Part of this is because I got sick for a few days around mid-month. It wasn’t anything horrible, but there was about a week where all I had the energy to do was work and sleep. I’m enjoying the new job, but not that much; unfortunately, though, since it’s the part of my life that pays the bills, it’s the part that gets first dibs on my energy.

The other thing that hit my productivity was encountering the first bout of really bad writer’s block I’ve had in a while. I got seriously stuck on Chapter 3 of “Local Attractions,” and by the time I got unstuck I’d rewritten it, from scratch, three times. There were points where I was seriously tempted to give up.

But I did get through, and the subsequent chapters are flowing much easier. This means I’m hoping I’ll be able to make some more significant progress, on a number of things, in March. I can always hope, right?

Newly Posted Items

• I thought I was going to finish Limits. I really did, but it turned out there’s just a smidge left of the story needing telling. I did, however, finalize the last main part and get it posted on February 3.
• I also posted several more items to the haiku thread over at Triaxian Silk. Those things are addictive!

Goals for February 2012 (from the January monthly recap)

Finish and post “Limits.”

The pacing is not cooperating with me. I’m pretty much done, but there’s a dangling plot thread that I’m going to have to tie up in an epilogue. Which means I didn’t finish, even though I’m so close I can taste it.

Finish and post “The Level of Her Dreams, Part One,” and complete at least half of “The Level of Her Dreams, Part Two.”

HA! I didn’t even get close to this one.

Finish the first draft of “Local Attractions” and have it out to beta, if not ready and posted.

Chapters 1, 2 and 3 are finished and beta’ed. I’m working on Chapter 4 now. Right now it looks like there will be either 7 or 8 of them. I need to send a huge shout-out to my beta Kylah618 too — if it weren’t for knowing that she was waiting, I might not have even made it this far!

Decide what large project I’m going to work on next from a short list of possibilities, and potentially get it started.

No progress here; I’d like to catch up on current goals first. But this is not gone, and a plot bunny that I ended up cutting out of “Local Attractions” landed on the list of things-to-write as well.

Make some sort of a general blog post around mid-month so people don’t think I’ve disappeared.

I started a post that talks about the fact that I am not a morning person and thus was really surprised when I turned out to be able to get up at 5:30 most mornings strictly so I could write. But it was just a day or two before I got sick, so it never got done.

Make a recap post on February 29.

This, at least, I’ve managed.

Goals for March 2012

1. Finish and post “Limits.”
2. Finish and post “Local Attractions.” (Note that this is still a working title.)
3. Finish and post “The Level of Her Dreams, Part One,” and make measurable progress on Part Two.
4. Write at least one new draft of something; a drabble is okay, but a haiku isn’t.
5. Have a birthday.
6. Make a recap post on March 31.

While searching for critical supplies, Captain Janeway suffers a disabling accident. Now, as the crew works toward solving a supply mystery, she must learn to live within her new limits. General with a J/C slant; revised & expanded.

Read…

The story’s just about over; the final part will be more of an epilogue than a full chapter. Hang with me folks, we’ll get there!

About three hours after I finished writing the December recap, I got a phone call with a job offer. Yes, December 31 was a Saturday, but the recruiter guessed it was a call I wouldn’t mind taking outside of business hours. (She was right.)

Since they hadn’t finished the criminal background check, I was then left with a handful of days with nothing to do and decided to go out of town and visit family. After that, there was a flurry of activity related to reworking my schedule around the new job. But I finally successfully reinstated the writing regimen last week.

So, while I didn’t get much accomplished during January, I have every reason to expect I will get things accomplished during February. Things are looking up!

Newly Posted Items

• None, unless you count a Star Trek: Enterprise haiku I wrote for a “guess the episode” thread at Triaxian Silk.

Goals for January 2012 (from the December monthly recap)

Finish and post “Limits.”

Not accomplished, as I noted above. But it was the first thing I started on when I reinstated the writing schedule, and I’m now no more than two scenes away from the finish. It may only be one. So I expect I’ll post it within the next week to ten days.

Finish and post “The Level of Her Dreams, Part One,” and complete at least half of “The Level of Her Dreams, Part Two.”

