shit show from start to finish. It was probably one of the toughest years I’ve ever had. )

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Evil Author Day 2024 Master Post

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 23:31:42 GMT

This is the master post for Evil Author Day 2024. Enjoy!

Deck the Halls with Curveballs: I started this sometime in October, but life sort of got in the way, so I was never able to finish it. I'm not sure if the title will stick once I do, but it amused me to see that title every time I opened the file, so this is how it'll live on my laptop until I think of a better one.

The Prodigal Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3: I think I started writing this for a Big Bang a while back. It's a fix-it for The Rise of Skywalker, because while I enjoyed the movie, there was so much wrong with it that this was my only response. I was never able to finish it, and at this point I don't know if I ever will. But rather than leave it on my laptop where it's doing no good, I thought I'd share it here.

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Evil Author Day: The Prodigal (Star Wars) Part 3

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 23:26:11 GMT

For notes on this story, see part 1.

( Click here to continue reading. )

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Evil Author Day: The Prodigal (Star Wars) Part 2

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 22:56:23 GMT

For notes on this story, see Part 1

( Click here to continue reading. )

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Evil Author Day: The Prodigal (Star Wars) Part 1

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 22:00:36 GMT

I think I started writing this for a Big Bang a while back. It's a fix-it for The Rise of Skywalker, because while I enjoyed the movie, there was so much wrong with it that this was my only response. I was never able to finish it, and at this point I don't know if I ever will. But rather than leave it on my laptop where it's doing no good, I thought I'd share it here.

( Click here to read more. )

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Evil Author Day: Deck the Halls with Curveballs (NCIS)

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 17:52:05 GMT

I started this sometime in October, but life sort of got in the way, so I was never able to finish it. I'm not sure if the title will stick once I do, but it amused me to see that title every time I opened the file, so this is how it'll live on my laptop until I think of a better one.

For reference, this is Oberon and this is Titania.

( Click here to read more )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #14

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:48:59 GMT

Challenge #14

Try something new.

( I may be late to the party, but podcasts are my newest thing. )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #13

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 01:15:57 GMT

Challenge #13

Make a rec list of fanworks!

( Let's rec some fics… all AUs this time! )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #11

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:09:49 GMT

Challenge #11

In your own space, create a fanwork.

It's Wednesday, and I'm bored at work. Never a good thing. Idle hands and all that. So, instead of doing the work that I should be doing, I decided to unearth this story, finish and polish it up, and post it for your enjoyment.

( Click here for the link and some background. )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #10

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 18:49:08 GMT

Challenge #10

Five Things! The five things are totally up to you.

( Here's my five favorite Sci-Fi TV shows, movies, and books. )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #9

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 19:29:46 GMT

Challenge #9

Rec Us Your Newest Thing.

( Here, have a couple of movie recs. )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #8

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 01:42:47 GMT

Challenge #8

Talk about a current fannish project (fic, art, vid, crochet, Funko pop village) (that you are creating or enjoying).

( Come on in and see my newest project. )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #6

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 18:24:26 GMT

Challenge #6

In your own space, share a favourite piece of original canon (a show, a specific TV episode, a storyline, a book or series, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

( Come into my parlor and let me tell you about Sports Night )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #4

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 18:20:21 GMT

Challenge #4

IceBreaker Challenge! Tell us about yourself.

( As I'm typing this, they're destroying my kitchen. I needed the distraction, so here it goes. )

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Fandom Snowflake 2024 - Challenge #2

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 21:47:25 GMT

Challenge #2

In your own space, set yourself some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.

( I sort of have a love/hate relationship with goals, but here they are nonetheless )

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Year in Review 2023

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 01:27:13 GMT

The annual inventory (aka what I posted this year):

I Dream of You (I'll post the permanent link when it goes live on AO3, but for now, it's still on Rough Trade)

Rebuilt (MCU/Six Milion Dollar Man)

Rule 51 (NCIS/FBI)

Stranger in a Strange Land (Star Trek: AOS)

Stronger in the Broken Places (Star Trek: TNG/Picard)

The Lioness (Star Trek: AOS)

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Thoughts and ruminations on the year that was (2023 edition)

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 01:06:23 GMT

2023 was a rough year for me for many reasons. I’m glad it’s over, frankly, and I’m hoping that 2024 will be a much kinder year for all of us.

