This page exists to give you readers a little more information about the stories in this series. More information is also available on each story’s page. If you have any other questions about the series, I’d be happy to answer them.

Beware of spoilers if you have not read the stories yet!

Cause and Effect

I began this story on July 15, 2009. At least, that’s when I posted the first little drabble of it to 100 Hanson on LJ.

My inspiration came from some speculation I had read about what might happen if Zac and Kate divorced. The fans — who I don’t know by name and I wouldn’t name if I did — seemed to think it would be good for him to get out and play the field. But I couldn’t picture that. All I could picture was Zac falling to pieces and making a mess of things. And I had to write about it. Somewhere between that idea and the first drabble, it became more about Zac’s life just before the divorce than after.

I had several intentions with this story. I did not want to write a romance. I did not want to write a happy ending. I wanted, basically, to write the opposite of all the hanfic I had found online since my return to the fandom. I’d like to think that I did hold true to those promises I made myself, although at times it felt like the characters were more in control of the story than I was.

Cesura

Another of my convictions when I began writing Cause and Effect was that I would not write a sequel. When that story ended, it was over. Done. Finished. It turns out I was wrong.

The pregnancy and abortion subplot came to me during NaNoWriMo 2009, when I had set the story aside to focus on my NaNo novel. I was a little wary of writing it, as I feared it might be too political and alienate some of my readers. But it provided me a smoother transition into turning one story into a series — even though a part of me still opposed that idea.

I purposely left Cause and Effect a little open ended so that the abortion would be dealt with in this much shorter piece. In my mind, Zac would be angry and full of vitriol. In reality, he was a bit more sympathetic. Like I said, the characters are really writing these stories.

Incidentally, the original title of this one was going to be When The Lines Overlap, which I thought hinted at it being sort of a bridge between the two longer stories. I changed it to Cesura before I even began writing it. I like this title even better. It’s a literary term, referring to a pause taken in a reading (or in a song) for emphasis. I liked having slightly literary titles for each story.

Interwoven

The plotting for this story began before I had even finished Cause and Effect, although all I knew about it at the time was that it would involve Spencer moving to Tulsa. It wasn’t until the summer of 2011 that the full plot began to form in my mind.

Still, I tried to delay writing this story. I didn’t succeed. Instead, I wrote the first 30-some chapters over the course of about a year, then took some time off to think about where the story had been and where it was going. I made a few edits to make certain aspects of the story fit with what was really happening in the Hanson world, but other things are obviously completely alternate universe. It was a little frustrating to try to reconcile that, but I had to work with what made sense within this story, and I think ultimately it turned out okay.

As for the plot itself, this story reverses Zac and Spencer’s roles from Cause and Effect somewhat. Whereas that story was about two very different people trying — and failing — to reconcile their differences, this story is about two people who have grown and changed a lot dealing with the rest of the world. I really like the way that this story deals with both their inner conflict about the way their relationship began, and an outside conflict from someone else in Zac’s more recent past. Those two elements end up working together, and ironically, bringing Zac and Spencer closer together.

Denouement

Noun
1. The final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are resolved.
2. The climax of a chain of events, usually when something is decided or made clear.

I decided to write this fourth and final part (aside from future lost chapters) of the series during NaNo 2012. I realized that the ending of Interwoven, although happy, was quite abrupt. The series needed even more finality. It took me a while to figure out how to give it that finality, but I think this story accomplishes that. It still leaves a lot open, but you can be sure there’s a happily ever after ending here.