2021 In Words
Jan. 5th, 2022 09:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spacetimeconundrumHappy 2022 everyone! I hope you're all staying healthy and warm out there this January.
I don't think I've made a secret of the fact that this past year was a bit of a rough one for me (and many of you too, I'm sure) mental health-wise.* And yet, according to AO3, 2021 was somehow my most productive year so far in terms of writing: 58,500 words! That's basically a whole novel's worth of fiction! So for fun, let's look back on all the things I wrote in 2021:
Not the Time Dad- Due South, Gen, 600 words, Benton Fraser, Bob Fraser, Diefenbaker, werewolves, awkward conversations
Bob picks an inconvenient moment to drop in on his son.
Short scene / entry into my Due South, but Make Everyone Werewolves series that I wrote in May, in an attempt to shake free of writer's block (I hadn't been able to write anything since late November at that point.) It worked, because I was finally able to start making progress on my C6D Big Bang fic after this. And any excuse to write Bob Fraser should be embraced, really.
A Canadian Werewolf in Las Vegas- Due South, T, 29.7k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Ray Vecchio, Victoria Metcalf, werewolves, Las Vegas, established relationship, kid!fic, family feels, road trips
“It’s… look, there’s no good way to say this. It’s Victoria. She’s in Vegas, in Intensive Care..."
Originally the idea for this story came to me in the summer of 2020, but I lacked the time and energy to get more than a few scenes written before that year's C6D Big Bang, so I put it on the agenda for 2021 instead. Written in concentrated bursts while working an obscenely stressful job this summer, I'm incredibly proud of this story, even if it's gotten far less attention than a few of my others this past year. It's about the unexpected shapes family can take, forgiveness, and yes, werewolves. (It's also part of the aforementioned werewolf AU series.) Plus, it's pretty funny in places, or at least I think so. (If you haven't jumped into this one yet because kid!fic and/or Victoria aren't your jam, I get that, but I promise this story isn't what you're expecting it to be.)
Icing the Pack - Due South, G, 6.9k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Ray Vecchio, hockey AU, werewolves, didn't know they were dating
Ben Fraser is an NHL defenseman in Chicago. When his best friend is traded to Florida for a late round draft pick and a scrappy right winger a few years from retirement, he isn't expecting his entire life to change. Or the secret his new teammate is hiding...
Written in August immediately after I wrapped up work on A Canadian Werewolf in Las Vegas because I was still buzzing with writing energy and wanted to use it, this was the product of a Discord conversation where I asked my friends there what I should write. The suggestion I got was "werewolf hockey player Ray K and suspicious teammate Fraser", which, if you know me well, you also know that this was something I absolutely HAD to write immediately. I had a lot of fun writing it and am particularly proud of the jump scare. You don't really need to know anything about hockey to enjoy it, but it can't hurt.
A Little Less Conversation (A Little More Action) - Due South, T, 9.6k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Elvis, Renfield Turnbull, Francesca Vecchio, Harding Welsh, accidental marriage, fake/pretend relationship, modern setting
Ray and Fraser accidentally get married. Well, as accidentally as one can deliberately go through all the required steps to marry someone and then somehow be surprised by the result. It's complicated.
Also written in August, after leaving the terrible job that was making me miserable, this turned out to be the most popular out of anything I wrote in 2021. Another product of zany Discord discussions, this story started as a joking comment about how I wanted to write an accidental marriage plot that snowballed into a fully formed story in nearly record time. I'd already written one Vegas-set story, how about another? I also set it in the vaguely present-day, instead of the late 90s, because marriage equality is way more fun, especially when you're trying to write a silly 'oh no, I accidentally married my best friend in Vegas' storyline. Ray and Fraser succumb to peer-pressure, Turnbull bonds with a stripper, feelings are felt, there's a shower scene, it's a good time.
Drop It Like It's Hot- Due South, M, 11.6k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Renfield Turnbull, Bob Fraser, curses, magical realism, first time, crack treated seriously
What do you get when you mix two Mounties, a Chicago police detective, a half-wolf, and an opinionated ghost with a bit of cursed pottery? A little romance, if you're lucky.
My entry into this year's due South Seekrit Santa, and the reason I couldn't write this post until after New Year's. I wrote this for Wicked3659, who is a good friend and frequent enabler (she's already convincing me to write more silly things for this year, so you all have that to look forward to), and requested some magical case fic for F/K. I gave her a cursed vase, ghost shenanigans, and possibly the steamiest scene I've ever written (again, so far).
* TL; DR - depression and anxiety suck and can go kick rocks.
I don't think I've made a secret of the fact that this past year was a bit of a rough one for me (and many of you too, I'm sure) mental health-wise.* And yet, according to AO3, 2021 was somehow my most productive year so far in terms of writing: 58,500 words! That's basically a whole novel's worth of fiction! So for fun, let's look back on all the things I wrote in 2021:
Not the Time Dad- Due South, Gen, 600 words, Benton Fraser, Bob Fraser, Diefenbaker, werewolves, awkward conversations
Bob picks an inconvenient moment to drop in on his son.
