2025 Writing in Review (Pt 2)
tagged by: @shizuoi (thank you!!! 💙)
tagging: anyone who would like to do this!
number of stories posted to ao3:
word count:
fandoms i wrote for:
pairings:
- locklyle, skullyle, skullocklyle, kippswood, lucy/skull/lockwood/kipps, lucy/skull/lockwood/kipps/george, cot3, georgewood, kipps/jessica lockwood
stories with the most KUDOS, BOOKMARKS, COMMENT THREADS:
work i’m most proud of (and why):
- Shadow & Sunlight: at a mere 2,100 words, would you believe this involved a spreadsheet? it started as a one-off, then a double, and then kept growing until i realized it needed an actual plot and an ending. technically, it’s the most “chapters” i’ve ever done, and up there in terms of the number of view points. i think in another life, i would have done the 21k version of this, but i’m proud of telling a story that, in many ways, i’ve wanted to tell for a long time.
work i’m least proud of (and why):
- bath bomb: This was a super fun collab with @sciroccoorion35 but also just a quick one-off drabble that wasn’t necessarily me pushing myself or trying something new.
share or describe a favorite comment you received:
- Will you be my Freudian slip? is probably the most chaotic, unhinged thing I’ve ever written (and I’m also quite proud of it, thanks to @sciroccoorion35 for the prompt) and the comments got equally unhinged as it unfolded. @thelittlemissmisfit was a true MVP of cheering this along and @justice-for-skull left probably my favorite bit: “skull has nothing but his anger, poor guy doesn’t even have a dick” which really encapsulated the series this became.
a time when writing was really, really hard:
- honestly, being in academia, it’s tough out here. really all i have time and brain space for creatively are drabbles, which is frustrating. my creative writing completely dropped off this past semester, when i started my phd and experienced insane burnout. trying to get back in the groove this january. i feel like it’s important to keep flexing the creative, fun muscles.
a scene or character you wrote that surprised you:
a favorite excerpt of your writing:
It’s cold when he kisses her; terrifying too, like jumping into the Thames. She plunges under, losing her breath, everything going dark as ghost-lock freezes her in place. Yet it’s all perfectly crystal clear.
Then, warm hands wrap around her, Lockwood’s mouth on her neck like white hot fire. The spell cracks open and it feels like coming home, shadow and sunlight intertwined, enveloping her in their embrace until the stars burst and she’s falling, floating, flying.
Guided down by gentle caresses and sweet words, drifting towards sleep in Lockwood’s arms, she softly gazes at Skull.
“Never leave me again.”
how did you grow as a writer:
- i wrote a lot of different ships this year and a lot of different dynamics. it was nice to try new things and also really tighten up my writing with the drabbles. it’s made me a faster writer as well, which is great for my academic work.
how do you hope to grow:
- i would love to do a fic longer than 5k again 😂 as fun as these drabbles are, i do want to push myself to tell bigger stories and not be so scared to get out of this format that i’ve become so comfortable in.
who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.):
- i’m cheating a little here. @justice-for-skull and @ohmyoverland have been with me since the beginning and they get their hands on pretty much everything i write. i couldn’t do it without them. i also have to shout out @sciroccoorion35 because she’s directly responsible for 3/8 fics i wrote, and stepped in to cheerlead when justice-for-skull and ohmyoverland were busy. i owe all of these ladies a lot!
anything from your real life show up in your writing:
any new wisdom you can share with other writers:
- try to write a little every day and change up the genres you’re writing in.
any projects you’re looking to start (or finish):
- i’m in the middle of two drabble series, I Need Sunshine (Heated Rivalry, Scott/Kip) and All the Way (People You Meet on Vacation, Alex/Poppy). i am already nervous that i’ll bail on these. i’d also like to do something for Ilya/Shane if i get the right idea. is this the year i’ll finish my locklyle engagement fic? (probably not.)
my fic
my writing