#Are you writing sherlock fic in the year of our lord 2023

[pasiphile]

I have a day off tomorrow which I sorta intend to spend on writing, possibly some short things just to get back in the saddle rather than risk getting overwhelmed by my Big Boys, so...

Anyone have a ficlet prompt?

Fandoms I'm willing to write for include but are not limited to: Discworld, The Untamed, Attack on Titan, Ace Attorney, The Locked Tomb, Doctor Who, Merlin, Black Sails, Sherlock, buffy the vampire slayer, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Good Omens (strictly the book, not the TV series)

No promises, given that my writing skills have been in hibernation for almost a full year, but yknow. Send me a fandom, pairing or character and prompt and things may happen.

[pennywaltzy]

The Basics -- 2, 8, 9

The Specifics -- 18, 19, 20

2: Are you a pantser or plotter? Pantser. That's probably why I have so many WIPs where I go back to them and I'm all "Where the fuck was I going with this?"

8. Oldest WIP: Oh lord. I think I have some Buffyverse WIPs that I need to dig out of the text file from my old Yahoo Group alternabuffyfic, but the oldest one I have (from when I started writing it) is "Urge To Fight," which is a CSI: NY/Startgate Atlantis fic that I will finish one day. The oldest WIP I have on AO3 chronologically is "When In University..." a Pondlock xfic which I was going to turn into an original fic because I got told Sherlock was too OOC...then series 3 & 4 happened and I was vindicated that he's a soft little meow meow under it all, so fuck all the haters of that fic it's getting finished in the near future.

9. Current WIP: "What Stork Brings," a Star Trek AOS Spirk fic about them adopting twins. It was recently featured on a reblog by the Tumblr user who came up with the original post that inspired it, so I've gotten a lot of kudos and comments on it and, internet and writing time willing, I'm considering doing it for WIPBB this year. So no updates until September, but it would be finished.

18. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about? I wanna write with my personal fic gremlin @strangelock221b! We have a series she drops the occasional fic in (The Best Laid Plans), but that's mostly my baby. I don't know what we'd right about...maybe a new series with her OC Leland and Mary Bennet, or something in the Star Trek AOS verse or the MCU. The possibilities are endless!

19. How do you keep yourself motivated? Honestly? I've been super unmotivated since, like, May of last year, when I got COVID and developed long hauler symptoms. I will probably start working more once I have housing, since it's super hard for me to not write on a table/flat surface, and I'm stuck at the shelter without internet most of the time (plus right now I'm putting most of my energy into finding housing before we need to leave the shelter). But right now I have an Urge to be artistic, so I'm probably going to work on 2023 WIPBB art claims and fanmixes for a bit and work on "What Stork Brings" when I can fully charge my laptop and sit at the dining room table, which is stuff I can do with a minimal need to be online.

20. How many WIPs and story ideas do you have? I have between 65 - 70 published WIPs up on AO3, I think. I haven't checked in a while. I also have a HUGE folder of prompts that I've been trying to whittle down by giving them to Molly Hooper Appreciation week participants in our new December round, though @apromptadaykeepstheblockaway (which is my newest prompt blog) and just to friends of mine who want simple prompts that they can apply to any ship/fandom.

A Writer’s Ask Game

[pennywaltzy]

A glimpse between 2007 and now...

I'm going through my archived fic blog on Dreamwidth, just reblogging random fic/fun stuff, and I came across a meme I answered on Mar. 15th, 2007 at 02:17 PM. Let's see what has changed in 16 years... (old answers below the cut)

Keyboard or notebook? Laptop now! I entered the portable digital age a while ago, but I still type up most of my fic. Fun fact: when I worked at Legoland I used to write fic while I was working, and I'd write it on the pieces of cardboard that came in my boxes of photo frames. I had a whole stash of cardboard up at the Dragon ride.

Beta or no beta? No beta, unless it's a gift or for an exchange, and even then my actual beta is "post it to AO3, send the link to @strangelock221b and see what she thinks."

