Written by A.J Riley
THE BENEFITS OF FANFICTION
Written by A.J Riley (Writer of articles, books and fanfiction)
I’d first like to say that I do not get paid to write these types of articles. I don’t get paid at all, actually. I simply write to have fun. It helps me express myself in ways I struggle to.
I’d also like to note that I am a huge advocate for writing fanfiction
Okay, now to begin:
When we think of writing and writers, we think authors (books), poems, songs, novels, scripts, stage plays even. We think of people who write for the Daily paper.
But when we think of things like fanfiction, people often don’t consider that “real writing”
Here’s why I disagree with that opinion:
The first question to be asked before we start is “What is fanfiction?”
By definition:
fanfiction:
Stories involving popular fictional characters that are written by fans and often posted on the Internet. also called fanfic.
Fanfiction are stories written by fans of some type of media. Books, movies, TV shows, even fans of people like singers or actors, but it’s mostly known for taking something from a world already built. It is simply a fan taking their own perspective of a show or movie that they enjoy.
An example would be if you were to look at Star Trek and take the world that was built from it and then write your own stories from it. You can do whatever you like in fanfiction (though, I personally do think there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed) And you can change what you dislike in canon
(canon= what happened in the show)
To put things lightly, fanfiction is often seen as cringe and something that should be frowned upon. I’m here to argue why:
Fanfiction, while it may appear ‘cringey’ is actually a really good way of expressing how we feel through words. Fiction is where we can go to escape and fanfiction is what helps us escape more. Hate the canon ship? Make a different ship canon in your fanfiction! Wish a character wasn’t dead? Write about it in fanfiction! Wish a character was canonically a lesbian? bi? pansexual? Write it! Wish a character had autism? Write it in fanfiction! Fanfiction helps writers engage in a world that they love and can make stories from the media they love.
Writing is a great tool when expressing emotions that some people may struggle to do in words. And what better way than writing?
Fanfiction writing is writing. Writing is a form of art, and oftentimes, fanfiction is one of the most underappreciated things in fandom when it comes to fan work material. When fanfiction writers write these stories and amazing pieces of fiction for free. Free for us to enjoy and love.
I am one to always enjoy, defend and appreciate fanfiction. People may find it cringe, but fanfiction can be a great use of escapism, a great tool to cope with past trauma, it can be a great tool to use no matter the circumstance.
Fanfiction writers are writers. Anyone can write. If you sat in front of a computer or iPad, or even on your phone, and wrote a 10 paged story, you would be considered a writer.
People often like to frown upon fanfiction because of a bad rep it once had, but fanfiction is not bad if you avoid certain things you dislike. If you avoid them, you’ll find it easy to enjoy reading fanfiction, and writing too
Reading fanfiction, especially wlw (women loving women) fanfiction, helped me come to terms with my sexuality. It helped me with my journey and finding myself worth when things were dark. Writing f/f (female x female: same as wlw) helped me escape my real life and the struggles I deal with daily.
Fanfiction can be therapeutic. And it is a form of art
So, while it can be ‘cringe’ or ‘frowned upon’ it is also widely known to be beneficial.
And this is truly why I think people should not judge fanfiction writers for writing fanfiction. This is also why we should stop acting like there is an age restriction for writing fanfiction
That’s all
Happy writing fanfic writers!
A.J Riley
03.28.2023