Short scene / entry into my Due South, but Make Everyone Werewolves series that I wrote in May, in an attempt to shake free of writer's block (I hadn't been able to write anything since late November at that point.) It worked, because I was finally able to start making progress on my C6D Big Bang fic after this. And any excuse to write Bob Fraser should be embraced, really.
A Canadian Werewolf in Las Vegas- Due South, T, 29.7k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Ray Vecchio, Victoria Metcalf, werewolves, Las Vegas, established relationship, kid!fic, family feels, road trips
“It’s… look, there’s no good way to say this. It’s Victoria. She’s in Vegas, in Intensive Care..."
Originally the idea for this story came to me in the summer of 2020, but I lacked the time and energy to get more than a few scenes written before that year's C6D Big Bang, so I put it on the agenda for 2021 instead. Written in concentrated bursts while working an obscenely stressful job this summer, I'm incredibly proud of this story, even if it's gotten far less attention than a few of my others this past year. It's about the unexpected shapes family can take, forgiveness, and yes, werewolves. (It's also part of the aforementioned werewolf AU series.) Plus, it's pretty funny in places, or at least I think so. (If you haven't jumped into this one yet because kid!fic and/or Victoria aren't your jam, I get that, but I promise this story isn't what you're expecting it to be.)
Icing the Pack - Due South, G, 6.9k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Ray Vecchio, hockey AU, werewolves, didn't know they were dating
Ben Fraser is an NHL defenseman in Chicago. When his best friend is traded to Florida for a late round draft pick and a scrappy right winger a few years from retirement, he isn't expecting his entire life to change. Or the secret his new teammate is hiding...
Written in August immediately after I wrapped up work on A Canadian Werewolf in Las Vegas because I was still buzzing with writing energy and wanted to use it, this was the product of a Discord conversation where I asked my friends there what I should write. The suggestion I got was "werewolf hockey player Ray K and suspicious teammate Fraser", which, if you know me well, you also know that this was something I absolutely HAD to write immediately. I had a lot of fun writing it and am particularly proud of the jump scare. You don't really need to know anything about hockey to enjoy it, but it can't hurt.
A Little Less Conversation (A Little More Action) - Due South, T, 9.6k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Elvis, Renfield Turnbull, Francesca Vecchio, Harding Welsh, accidental marriage, fake/pretend relationship, modern setting
Ray and Fraser accidentally get married. Well, as accidentally as one can deliberately go through all the required steps to marry someone and then somehow be surprised by the result. It's complicated.
Also written in August, after leaving the terrible job that was making me miserable, this turned out to be the most popular out of anything I wrote in 2021. Another product of zany Discord discussions, this story started as a joking comment about how I wanted to write an accidental marriage plot that snowballed into a fully formed story in nearly record time. I'd already written one Vegas-set story, how about another? I also set it in the vaguely present-day, instead of the late 90s, because marriage equality is way more fun, especially when you're trying to write a silly 'oh no, I accidentally married my best friend in Vegas' storyline. Ray and Fraser succumb to peer-pressure, Turnbull bonds with a stripper, feelings are felt, there's a shower scene, it's a good time.
Drop It Like It's Hot- Due South, M, 11.6k, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Renfield Turnbull, Bob Fraser, curses, magical realism, first time, crack treated seriously
What do you get when you mix two Mounties, a Chicago police detective, a half-wolf, and an opinionated ghost with a bit of cursed pottery? A little romance, if you're lucky.
My entry into this year's due South Seekrit Santa, and the reason I couldn't write this post until after New Year's. I wrote this for Wicked3659, who is a good friend and frequent enabler (she's already convincing me to write more silly things for this year, so you all have that to look forward to), and requested some magical case fic for F/K. I gave her a cursed vase, ghost shenanigans, and possibly the steamiest scene I've ever written (again, so far).
* TL; DR - depression and anxiety suck and can go kick rocks.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 08:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 10:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 09:11 am (UTC)I will also forever enable fic and art creations, because you make wonderful things that should be shared.
Anxiety and depression suck major balls (sorry for the language 😅). This is a mood. Big hugs, here's hoping for a better year for you 🫂🫂❤️
no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 10:24 am (UTC)I'm glad you enjoyed your fic. Usually, I'll just leave things implied or fade to black, but I actually wrote out the steamy bits this time because you've written so many spicy scenes and I thought "oh no, it won't be a proper gift for her without the good stuff 'on screen'". 😅
no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-08 10:38 am (UTC)It actually wasn't a hardship to step slightly out of my usual comfort zone and write those scenes, so who knows what I'll write next time!
no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 02:55 pm (UTC)I'm glad you were able to do so much creatively last year, even with the depression-anxiety one-two punch. (I tango with those two on the daily, too.)
I'm definitely looking forward to anything you do this year!
no subject
Date: 2022-01-08 10:29 am (UTC)Working through it, as you do. Been trying to treat myself like an under-stimulated tiger in the zoo; gotta plan enrichment activities to keep the brain-chemicals out of the red zone and lean on my friends and family when things get hard. Writing funny, kinda silly stories has been pretty therapeutic, so I'm probably gonna try to do more of that this year.
I wish you much success in your battle against the forces of brain-bullshit this year as well.