My Atelier

Wild & wooly times, my friends. I've decided to take advantage of all the free time lockdown has produced and funnel it towards various writing projects.

-Gangstermoll
-Zombie Arthur
-Feature adaptation screenplay
-Other shorts?

It occurred to me today that I could use this platform as a journal and write things in it (as opposed to just scanning through my Reading Page or whatever they call it).

I don't have anything particularly witty to say at the moment. I've been tremendously busy the past 2 years, having plunged into the wild world of independent filmmaking. It's a huge timesuck and money pit with zero commercial viability, but I'm pleased to have embarked on this new adventure regardless. Taking my writing and storytelling art into a new medium is interesting, and I have learned a great deal, which I always enjoy for its own sake.

It's only in the past month that I've been able to take a moment to step back and resume some of my other hobbies (which had to be sidelined to free up time for the many aspects of filmmaking). I've gotten back into sewing, baking, paper arts, and flower arranging. Not to mention working on my other writing. It's nice to be able to toggle back into more solitary forms of creative expression where fewer people are involved and the stakes (financial and emotional) feel less high.

And hey, I finally have time to watch media again. Various shows people have been berating me about watching (the list is long, but these are the only ones that have actively caught my interest):
Marvelous Mrs Maisel (Amazon Prime)
A Very English Scandal (Amazon Prime)
Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
Killing Even (? not sure)

Sign ups for the second round of Inception Remix are open! Click to sign up as a participant.

Story drafts must be emailed to ireversebang @ gmail.com by end of day Sunday, January 28. If you are ready, you may email your drafts earlier.

The subject line should be this exact phrase: Story Draft Submission

This draft does not need to have been beta-read yet but it should be at least 3000 words OR at least 75% complete. You may paste your story into the body of the email or include it as an attachment.

Please copy the text below and paste it into the body of your email. Fill out all the fields as best you can.

Art Prompt Title:
Art Piece Number:
Artist:
Fic Title:
Author:
Pairing(s):
Rating:
Word Count:
Warnings:
Summary:

Reminders: On February 4 the posting schedule will go up. During that week I will put up this year's Master Post template. If you would like to see a previous round's template, you can look here.

Sunday, January 28: Stories due
Sunday, February 4: Posting Schedule goes up

Sunday, February 11: Posting begins

On February 11, posting will begin at the rate of 1-2 stories a day.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment to this entry.

My first fic of the year and it's a weird one. A birthday fic for darling Sibilant, who likes it despite (or perhaps because of?) its oddness and the 'choose not warn' label.

On Ao3 here: Comme des Garçons

The title means 'like boys' in French, and is a reference to both the subject of the story and the fashion line by Rei Kawakubo.

Writing year in review: I wrote approximately 200,000 words this year.
Compared to: 2016 - 160,000
2015 - 180,000
2014 - 170,000 words
2013 - 210,000
2012 - 150,000
2011 - 190,000
2010 - 166,000

My fiction posted in 2017:
A Flower in the Sun (Captive Prince WIP) - 20000
This Thing of Ours (Chapter 8 and onwards) 18000

SHORTS:
Amuse Bouche coda: The Wedding: Part I: Invitations 4300
Amuse Bouche coda: The Wedding, Part II: Ceremony 4000
Amuse Bouche coda: On Fatherhood 3100
Amuse Bouche coda: A Noble Heart 2800

Last night on earth (the unanswered question remix) 9800
Mercurial Moggy 4300
Through a Mirror - the dark universe - 3500

Ficlets written for AE Last Drabble Writer Standing 3700

= approximately 76,000 words posted The rest is in various drafts or unposted

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?

A bit more than expected, though I posted less than I thought I would. I have quite a few original fiction projects that I've been working on, though, including a short story that I've finished (and add to my word count) but won't be posting online.

What's your favourite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?

I'm very pleased with how my remix of Last night on earth turned out. It's not a light piece, but I think it is one of my most meaningful.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Captive Prince fic (A Flower in the Sun) continues to be challenging with plot, and world building, and developing a lot of OCs/subplots. Good practice developing writing areas I'm still somewhat weak in.

I've written about death before (arguably, all Supernatural fanfiction is about death) but Last night on earth (the unanswered question remix) was a new take on it. Forced me to confront my own questions and fears about mortality before I could convincingly write Arthur's, which was a great experience in the long run, if somewhat harrowing in the short.

My Best Story of the Year

Last night on earth (the unanswered question remix) in terms of concept, depth, and execution. Am just all around pleased with it.

Story Most Under appreciated by the Universe in My Opinion

Mercurial Moggy & Last night on earth probably tie for that honor, due mostly to their respective subject matters. I'm happy with them.

Most Fun Story

Probably one of the Amuse-Bouche codas.

Most Sexy Story

Probably Gangstermoll, or Mercurial Moggy, if you like darker sex.

Hardest Story to Write

Last night on earth.

Biggest Surprise

Through a Mirror - the dark universe. It's just a fun series of shorts that emerged as a result of AELDWS. A nice to play around in when I need a break from working on my other work.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
Finish Gangstermoll (this goal remains evergreen). But I have finished the Amuse Bouche codas I've been meaning to, and made good progress in This Thing of Ours (in both posting and writing). The last 10% of the story is in sight, and I'm working on developing a plan to structure it all.

It'd be nice to finish A Flower in the sun, but that is not my priority.

For original fiction, I'd like to finish a couple more short stories and possibly a play and a screenplay. We shall see.

Also, reposting my Dragon Age goal from last year: write my first Dragon Age: Inquisition story starring Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus, a canon gay couple and 2 very new character types I've never written before. I also haven't written in a fantasy genre canon before, so that'll be new. I'm going to attempt to do this as part of the annual Big Bang challenge.

damp, aromatic, gamy, roar, oily, musky, hairy, zesty, frigid, fizz, chirp, crunch, tart, tangy, sticky, velvety

Pick any passage of 500 words or less from any fanfic I've written, and comment with that selection. I will then give you the equivalent of a DVD commentary on that snippet: what I was thinking when I wrote it, why I wrote it in the first place, what's going on in the character's heads, why I chose certain words, what this moment means in the context of the rest of the fic, etc.

The next round of Inception Reverse Bang is now live and has officially moved to Dreamwidth. Sign up as an artist or author at i_reversebang.

Also, I have reluctantly moved to posting on Ao3 in light of all the Russia related shenanigans going on with LJ. You can check out my new work here, including updates to Gangstermoll, and a new coda to Amuse-Bouche in progress called Digestif.

I'm also working on a Captive Prince WIP called A Flower in the Sun.

I'll slowly be transferring my LJ stories to Ao3 at the rate of one a week or so. Everything has also been backed up on Dreamwidth, but I do have to update a bunch of links and whatnot.

Also, have signed up for Inception Bingo and here are my squares:
Intercrural sex
Multiple orgasms
Restraints
Aristocracy AU
Sex outdoors - beach sex is terrible idea
Unrequited love
Vulnerability
Reversal of roles or fortune
Fish out of water
Undercover
Knifeplay
Loss of control
Face fucking/face sitting
Public displays of affection - holding hands awkward idea
Pirates - roleplay
Voyeurism