This month’s spotlight is on my friend Rebekah, who I somehow managed to accidently avoid running into at not one, but two concerts this summer.
In seriousness, she’s a great writer whose stories are sure to have something for everyone who reads hanfic. You can check them out at her journal, here. Her newest story, Changing The Mirage, was part of my Boomerang Big Bang and I’d highly recommend it.
Why did you start writing hanfic? How long have you been writing?
My friend found out that I liked to write, and asked me to write a story for her with Taylor as her boyfriend. (So I guess, technically, I started writing hanfic in high school.) I started telling it verbally during Spring testing, but eventually had to take it to pen and paper. It’s probably one of the worst things I’ve ever written too, lol. There was a line that referred to Taylor as being “harder than Fort Knox”…and that wasn’t even the worst part of the story, lol.
I’ve been writing since elementary school. Writing was always my first “art” of choice. I’m the youngest and there’s a big age gap between me and my siblings. I never had anyone else to play with so I always had an overactive imagination. One day I got the bright idea to write some of the chaos in my head down, and I’ve been going with it since then. And although I tried to leave it several times, it never left me. I always found my way back to it, and it was always there waiting to welcome me back. (Very romantic, huh? haha)
I know you’ve seen Hanson in concert several times. Does this have any effect on your writing or how you think about hanfic?
I think most of the time it has a positive effect on my writing. It inspires me more. I want to write more…and faster; almost to the point where I can’t think of anything else (and I don’t want to sleep because I want to write, lol). Each concert experience being different and unique, it’s easy to take something different from some behavior I witness or my interpretation of it (at least). Although sometimes it can be a double edged sword especially if I have a specific facial expression or voice in my head, it can be hard to translate it into words.
And I don’t think it effects how I think about hanfic…if only to solidify that it’s all fiction. (If I should ever happen to forget or it slips my mind, lol) And possibly to remind me how talented the writers of the hanfic world are to be able to take these three guys, and make them completely different from any other character out there.
What are your favorite hanfic stories and authors?
Hmm, I love too many to name honestly. Usually any story that’s different, daring or dark is something that I’ll go back to time and time again. Just about everything under the sun has been done already so usually if it has a twist or different spin it is always intriguing and worthy of a second or third read. (This answer is probably a complete cop out, lol)
What is your writing process like?
I look over my outline and notes to get in the right mindset for what I’m about to work on. If I don’t already have anything for it then that’s when I start my brainstorming or researching. I tend to like silence when I’m writing. There’s something about the sound of my fingers hitting the keys as an idea is flowing that I like. Most of the time before I start writing I try to work out everything, in my head, that’s going to happen during a scene especially if it’s dialogue. But other times I just like to see where my muse is going to take me. Although at some point I always get sucked in by the internet or a conversation on messenger, lol. If I’m stuck on a part then I’ll find a song that I feel embodies the theme of that scene. Most of the time…it works.
Where do your ideas and inspiration come from?
Dreams, music, watching another person’s life. Heck, just life in general. Sometimes I’ll get, what feels like, a passing thought then it’ll get a mind of its own and won’t leave me alone. Sometimes it’ll be a philosophy or opinion I’ve heard from someone on television that I think is intriguing. Rubicon actually stemmed from a dream and a random idea that I combined to make one story. The dream was of a couple sitting, taking their pictures on their wedding day. She was sitting behind him, hiding the clear signs of her pregnancy. (At this point, the entire dream is really vague.) I had also been playing with the idea of writing a story based on defining moments. (Dr. Phil has “theory” that you can define who you’ve become based on ten defining moments, seven critical choices and five pivotal people.) And just those two little things and that baby was born lol
Which stories are you most proud of having written?
Well…this will probably be another cop out answer, but I can’t really choose. I’m proud of each story I’ve written for different reasons. Color of Love was my first attempt at first person, and it was alternating. I’m not sure why I thought that would be easy, lol. It was the first story I had ever written where race was an issue and the couple had to deal with negative reactions from the people they cared about simply because they didn’t share the same skin tone.
With Rubicon, I got to explore this guy looking back on his life and all the things that defined it. He was someone who, seemingly, had the entire world at his fingertips and disposal, and he still had trouble really being in the moment. I think everyone has to question “am I just living or am I alive?” He was finally able to ask & answer that question, and once he wasn’t afraid of the answer he was able to do something about it.
Thief of Forgotten Mistakes was pretty much emotional torture, lol. You have this guy who is functioning and productive then he has a memory that starts him down a road he didn’t want to go on. I think if you have issues and you leave home without dealing with your issues, you always end up back there one way or another. His journey led him to confront his molester; not an easy journey but one that ultimately led to his healing.
Changing the Mirage was my first slash story. GayTay has been done…a lot. But I guess my goal for this was hearing someone’s conversation about gay relationship not being portrayed as romantic or sweet often. Angst or confusion were ways I could have went and probably would have been easy to, but striving to do something different (even if only slightly) I liked the romance aspect better. Also, I got to use a friend’s real life experiences as part of my story. There were very specific things we discussed that I felt appropriate to incorporate in the story, and he was more than willing to cooperate/give me some insights on the path his life had taken.
Favorite songs to listen to while you write or which inspire your writing?
Anything by Lifehouse is a good source of inspiration for me. I listen to quite a bit of R&B; Whitney Houston, Brian McKnight, and Jagged Edge. Rascal Flatts and the Backstreet Boys could be my random picks for artists who make my playlists frequently.
Thank you, Rebekah, for being the October spotlight. I’m so happy about how happy it made you to be featured here.