21. 2023 Writing Wrapped

[slowparts]

Total 2023 Word Count: 69,519 written (including original work), 27,383 published
Total 2023 Hits: 6,795
Other 2023 AO3 Stats: Kudos: 797, Comments: 84, Bookmarks: 196

Favorite Fic:

I wrote earth air water trees at the beginning of the year because that was around the time I had finished seasons 1–3 of Nancy Drew, and I needed to channel all of my feelings into something. Fortunate was I that pressedbtwnpages had some prompts aligning with my ideas for Yuletide, so I could sneak in a gift! 

Everyone in the fandom was so sweet and received it so warmly and I made some new friends! (waves at Bethany and Kelsey) And I'm suuuuper proud of my pacing in that fic and I had sooo much fun exploring The Negotiation Of Sex Pollen for the first time hahaha. Rite of passage. I think that's my best fic of the year.

Hardest Fic: 

your heart is a river that flows from your chest was, I think, my most unfocused fic of the year and while that's not a bad thing it did mean that I felt a little aimless writing it... which is I think why the ending ended up being so rushed. 

Do You Plan to Take Prompts in 2024? 

I love taking prompts! I usually get more than I end up using, but many times prompts give me an excuse to get off my butt and write something... I've found them super inspiring AND I get the added bonus of making someone happy by writing something for them. :)


What was the best thing about 2023? 

2023 was a great year for my original fiction. I met a lot of new writers this year, went to a conference, submitted widely, and ran through revisions as well as generating some new drafts. It was taxing at times but also exhilarating. And to do it among peers is a huge gift. 

What was the worst thing about 2023?

This was the first full year I was committed to writing and submitting original work and it was exhausting and at times discouraging. I racked up a lot of rejections, and was super frustrated by the speculative fiction publishing world's interminable turnaround times combined with its widely accepted rule that simultaneous submissions are not allowed... which left a lot of my pieces in limbo for months at a time before they were ultimately rejected. Sigh. But, I feel like I toughened up and resolved to keep trying, AND at the very last minute in 2023 I got my first and only acceptance of the year—and it's a paid acceptance! So, yay. :)