#writing self-evaluation

[tracksuitponytail]

Thank you @disgruntledkittenface for tagging me <3

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 4 fics, 2 drabbles, 1 ficlet

2. Word count posted for the year: 63.765

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction

4. Pairings: Harry/Louis, Harry/Louis/Zayn

5. Story with the most

Kudos: sunflowers & surrender

Bookmarks: sunflowers & surrender

Comments: sunflowers & surrender

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): I love when I can access a feeling of comfort with my fics, and I think I was able to with every one in a different way. is this just fantasy had it in the form of this playful excitement grounded in familiarity and friendship. sunflowers & surrender gave comfort after hurt in a more visceral, physical sense that I love about omegaverse. the inconvenience of wanting you brought it through humor and setting for me and through shared interests as a form of intimacy. For can't take my eyes off you, baby, I spent time thinking about what every character might need to feel safe in a scenario like this given their personalities and how it could be achieved without physical touch. I really liked how that turned out.

7. Share or describe a favorite review you received: I'm always glad when a feeling I set out to convey is felt while reading, so the general feedback of sunflowers & surrender giving "a sense of safety" or feeling "like a cozy warm bath" meant a lot, as did when readers said Harry felt realistic as the antithesis to Louis' former experiences. I loved that the inconvenience of wanting you brought a sense of delight and made people laugh. And it resonated a lot when someone described can't take my eyes off you, baby as "comforting and sensual and nostalgic and hot" which is really all I aimed for when writing it.

8. A time when writing was really, really hard: To be honest, writing was hard almost the entire year as I was navigating caretaking responsibilities, health struggles and barriers to support, so I was teetering the line of burnout at all times until my capacity basically collapsed at the end of November. There comes a certain grief with not being able to do what you love, so the hardest part of writing is probably not currently doing it because it feels inaccessible.

9. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: Nothing I can think of at the moment.

10. A favorite excerpt of your writing: I quite liked the imagery in can't take my eyes off you, baby:

The thing is, Louis is as much under Harry’s spell as Harry is under his, just as in control as he is powerless against the moans spilling from Harry’s plush lips. With every one of Louis’ soft-spoken commands, it feels like he’s coaxing a siren into singing his own seduction.

11. How did you grow as a writer this year: That's a really hard question because though I've probably grown in terms of skill, and I've temporarily overcome some of my social anxiety and found inspiration and motivation for a while, I also feel like I've regressed again. Maybe that's because growth isn't always linear. It can be more of a spiral at times and progress is hard to see when you're currently on the back end of it.

12. How do you hope to grow next year: I hope to come back around to my joy of reading, to gain some clarity on how to move forward with writing and life in general, or to be more comforable with not knowing.

13. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): I'm glad I got to work with @disgruntledkittenface in 2025. sunflowers & surrender would not exist without her because I needed someone to help me to the finish line, and she did with such care. @louislittletomlintum's enthusiasm led me to writing can't take my eyes off you, baby, which still has a special place in my heart. I also appreciate @allwaswell16's presence in the fandom, her stories, fic recs and support for both writers and fic reccers.

14. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: Almost every fic of mine carries aspects of real life, with sunflowers & surrender being the most personal one this year. the inconvenience of wanting you ended up full of the things that interested me and brought me joy at the time. I got more into Zayn's music and him as a person in 2025, which inspired a Zayn POV in can't take my eyes off you, baby.

15. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: I wish I could say I've left 2025 with a clear learning to possibly pass on. In 2024, I said I wanted to find a way to write that was challenging enough to be interesting but not so much it became overwhelming, and I haven't found that balance yet. Being in a liminal space where old strategies don't work anymore and new ones aren't presenting themselves yet can be frustrating... So maybe what I can say is that if you're in a similar situation, then you're not alone, and I feel you.

16. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: There's one WIP that I'd love to finish and one I just hope to spend some time with this year.

17. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read:

@allwaswell16 @louislittletomlintum @harruandlou @dedtobeginwith @louandhazaf @uhoh-but-yeah-alright @lydiejo @forwhatiam

[camsthisky]

Writing Self-Evaluation for 2016

Writing Self-Evaluation for 2016 for @camsthisky (and my sideblog @lanceaboo)

Tagged by @seitosokusha about a month ago and I’ve been putting it off bc I know looking into last year will be a serious wake up call (I’ve written a total of 6 things since the new year and it should honestly be more)

1. Lists of works published this year:

Ricompensa [KHR]

In a moment like this [KHR] 

War Torn (chs 15-23) [KHR] 

An Older Brother’s Duty [One Piece] 

It Takes a Blink [One Piece] 

And on and on we go [One Piece] 

Headphones [Voltron]

Run With Your Heart [Voltron] 

Stop Telling Me Everything is Simple [Voltron]

The Point is to Understand [Voltron]

All That Matters [Voltron]

One Word Story Game [Voltron]

It’s Getting Darker But I’ll Carry On [Voltron]

Everything is Fine (Even When It’s Not) [TMNT]

Thanks For Trying [TMNT]

The Control Freak, the Narcissist, and the Liar [TMNT]

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

Probably The Control Freak, the Narcissist, and the Liar. Last year (and going into this year) was a real challenge, and I feel like the Control Freak AU was reflective of how I was feeling. I also (successfully) tried out writing in present tense, and I absolutely love the way this story flows.

It’s Getting Darker But I’ll Carry On is a close second, though. I love the way the dynamics work between Lance and Keith in IGBICO, even though I’ve all but stopped writing for Voltron at this point (which sucks, but the fandom in general is killing my writing spirit).

