Ever heard of Fanfiction? You should have!

Fanfictions are a bit of a marmite topic. You either think they're great or you think they're a pointless waste of time. Personally, I'm of the former opinion. For those of you who don't know, a fanfiction is a piece of fiction written using pre-existing characters or situations in a new story.

For example, a story about Thor falling in love with Black Widow and whisking her away to Asgard, or the cast of Ugly Betty suddenly waking up in Narnia.

Okay, they're bad examples but you get the picture.
I understand where people come from when they say that fanfictions are an awful idea. Some say leave the characters alone; if they were meant to be in that story, the original author would have written it themselves. Some say it's lazy writing because the writer can't be bothered to create their own original ideas. It's true, to an extent, but on the other hand it's absolutely not.

Fanfictions still take creativity. If they didn't, the writers would produce the exact same story that the original author produced. Fanfictions are limitless and that's what I love most about them. Original stories are written to inspire the mind. A good book is one where the reader gets lost in the pages, where they can see the story-world clearly in front of them and the characters feel like family. It sparks wonder and the phrase 'what if?'

What if he hadn't died? What if she had chosen another path? What if someone else had found the secret door?

I believe following those trains of thought and solidifying those ideas down on page is just as imaginative and wonderful as the original stories.

Whether you are reading or writing a fanfiction, most likely you will end up on Fanfiction.net, the world's largest repository of fan-made stories. There are literally millions of stories on the site with new ones added every minute.

From a reader's perspective, again I get it. Stereotypically, fanfictions are awfully written. This gives the whole genre a bad name. Fanfiction.net has no quality filter so anything can be posted. To find one good story, I have to trawl through at least ten bad.

I weed out these ones by quickly scrolling through a story. If there are barely any paragraphs longer than a line I'm 90% sure it's not well-written. But I'll quickly skim-read the first few paragraphs. That's the deal maker or breaker.

It probably seems harsh but it's a quick way to find a decent story. That, and because I'm critical this way, it helps me improve my own writing. The first couple of paragraphs are absolutely key, as any writer will know, to grabbing your audience. Some say the first page. Most say the first few lines.

On average, only a third of initial readers will finish your one-chapter fanfiction (on Fanfiction.net). If you've got a multi-chapter fic, say twenty chapters, even with a good beginning you'll be lucky to keep 1/4 of the initial audience, less so if you don't grab them in the first few lines.

Reading fanfiction really helps with writing fanfiction, and writing fanfiction really helps with writing original fiction. I can't stress how much.

Reading both good and bad fanfictions will help you decide what is good and bad in writing, and unlike original stories that have been published, there's a lot more to see going badly in a fanfiction - on average anyway.

On the other hand, which I hate to admit, 90% of the population visiting Fanfiction.net expect badly written work. It's awful but it's true. Which is why I think it's a brilliant place to start building your confidence as a writer.

I don't mean write any old first draft and post it without caring what others think. Fanfiction.net is a place to take pride in your work and hone your skills. Surprise and wow the audience by being that one story in ten that people want to read. No one will jump down your throat if you're not brilliant on your first go. Ask for advice!

Fanfiction.net has useful tools to help people who want to improve their writing. The first is reviewing. People can read your story and review it and they will do, especially if you ask them to suggest improvements, but more often than not the community is very friendly and will just say how brilliant you are.

If you don't believe the reviewers are being sincere, then there's the beta readers. Think of them as non-professional, non-profit editors. You can use the beta reader section of the site to find someone who knows about your fandom and ask them to look over your story. The level of editing and involvement in your work is decided mutually and if they're a good beta reader, they will tell you what sort of time frame you're looking at to hear back from them with an edit. Just remember, editing isn't their job so you might have to wait a while - as in weeks or more, depending on how much you're asking them to look over.

Much like finding a good fanfiction to read, it's the same process finding a good beta reader. Anyone who has been on the site for over the month and has written either 5 stories or a total of 6,000 words can be a beta tester. But everyone has a profile and all it takes is a quick read of their work to establish if they're any good. And it's not an exclusive one-on-one service. You can ask multiple beta readers to look at the same piece. If you're not sure about one, get a second opinion!

Also a fanfiction.

Again, I've worked from the other end as well. I've beta read a number of projects and it's taken me anywhere from a few hours for shorter pieces to a solid month on one particularly long, multi-chapter story. Beta readers take pride in their work; I do it because I love to read new stories and I appreciate people who strive to improve their writing. I'm sure it's the same with others. We're all looking to improve the reputation of fanfictions because your own characters or not, if you've worked hard to write a story and are proud of it, people shouldn't put their noses up at it just because the genre is tagged as lazy and creditless.

Despite my opinions of the books, the Fifty Shades series was a world best-seller. What did they start off as? Fanfictions! Don't let negative connotations hold you back from writing that story you want to write. Ron Weasley getting abducted by pirates? Write it. Winnie the Pooh's adventures in New York? Go for it.

Writing is meant to be fun. It should never be restricted. Never forget that.

Peace until next time!
Sarah

Check out my Fanfiction.net profile here.

Currently reading: Obelisk: Kingdom of Gods
Currently watching: Grimm
Currently looking forward to: Lucifer season 2