I’ve said this before about other authors and I’ll say it again this time — I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to spotlight Nat! She’s been a contributor to this site for as long as it’s been open, and I’ve always appreciated her help and input. Now it’s time to finally pay that back by putting the spotlight on her.
You can read Nat’s stories at her site Feel This Way. I suggest checking out You Irritate Me, Fallon and Revelations.
Why did you start writing hanfic? How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing stories ever since I was little, but I started writing fanfiction in junior high. My best friend and I would spend hours poring over our BSB and N’Sync stories. I used to read Hanfic online back in 1997, but didn’t try my hand at writing it myself until I became ‘reacquainted’ with Hanson in 2003. I searched online, was so excited to see that people were still writing Hanfic, and immediately started my own. For a long time, I pretty much just wrote stories that my best friend and I would read because I was too scared to make them public. I had a little Angelfire site that I didn’t tell anyone about, and that was that.
But then I got the idea for Damn It. It was then that I knew I was ready to start putting myself out there. I started a new website and took the initial steps towards advertising the story. After a few chapters had been posted on Livejournal and it had started developing a bit of a following, Brittney (http://aloneinthepretense.org) offered me a hosted website, and the rest is history!
I know you decided to leave hanfic after finishing You Irritate Me. Why did you decide to come back?
Two things made me come back. First was the band itself. I’d been feeling a bit lackluster about things because they often take so damned long in between releasing new material, and my attention had just waned. Pure and simple. But, I found that there were stories that I just couldn’t ignore that were still picking away at the back of my brain, and when they started releasing new material, I knew that I wanted to re-immerse myself and finish them.
Secondly, I really missed the community. It’s hard to stay involved when you’re just a reader in the same way that you can be involved as a writer. I also find that I read more Hanfic when I’m writing as well, and honestly, I just missed it.
What are your favorite hanfic stories and authors?
My all-time favorite Hanfic is By Appointment Only by London and Ivey. The plot was unique, the characters (including the OFCs) were incredibly believable and real, and the steamy moments were, well, freaking awesome. There are many other stories and authors that I have loved, followed, and reread over the years, both finished and unfinished, like Infinite, When It All Falls Apart, Holy Scrubs, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, etc. etc. etc. There are so many wonderful people and fantastic writers in this fandom. I’ve had many friends over the years, some of whom have since disappeared, but the stories that they have left behind are wonderful additions to the world of Hanfic.
What is your writing process like?
Random and frantic, usually. I abhor outlines. Plotting a story too stringently makes me stabby. Honestly, I get to know my characters really well, I develop a general idea of what’s going to happen, and then I just let things flow. When I started Damn It, I hadn’t figured out what Zac’s big secret would be. When I started Tumbling Down, I hadn’t even dreamed up the Hunter character, let alone that he would become one of the main players in the story. I’ve always let my characters tell me the story, and I like to think that it’s worked well for me so far.
As for me actually sitting down to write, I like to create playlists for the stories I’m working on and I usually listen to those while I bang out the words. I’ve been insanely slow about updating lately, and am so thankful that everyone’s putting up with me despite that. Finding time to sit down and write is getting harder and harder, but all it means is that when I do have the time, I really have to take advantage of it and get as much accomplished as I can.
Where do your ideas and inspiration come from?
Every story is different in this regard, but for the most part, I just get a tiny little wisp of an idea and it unfolds and grows and becomes a story. With Damn It, I just had the idea for the very beginning of the story with Esme self-consciously thinking to herself in the library, with Starter it was a drabble, and with Revelations I had the entire overall arc of the story just pop into my head. It’s always different, and it comes from the most random places. I wish that I could be a little more concise here, but it’s the truth!
Which stories are you most proud of having written?
Every story I’ve written holds a special place in my heart, but I have to say that Revelations and You Irritate Me are the two stories I’m most proud of. Revelations was the story that I just had to write. I don’t know why, but something about it was just shouting at me and wouldn’t shut up. I needed to tell the story of this crazy Taylor and his journey through self-discovery. As I was writing, I didn’t have an exorbitant amount of feedback on it, but I didn’t care because I was writing it for myself. But the response that I’ve gotten since finishing it has been fantastic, and it has been so nice that other people loved the story as much as I do. It wasn’t always easy to write, and I knew that I was taking a gamble with the subject matter. But I’m really glad that people have given it a chance, even those who don’t normally read slash fics.
You Irritate Me was a story that I originally started back on my little unknown Angelfire site. The general premise was the same, but I was never satisfied with it. It didn’t have nearly enough drama for my liking, and something about it just felt off. So, I let it simmer for years and eventually decided to rewrite the entire thing. The two stories are barely comparable now (which is a great thing), and I had so much damned fun writing the new version. Kinsey and Taylor were such a blast to write, so much so that I honestly can’t let them go, hence the What’s Your Flavor prompt table I started to allow me to tell even more of their story that YIM would allow.
Favorite songs to listen to while you write or which inspire your writing?
Once I have a story planned, I always make a playlist. I start by going through my iTunes and adding anything that I can think of off the top of my head that goes along with the story, and then I do searches for songs with the same underlying theme and add those as well. Each story has a different feeling to it, and therefore the soundtracks differ greatly also.
Thank you, Nat, for being the February spotlight. I hope you know how much I appreciate the articles and input you’ve given me for the site.