My year kicked off with me feeling like I’d been drug through a knothole. I was tired all the time, sweating like I’d just run a marathon, and my resting heart rate was somewhere around 99 bpm on a regular basis. Needless to say, I was a mess. Turns out I had developed an autoimmune disorder called Graves Disease, which is a form of hyperthyroidism. Basically, my body was making too much thyroid hormone, and it was wrecking my metabolism.

And I still signed up for Rough Trade in April, knowing I was sick and unable to concentrate on even the most mundane tasks. [insert facepalm here] I managed to get through both stories I’d signed up for, but it was tough, let me tell you. I felt like my brain was wrapped in cotton and that I was swimming in a vat of syrup all the damned time.

I’m seeing a specialist and taking medication, so I’m doing much better now. Needless to say, the beginning of my year started out pretty lousy. Thankfully, work wasn’t a burden, so I didn’t feel like I was going to die trying to keep up. Both my folks are in their 80s now, so taking care of them and myself was tough enough.

I was feeling so much better by July that I signed up for another two projects on Rough Trade. [insert another facepalm here] I barely got through my first story. I’ve dealt with labyrinthitis for decades but haven’t had an episode in years until July. It’s kinda hard to type or be creative at all when the whole world is spinning around you.

Somehow, I made it through, though. The dizziness has mostly subsided at this point, so I was able to get through my November RT project with little issue. I only signed up for one project, just in case, and while I struggled to finish it by the end of the month (I posted the last chapter on Dec 5, so technically, I didn’t, but I’m taking it for a win since I hit 25k by the end of November, which is the minimum goal), I did finish it.

Oddly, health issues weren’t the problem this time. It was November getting in the way. Whoever thought November was a good month for NaNo was an idiot. I had a two-day face-to-face meeting with my team at work that I had to travel for, plus Thanksgiving, which always takes up at least two days because nothing gets done on the day or the day after while you recover from all that food and football.

So, it’s been an up-and-down year for me. I survived, so I count that as a win. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s to be proactive about your health. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t wait to see if it’ll go away. Make an appointment and see your doctor right away. If I’d done that instead of waiting until I was at a crisis point, I wouldn’t have spent half the year trying to get healthy.

On the upside, I’ve lost 20 pounds and am on track to lose another 15, which will get me to a healthier weight after being overweight for 20+ years. I just wish it hadn’t taken getting sick to get me there.

On the writing front, I’ve logged ~136k words, which is astounding, considering how lousy I’ve felt for most of the year. I still haven’t posted my last RT project on AO3, so that’s a goal for January. I wish I’d been able to write more, but that just wasn’t in the cards for me this year. I did pick up yet another fandom (I can’t help myself at this point); My NaNo project was a Harry Potter/Mary Poppins crossover. I’ve written in the HP fandom before, but never for MP. It was a fun story to write, and I’m looking forward to the editing process so I can revisit the story.

As for next year, I’m hoping to ramp up my writing again. I’ve already got ideas for the first RT challenge, and I’m exploring the other prompts for the year to see if there’s anything else that piques my interest. I’m going to try to get back to writing shorter stories, one every month, if I can. Having a regular schedule appeals to me, and I think it would help keep me writing more regularly than I do now. I’m not setting a word goal because that’s just absurd, and I don’t need that kind of pressure in my life.

I’m also going to be a mod on the Fandom Snowflake this year. I’ve participated for the last several years, so I felt like I wanted to give back a little by helping to run it this year. I hope to see you there!

( Click here to read the highlights )

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Fandom Snowflake is almost here!

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 19:05:31 GMT

It's that time of year once again! Fandom Snowflake will be starting January 1, 2024. I'll be a mod for the first time this year, which I'm looking forward to. If you've never participated before, this is a good year to try it out. If you haven't done it in a while, we welcome you back with open arms. There will be a mix of new-ish prompts as well as some beloved favorites from years past.