Not accomplished, but next on the list after “Limits.”

Finish the first draft of “Disintegration.”

Not accomplished, and this one may go onto the back burner for the next few weeks while I work on “Local Attractions.”

Complete at least 7% of the “Interwoven” outline (to get to 10% complete overall)

Not accomplished, and again this one may be slated for the back burner in favor of “The Level of Her Dreams.” I haven’t decided yet.

Write at least one new draft of something; a drabble is okay.

I actually partially accomplished this one. I’ve decided to participate in the 2012 Valentine’s Day Challenge at The Delphic Expanse, and after a lot of wheel-spinning I finished the first draft of a first chapter. I got it back from a beta this morning and I’m kind of glad I hadn’t gone much further as I need to make some changes to the next chapter’s setup. I’m not sure this counts, but it doesn’t exactly not count either.

Make a recap post on January 31.

I seem to have fully accomplished this one, though!

Goals for February 2012

1. Finish and post “Limits.” (carried over from January)
2. Finish and post “The Level of Her Dreams, Part One,” and complete at least half of “The Level of Her Dreams, Part Two.” (carried over from January)
3. Finish the first draft of “Local Attractions” (the Valentine’s Day fic) and have it out to beta, if not ready and posted.
4. Decide what large project I’m going to work on next from a short list of possibilities, and potentially get it started.
5. Make some sort of a general blog post around mid-month so people don’t think I’ve disappeared.
6. Make a recap post on February 29.

But as I observed on a fandom board, financial difficulties are survivable (even if it takes years) and, during times like these, a means of escape can go beyond valuable into flat-out essential. Although real life has intruded and kept me from producing as much as I would have liked in December — this puts it mildly — I’m not sure I would have survived at all if I hadn’t had fandom and fan fiction in my life.

New Items

• The Level of Her Dreams, Part One – Chapter Five
• Greatness Shared, Grief Halved: Star Trek: Enterprise, inspired by a close friend’s recent loss.
• Nothing Overlooked: Star Trek: Enterprise
• Disheveled: an Enterprise drabble in a pairing I had no idea I could even write.

Goals for December 2011 (from the November monthly recap)

Complete the 30 Day Fanfic Meme.

Accomplished, and the introspection did me some good as it gave me a chance to reflect on my previous work as well as where I plan to be going.

Complete “Limits” and begin draft work on “Yesterday’s Eyes.” (I do not plan to post this one in chapters; rather I’ll wait until it’s complete.)

While I’ve gotten started on the final part of “Limits,” it is not done, so I’m going to push that piece over to January. Interestingly, one morning I sat down to write and ended up with about half of a draft of the story I’d planned to do after “Yesterday’s Eyes.” I suspect that once I finish “Limits,” I’m going to end up doing “Disintegration” first.

Complete “The Level of Her Dreams” (Part 1 and Part 2), and get at least one more outline done — preferably two — for Seventeen Months.

Failed miserably, although like “Limits” above I have gotten further along than the items I’ve actually posted. This, too, is getting pushed over into the January goals.

Complete at least 30% of the “Interwoven” outline.

I finished a whole 3% of it. *sigh*

Decide whether I’m going to do anything with “2200,” which is my working title for the Enterprise plot bunnies that keep showing up as a response to To Brave the Storm.

I am going to do something with it. The working title is now Reluctant Enthusiasm, and it has an entry on the current & upcoming projects page. I have a general plot idea worked out now, but I’m still trying to come up with enough details to start an actual outline.

If the Travis/Hoshi fic comes back from beta, finish it up with a possible hope of posting it in December.

It came back and I put it up on December 30.

Make a recap post on December 31.

Here’s the post!

Goals for January 2012

Given the royal mess I made of the December goals list, I’m going to be a little less ambitious for this next month.

1. Finish and post “Limits.”
2. Finish and post “The Level of Her Dreams, Part One,” and complete at least half of “The Level of Her Dreams, Part Two.”
3. Finish the first draft of “Disintegration.”
4. Complete at least 7% of the “Interwoven” outline (to get to 10% complete overall)
5. Write at least one new draft of something; a drabble is okay.
6. Make a recap post on January 31.

