Today I have a lovely guest post for you all! Jane from Literally Jane is here to talk about fanfiction!

Now I’m completely in the dark when it comes to fanfiction. I’ve heard of it but never wrote it. Honestly, I didn’t even know how big it was until I started blogging. Apparently, I’ve been living under a rock.

via GIPHY

Now, I’m going to turn it over to Jane who has a lot of information for you all about fanfiction and why you should write it!

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A lot of critics with little to no sense of joy will jump at the chance to say that fanfiction is no more than smut, drivel, tawdry nonsense, written by the likes of twelve-year-old girls with a loose grasp of basic grammatical structure.

And to that, I say: Hell yes it is.

Because without fanfiction, what a dull, gray world we would live in.

It comes at no surprise to those who know me when I say I write fanfiction. And, if you’re an author, you should write fanfiction too.

You can’t run a marathon without training first. The same applies for writing.

Fanfiction is the practice field for writers from all walks of life to hone their craft. It’s a chance for them to produce with no expectations, no deadlines, no rules - the Wild West of art. Share on X And yes, I do consider it art. Even if it’s written by that so-called twelve-year-old with no grammar skills, it’s art and it’s valuable.

Everyone starts somewhere, and sometimes that somewhere is in fanfiction. We may look back on it and cringe but we cringe only because we can see how far we’ve come since then. Besides, all of us could use a little practice now and again.

So how does one get started writing fanfiction? Well, have you ever read a book and wanted to know more about what happened off the page? Have you ever seen a movie and thought, wow, that character just died but I like them too much to let them suffer this way? Have you ever imagined some of your favorite characters from a classic story in a high school setting? Then congratulations, you’re a fanfiction writer.

Granted, there’s still the writing to do, but there are plenty of resources to get you started!

Fanfiction isn’t all that much different than original fiction, it’s just got the building blocks there for you to create your own. Think of it like Legos, together they can be one thing, but tear it down and rebuild, and suddenly it’s something new. Some of the most well-known books of our day is technically fanfiction, like Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, and Ulysses by James Joyce… basically anything that’s labeled as a re-telling? Boom, fanfiction.

But if you’ve got dreams of turning your fanfiction into the next bestseller, I gotta burst that bubble for you, bub. There’s some grey area regarding copyright on that front (but the public domain is free real estate), and some authors are surprisingly salty about fanfiction. But fan works have been turned into best sellers, just ask E.L. James or Cassandra Clare, so it’s a possibility. In my humble opinion, however, I think fanfiction is most useful for learning, practicing, and having fun.

Besides, it never has to see the light of day if you don’t want it to. By all means, keep your fanfiction private if you don’t feel comfortable sharing, but there are plenty of places to post your story online like:

• • fanfiction.net

  • Fiction Press

  • Tumblr 

  • Archive of Our Own

  • Wattpad

  • Your own blog!  

Where else can you find novel-length works, some of them really good, and for free? Nowhere! Fanfiction has a special place in my heart based on just how much the creators care. They pour their very souls into their work and for what? Not for glory or fame, and not for riches that much is certain. I believe fanfiction is a love letter to a work of art.

All in all, fanfiction can be awful, or brilliant, or trashy, or heartrending, or all of the above and that’s all it ever has to be! Share on X Every author – published or not – should be writing it. Yes, even you, the one reading this right now. Here I am, tap tap tapping on your screen to get your attention. Get comfy, pull up a blank document, and write about some of your favorite characters.

What have you got to lose? Your future self will thank you.

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Thank you so much Jane for this amazing post! I can’t wait to start dabbling in some fanfiction of my own!

Do you write fanfiction? Are there other sites out there that you use? Let me know in the comments below! 

Want to know the best apps for Writers? Check out my Top 5 Writing Apps post

Want to build your next story? Start with my Organize Your Story post

Need prompts to put your favorite characters? Check out my Scenes by Jennifer Leigh posts

 

This page may contain affiliate links. Click to read full disclaimer. I only promote products I support.

 

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