PlaceToHide.net Interview with Amber Hopper

Interviews by Fans
Title:	PlaceToHide.net Interview with Amber Hopper
Interviewer:	Bethany
Interviewee:	Amber Hopper
Date(s):	October 2011
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	Hanson
External Links:	interview is here, Archived version
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In 2011, Amber Hopper was interviewed by Bethany for the spotlights section of her website PlaceToHide.net.

See others in the series at PlaceToHide.net Interview Series.

Some Excerpts

It’s funny, I can’t really remember exactly when I started writing hanfic, but I know it was when I was in high school, probably around 98 or so… As for why, I’d been reading stories for a while, and so I guess I just wanted to try writing my own. It’s funny, I honestly can’t remember when I started, or what my first fic was; it probably wasn’t any good, lol. Hanson was definitely was started my love of writing, but I didn’t stop there. I’ve written fanfics for Labyrinth, Drop Dead Fred, Naruto, The Santa Clause series, and a bunch more. I definitely have Hanson to thank for starting it all, though. I actually hadn’t written any hanfics in a while, until I recently re-read Devil Angel. I found the old Yahoo group (which is all but defunct), and saw that a couple people had tried to write sequels, but no one really got very far.

I decided to write Letting Go Is The Hardest Part (which was actually called Carry You There at first) because… well, we all love this story. It’s legendary and it was so sad to never see it completed. I totally understand, these things happen, but still; it always bugged me that we would never find out what happened. I guess I decided to do it because I I wanted to know what happened.

It was pretty daunting at first, trying to get into these characters that someone else had created. I re-read the original over and over, looking for clues to personality, how they would react, how thye thought, etc. I also did research into what actually happened to the guys; Aspen had based hers on reality, and I wanted to do the same. So things like Dave coming out, his family’s reaction, the band splitting, etc. That all really happened; this story just puts a different spin on why.

Another major challenge was trying to match the style of DA, so that the two stories flow together. This was difficult at first, because DA is written in 1st person (I, me, my), and I was used to writing in 3rd (he, she, they). It may seem like a small thing, but trust me, it’s not. It affects how things are described, how you have to display the world. It took a lot of getting used to. But I have to say, now that I’ve tried it, I’m never going back. It’s so much easier to get into the character’s head this way. Thank you, Aspen! lol

My writing process… is crazy, lol. Seriously, the way I write, it’s not like I’m writing a story. It’s like the events really did happen, and the characters are relaying the events to me. Told ya it’s crazy. Usually, I’ll brainstorm in the shower, or when I’m in bed, or while I’m working. I don’t usually do outlines, which may be why I tend to write myself into corners, lol. LGitHP is the frst story where I know how it’s going to end. I know it sounds weird, but I think my problem for years has been that I don’t like spoilers, so I don’t want myself to know how it ends. Told ya. Crazy.

I guess my ideas come mostly from the guys. Lately, I’ll be watching an interview, or a FUTY, or a concert video, and something happen that makes me wonder. Questions. Questions are the absolute best story inspirations, the basic six. Who, What, When, Where, Why, How. And of course, What If. Sometimes I’ll take inspiration from another story, like I did with DA, although not always that directly. And music; music is another huge source of ideas, especially with Hanson. Sometimes all it takes is a single line to inspire an entire plot. I have a few ideas running around my head that came from their songs, either the lyrics, or just the mood.