Travis is grumpy. Hoshi has a secret. Plans are afoot. What do all these interpersonal dynamics have to do with a mission to explore abandoned Xindi ruins?

Read…

This story began as a couple of responses to the Drabble Game at The Delphic Expanse. Special thanks go to EntAllat for beta reading and Aquarius for a last-minute catch.

This is an easy question for me to answer; my favorite fic is also the first one I ever posted online — Limits. It has a lot more of me in it than my own work, and I was extremely proud when I finished it because I’d never accomplished something that ambitious before. As of right now it’s still the longest piece I’ve ever written.

My second-favorite fic is probably In Plain Sight. I worked for a long time on that one, polishing it up and trying to tell the story with a specific tone and purpose. It came out better than I’d hoped, and it’s also interesting to note that this story is actually fanon-based instead of canon-based. I don’t write very many of those.

Finally, I’m also particularly happy with Fate is a Choice. This was one that I actually wrote very quickly, but the real reason I’m proud is because I’ve never seen the episode that it’s based on. I read a transcript online and did some research by reading other stories set in the same time frame. But I was still taking a chance, and when I got feedback indicating that the story was in character and “worked,” I was thrilled.

I don’t put all of my fic online, so if it’s on this site, it means I think it’s at least halfway decent. As such, anything you can read here is something I like. It may not be my favorite, but it’s something I hope others will enjoy. After all, that’s the reason people write fan fiction in the first place.

Her companion wasn’t as appreciative. “It’s cold out here,” muttered Travis as he clambered out of the pod.

“We brought our jackets. Come on, we don’t have much time.”

Scans had suggested that the hundred-year-old ruins on the planet were based on Xindi technology, and the two officers had been sent down to look for anything useful. Hoshi knew it was a long shot, but lately they’d been pursuing every line of inquiry they could find.

Besides, there were other reasons for this trip, even if she wasn’t privy to all of the details. They couldn’t afford to overlook anything in the Expanse — not hints of Xindi technology, not ways to maintain their safety, and especially not ways to keep morale up. It was shaping up to be a very long mission.

Despite the lack of bio-signs, they’d set down a couple of kilometers from the ruins. It never hurt to be cautious. Unfortunately, it also meant they’d have a bit of a hike.

Travis was already striding toward the wooded area that separated them from the ruins. Zipping up her jacket, Hoshi followed, but she couldn’t help but take another look at the vista.

“Beautiful,” she breathed. Emerald-colored grass gave way to forests full of trees with big, lush leaves and moss covering their trunks.

“It’s all one color,” said Travis. “Green.”

“One? Don’t you see all the different shades?”

“Green is still just green.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, at least the air is fresh. That’s something.”

“If you say so.” He hadn’t even interrupted his stride. She hurried after, not bothering to continue the conversation given his obvious lack of interest.

Fifteen minutes later, they came to the edge of the woods and found a large lake. A perfect cerulean sky arched above them, its color turning almost sapphire when reflected in the water. Hoshi sighed happily.

“You’d think the place would be a little less monochromatic,” said Travis.

“I wouldn’t call it that. Not with both green and blue.”

“Yeah, but the green is all in one place and the blue is in another. I like my colors mixed together.” He looked around and sighed. “This is boring. And pointless.”

Speaking of morale…

She’d taken the scanner out, but dropped it into a pocket without turning it on. “You’re determined to be in a bad mood today, aren’t you?”

“Why not? The captain sends us down on a useless mission —”

“These are Xindi ruins. That’s not exactly useless.”

“If they’re so useful, why isn’t he down here himself? Or T’Pol?”

“You know the answer to that.” Her voice had gotten tight, but some part of her was glad Travis had finally started talking. Maybe it would help with whatever was bothering him. “She’s still recovering from the encounter with the Seleya. And maybe the captain just wanted to give us some time off the ship. I don’t know about you, but I was on the verge of cabin fever.”

“Cabin fever? At least you don’t have to share with a MACO.”

