Here is the 2022 post for comparison.
Stats:
List of Completed Fics:
Mr Selfridge: The Right Thing
Mr Selfridge: The Handkerchief Folder
Mr Selfridge: Ladies Who Lunch
Mr Selfridge: The Family Dinner
Mr Selfridge: My Favourite Paintings
Mr Selfridge: The Family Dinner
Mr Selfridge: Different Worlds
Mr Selfridge: So Much Space
Doctor Who: Snow Days
Mr Selfridge: A Dose of Reality
My Selfridge: Bedtime
Star Trek: Enterprise: A Movie Night Explosion
Doctor Who: Letters, Unsent; Argument, Unresolved
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: First Contact: Red
Our Flag Means Death: The Hurt Half
Doctor Who: Messages From Ace's Phone
Leverage: The Redemption Paradox
Mr Selfridge: A Wedding Reunion
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Vacation Confession
Doctor Who: Wedding Nights are Cool
Star Trek: Enterprise: Baby Dream
Rani Takes on the World: Time Bubble
Chalet School: The New Prefects of the Chalet School
Total number: 22
Total word count: 17,441
Ship/fandom/character breakdown:
Type:
Gen: 8
Het: 13
Slash: 1
Femslash: 0
Fandoms:
Mr Selfridge: 11
Doctor Who (New): 2
Star Trek: Enterprise: 2
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: 2
Chalet School: 1
Doctor Who (BFA): 1
Doctor Who (Classic/New): 1
Leverage: 1
Our Flag Means Death: 1
Rani Takes on the World: 1
Characters who appear in more than one fic:
Grace Calthorpe: 11
Gordon Selfridge: 10
Ace: 2
Christopher Pike: 2
Trip Tucker: 2
Specifics:
Best title?
Given that I've just discovered I called two Mr Selfridge drabbles The Family Dinner it should probably be that. But I like The Redemption Paradox and The Vacation Confession entirely because of the way they sound.
Best summary
I can't get excited about any of them. Even the Unconventional Courtship summary is a boring romance novel summary.
Best first line?
"Hey, do you remember those aliens that look like three foot high beetles?" Tegan in Messages From Ace's Phone.
Best last line?
"I can't believe I'm going to walk on water." Evelyn in Snow Days.
General questions:
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
It's more fics than I predicted, due to all the drabbles I wrote at the start of the year.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
Given that I only started watching Mr Selfridge right at the end of last year, I definitely wouldn't have predicted writing that. But I also wouldn't have predicted writing Leverage. I haven't even read much fic in the fandom as there's just not a lot that appeals to me (although I also haven't worked out what would appeal to me).
What's your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
This is a tie between Messages From Ace's Phone because it was so fun to write and The Redemption Paradox because I'm still amazed I wrote Leverage fic.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
Messages From Ace's Phone which wins on kudos and bookmarks and comes top in a 3-way tie for comments.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
Technically all those Mr Selfridge drabbles have very few hits. But I knew going in that I was writing in a very rare fandom and was writing a pairing no one else had (and one of the characters isn't in any other fic). So it was quite freeing knowing that hardly anyone would read them.
I have the box ticked on AO3 so the only way I can see stats is to look at the stats page, which only shows me the top 5. Or to open it in a private window, which I don't want to do, as not doing it means I'm happy with those states. So the long answer is none of them.
Story that could have been better?
All of them. I think that every year but just looking at them for the best first and last lines and I found two typos. I am going to live in blissful ignorance about others because I can't be bothered to fix them in three places (offline, my site, AO3).
Sexiest story?
I suppose Wedding Nights are Cool since it's Amy and Rory's wedding night. But since it also includes bunk beds and interruptions from the Doctor, it never really gets the chance to be sexy.
Saddest story?
Probably Letters, Unsent; Argument, Unresolved as Ace works through her Doctor-related issues.
Most fun?
This category has competition, but I think First Contact: Red wins it.
Story with single sweetest moment?
Baby Dream is pretty much the sole contender here.
Hardest story to write?
If you don't include all the previous drafts I abandoned, not least because I can't remember how many there were for fics before last autumn then it's The Redemption Paradox. Time travel is complicated.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
It's definitely Messages From Ace's Phone on both fronts.
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?
Not really. Although I used the Mr Selfridge drabbles to explore my perception of the characters. And came out with the conclusion that marrying someone in a higher class than you is hard.
Most overdue story?
That would be the ones I haven't finished. Like a Pike angst one I started in mid-2022 and some more of Vanishing Act, of which I've had the next two chapters in my head since mid-2022 and still haven't written yet. I thought I'd try and get them written before we see Harry and Naomi start travelling with the Fourth Doctor, but since that audio comes out in March I wouldn't count on it.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I suppose writing for Leverage was a risk. I learnt that I can do it and rewatching a lot of the canon to help do it is not a hardship.
This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it most:
Everyone is unhappy. As demonstrated by so many fics it's hard to pick out one.
What are your fic writing goals for next year?
I'd like to do Unsent Letters and Unconventional Courtship but we'll see.
