From Wattpad to Archive of Our Own, fanfiction can be found all over the internet. But with widespread accessibility comes widespread criticism, and fanfiction has found itself to become heavily associated with nerd culture. Two writers of the Life section have come together to finally settle this debate and decide if fanfiction really is the epitome of cringe.
Samantha Brody
I grew up loving stories — from elementary school up through middle school, I had a book with me at every hour of the day and was often capable of finishing an entire novel in 24 hours. I even once read the entire “Harry Potter” series in a week, just to prove to myself that I could. Given this obsession with reading, it should be no surprise to anyone that internet access led me to one highly notable corner of the internet: fanfiction.net.
As a reader and former writer (but not poster, so don’t bother looking!) of fanfiction, I can confidently say that fanfiction is one of the most important mechanisms of artistic expression that a human being can partake in.
Fandom, fan culture and media obsession are all common in our modern internet-powered society. Fandoms aren’t even restricted to pieces of fictional media — if you own an Alex Karaban jersey, do your best to watch every University of Connecticut basketball game and listen to the radio or podcasts about the team, then I’d say you’re part of a fandom.
First of all, fanfiction is all about sharing. Fans will spend countless hours writing, but even more hours reading the work of others. This constant engagement creates a shared space for people who can bond over their love for an idea.
And as it turns out, love is where it’s at. Fanfiction spawns from love and care for a piece of media, which certainly makes it a worthwhile form of art (and yes, it’s art). This love and sense of community also can bring a lot of fun and excitement for people who engage in fan spaces. You may not have to engage with it, but if you happen to hate on it, I’d call you boring.
Also, let’s get real here: to a degree, all writing is fanfiction. Every piece of written fiction was based on something else, and that goes all the way back to the Bible (maybe even before, depending on your belief system). Authors looking to publish original work will change names and plot points, but everything is based on something else.
Just as a little side note, fanfiction is also a great way to practice writing. I wrote fanfiction fairly consistently from third grade to about freshman year of high school, which makes for plenty of writing reps. Thanks to that experience, I’m now an honors journalism and political science student with a prominent position in my student paper. Stay in school, kids, but also stay on AO3.
Ky’Lynn Monts
Fanfiction is simply what it is in its name. Fiction. It is a fake form of writing, and its purpose should be seen as a private, creative outlet; something that people do for enjoyment and creative expression rather than a medium for public validation or attention. In many fanfiction spaces, a notable one being Wattpad, writers already use pseudonyms, and that choice reveals something important: the act of separating the work from the self.
Writing under a different name creates a boundary between who you are in your daily life and the imaginative space you create when you write fanfiction. When your name is not directly attached to your work, you have created a kind of distance between oneself and the work you create. It functions like a form of “life art,” where writing reflects identity, imagination and personal experiences without the pressure of professionalism. And as a future educator, it is something that I’ll allow my students to partake in class when it comes to creative expression. Fanfiction is a cute medium of expression; there is no shame in writing it, but it should be yours and yours only.
There is also something deeply human about having a creative space that only belongs to you. When I doodle in Procreate, there is no need to post it on the ‘gram for everyone to see. The secrecy about having pages upon pages about your favorite celebrity or fictional character tucked away in a notebook or a Google Doc is the real gold about writing fanfiction.
Not everything needs to be posted or consumed by others to matter.
In fact, part of the joy of writing can stem from the quiet ownership of it; the feeling that something exists in your mind and your words that no one else fully has access to.
Keeping fanfiction private allows for that sense of freedom to stay intact.
Writers are allowed to explore ideas, relationships and emotions without the pressure of judgement or misunderstanding from outside audiences. And that is what preserves the original purpose of fanfiction: fun, creativity and personal expression.