“All the more reason to appreciate a chance to get away.” She took a breath and gentled her tone. “This isn’t like you. Want to tell me what’s wrong?”

His face hardened. “Nothing.”

“Why don’t I believe that?”

“Believe whatever you want.” Turning away, he started to stalk around the edge of the lake. She nearly had to run to keep up with him.

They didn’t find much in the ruins and were back in the shuttlepod a few hours later. Hoshi reviewed her scans, hoping she’d simply missed something, but other than a few traces of Xindi power signatures, the results did little more than confirm what little they already knew.

Leaning back in the co-pilot’s seat as they ascended, Hoshi sighed. It really had been a beautiful planet, but they had a mission.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Travis’ bad mood seemed to have abated somewhat, but he was still definitely not acting normally.

She glanced sideways at him, hoping this wasn’t going to last. It wouldn’t do for him to still be in a bad mood once they landed. “Will you tell me what’s bothering you now?”

His face closed again. “I told you. I’m fine.”

“You’re not acting that way. You’ve been downright grumpy today.”

He shrugged. “Then I’m being grumpy. So what?”

“It’s not like you.”

“Maybe I’m just having an off day,” he snapped. “Hell, it doesn’t matter, does it? I spend day after day trying to navigate Enterprise through a practical minefield of anomalies, chasing people that might have caused the attack on Earth —”

“Captain Archer had evidence —”

“Captain Archer has the word of someone we already know is biased against humans! So we could be on the wrong track entirely, and I’m stuck sharing my quarters with a compulsive neat freak. Not to mention…” he suddenly trailed off, sighing. “I’m sorry, Hoshi. I didn’t mean to take this out on you.”

But she’d caught what he hadn’t said. “Not to mention what?”

“Nothing,” he answered. “Really. It’s just…me being stupid.”

Ah hah. She knew what the cause was now, but she had to make sure she didn’t give herself away. Schooling her features, Hoshi answered, “I doubt that.”

He gave her a sideways look, but didn’t answer. She pulled her scanner back out and concentrated on the readings for the rest of the trip, even though she knew it was little more than a distraction.

At least they didn’t have to go through decon, which was a good thing given the amount of time Travis had spent complaining about the mission. Hoshi missed his smile. It was one small bit of beauty that she’d gotten to see every day on this mission.

Malcolm met her at the top of the launch bay stairs. “Anything useful?”

“It’s definitely Xindi,” she reported, “but I can’t tell much more. They abandoned the area a long time ago.”

He sighed. “Wonderful.”

Travis closed the shuttlepod hatch with more than the necessary force and clomped up the stairs. “Well, that was a few hours we won’t get back. I’m going to go clean up. See you on the bridge.”

“Actually,” said Malcolm, his eyes sliding over toward Hoshi, “you’re needed in the cargo bay.”

He was already partway down the corridor, but turned to stare at them. “What?”

Hoshi smothered a chuckle.

“Cargo bay, Ensign,” said Malcolm crisply, his expression impassive. “Now.”

“We take on something while we were gone?”

“Not exactly.” He motioned toward the doors. “Shall we? You too, Hoshi.”

It wasn’t a long walk, so she was able to keep up and thus got to see Travis’ face when the bay doors opened. And there, at long last, was the beautiful smile she’d been missing all day.

She returned it with one of her own. “Did you really think we’d forgotten?”

“No, I…” he laughed. “Actually, yes. Everyone’s been so serious lately.”

“Crew morale is serious.”

He turned to look at her. “You knew! That trip was just meant to get me off the ship!”

“Not entirely,” said Malcolm, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he also began to smile. “But yes, that was part of it.”

Hoshi went up on tiptoe to kiss Travis on the cheek. “Happy birthday.”

His smile became wider. “Thank you. Thank you both.” Then, offering her his arm, they walked together into the decorated cargo bay and the party inside.

I like to have several projects going at once as a defense against writer’s block. This means that, when I get stuck on one thing, I can move to another while I let it rest. The technique has worked for me for several years.