I hope to see you there!

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Rough Trade Project - I Dream of You (Harry Potter/Mary Poppins Returns)

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 18:13:31 GMT

Banner by DizzyDrea

This is my project for November's Rough Trade challenge. It actually hits both prompts, Magic and Second Chances, though that was purely accidental. It's an idea I've been noodling on for a few years, built around a Sirius Black/Mary Poppins pairing. I'm a little nervous about writing in the HP fandom, as I know the fans can be... a bit much. But I'm determined to ignore the haters and write the story I want to write.

Due to ongoing health issues, I've decided to write just one story this fall. Considering that both of the other challenges this year have been impacted by my health issues, I didn't like my chances of finishing two stories, so I decided to go with just one and see how it goes. I'm feeling good now, but if you'd asked me on March 30 and June 30 how I was feeling, I'd have told you I was fine, so what do I know?

I Dream of You on Rough Trade

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Rough Trade Project - The Lioness (Star Trek AOS)

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 22:34:47 GMT

This was my project for July Rough Trade; I forgot to post before the challenge, but it's up now and will remain on the RT site until it's cleared for Nano in October. I barely finished it due to some ongoing health issues, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. It's a Sentinel story, with Uhura playing the part of Sentinel. I've never written a female Sentinel before, so it was a fun challenge. I'll post it on AO3 once I've sent it through edits.

The Lioness on AO3

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Rough Trade Project - Stronger in the Broken Places (Star Trek: Picard)

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 20:29:47 GMT

This is my second story for April's Rough Trade challenge. This time the theme is found family. I've been a Star Trek fan since childhood, but I've never written for NextGen, so this is going to be challenging for me.

Stronger in the Broken Places on AO3

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Rough Trade Project - Rule 51 (NCIS/FBI)

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 20:25:15 GMT

This is one of my projects for Rough Trade's April challenge. It's an NCIS/FBI crossover that's also part of my New York State of Mind series. I'd written the two stories already part of that series about two years ago and never considered a sequel until the theme for April's challenge was revealed. This story focuses on the crossover part of this month's challenge.

Rule 51 on AO3

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Evil Author Day 2023 Master Post

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 23:29:16 GMT

This is the master post for my Evil Author Day posts for 2023. Enjoy with my compliments!

Under the Blood Moon (NCIS): I started this story ages ago, and then just never went back to it. I was just beginning to play with the idea of werewolves and what I wanted that 'verse to look like, so I've changed my mind about some of the concepts I was playing with. I started this back before I started outlining every story I write, so I have no idea where I was even going with this. As such, it'll probably remain unfinished.

For Such a Time (Star Trek AOS): This was one of many stories I started after watching the first of the JJ Abrams Kelvin 'verse Star Trek movies. I still like the idea and may go back to finish it someday if I can ever remember where I was going with it. It features a gender-swapped Kirk, and probably an eventual Kirk/Spock romance, though it gets nowhere near that in this snippet.

The Cost of Doing Business: This is just a snippet, really. An idea I've written on before. What if James Bond met... James Bond? What if it was just a code name, and the man underneath was nothing like the persona that had been cultivated over decades? I'll probably finish this one, because I like the idea and had totally forgotten this was even in my WIP folder.

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Evil Author Day: The Cost of Doing Business (James Bond)

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 23:22:14 GMT

This is just a snippet, really. An idea I've written on before. What if James Bond met... James Bond? What if it was just a code name, and the man underneath was nothing like the persona that had been cultivated over decades? I'll probably finish this one, because I like the idea and had totally forgotten this was even in my WIP folder.

( Click here to continue reading. )

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Evil Author Day: For Such a Time (Star Trek AOS)

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 23:12:22 GMT

This was one of many stories I started after watching the first of the JJ Abrams Kelvin 'verse Star Trek movies. I still like the idea and may go back to finish it someday if I can ever remember where I was going with it. It features a gender-swapped Kirk, and probably an eventual Kirk/Spock romance, though it gets nowhere near that in this snippet.

( Click here to continue reading. )

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