PassionForGrey & AaronThMi

December 2019

As far as we know, you two hold the distinction of being the only FSoG married writing couple. How did each of you come to the fandom, and what led you to start writing fanfiction?

PassionForGrey: I was a bit late in reading FSoG and Fanfiction. I had heard about the books through my mother when she started reading them when they first came out. I didn't even start reading them until I found out that one of my favorite actors was going to play Christian. So, after hearing that they were going to make the movies, I wanted to read the books and see what all the fuss was about. After buying the first book, I loved it and immediately went out and bought the other two books. Like so many others, I wanted to read more of their story. I remember researching FSoG and came across a story that somebody had written on a personal blog. I don't remember the name of the story, and after reading it, they provided a link to the fanfiction site where you can get more C&A from other authors. I spent a lot of time reading FanFiction after that, and have been hooked ever since. What led me to start writing was a random thought one day when I was driving about what if Christian had a stalker that wouldn't leave him alone? I wasn't planning on writing anything at first, just thought it would be a good plot for a story. After thinking about it more and more, I wanted to get the idea out there to see if anybody would be interested. I decided to just write the first chapter and see if people liked it. After that, I kept going and more and more plot bunnies started coming to me.

AaronTHMi: I came into the fandom largely due to my wife's (PassionForGrey) interest in the books. I'm an avid reader and seeing her passionate about a book piqued my interest. Shortly after I decided to pick up a copy of the first book and read through it in a few days. I quickly decided James' writing style wasn't for me, but the story was very alluring. I only read the first book, but I enjoyed sharing that with my wife. Now fanfiction was a different but similar story. I had an idea for a short story but didn't have an outlet to write it out. I started by asking my wife about her interest in FF. I wondered if there were strict rules I would need to follow, or if I was allowed to be as creative as I wanted. Once she let me know there would be no hindrances in my creative process I started my story. I had intended to keep writing after Christifornication. I wanted to complete the Elliot Files and move onto another story idea (PassionForGrey really wants me to write that one). But life is really busy for me right now so writing has to sit on the back burner until I can really devote myself to it.

You each write separately, with distinctly different styles and subject matter. How much have you consulted with one another through the writing process?

PassionForGrey: When Aaron first started writing, he let me in on his idea that he had, and wanted me to help him with editing the chapters. For Christifornication, he wanted Ana to be written from a woman's perspective, so he asked if I would write Ana for him while he sat next to me and told me what he wanted to convey through her POV. He would always ask me was there a story where Christian did this? Or had Elliot ever done that? Helping him write that story was interesting, and we had a blast writing it with each other, even though I didn't care for Ana and her choices at times, but I am glad we were able to do that together. I also bounced ideas off of him with my last story; Shades of Ordinary. There was a particular part of the story where I had trouble with what Ana's reaction needed to be. After chatting with him about what I thought she should do or say, he gave me his opinion and explained why she needed to have that reaction, so that is what I went with. (I am sure you all can figure out what part that was ;).

AaronThMi: When I was writing my stories I consulted with PassionForGrey a ton. While my characters were different, I wanted them to have a lot of the same idiosyncrasies as the characters from the book. Things like Christian running his hand through his hair or Ana biting her lip. Since she was a much bigger fan of the series her input was valuable to my storytelling. The other part of that was having PassionForGrey write Ana's parts. I wanted a woman's touch in that part of my story. I let her run free within the confines of my end goal for the story. I think it turned out amazing and added the perfect amount of feminine touches to my character.

To PassionForGrey: You've announced your retirement as a fanfiction writer. Was this a difficult decision to make? What factors led to your decision?

In the beginning, I was only going to write Infatuation, but after that ended, I had an idea on what if Ana's biological dad and Ella never died? What would have happened? I always try to write stories that you haven't read before and created something a bit different, so I decided to keep going and write another story; A Different Path to Fifty. In all honesty, I don't like writing and it was never really a passion for me. I have to admit that the reason I wrote my stories is not that I love writing, it's simply because I have an idea that I haven't read much of before, so I decided to write it out to see if others would be interested. I will say that Aaron does have another idea for a story that I am excited for. He wants to write it and it was originally his idea. An idea that I have never seen before on FF. I do hope one day he is up for writing it because he has amazing ideas for that story, so we'll see. As for me, I don't want to say I will never write again in the future, but as of this minute, I am not planning on writing any other stories. I did enjoy my time writing FF even though I don't care for the writing part, but reading all the reviews and support I received throughout my time on FF gave me the motivation to continue to write out my ideas. Thank you all for that!

To AaronThMi: Your writing provides a male POV that is unique to our fandom, adding to the popularity of your stories. What are the challenges of writing from a male POV for a primarily female audience? You have placed "The Elliot Files" up for adoption, a generous offer. Was that a difficult decision?

