Me meme

[gwyn]

Because let's face it, don't we all just love to talk about ourselves? Plus, I gakked this from melina123 and I thought her comments about her stuff were interesting and made me think of my own.

Stories I wrote this year: Geez, not as many as it feels like. Seven if you don't count the giganimous chapters/parts of the WIPs, 14 if you do count them. I count them, personally. Cuz criminy, they are freaking huge chunks of time.

My favorite story this year (of my own): Geez, it's a tossup, I guess: Mercy Street, which was about Spike and Dana, the insane slayer from Damage, or On Beds of Sorrow, the Fast and the Furious grief...death...whatever story.

My best story this year: Same as above, I think. I'm extremely proud of both.

Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: My F&F work in progress, Ciudad de Estrellas. I'm really loving the chance to explore these characters in depth, over a short period of time that feels like a long period, create backstory and original characters. But as my friend blackbird pointed out to me just today, the F&F audience (and fans in general) don't seem to appreciate that much. It's all peak-peak-peak and even some people close to me seem to not like the way it's going. Mostly I just look around and am trying to figure out why so many people say they're desperate for fic in the fandom but won't seem to give it a chance. I'm grateful to the few people who *have* supported it, though.

Most funFunnest (sorry, I HAVE to correct these things!) story: Fun? What is this fun you speak of? (If it means from my perspective, though, I'd definitely say all the F&F stuff. God, I'm just deliriously in love with this right now.)

Sexiest story: Het: Nada. Ixnay on the exsay in large part. Slash: On Beds of Sorrow, which is kinda sad because most people won't read it since it's got character death.

Story with single sexiest moment: Het: Oddly, Assumption even though it's so not about anything sexy. But the love scene with Buffy and Spike I am quite pleased with. Slash: Torque because I love the image of what Letty sees in the garage, especially the thing that makes Dom throw his head back and laugh.

Hardest story to write: Assumption because I wanted to really challenge myself in terms of style and language. Using elements of flash fiction (the real kind, not the fanfic kind), prose poetry, and stream of consciousness, together with two distinctly different narrative voices and time tracks, was a really interesting risk to take. And I was happy because I think I succeeded.

Most unintentionally *telling* story: Mercy Street. God, the fact that I could get into the head of a psychotic as well as everyone said I did should terrify me, I think. But I loved Dana, so, so much. I felt her inside me. I don't know what that means, either.

And because I'm a vidder, I have to do this for some vids, too:

Vids I made this year 6 or 7, not sure. Why does it feel like so many more? And yet I've been totally off vidding since July.

My favorite of my vids this year Gah. This I'm not so sure of... Stripped, maybe, because it started a weird, cool cascade of people getting interested in the F&F fandom and that thrills me to death, but I'm also exceptionally fond of Through Your Hands, which I made for the Vividcon challenge show, in Firefly.

My best vid this year: I suppose Valentine Heart. Though many would say Santa Monica.

Most underappreciated by the universe: Streets on Fire. Nobody cares about poor lil' Robbery Homicide Division except Bast!

Hardest vid to make: Streets on Fire, because it was so hard getting together with feochadn! Plus, hard fast edits=acheybreaky hearts and hands and RSI.

Sexiest vid: Stripped, hands down. And it's not like you have to *work* at it with Fast and the Furious!

Comments

tosses wreaths of appreciation...

[maygra.livejournal.com]

On Ciudad, in the hopes of nudging it out of the category...

Or maybe I should dangle carrots.

