A Case For Writing Fanfiction

  Like many, much of my earliest writing that was even reasonably good was within the realm of fanfiction. I am a huge fandom nerd, especially for Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Marvel, ATLA, etc, and delving into someone else's world with characters of my own or my own takes on their characters was fun, refreshing, and pressure-free. BUT, most seriously committed writers have a fanfiction "phase" that they grow out of, whether by moving on a little from fandom culture or becoming to engrossed in their own stories. Well, I'm here today to posit that there is a case to be made for writing fanfiction, and it will actually benefit your writing in the long run! Let's dive into it below...


  1. THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY STORIES

One of the most helpful aspects of fanfiction is the opportunity you have to study stories, particularly stories you already know in-depth. If you love a universe enough to write fanfiction about it, chances are you love it enough to know it inside and out. When you know a story as well as the typical fangirl or fanboy does, it becomes very easy to unpack and dissect it from the ground up, especially when you start writing about it. You can train your eye to be critical of plot and character development, as well as all the subtle nuances of storytelling as you develop and retell aspects of someone else's story in a new, fresh way.

  2. RECEIVING HELPFUL FEEDBACK IN LOW PRESSURE ENVIRONMENTS

Writing fanfiction was always such an encouraging era of writing for me, I found it much easier to receive feedback and everyone I interacted with was so incredibly kind and excited! Not only that, but because of the community that is often part and parcel with individual fandoms, you will find support and fans super easily. People are already looking for content in a fandom, so you don't have to generate that same rabid fanbase to participate in the hype, it is part of the deal when it comes to fanfiction creation. When you join a site to share your fanfic, it is super easy to find readers and followers who love the original story as much as you do. 

  3. FREEDOM TO EXPERIMENT

Because this is someone else's story, and you likely as not won't ever be publishing it, you have all the freedom in the world to experiment with different voices, crossovers, genres, plots, characters, and everything in between. Especially if you don't share your fic (though I highly recommend it) you have the total freedom to do whatever you want in someone else's universe. It's honestly super fun and so, so refreshing to just sit down in a world you love and see what happens.

  4. REBOOTING YOUR WRITER BRAIN

Similar to above, when we start to take our writing too seriously we can get in a slump, our minds fill with sludge and get slow and burnt out. Sometimes simply slipping into a familiar, established story can really re-ignite your passion for creating and can give your brain a much-needed break, some relief from your regular grind. Most of us wrote fanfiction simply for the heck of it and even getting back into that carefree mentality, where writing was for our own enjoyment and nothing more, can do a lot to re-align us back into a creative headspace.

  5. RECEIVING UNLIKELY INSPIRATION

Occasionally, diving back into old notes, old fics, or other stories can lend you some of the greatest and deepest points of inspiration you may ever receive. I can't count the number of times another piece of literature has totally inspired my writing. This, by the way, is not a bad thing, but rather a natural part of the creative process. You cannot create without some consumption, of story, of art, of beauty, of life. So taking the time to write from a totally different place can really fill your cup and set your mind afire again. 

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LET'S TALK. 

  If you're a writer (or not), did you write fanfiction once upon a time? What was your preferred story to write in? Did you have a genre you liked? Personally, I was really into fluffy hobbit romances, particularly Merry/Estella ships. It awoke in me a whole appreciation for soft romance, and certainly has been the inspiration for many a creation since. As a special surprise, here's a link to my fanfiction.net site - check out some of my very old work and let me know in the comments below if you have any of your own to share! 

Comments

  1. This is a really interesting post! I think fanfiction is maligned a lot of the time, and while I personally would not like to read other people's fanfiction, I can definitely see where there's a place for using it to hone one's writing style!

    I do think that one can study one's favorite stories inside-and-out without writing fanfiction about it...but then again, the one series that I knew inside-and-out as a kid/early teen was the one that I wrote fanfiction about, so I guess you do have a point. XD (Ranger's Apprentice, if you're wondering. Very fun series. My fanfiction was bad enough to light your eyeballs on fire.)

    I don't like to write fanfiction now, because I don't ever feel like I can capture the other author's characters as well as they can, buuuuut maybe I'll try it someday if I'm feeling burned out!

    (Also, because I like to introduce myself when I randomly wander onto people's blogs: hello! I'm Samantha (or Sam, if you'd like)! I've been following your blog for a little bit, but just commenting now, because I've been quite busy. :) I'm a fellow book blogger!)

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    1. Thank you! I definitely agree, fanfiction does get a bad rep, and it is also hard to wade through all the mediocre stuff, but occasionally you find some really amazing work and that is super worth it!

      I haven't ever read Ranger's Apprentice but I know a lot of people who did who said they liked it!

      Very nice to meet you, Samantha! I'm glad you stumbled onto my blog. What's your @?

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    2. Nice to meet you, too! I blog at samsbookshire.blogspot.com. :)

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  2. I've been thinking of writing some fanfiction. I do think taking your writing too seriously can make it almost worse in a way, and you should be able to have fun with it.

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    1. DO IT. For which story?? Totally agree, having fun with it is sometimes so therapeutic.

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  3. I wrote some fan fiction a while ago (in comic form), as a way to play around with story ideas, and I agree I do feel like it benefits my writing has a whole. If I had not played around with other people's stories (for my fan fiction, it was Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Star Trek), I wouldn't have had room to play around with my ideas for original stories.

    -Quinley

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