Ask yourself this — if someone told you they wrote fanfiction, and you knew nothing else about the person, what kinds of stories would you think of? “Real” literature, or cringey romance stories filled with questionable plot holes and self-insert characters?
The word “fanfiction” often carries an undeserved negative connotation around it. But, after one too many descriptions of “the alpha male and the 2 ‘4 blonde petite girl with silver orbs” and infamous Wattpad “x reader” stories, who can blame the majority of society?
Fanfiction’s stigma often stems from its association with “bad” writing. But this “bad” writing isn’t a reflection on fanfiction as a whole, and writing “badly” isn’t necessarily a negative thing. The action of writing is a lot like working a muscle: the more you do it, the better you become.
For many people, the prospect of writing a story is daunting, not because the writing itself is hard, but the creation of new ideas is. Fanfiction offers a template to newer writers: the worldbuilding and characters are already established, and there’s no pressure to create unique and captivating ideas because they’re already done for you.
Fanfiction is how writers can stretch themselves, exercising their skills in a controlled environment with the added bonus of getting comfortable with publishing to sites like AO3 or Wattpad. A less daunting medium doesn’t deserve stigma around it, nor does being a less experienced writer. Case in point: writing with complex jargon or intense metaphors doesn’t make a good writer — consistency does.
So, the next time you find yourself in a writer’s slump? Consider: fanfiction!
