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!