A Note On A Lot to Live Up To

[lls_mutant]

So... there it is. A Lot To Live Up To is finished.

This is a big moment for me, in its way. I didn't realize until recently just how long this story is. It is a true novel. The document has all the headers in it (and believe me, by part 16 they got pretty long with all the coding), but it clocks in at 260 pages, 122,820 words. It's LONG.

I know I thank her in each chapter, but I really want to publicly thank trovia again for the fantastic beta job. Some chapters I got back with very few notes, and some she kicked my ass from here to tomorrow and back, and the fic is a much better fic for it. It's a great beta that can be honest with you when something doesn't work, and I think it's often a rare one, too.

But I also want to thank everyone who's stuck through it and read the entire thing. I'm really glad this found an audience, because let's face it- we don't write for reviews, but damn, we like to be read :) So, thanks, guys :) And thank you, too, to everyone who's listened to me ramble on about the writing of this.

I still haven't completely closed this universe. I have a few one shots planned, like Narcho's "Teacher's Pet" and I've debated doing "The Passage" from his point of view as well. I have Hoshi's backstory, which I'm trying to keep from spiraling. And I foresee any little ficlets I write coming from this universe as well. But the next big project is the bsg_bigbang, which is most definitely NOT sent in this universe. (Most importantly, that Narcho and Hoshi never were a couple, and Hoshi's backstory is completely different.) At any rate, I'm very excited about the AU fic, and looking forward to really buckling down on that.

So, thanks for sticking it out, for reading and for listening. I've really enjoyed writing this sucker, and it's meant a lot to me. I'm debating if I'll meta on the last chapter, and a few of the decisions I made, especially towards the end, but I guess we'll see if there's a need for metaing or not. Thanks again, guys :)

Also, I probably won't answer many comments this weekend- my sister is coming to visit and my computer lives in the guest bedroom. Have a good weekend! Now off to clean before my sister gets here!

Comments

[prophetkristy.livejournal.com]

*\o/* You are made of Awesome!! We're all looking forward to your bigbang, too :-D

(how long is YFL??)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! :)

Y'know, I'm not sure how long YFL is, because I wrote that one in different files. I ought to put them all together and see. I'm guessing, though, it's between 150-180 pages.

[kappamaki33.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! You deserve a big pat on the back and chocolate! :D

Ooh, meta? Definitely meta! I'm especially curious to read your thoughts on why you decided to handle Dee's suicide the way you did, which I really liked but didn't expect.

I'm also quite curious to see just how long your big bang turns out. I don't think every section in the outline is going to take as long as the first sections did, but even so, it's not exactly going to be a short story, either, which is great.

Off to comment on the last chapter. Congrats again, and have a good weekend!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! :) ::happily eats chocolate::

I'm curious as to how long the big bang will be as well. I think some of those sections will be short, but others will be a lot longer. I'm hoping not to go much above 100 pages (which is about 50K words), but it'll take what it takes!

Thanks again! :)

[trovia.livejournal.com]

Aww thanks! :))

Yaih you for finishing the fic, again! I'm very impressed, not so much because you finished it but because you finished it by sticking to such a tight schedule. That's hard as hell. If this had been a professional project, it still would have been impressive.

I think I said it before but I'd really like reading Narcho's POV on "The Passage". Have a good weekend!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

You're welcome :)

The schedule was interesting- I'm really glad I imposed it, actually. It made it a little easier.

I'll definitely have to do Narcho's POV on The Passage. I had some stuff written for it for one of the chapters (I think you might have seen it?), but I decided to cut it because it broke up the plot I was going for. I kept it, though, in another file :)

[calanthe-b.livejournal.com]

Seriously, this is an amazing achievement; and combined with 'Youth's Final Luxury', it's even more so. Congratulations!

And I would be very interested to read your meta if you choose to write it.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! :)

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Pretty random, but this scene reminded me so much of your Lee and Dee in ALTLUP.

Pretty interesting. Now if they'd just give us a deleted scene with her and Narcho we'd be all set. :-)