{{hugs copy of ciudad. Marvels over plot and character explorations...}}

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Gwyn_r:
I posting this to Maygra' LJ in response to your comment and I wanted to send it to you too. I'm just one little solitary soul, but please know that I really appreciate your work!!
This is kinda more in response to Gwy_r’s comment about the apathy(?) in the TF&TF fandom. It really makes me sad that you guys feel there is no appreciation for your stories. I understand why you would think so though. I’m like one of the drive-by readers. But, I do like to let you
authors know that I am reading and I really do appreciate your stories and your hard work. I enjoy them so. I ventured into your LJ (and others) first through Maygra. Finding Maygra’s Testing Gravity story and her vid was one of the best things for me for F&F fic because it lead me
to some really quality fanfiction. You, Gwyn_r, Khaleesian, Myln, Bone, Dawn and a few others.
I don’t always comment (and I'm sorry) because I kinda feel like: (1) I really don’t have too much to contribute that’s constructive like other people do, so it’s usually a thank you. (2) Maybe a little from being too shy(which is silly considering this is the internet) but not wanted to appear or say something too stupid. And (3) most of you seem to know each other and I don’t even do LJ.
I’m in the anonymous mode. But anyway, I hope you don’t feel too under appreciated because I’m sure people are out there reading, but to silly to let you know. And it would be a tragedy if you stopped writing for this fandom So I guess if you don’t mind my lurking around, I’ll try to be
more active, if that’s okay, because I really love this fandom and I would hate for you guys to stop writing this good stuff.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful talent!!

Catty

[avidrosette.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to say that I loved Mercy Street! It was the first story of yours that I read, and it made want to track down and read all your other BtVS/AtS fics (which I've started to do to my great pleasure). Also love your usage posts! The parallel form one was particularly helpful. I incorporated its advice into my writing the very day I read it. Thanks!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I am *really* glad to know you're out there and having a great time! I think that definitely my cadre of friends are in this larger LJ community, but my attempts at getting to know people who aren't big LJ participants have fallen flat. It's just been very odd, after coming from such participatory fandoms, to be in one where only a small handful of people ever discuss, talk to you, etc. For me, feedback is a starting point, rather than an ego stroke -- that's how I met Maygra, in fact! I'd never have known that she was in Mag 7 if she hadn't dropped me a line about a story; we'd had mutual friends for years but never really knew each other till then. I read very little, but I always try to talk to the people I do read -- and it wigs me out when they don't talk back to me. I've been very confused by some of the people who participate heavily in F&F who won't even acknowledge my comments to them or e-mails. I haven't been in one like this before, I guess.

It doesn't stop me from writing, though -- just makes it harder sometimes to find the motivation. The people who do encourage me, like you, make the big difference. I got trashed by someone recently for another WIP chapter and it wasn't even good constructive negative crit, just lashing out, and it's been sooo hard to go back to it. I think that when you have a lot of other things in your life, you need that conversation and participation (not just petting and worship) to keep up your energy. Or at least, I do. I tend to respond to things other people say and do, really heavily, so the strange lack of conversation isolates me, in a way.

Probably that sounds very weird, but it's the closest I can come to explaining it!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I just loved writing Mercy Street, though I suppose I ought to say it was scary and hard getting into the mind of a psycho. But I found it really easy and ... well, kind of cool to try to conjure up a past for her.

After the new year I will try to get back to doing the usage posts more regularly, though I think I'm running out of topics!

[robanybody.livejournal.com]

Hi. This is just to let you know that I am completely and utterly in love with Ciudad de Estrellas. I love the writing, I love the characterizations, but mostly, I love the *story*, that it is a story that's going someplace. It's one of those stories that makes you stay up late into the night, even though you know you're going to pay for it tomorrow (and believe me, I have paid, and would gladly pay it again), because you just NEED to know what's going to happen next, because it will KILL you not to know. I really like that.

And, you know, I'm willing to follow this story wherever it goes. It reads beautifully. <3

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry I havne't responded for so long, I meant to and then forgot once I headed off to meet my sister. I really appreciate you letting me know that you are reading it -- a lot of my motivation to write fanfic as opposed to other things is that sense of participation and connection with others. There's so much to do in life that if fanfic doesn't play a part in a larger connection with people, I'm not always motivated to do it. So knowing that there are people who are valuing the characterization and the details -- the things that I'm spending so much time on -- really makes a huge world o' difference. Thank you so much for letting me know.