2021 - Year Review - Writing Fanfic
Dec. 29th, 2021 05:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nicholas_lucien2021 was another year of the pandemic, and stressful. Work has been keeping me busy day and night, everyday, so not so much time to write anything. But every once in a while I have a few hours to put something together so got a few stories posted.
Nothing new for Forever Knight this year, but still collecting various fanzines I come across. This year I was able to find the Forever Knight Concordance (see here and here) and Ophelia's With Flowers (I had only ever read the first story so was excited to get the rest).
No time to update anything new to the Live on the Air series, which I had hoped to get around to this year, but work ....
On to fanfic:
First up: Gifts! None this year
Second up: Prompted Story!
I participated in the FKFicFest this year and from the available prompts I chose a combination of "a moment of truth" and "it's not what you are, its what you do with it." This story ties the flashbacks and the current case closely together - closer than I've done a case-fic before, so it was a little challenge to write. I wrote the flashback and the modern story at the same time, making sure an event that happened would happen in both, so there was a lot of jumping between sections! Moments links two flashback times to the present (1993) time: 1890 right after Nick decides to not drink any human blood and the consequences from what happens, which occurs in 1912 right before Nick's time on the Titanic. Nick really gets involved in the current murder case, seeing himself in what is going on, and attempts to retreat from humanity like he's done in the past. Fortunately (or not), this time the result is different. This story also involves Nat trying to make a new concoction for Nick to drink and the flashback also has that occurring. Lately I have been thinking of all the "new" science Nick must have come across over the centuries in his quest to become mortal or find an alternative to human blood. In the 1910s, there was a lot of work with discovering there was some sort of molecule in food that could prevent or reverse some diseases. We would know these to be vitamins, but they were originally called vital amines, and since one of the flashbacks was around this timeframe I loved incorporating that into Nick's treatments. Fun aside on this story: I named the original character, Ann, first, then went to a random name generator to select the character name to be used in the flashback. The name Bryanne was the first name created and it matched perfectly to Ann so I used that!
Brightnightie has also been posting prompts for the Fanfic Workout Buddies series, so I was inspired by the prompt "must be terribly important" to write Missed Appointment. Set in 1995 at Nick's loft, LaCroix comes over, reminding Nick of appointments he often skips - an agreement that Nick would spend time with him. Nick tries to wiggle out, but LaCroix insists (in his own threatening way) and Nick relents. The story ends there, so anyone is free to imagine what they do for a whole week together!
Third up: Other Stories!
I wrote an additional 7 stories this year. Still no drabble, though I did get one story down to 607 words - so progress!
There were a set of three stories that were alternative endings to Last Knight. I wrote the three versions off the same starting line. I have other ideas for stories that take place at the end of Last Knight, but these three always seemed to cluster together so I just wrote them together and named them the same. Two of them are cure stories, with Nick achieving mortality with Nat's help. In The Final Choice - version 1, LaCroix does as Nick asks, and Nick stands at the door with the Guide. LaCroix tries one last time to convince Nick to come back, but Nick decides not to, and as a mortal, steps through the door. In The Final Choice - version 2, LaCroix refuses Nick's last request and breaks the wooden staff. LaCroix instead continues with what Nat and Nick had been doing, and Nick becomes mortal. However, as a very dark story, LaCroix doesn't permit Nick to stay mortal for long, and he brings Nick back. I'm rather proud of this story, as I explain how and why Nick could become mortal with Nat's help, using the same method that Janette was able to use with Robert. In The Final Choice - version 3, LaCroix brings down the wooden staff but not into Nick. Nick shows he still cares for LaCroix and stays.
In Angels Walk Among Us, its mostly flashback to the train ride Nick and LaCroix were on in Jane Doe. During this time Nick is off killing humans, yet he advices LaCroix to kill young Hitler. Aside from how good that would have been, I did always find it odd he made such a recommendation. This flashback addresses how that came about. Also, Nick would save a woman, who's descendant would be important to Nick. This story required a bit of research, to know Hitler's whereabouts during his time after being a soldier. It was supposed to be set around 1918, but this did not match with where we knew he was, nor the ideas he was having at the time. I also looked up train routes and settled on 1919, late September.
Blood Drive was a quick little story about the police blood drive. We had seen Don donating in the first episodes and probably donates each year. I imagine he probably tries to get Nick to donate and this story is his attempt. However, he finds LaCroix, who explains why Nick can't donate. And now Nick owes LaCroix for the favor.