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

Thanks for Trying or An Older Brother’s Duty are both stories that I really wish I worked harder on. The fact is, I was writing both under pressure, and neither turned out the way I had envisioned. Both are stories I’m probably going to redo within the next few years. Not now, but it’s on my to do list.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

Here are two.

From The Control Freak, the Narcissist, and the Liar

The sobbing tapers off, and when Donnie looks down, Mikey’s gone still. He’s holding his breath, and Donnie’s not really sure what to make of it. As far as Donnie knows, this isn’t normal, and Donnie knows a lot.

“Mikey?” Donnie tries. “You with me?”

A shuddering nod is all Donnie gets in response, but it’s more than he was really expecting, especially with the glassy look Mikey’s got in his eyes.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“No.” Mikey’s voice is raspy, and the sound of it makes Donnie wince with sympathy. He was probably going to be feeling that for a little while.

“Okay. That’s okay,” Donnie tells him. He holds Mikey a bit tighter. “You, uh, you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to. Just- Just know that I’m here and not going anywhere.”

Mikey mutters something along the lines of “thank god” and turns his face into Donnie’s plastron. They stay like that for a long time, on the floor of Donnie’s lab, with a broken toaster sitting on his lab table waiting to be fixed.

The toaster can wait. Mikey can’t. 

It’s Getting Darker But I’ll Carry On

The thing about guns were that they were loud; Lance had lucked out with his bayard. It wasn't nearly as loud as an actual sniper rifle would be, but it still made a noise that had Mullet Man wincing from where he was sitting next to him on the branch. Lance was glad they'd had time to come out here, otherwise they'd probably be hopelessly surrounded by now. 

But now they could (probably) relax. Lance had blown off the zombie’s head, and that usually did the job of stopping the things from moving, so he let out his breath in a relieved huff.

“Alright, Mullet Man,” Lance laughed, shoulders actually relaxing now that the zombie couldn't get them. He turned to his companion. “Let's go find that brother of yours.”

Mullet Man raised an eyebrow. “Mullet Man?” he asked, face scrunching up in incredulity. “Seriously?”

Lance shrugged, an easy grin pulling at his lips. “Hey, I had to call you something.”

“Then call me Keith,” the guy said. “Not Mullet Man. Who are you?”

“The name’s Lance,” he said, holding out a hand, one that Keith took. “Zombie Slayer extraordinaire.”

5. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

Asghjhsj I always die whenever I get a comment from @maychorian, who I really look up to a s a writer, on any of my Voltron fics.

On War Torn, I’ve gotten a bunch of reviews that go something like “I just read through it ALL and I haven’t slept for like 48 hours bc I wanted to finish this so bad” and they always make my day (But even though I’m not one to talk, you guys should get more sleep). But my fav from War Torn has to be by KellyKatt19, who is just so sweet and amazing.

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

I can’t remember how much I’ve shared on tumblr before, but some of my mutuals may remember the time I had to go to the emergency room, then bounce around from doctor to doctor when they couldn’t figure out how exactly to treat me, get surgery, and then spend a week and half at home recovering from an infection almost exactly a year ago (February of 2016). I was…not very cheerful, and all I did from two weeks was cry, and feel pretty sorry for myself. I could barely muster the energy to get out of bed. I looked and felt like death warmed over, and through the entire time, and for about two weeks after that, I didn’t touch a notebook, and I couldn’t bring myself to type anything. It was a disturbing feeling. No ideas were coming to my head, I was constantly frustrated with everything, I couldn’t update anything. It was a hard time. I managed to get myself out of my funk though.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

There were two things that I never thought I would do. One, write angst (and wow, I created an entire four chapters full of it so far, and it’s still going strong), and two, write Leonardo (from TMNT) in a bad light. But I did both of them in the same story.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

The one thing that I learned this year was that not everything I write is going to perfect. Also, after experimenting more with my writing style, I found one that I really, really like, so that’s a plus.

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

Hopefully I can develop my writing style a bit more. I’m also hoping to get a bit better at dialogue. I suck at normal people interactions, so that’s always been a weak point for me.

10. Who was your positive influence as a writer (could be another writer or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

Oh boy. Okay, well I’ve met a lot of amazing people last year. A few mutuals - @seitosokusha, @stepichu, @mithril-lace (we’ve actually been mutuals for longer than a year, I think), @lancemcgayn, @lancemcclains. I’m really lucky that I had all these wonderful people to support me, especially in my writing. Hay and Mei were awesome when it came to my insecurities about posting, and Mithril, Seito, and Steph were always there when I needed a pick me up or some advice.

The other positive influence I’ve had as a writer is probably @taizi, Without Problem Child and all the TMNT and One Piece stories, I’d definitely be a different person than I am today. All of taizi’s stories (especially PC) have made me look at the world in a different light, and I can’t express my thankfulness enough that I follow taizi, even if we don’t know each other.

Also - @omggummybear. Thank you for everything.

11. Anything from real life show up in your writing this year:

I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder last October, so I probably projected at some point.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

Writing is always, always developing. Even for experienced writers. Just because you don’t think that you’re improving, doesn’t mean you aren’t. Don’t get frustrated with yourself if you can’t see your improvement. It’ll show, you’ve just got to give it time (that was a lesson I learned the hard way).

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

Oh geez. I hope I can finish War Torn this year. I’ve had the ending planned for two years and I’m finally getting close. Maybe by chapter 30. Maybe.

I have some batfam ideas I want to get started on.

Other than that, I have a One Piece modern AU and an alive!Ace story that are both in the works. I don’t want to publish what I have yet since I already have so many WIPs. Hopefully sometime soon, though.

14. Tag three writers whose answers you’d like to read: @mithril-lace, @omggummybear, @dickie-gayson (You know, only if you want to).

Man. This was more introspection than I needed. This was also really long. Thanks for reading :)