Plot? Plot for series and WIPs, one-shots get tiny bits of plot and PWPs have none at all.

Smushy or smutty? Both. Preferably in the same fic.

Summary? Since AO3 requires summaries, now I write them. It's really funny (not really) to find old fics to transfer over that don't have summaries. I need to come up with one 15 plus years later.

Funniest fic? Oh lord...probably "The Humorous Effects Of Sherlock And Truth Serums"

Most popular fic? The Art Of Love Is Largely The Art Of Persistence by hits on AO3 (20,768) and yet our roots remain as one for kudos (561) and bookmarks (94)

Most fun to write? Wow. There are just so so many. I can't choose just one.

Best and worst? The Art Of Love Is Largely The Art Of Persistence is definitely one of my personal best fics, and the worst? Still the Buffyverse PWPs I wrote.

Most underrated? A lot of the old CSIverse stuff I'm adding to my AO3 account these days. I did a good job on them, and aside from the CSI: NY fics I don't get a whole lot of love for them.

Strengths? Over the years, I've developed a keen talent for writing characters convincingly across a number of fandoms. I'm really proud when someone comments with "OMG I could see that happening on the show!" and other similar comments.

Weaknesses? Chronic fatigue has made it where I write in bursts every few weeks. Since I'm homeless at the time I wrote this (February 24th, 2023), though, I am on my laptop and in a library or Starbucks more often so I'm hoping I'll do more writing.

Dirty little secrets? I wrote non-con/dub-con, miscarriage, murder and implied suicide all in one fic. I orphaned it shortly after posting it to AO3. Every once in a while I check on it and people are still reading it. I'm...surprised, because it's a pitch black fic. But to each their own, I suppose.

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Keyboard or notebook? Keyboard, unless I'm away from the house and I get hit with an idea. I've been known to write on envelopes and paper towels in those instances.

Beta or no beta? No beta. I write far too much and I love seeing it go up ASAP because I'm impatient. On very few occasions will I use a beta.

Plot? For my series, there's kind of an overlying plot. For my WIPs, there's a definite plot. But for most of my fic that doesn't fall into one of those categories (which isn't much)? Plotless.

Smushy or smutty? Smushy. Sometimes branching out into foreplay but never outright smut these days; I stopped writing that years ago. Though somewhere in my archives is a post where almost all the conversation is about sex and smut, and that conversation led me to write "Claw Marks," one of my few hard-R CSIverse fics.

Summary? I only write summaries if it's required.

Funniest fic? I have no clue, honestly. I personally love "Is This Sexual Harassment?"

Most popular fic? "Not What You Expected," hands down. Though I keep getting begged to add more to my "Strange And Beautiful" series. Also, "Heroics On A Smaller Scale" is probably my most popular one-shot fic.

Most fun to write? Wow. Um…the round robin I'm writing with iluvroadrunner6 that's just our OCs. William gets to come out and play out there a lot more than he does in my other fics.

Best and worst? I have no clue about my best, but worse is definitely the Buffyverse PWPs I wrote.

Most underrated? I don't really know. I would say "Theraputic," which is a CSI: NY/L&O crossover WIP I started but haven't touched in a while due to a lukewarm response.

Strengths? I think my main strengths are plot, dialogue and the believability of my OCs. It's the last one that makes me especially proud…that and the fact that my two main OC pairings (Danny/Christina and Flack/Susan) are LJ interests. Linked LJ interests.

Weaknesses? I love the fluff. And apparently I write too much of it, or so someone told me in an anonymous meme one time. But I don't look at it as a complete weakness: when I'm really happy I write great angst, and when I'm not as happy I write fluff. It's more indicative of my mood than any real compulsion to write mostly fluff.

Dirty little secrets? I wrote pr0n. I hate the stuff I wrote, too. Wish I could delete it anywhere it's archived. And…sometimes I ship characters together not because I think they'd actually work but because they'd be pretty together (which I think is the entire reason I ship Flack/Peyton but I don't write it…yet).