When their favorite TV-show does not fulfill their expectations, or their favorite TV-couple breaks up, many fans turn to fanfiction to experience what was not meant to be on television. Fanfiction describes stories written mostly by non-professional writers who base their stories on storylines and characters from TV-shows or movies and then take the story into a different direction.
One of the most-read and well-known Grey’s Anatomy fanfiction writers is Chelle Storey-Daniel, known by her fans as BurningEden. Her story, “One Heart Too Many,” picks up after Grey’s Anatomy episode 4×13, “Piece of my Heart,” and is written from Callie Torres’ perspective, as most of her stories are. Without giving too much away, the main plotline is Callie’s struggle with deciding between the safe, conventional choice of Mark and the possible true love choice of Erica.
Two key scenes from ‘Piece of my Heart’ are needed to understand what happens in “One Heart Too Many.” In the first, Addison innocently asks Callie about her romantic relationship with Erica, which Callie denies by stating how much she loves men or, more specifically, a certain body part of theirs. In the second, Callie leaves with Mark at the end of the night to prove Addison wrong. The author uses this triangle of love and weaves an elaborate net of emotions. Love has not been written so complex and compelling in a while, especially by someone who only gets readers comments as a reward. BurningEden developed a complex, multi-character fanfiction of 40 chapters, which fortunately will be turned into a book soon.
“One Heart Too Many” contains adult content, but this in no way diminishes the amazing writing. All the characters are well developed and BurningEden did not just stick to the doctors of Grey’s Anatomy. The author added characters’ pasts, families and friends to make the storylines more compelling. Callie’s family consists of her temperamental and very southern mother Lori Anne, strict but loving father Santos and her two brothers, Jasper and Joel. Socially relevant topics, such as gay rights or disability, play an important part in the story. Storey-Daniel uses beautiful metaphors, similar to the ones used on Grey’s Anatomy to compare patient’s situations to the ones doctors find themselves in. However, she does not limit herself to patients or surgeries, but often uses the ocean to explain the ways of life.
One could easily say BurningEden’s writing and creativity outshines Shonda Rhimes’. [Spoiler-alert] In her story “Knowing,” published in May 2009, BurningEden wrote that Arizona Robbins’ first name did not come from the state, as one would assume, but from the USS Arizona. In episode 6×07 “Give Peace a Chance,” which aired recently, viewers learned that Arizona in fact was named after that Navy Ship.
I would not recommend starting this story shortly before you have to go to bed, as you will be up all night reading. The author creates cliffhangers more thrilling than most TV dramas and makes you want to read more every time you have finished a chapter.
Link to the story: http://community.livejournal.com/burningeden_fic/18477.html#cutid1