We often see Natalie helping Nick, but there are times when this is reversed. I wrote Sick Day to be pre-season 1 where Natalie was sick and Nick came over to try and help. Its a cute little story and shows what the beginning of their relationship was like, and the first movie they watched together. I had a great deal of vexation and fun tracking down the actual address of Nat's apartment in season 1. I had read in a few places generally where it was, but nope, the building was not there. Fortunately we have google maps and streetview so I literally walked the area until I found the place.
Adding to my song-fic series was Indestructible (Master of War), based on Indestructible by Disturbed. It is a LaCroix story, starting from his youth until a little after he becomes a vampire. I had hinted in the past that I did not think Lucius came from the upperclass, but a lower one, working his way up based on his skills and drive to survive. Real events and people are peppered though the story, from Caesars to Generals, to real battles, real murder plots, and cities. I ended up putting Lucius into the Legio XIV Gemina stationed in Brittania because it was described as Nero's favorite legion (thus positioning Lucius closer to eventually meeting Nero) and it was in Brittania and for another story I need LaCroix to be in that area amongst the Celtic peoples at some point in his mortal life. I also spent a lot of time with the Roman naming patterns, and Lucius' name is very accurate, even how the spelling would change. Important for me was the name "LaCroix" was just a translation of the name he already had as a mortal, and that he was a twin (one of the consequences of that was used in my story A Twist of Fate). Not mentioned, but I put Lucius' birth to be 32 AD. I'll apologize that "master of war" phrase comes up a lot, but that's in the song lyrics, so I have to use it a lot in the story (most of the lyrics in the songs I pick do end up written into the story).
For the upcoming year:
Definitely still continue to participate in FkFicFest. I'll say I'll make more entries into the Live on the Air series, but I'll be honest: it probably won't happen. I had wanted to complete the next two stories of my Light and Dark series, which are when Nick was in the Crusades and what happened afterward, and then when he meets Janette and LaCroix. I have the first sentence done! But that's all I had time for this year so that is a priority for next year. I've also been thinking of another post-Last Knight story that will be a shock and a second one I am writing now that takes place a few years after Last Knight. Didn't get my Nick/LaCroix story done, so that will hopefully be completed for next year. I was going to do a holiday story for this year, but there just wasn't time so it's been pushed to next year.
Nothing new for Forever Knight this year, but still collecting various fanzines I come across. This year I was able to find the Forever Knight Concordance (see here and here) and Ophelia's With Flowers (I had only ever read the first story so was excited to get the rest).
No time to update anything new to the Live on the Air series, which I had hoped to get around to this year, but work ....
On to fanfic:
First up: Gifts! None this year
Second up: Prompted Story!
I participated in the FKFicFest this year and from the available prompts I chose a combination of "a moment of truth" and "it's not what you are, its what you do with it." This story ties the flashbacks and the current case closely together - closer than I've done a case-fic before, so it was a little challenge to write. I wrote the flashback and the modern story at the same time, making sure an event that happened would happen in both, so there was a lot of jumping between sections! Moments links two flashback times to the present (1993) time: 1890 right after Nick decides to not drink any human blood and the consequences from what happens, which occurs in 1912 right before Nick's time on the Titanic. Nick really gets involved in the current murder case, seeing himself in what is going on, and attempts to retreat from humanity like he's done in the past. Fortunately (or not), this time the result is different. This story also involves Nat trying to make a new concoction for Nick to drink and the flashback also has that occurring. Lately I have been thinking of all the "new" science Nick must have come across over the centuries in his quest to become mortal or find an alternative to human blood. In the 1910s, there was a lot of work with discovering there was some sort of molecule in food that could prevent or reverse some diseases. We would know these to be vitamins, but they were originally called vital amines, and since one of the flashbacks was around this timeframe I loved incorporating that into Nick's treatments. Fun aside on this story: I named the original character, Ann, first, then went to a random name generator to select the character name to be used in the flashback. The name Bryanne was the first name created and it matched perfectly to Ann so I used that!
Brightnightie has also been posting prompts for the Fanfic Workout Buddies series, so I was inspired by the prompt "must be terribly important" to write Missed Appointment. Set in 1995 at Nick's loft, LaCroix comes over, reminding Nick of appointments he often skips - an agreement that Nick would spend time with him. Nick tries to wiggle out, but LaCroix insists (in his own threatening way) and Nick relents. The story ends there, so anyone is free to imagine what they do for a whole week together!
Third up: Other Stories!
