I have been waiting with bated breath to introduce you to one of my favorite authors. I am thrilled to introduce you to Green_Feelings AKA Shaina, the author of one of my favorite fics of all time, For As Long As I Can Remember (It’s Been December). I’m honored that she took the time to answer some questions for me.
This is a regular installment of No Stunts Magazine, so if you’re excited about authors and peeking behind the curtain in their brains, I encourage you to look at the last few issues for profiles of BananaHeathen, ItsMotivatingCara, CuckooTrooke, and _LilyBlue28.
If you like this feature, want to chat, or give me suggestions for future profiles, please hit me up on Twitter. @Rosann_1986 (formally @FlyWishing).
Without further ado, I introduce you to Shaina.
Handle:
@Shaichan on Twitter
@greenfeelings on Tumblr
green_feelings on AO3
Pronouns: she/her
Works: Your Best Line Ever, Jump Before We Fall, Empty Skies, Nameless Night, Paint Me In A Million Dreams, For As Long As I Can Remember (It’s Been December), The Light, Spark and Fire Series, as well as a handful of shorter ones
Rosann: What do you like people to call you?
Shaina: Shaina or Shai are both fine! 🙂
Rosann: Thanks, Shaina! How did you decide to get started writing fanfic for the 1D/Larry fandom?
Shaina: I have always been a fan of boy bands. After the 90s boy bands split up in the early 2000s, I got into Japanese boy bands. It was only natural that I got into 1D, too. There was a ship in one of my favourite Japanese bands, Kat-tun, and when I got into 1D I thought that Harry and Louis were very similar to them. There were a lot of parallels, so I got hooked instantly. That was in late 2011, when one part of the ship left Kat-tun. 1D was a distraction at first, but quickly took over my heart.
I had written fanfiction before (I think I started writing fics around 2006), so I immediately got into that – for me that’s just part of the fandom experience. I published my first fic, In A Sea Of Lies (I’ve taken that one down by now) in 2012. It took over a year for anyone to really notice my fics, though. Your Best Line Ever was the first fic I got actual comments on and from then on, I caught fire and haven’t stopped writing for the fandom since.
I probably should have got into BTS a long time ago… It’s only logical, given my history. I’m not sure why that hasn’t happened yet, lol.
Rosann: So you’ve been in the fandom a long time! I love knowing which authors have longevity in the community. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written and where did the idea come from? How long did it take you from first idea to publication?
Shaina: I think my favourite fic to write was Paint Me In A Million Dreams. I travelled Australia and New Zealand in 2016, and the idea was born on that trip. It’s the only fic I actually sat down and plotted out before I started writing it. I wouldn’t say I knew everything beforehand, but I knew more than I did for most of my other fics – I had some kind of plan. The idea was rather simple, to be honest. I wanted to write a fake relationship, and it needed a twist. That’s how plotting my fics usually works. I take a cliché trope and I think of a way to twist it in an interesting way.
Rosann: That’s interesting about wrapping a plot around a cliche trope. Where else do you get your ideas for fics?
Shaina: I’d say I usually get inspired by other stories. I read a lot, I watch films and TV series. That usually results in me taking elements and spinning my own stories around them. I’ve been a huge fan of Japanese culture for most of my life, and I’d say my writing is heavily influenced by Asian storytelling. I like a lot of themes and topics those stories deal with, and I like the way they are told. I love the drama and the angst a lot of those stories carry – there’s something very human about it, something bare and honest that I just want to carry into my own writing – so that usually inspires my writing.
Rosann: I don’t want you to out your anonymity, but can you tell us if you’ve written under other names, or if you’re perhaps traditionally published? Are you professionally trained?
Shaina: I’ve written on LiveJournal as green_ feelings, too. I wrote for the Johnny’s Fandom, mostly Akame (Kamenashi Kazuya/Akanishi Jin) fics in the Kat-tun fandom. I teach English in school, so I studied English Literature and I’d claim to know a thing or two about writing 101 and literature. I don’t think I could ever be a published author, though. I’m happy being a fanfiction writer. For me, there’s a clear distinction between those two, and I’m convinced that fanfiction doesn’t work as original, published literature. There are things allowed in fanfiction that aren’t in original fiction. Also, fanfiction is only fun when there’s connections to canon, and it needs those connections to the original text to be identified as fanfiction in the first place. I feel like I don’t have enough talent or storytelling abilities to write something original, but I feel very comfortable in my fanfiction bubble.
