Why I Write Fanfiction
Those who have never read much—or any—fanfiction may hold certain assumptions about what, exactly, it is. Fanfiction is plagiarism. It’s silly. It’s for children. It’s definitely not for children. It is not worth reading, much less worth writing. I’m going to prove some of these assumptions wrong, some right, and hopefully explain why I write fanfiction—and why you should too, if you like to write.
Fanfiction is plagiarism. This is one of the main concerns of fanfiction, and it is a valid one. Plagiarism is a big concern of any author, and there should be consequences for stealing someone’s work. However, fanfiction which is posted non-commercially and is “transformative” in some way does not violate copyright law. As long as these two rules are followed, fanfiction is not only legal, it is also in itself a promotion of the original work, which in most cases must be read or watched before reading the derivative work.
It’s silly. It’s for children. While I won’t deny that I have come across my fair share of “silly” fanfictions, I treat them more like one might treat romantic comedies rather than, say, a serious drama film. They are meant to be silly and taken lightly. But I would not go so far as to say they are for children, which I will discuss more below. While silly fanfictions do exist, some of my favorite fanfictions are deeply serious, novel-length stories about loss, war, love, heartbreak, trauma, and relationships—sometimes very adult ones. On that note…
It’s definitely not for children. Yes, I won’t deny it. There are many fanfictions which toe the line between romance, erotica, and something much more explicit. However, in the realm of fanfiction, there are many benefits to such works. Fanfiction readers and writers are majority female and part of the LGBTQ+ community, which results in explicit content surrounding female and LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. Most sexual encounters stress consent, love, romance, and mutual satisfaction as integral parts of the scenes and their characters, which differs vastly from the male-centric content online. While there are plenty of fanfictions that do not partake in this, those that do can still be informative and shine a light on female and LGBTQ+ centered relationships.
It is not worth reading, much less worth writing. I read fanfiction before I began writing it. For me, it was a way to remain in the worlds of stories I loved while reading something new and engaging. Once I began writing fanfiction, I realized that as a writer it allowed me to be creative without judgment, to write for the sake of writing and not profit, to explore any aspect of the story-writing process by altering only a few variables, such as the setting, or the character’s relationships, or their childhood. As a writer, fanfiction is a way to experiment without the stress of composing an original story. While writing original content is necessary to publish work and fanfiction is not always serious or perfectly written, it is a reminder for why you write in the first place—why writing is ultimately fun.
I hope I have defended the cause of fanfiction enough to show its virtues along with its vices. Fanfiction is definitely not for everyone, but if you love to write, fanfiction might just be the next hobby for you.