I wrote an additional 7 stories this year. Still no drabble, though I did get one story down to 607 words - so progress!
There were a set of three stories that were alternative endings to Last Knight. I wrote the three versions off the same starting line. I have other ideas for stories that take place at the end of Last Knight, but these three always seemed to cluster together so I just wrote them together and named them the same. Two of them are cure stories, with Nick achieving mortality with Nat's help. In The Final Choice - version 1, LaCroix does as Nick asks, and Nick stands at the door with the Guide. LaCroix tries one last time to convince Nick to come back, but Nick decides not to, and as a mortal, steps through the door. In The Final Choice - version 2, LaCroix refuses Nick's last request and breaks the wooden staff. LaCroix instead continues with what Nat and Nick had been doing, and Nick becomes mortal. However, as a very dark story, LaCroix doesn't permit Nick to stay mortal for long, and he brings Nick back. I'm rather proud of this story, as I explain how and why Nick could become mortal with Nat's help, using the same method that Janette was able to use with Robert. In The Final Choice - version 3, LaCroix brings down the wooden staff but not into Nick. Nick shows he still cares for LaCroix and stays.
In Angels Walk Among Us, its mostly flashback to the train ride Nick and LaCroix were on in Jane Doe. During this time Nick is off killing humans, yet he advices LaCroix to kill young Hitler. Aside from how good that would have been, I did always find it odd he made such a recommendation. This flashback addresses how that came about. Also, Nick would save a woman, who's descendant would be important to Nick. This story required a bit of research, to know Hitler's whereabouts during his time after being a soldier. It was supposed to be set around 1918, but this did not match with where we knew he was, nor the ideas he was having at the time. I also looked up train routes and settled on 1919, late September.
Blood Drive was a quick little story about the police blood drive. We had seen Don donating in the first episodes and probably donates each year. I imagine he probably tries to get Nick to donate and this story is his attempt. However, he finds LaCroix, who explains why Nick can't donate. And now Nick owes LaCroix for the favor.
We often see Natalie helping Nick, but there are times when this is reversed. I wrote Sick Day to be pre-season 1 where Natalie was sick and Nick came over to try and help. Its a cute little story and shows what the beginning of their relationship was like, and the first movie they watched together. I had a great deal of vexation and fun tracking down the actual address of Nat's apartment in season 1. I had read in a few places generally where it was, but nope, the building was not there. Fortunately we have google maps and streetview so I literally walked the area until I found the place.
Adding to my song-fic series was Indestructible (Master of War), based on Indestructible by Disturbed. It is a LaCroix story, starting from his youth until a little after he becomes a vampire. I had hinted in the past that I did not think Lucius came from the upperclass, but a lower one, working his way up based on his skills and drive to survive. Real events and people are peppered though the story, from Caesars to Generals, to real battles, real murder plots, and cities. I ended up putting Lucius into the Legio XIV Gemina stationed in Brittania because it was described as Nero's favorite legion (thus positioning Lucius closer to eventually meeting Nero) and it was in Brittania and for another story I need LaCroix to be in that area amongst the Celtic peoples at some point in his mortal life. I also spent a lot of time with the Roman naming patterns, and Lucius' name is very accurate, even how the spelling would change. Important for me was the name "LaCroix" was just a translation of the name he already had as a mortal, and that he was a twin (one of the consequences of that was used in my story A Twist of Fate). Not mentioned, but I put Lucius' birth to be 32 AD. I'll apologize that "master of war" phrase comes up a lot, but that's in the song lyrics, so I have to use it a lot in the story (most of the lyrics in the songs I pick do end up written into the story).
For the upcoming year:
Definitely still continue to participate in FkFicFest. I'll say I'll make more entries into the Live on the Air series, but I'll be honest: it probably won't happen. I had wanted to complete the next two stories of my Light and Dark series, which are when Nick was in the Crusades and what happened afterward, and then when he meets Janette and LaCroix. I have the first sentence done! But that's all I had time for this year so that is a priority for next year. I've also been thinking of another post-Last Knight story that will be a shock and a second one I am writing now that takes place a few years after Last Knight. Didn't get my Nick/LaCroix story done, so that will hopefully be completed for next year. I was going to do a holiday story for this year, but there just wasn't time so it's been pushed to next year.
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Date: December 30th, 2021 10:15 pm (UTC)I found writing a holiday story is extremely difficult, because one has to write it outside of the season in order to finish it on time. Mine took over 10 years because I only was in the appropriate mood around Christmas. LOL