I’m always so, so excited to welcome a new author to the fandom, especially one with Calla’s enthusiasm and energy!
You might recognize her as the October story spotlight’s author. She’s now working on the second story in that same series. You can read those two stories in the Some Kind of Madness series as well as a handful of oneshots (with many more coming soon) on her LiveJournal, here.
Why did you start writing hanfic? How long have you been writing?
Back in the TTA era, I dabbled in writing hanfic a little bit. Answered some random challenges, but never really posted things anywhere. I submitted a few stories to a site that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of nor can I even remember what I named the stories so they are lost to me forever unless I want to go through every hanfic site out there. But, from what I remember they were really, really bad so it’s probably good that I can’t send anyone to read them. I came across placetohide.net one day while bored and searching through twitter and went to read some stories for the first time in years. The Sweetest Downfall series hooked me in and I decided then that I would try to write again and here I am!
Do you, or do you plan to, write in any other fandoms?
I have written a one shot in the Chicago Fire fandom. I am planning a cross over with Jesse Spencer that came as a suggestion since I’ve been a huge fan of his for a long time. I’m not sure if I will dabble in any other fandoms, but I wouldn’t rule it out. If the idea spoke to me, I would write it no matter what. It’s all about where the inspiration comes from rather than the who. Hanson is just extremely inspiring to me so they are easy to mold into characters.
What are your favorite hanfic stories and authors?
Since I’ve only just gotten back into writing and reading, I really haven’t read a lot of what is out there right now. I will say that I read both the entire Sweetest Downfall Series and The Innocents over the span of one day. I mean, not one day for both, but each story was read in an entire day. That’s how I know that I like something. If I just zone out and keep reading until it is finished. I feel bad for anything else in my life when that happens because it’s really difficult to pull me away. My weekends are super exciting, you know?
What is your writing process like?
I write the beginning and an end of a story first. I have a clear vision of where it will begin and end. The middle gets filled in a bit as I do. But, if I get a really strong feeling about something that I want to happen I will skip ahead and write it. My Google Drive is filled with partial scenes that came to me for Crack the Shutters that have yet to come, but are completed. That way when the time comes I can drop them into the story and not lose that inspiration along the way. It is disjointed, but it really works for me. I also listen to music on repeat while writing. If a chapter or story was inspired by a song, I listen constantly to that song until it’s done.
Where do your ideas and inspiration come from?
Music. Mostly music. I hear a song and a story starts to form in my head. At one point in time, I wanted to score movies and/or television shows. To take and fit music to the mood of a scene. I don’t write music and there are all these licensing issues that I would have to learn that so instead I just do it on my own. My stories all have deep musical inspiration. Sometimes the song comes first and sometimes the actual scene I’ve written in the chapter. I then spend hours trying to find the perfect song to go along with it. It’s an obsession. Can’t stop. Don’t try to stop. It’s what fuels me. That and Pepsi. Addicted. Tangent.
Which stories are you most proud of having written?
Considering I am really new to this, the way that the Some Kind of Madness series is definitely something I am proud of. I wasn’t sure if people would stick with it because I have a sick and twisted torturous mind so to know that people are really enjoying it is massively rewarding to me. I am also extremely proud that I’ve managed to write and craft a Kate that people actually enjoy. I get all excited when someone says they don’t mind her in my story or that it’s the first Kate they’ve really enjoyed. To me, those little things just drive me forward and make me want to write more.
Favorite songs to listen to while you write or which inspire your writing?
All you have to do is look to the constantly updated soundtracks to my stories to see where my inspiration comes from. I run the gamut and don’t stick to one time period or genre. I have a spotify starred list of inspirational songs from artists that range from Hanson to Childish Gambino to Temper Trap and back to The Wanted. I don’t listen to a lot of country though there is a Florida Georgia Line song that just begs to be written into a Natalie prompt somewhere along the way. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of The Naked and Famous. They are very inspirational to me.
Thank you, Calla, for being the November spotlight! I can’t wait to read what you write this month.