This is a great question and I wish I had had an elaborate answer to it. The truth though is that I never really thought about who my audience was. I had an idea for a story that I felt was interesting and unique. It fit perfectly into the FSoG world so I ran with it. I was ready to accept that it may not be well-received (and truthfully not everyone was a fan), but I felt really passionate about it. After I finished the first chapter, my wife said it was amazing and so we made an account and she helped me post it. Needless to say, I was ecstatic with the community's response and hooked on continuing to write. Haha, there was even a time I was so focused on finishing a chapter I was nearly late for work. PassionForGrey had to edit and upload it for me. My decision to put Elliot Files up for adoption was a decision I made for the fans of my story. I struggled with not having the time to write, so at first PassionForGrey suggested I go hiatus. After a year, it began bothering me again that I had fans waiting for me to finish my story. So then my wife suggested I go ahead and post the outline. I struggled with that, tried to start writing again, ran into a small writer's block, and then finally posted the outline. I realized that lack of time plus a writer's block was a bad mix for good storytelling. It was hard to let the story go because I loved writing it, but I wanted the fans of my stories to get closure. I've often heard PassionForGrey talk about how much it sucks for a story to die halfway through and leaving people waiting for 1 ½ year was not something I wanted to continue any longer.

What are some things you both wish readers understood about the writing process?

PassionForGrey: Writing your own story is very difficult. I know that I am not the best writer, and there are times in my stories where there could be more details and more character interactions/development. You also have to plan out a lot before writing. I know there were times when I didn't have a plan on what I wanted to do and I just started writing, so there were a bunch of mistakes. That is why writing an outline for the story is the best way to start if you are thinking of writing your own story. Writing a chapter takes a significant amount of time, especially editing. You're constantly thinking about timelines, or does this happen in real life? Is this piece of information correct? Writing a chapter and a whole story can become a long process, and we as the authors sometimes can't dedicate all our spare time to the story. I admire all the writers for their dedication, it wasn't easy for me, and I can understand the passion and dedication that goes into making a great story. Especially a great love story, such as Christian and Ana.

AaronThMi: My advice is always don't be too critical of your artistic expression. In my opinion artistic writing is an emotional outlet. There is no time to be concerned with what's right or wrong. I don't mean just releasing pent up emotions. I mean any emotions. For example, when I was writing Christifornication I found myself listening to Bruno Mars' Unorthodox Jukebox album. In fact, I featured some of the songs in my story. I took the emotions the album made me feel and put them into my writing. Almost like artistic transference. There was nothing pent up. It was just how I felt at the time and I used it to write. That's what I think people should do. Yeah, try your best to follow grammar rules and spelling, but don't be critical about the content. The content is your expression. Art can't be wrong.

Some readers have expressed concern that since the films have been completed, there's a shortage of new fanfiction. What do you see as the future of this fandom?

PassionForGrey: I can understand why the fandom is slowing down a bit since the movies came out. The movies ended, so FSoG isn't as new and or talked about much anymore. Many of the best FF stories were written at the height of its popularity, so it makes sense that we are not seeing a lot of new stories being written. There are still a lot of great stories, even though not as much as we have seen in the past, but I do see the fandom continuing to grow in the future with fresh and new ideas we haven't seen yet. Christian and Ana's story has touched a lot of people, and I do see the die-hard fans of FSoG keeping it alive through FF.

AaronThMi: I'm not really that active in the fandom, but having seen communities die in other fandoms, I will offer my insight. The best way to keep any community alive is to shave off the fat. What I mean is remove toxicity. People sometimes enter fandoms later than others. This can sometimes be even years after the initial boom. They will search out other like-minded individuals to share their enjoyment with only to find cliquey elitists. This turns new people away and they lose interest. That, and others losing interest because the community becomes stagnant with no new ideas and now you've got a dying/dead community. Everyone should be welcoming new people with helpful open arms. Showing them the ropes and then letting them spread out on their own. This keeps ideas fresh and allows communities to thrive. I think FSoG Fanfiction will always be a populated community. There will always be people who want to write stories about the characters they love. The future though is what everyone decides they want it to be.

What has the Fifty Shades trilogy and this fandom meant to each of you?

PassionForGrey: Like many others, I have fallen in love with these characters. I adore their love story and I do agree with EL James in that their story will hypnotize you, and will live with you forever. I have enjoyed my time on FF, and spoke with a lot of amazing people in the fandom and over on FB. Yes, there have been moments of stress and drama at times, but I am glad that I was able to be part of an amazing trilogy.

AaronThMi: Better sex, haha, kidding. For me, it's always been about sharing something with my best friend. We both have vastly different interests and having something we can share is always a joy for me. I could never get her to come to my BJJ gym or to play videogames, so getting into FF with her was a way for us to be closer. Eventually, I will start writing again with her as my editor and I'll love every minute of that time together.