Rosann: Adding in that I think you *could* be a traditional author, if you chose to be. You absolutely have the talent! But I love that you feel comfortable in the fanfiction bubble. What’s your favorite trope (if any) to write?
Shaina: Does angst count as a trope? Probably not, right? Looking at my fics, I’d say that I like enemies to lovers best. I disguise it as other tropes sometimes, like getting back together or exes to lovers, but at the end of the day, there’s always an element of them not being on the same page at first before they figure it out and get their shit together. For As Long As I Can Remember (It’s Been December) may be the only exception, but it’s still a getting back together fic!
Rosann: I think I like that best about your work. I love a fic where they have to overcome angst to find their way together (or back together), so your work always resonates with me. If you write a serialized fic, do you plot/outline before you write or do you just fly by the seat of your pants?
Shaina: I’m a gardener. I plant things and let them grow and then decide how everything goes together in my garden eventually. I’m as far from an architect as one can be. Usually, I have that one scene in my head that I’m working towards. For JBWF, for example, I wanted to write a scene of Louis making a grand gesture by coming to Harry’s city to win him back – and him failing because he can’t find Harry in that city. I really had no plan for that fic other than getting to that scene. Paulie, Liam’s daughter in that fic, was a spontaneous idea in chapter two. The whole Ziam plot developed from there, but none of it was planned or something I knew before I started writing.
Rosann: I love that! Sometimes the best plot points come out of your subconscious when you least expect them! What are the hardest scenes/tropes for you to write?
Shaina: Fluff and Comedy. I need drama and angst to build my plot around. My current fic “I Do (I Don’t)” is hard for me to write, because there’s barely any angst going on in that fic. I love the pining and the drama and the bittersweet feelings. I haven’t figured out a twist yet to throw that into my current WIP. It’s frustrating!
Rosann: Do you have favorite fics that have inspired you?
Shaina: I have lots and lots of fics I love. These Inconvenient Fireworks was one of my first fics, and I love it to bits to this day. I’d say the Ziam plot in Just Before We Fall is heavily inspired by that fic. Anything written by dangerbears inspired me to write angst, really. Zarah5 became a dear friend because we started out at roughly the same time. I beta read every fic she wrote, and she beta read a number of mine. I learned a lot from her – my favourite fic of hers is Don’t Look Down. The Pining and Unresolved Sexual Tension in that fic is unparalleled! Where You Lay by HamPalpert is one of the few A/B/O fics I’ve read and the reason I wanted to write an A/B/O fic myself!
Rosann: Those are some great recommendations. (Rosann goes to bookmark what she hasn’t read.) Do you do anything to promote your fics? Mood boards or something else?
Shaina: No, not really. I usually make a post on Tumblr. I’m not very skilled when it comes to photoshop and the likes, so all of the art I post with my fic posts is usually made by some talented fandom artists who help make my posts look a little more aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes I share my playlists for the fics when people ask me about it. I’ve been in different fandoms, and I’ve been here for a long time – the whole “promoting” fics thing, making “coming soon” posts and the likes confuse me a lot. I’m probably too old to get it.
Personally, I don’t think fanfiction should be advertised or treated like business. It’s something you do for fun, not to build a career from. There’s no careers in fandom, no “more popular” or “more successful” fics. I think that’s the only goal of promoting a fic beyond making a post that says “Here’s my fic, this is what it’s about, and here is a link, have fun reading!” and in my mind, any promo or the likes are out of place in fandom context!
Thank you so much for having me! ^_^//
Rosann: You’re very welcome! I’m so happy to have been able to pick your brain! And I can’t wait for more of I Do (I Don’t)!
If you haven’t followed her yet, please follow Shaina on her social media:
@Shaichan on Twitter
@greenfeelings on Tumblr
green_feelings on AO3
