--From June 28, 2002--
Another thought/rant....
I could use this space here to talk about (read: dissect) ‘the wedding’, about
the various rumors flying around, about Taylor and his new wife… but I’m not.
Like everyone, I’ve formed my own opinions about all of it. If I had posted
them, I would only be re-hashing something that someone else has already said a
thousand times. So, I decided to only address an issue that is directly relevant
to me.
What happens to the fan fiction?
I’ve thought about this quite a bit, seeing how I’m running a fan fiction site.
Many people have expressed concern about the demise of Taylor fan fiction, and
it’s obvious that there’s good reason for it. Hanfic has been on the decline for
awhile now anyway, since the boys are out of the spotlight. Out of sight, out of
mind. But with the announcement of the marriage, it seems authors are either
disgusted, freaked out, or maybe a little of both.
I worried that it would be odd. Writing my juvenile romance stories about a
(now) married man. I avoided finishing a chapter of Catapult (chapter 39) for
this reason, for several days, because I feared that I wouldn’t be able to do
it. But finally, I realized that I had to go on and at least try. I had to know
one way or the other. So I opened the document, stared at it blankly for several
minutes, and began to write. And surprisingly, I found that it didn’t feel any
different, and I finished the chapter easily and quickly.
There could be several reasons for this. For one, I am a relatively new fan of
Hanson. I only started listening to them early last year, and I didn’t start
reading hanfic until much later. So, I guess, unlike the older fans, I don’t
really feel like Isaac, Taylor, and Zac are mine… does that make sense? I
haven’t been there since the beginning, I haven’t watched these boys grow up
like many of you have. I’m a little more distanced from them.
Secondly, we all know that Taylor Hanson in Catapult and Taylor Hanson in real
life aren’t the same person. The character in my story probably shares very few
things with the real Taylor. I’ve basically just borrowed his name, a general
physical description, and a few details here and there to create my character.
Would the real Taylor say or do some of the things that my Taylor does? Maybe.
Maybe not. The point is, as far as my stories are concerned, he’s just another
character. I just had to remind myself of that once I started writing again.
Will everyone be able to do that? No. Everyone grieves differently (for lack of
a better term). Yes, I’m disappointed, the details of which I won’t go in to
right now, but I’ve shrugged my shoulders and moved on. I hope the other authors
out there will be able to do the same. I’ve read some fantastic Hanson fan
fictions in the short time I’ve been part of this community, and it would be a
shame to miss out on other great stories that would have otherwise been written
if June 8, 2002, had never happened.