There’s something really exciting about discovering new hanfic authors. Over the last few months, several of them have cropped up. One of these is the spotlight for this month, Morgan.
Morgan is currently writing and publishing a story, or series of stories, based on Hanson’s albums. The first one, based on This Time Around, is finished, and Underneath is in progress. You can read the stories here, at her LiveJournal.
Why did you start writing hanfic? How long have you been writing?
I haven’t been writing that long actually… I just recently got back into Hanson after about a six or seven year hiatus (someone showed me the video for Thinking Bout Something and I was instantly hooked again), and from there it all kind of snowballed. I quickly got lured into the strange and wonderful world that is Hanson fanfiction. At first I was only interested in reading it, but the more great fics I read the more I found myself wanting to be in on all the fun, and so in April I started writing my own story.
The genre you write is rather controversial. What draws you to it?
I’d have to say the taboo, first and foremost. I’m extremely drawn to the whole forbidden love concept. I’ve honestly never been into just straight-up love stories… For a rom-com, they’re fine, but if I’m going to sink my teeth into a good piece of writing, it’s got to have some kind of edge, something that sets it apart from everything else. The Hancest stories are always the most angsty and off-center and dramatic, and I love that.
What are your favorite hanfic stories and authors?
Oh wow, there’s so much great stuff floating around at the moment… I’m LOVING ‘The Innocents’ by Paola; It’s definitely the most original hanfic I’ve read so far. ‘Here We Go Round Again’ by Sammy; that story does things to me emotionally… ‘If I Fall’ and ‘Mirror Mirror’ by Diamond; her writing is so completely beautiful. ‘Heads or Tails’ and ‘The Listener’ by Sarah; her stories always keep you guessing and I love that. ‘Truth is a Whisper’ by Bethany and Amber; it’s fun and sexy and emotional, a little bit of everything. ‘Songs Left Unsung’ by Bethany; totally not trying to suck up, this story is amazing. One of the best love triangles ever. Oh! And I can’t forget ‘Silence’ by Jordan; some of the best angst I’ve ever read, seriously.
And one of the first fics I read when I joined LiveJournal earlier this year was ‘Along For the Ride’ by Dusti, and it just floored me completely. I’d never really read fanfiction before so I guess I just kind of assumed it would all be fluffy and poorly written (sorry guys! but I was ignorant and uninformed at the time). And so when I started reading it I realized my mistake. And quickly became hooked.
What is your writing process like?
Hm… Well basically I sit down with my laptop and stare at it until I think of something to type. When I first started writing this series it was fairly easy (the first few chapters were churned out in no time), but as it’s gotten more involved and the plot is more detailed, it’s become harder to write and way more time-consuming. I still absolutely love it, but it is definitely no easy task. (It also doesn’t help that I’m extremely easily distracted…)
Where do your ideas and inspiration come from?
Actually, for the series I’m working on, all my inspiration comes directly from Hanson songs. I listen to a song and then use the lyrics as inspiration for the next chapter. I thought it seemed like an interesting enough concept and one that hadn’t really been done before so I decided to give it a go. And it’s been so much fun!…Well, it’s been fun to write… The series itself is not so fun. It’s extremely angsty, and I have a feeling it bums people out majorly, but hopefully they stick with it!
Which stories are you most proud of having written?
Well I’ve only ever written this story, but if I had to choose certain favorite chapters, I guess they would be Runaway Run and Sure About It. Runaway Run has always been my favorite Hanson song, so I really wanted to capture the feeling of it as well as I possibly could, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Sure About It was a lot of fun because the imagery of that song is just amazing; the chapter pretty much wrote itself.
Favorite songs to listen to while you write or which inspire your writing?
Well, for this particular series, because of the concept, I’ve basically just been listening to Hanson for inspiration, but I’m constantly being inspired by all kinds of different music. Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, Nick Drake, the Beatles (I actually mention “Come Together” in one of the chapters), Sigur Ros, The Tallest Man on Earth, Simon & Garfunkel… The list goes on and on. Music is definitely one of the biggest inspirations in my life. I use it for everything.
Thank you, Morgan, for being the August spotlight! I love what you’ve done with your story, and I can’t wait to read more.