2007 Recap

[fignewton]

Abyssis asked for this, and Julie obligingly showed the way. So, a look back at the calendar year 2007 in my corner of SG-1 fandom...

In Fandom

I got to tag gen fic for sg1_debrief, which is run by the amazing splash_the_cat and is one of the greatest assets to SG-1 fandom on LJ today. I probably do less than any of the other volunteers, because gen fic is not exactly as prolific as I'd like it to be! But I'm proud to do my little part, and I thank Julie for the privilege.

I followed abyssinia4077 off a cliff, together with aurora_novarum and pepper_field, to help form redial_the_gate, which is a marvelous comm for rewatching SG-1, one episode a week, from the very beginning. It's succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. :) We went through Season One this year, and we'll be starting Season Two in early January. redial_the_gate, as I've said before, is fandom at its best - warm and funny and enthusiastic and friendly. It's been a great ride, and I think it's only going to get better.

My love for reccing continued unabated. I'll have recced over one hundred fifty SG-1 fics at stargateficrec by the end of the year, of which all but five were gen. I also created figs_sg1_rec, which serves as my rec archive, complete with very detailed tags. When you put them all together like that, it's a little scary. :) But as long as people keep writing such marvelous stories, I'm going to keep reccing them!

In Writing

After the first tentative Canon vs. Fanon posts in 2006, the series took on a life of its own and sparked some marvelous discussions along the way. The 2007 calendar year included eleven sections in the series:

The Care and Feeding of Archeologists, part 2

When Canon Isn't Canon

The Care and Feeding of Archeologists, part 3

"No more beer for you."

Daniel, Pacifism, and Weapons Skills

"It's just a deep, bleeding gash..."

Pre-series Daniel

The Fanonization of Saint Daniel, part one and two

A Jack O'Neill Edition

Infirmary Fanon

A Sam Carter Edition

Then there's the fanfic, which surprised me. :) Seven stories, about 55,000 words. All gen and PG-rated.

Daniel:

The Importance of Past and Future - Looking back - or is it forward? - at a crucial scene in COTG. Includes spoilers for an episode in S8.

Sam and Daniel friendship:

A Gift of Consolation - Sam and Daniel, post Shades of Grey.

In Search of Possibilities, parts one, two, and three - Sam and Daniel (and team), post Double Jeopardy, discovering a bleaker road not taken.

Team:

SG-1, Ninja Style - It's the morning after The Serpent's Lair, and Daniel, Sam, and Jack can't quite remember how they celebrated. Teal'c is only too happy to elaborate. With ninjas!

All This Time, part one and two. What happened to Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel when they were trapped in Anubis' lair during Zero Hour.

Shopping Trip, parts one, two, and three.  Jacob, Selmac, SG-1, and a stolen Goa'uld credit crystal on an off-world shopping trip.

Team's Day Out. Teal'c is wearing his BDUs. Jack's dressed in blue jeans and leather. Sam's got her jammies. And Daniel's wearing... not much. Good thing Thor doesn't care about clothing.

Reviewing the recap

My favorite story this year (of my own): Probably In Search of Possibilities. It had an actual plot, the characters' voices felt right, the puzzle proved most satisfactory, and it was a huge milestone for me to write a long, coherent story that wasn't episode-based. And I'm a little proud that I was able to give both Sam and Daniel the reactions and responses that I felt they should have, even if they definitely don't mesh with my own ideas and beliefs.

Most fun story: SG-1, Ninja Style. It practically wrote itself. I hadn't expected Teal'c to take center stage, but he managed it so effortlessly!

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? Since I hadn't expected to write any fic at all, I'd say that seven stories is a pleasant surprise. :) All but two of them were actually for ficathons, and I think that helped quite a lot. And the other two were birthday/thank-you fics, which means that I might want to consider writing a fic next year as a just because for a change!

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I'm happiest, I think, that I managed to write from every team member's POV by the time I was finished. I'd assumed, for some odd reason, that I'd find myself writing mostly with Daniel's voice. :) But that's not what happened. Yes, the first fic was all Daniel's. But my second one was Sam's POV, and my third story alternated between Sam's POV and AU Daniel's POV.

Then came the team fics. SG-1, Ninja Style was still mostly Daniel, but it slipped into Jack's and Sam's POV as well. All This Time became Sam's story and her POV entirely. Shopping Trip ended up being in Jack's POV for nearly every scene in which he was present. And Team's Day Out, to my delight, ended up being Teal'c's POV completely. Thor was an added bonus!

So I'm glad that I've learned, just a little, how to get into everyone's heads. That bodes well, I hope, for future stories!

Do you have any goals? I'd like to write more, both meta and fic. I've got at least five different topics for Canon vs. Fanon in the queue, and I would dearly love to get a friendship ficathon off the ground. I want to write some Teal'c and Daniel fic, instead of just nagging everyone else to write it. And if I can ever get Sha're to talk to me, I want to write some fic for her, too.

And Daniel. Mustn't forget Daniel. :)

Comments

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

I think "In Search of Possibilities" is still my favorite of yours (though I haven't read you team-a-thon fic yet, I'm trying to read them all in order). Just loved the puzzle and the friendship and the robots.

I should steal this! I first started watching SG-1 last December, so it's been exactly a year for me in this fandom.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! ISOP took the longest, I think, but the final result felt so good. :)

And yes, go and do one of these! Check out spash_the_cat's, as I chose to skip a lot of the meta-thinky questions she used.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad we got you to start writing fic - and I'm so glad you wrote us "In Search of Possibilities" because it really is awesome.

(also, hee :) *shepherds all of fandom off a cliff*)

Go you also on writing all four PoV's. that's really an accomplishment!

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

We will all follow you, lemming-like! Well, as long as you have such fantastic ideas. :)

Drabbles! That's what I should've added for what I hope to do next year! Because ficzillas are a tad overwhelming, even if I'm really proud of how that one came out.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

Hee :) (though to be fair I lemming plenty of people around fandom (um, I think I just turned a noun into a verb there, don't mind me))

Drabbles / comment!fics are lots of fun - let you play with different ideas and characters without the time and energy commitment of longer fics. I mean, I love ficczillas too, but there is something fun about the short stuff both as a reader and writer (and if it didn't work, it's over fast :) )

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I like lemming as a verb! :)

And yes, drabbles/ficlets can pack a very powerful punch. Something to think about, come January.