Just as a way of keeping track of everything, though, when I decide that I am definitely going to do a project I put it on the current & upcoming list, which I maintain online both for reference and for the curious. As of this writing, a rough sequence of the next few items finished is likely to be:

1. Nothing Overlooked
2. The Level of Her Dreams, Part One (from Seventeen Months)
3. Limits
4. Extrasensory Perception
5. Disintegration
6. The Level of Her Dreams, Part Two (from Seventeen Months)
7. Yesterday’s Eyes

There are, of course, no guarantees, and things change all the time. For example, my recent story Greatness Shared, Grief Halved hadn’t even been thought about on December 1; and I’m still responding to word prompts and challenges on a semi-regular basis. But if you’re looking for a general idea, the list is a good place to start.

No. The closest I ever came was many years ago, when I floated the idea of publishing “Limits” as a fanzine to a few friends. One of them offered to do a few illustrations. I never went through with the zine, so she never had any particular reason to do the art.

I’m a rather solitary soul by nature, so it doesn’t particularly surprise me that I’ve never even been particularly interested in collaboration. I’m more comfortable working by myself when working on an outline or a draft.

This doesn’t mean I work in a vacuum, though. I don’t mind bouncing ideas around and, as I’ve mentioned, I don’t have trouble with having someone do a beta read.

I’ll also admit that it might be interesting to see an artist’s conception of one of my stories. I just doubt I’ll be collaborating anytime soon.

This web site is named after a place I used to write: the laundry room in an apartment complex. I moved out of that complex in 2005, but I’ve never forgotten how much I enjoyed that laundry room.

These days, I love to write in restaurants — for some reason I seem to be especially partial to Moe’s — but I often don’t because my Dana gets so much attention. It’s not always easy to write when people come and ask questions, and it’s doubly difficult when I’m writing fan fiction because I might not always want a random stranger to realize what I’m doing.

I type considerably faster than I write (my last typing test result was 113 cwpm) so it’s rare for me to work in longhand except when I’m making notes or planning. The majority of my fan fiction was written on the Dana or using another word processor that I no longer own; but recently I’ve been directly using my laptop, at home on my desk, more often.

My suspicion is that this is because I’ve been trying harder to build writing time into every single day, and it’s easier — and cheaper! — for me to work at home versus a restaurant on a daily basis.

The oddest place I’ve ever written was probably at a gate at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The situation itself was weird — among other things, that trip involved a connection through Philadelphia to get to Atlanta — but I certainly managed to come up with a good story while I was there.

I do so much research for fics that I really had to think about this one for a while. In fact, I have more than once had to force myself to stop researching because I was spending so much time reading about things that it was cutting into writing.

I suppose, though, if I had to choose, the most unusual — and esoteric — thing I’ve ever had to research is color symbolism in roses, which I used in my Voyager fic of the same name. I had known that red roses were for love and that pink roses could symbolize peace (I learned this last via Peace Rose).

But I didn’t know about blue, white, or yellow roses; or that pink roses could also indicate the beginnings of love. So not only did my research help me pick out the right colors for the fic, it actually helped me write the fic since the alternate meaning of pink roses is mentioned in Chapter 3.

I’ve never had any sort of practical usage for what I’ve learned about colors in roses, but it certainly is a fun bit of trivia to share when conversations run that way. It also definitely qualifies as an example of the odd things you can learn when doing research.

I absolutely despise noise when I’m trying to concentrate on something. There’s a very long and depressing explanation about why, but that’s the bottom line. It’s also very likely one of the reasons I “never got around” to replacing my television after I moved to Atlanta; why the only radio in my house is a small tabletop version; and why I strongly prefer living alone.

In a way that’s a shame, because I like to listen to music and I truly love making it. During the last several months, I’ve started experimenting with playlists in odd moments. To my surprise and delight, I’ve discovered that listening to the right one before I sit down to write can help me get around a “creative blunting” problem that I have thanks to a medical condition.

So I’ve started listening to music before I sit down to write, but I do turn it off when I start. I don’t think I’m ever going to stop needing my space and silence when doing the actual work, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to work well in noisy environments (this is the case in “real life” as well). But yes, I make playlists now, and yes, they’ve led to some interesting results.