A year or so ago, I enjoyed—and then strove to forget—writing a post* on Tumblr that addressed the importance of fanfiction as a creative medium. A few weeks after I posted it, I logged in and was amazed to find that thousands had reblogged it overnight.
At the present moment, there are 71,188 notes on the post and counting, and for a while, I couldn't make up my mind on whether that activity was a good or a bad thing, because a discourse developed in various threads of the post that challenged my perspective in intense and sometimes abrasive language. Many people wrote in to the effect that fanfiction is often pedestrian and/or inappropriate, and that elevating fan work is an insult to the original writer or creator.
Now, I have no problem conceding that some fics, beta'd (i.e. edited) or otherwise, are real stinkers. Some fics use the second-person (*shudder*), some fics are downright insults to grammar and syntax, and some fics are rated in a misleading way and/or contain untagged triggers. (There are ratings and trigger warnings in most archives, and they are there for a reason, but some writers are just negligent.) But so long as you're not hurting anyone else (e.g. blindsiding them), I figure you should do what makes you happy—even if you are spectacularly bad at it—and to Mordor with what I think.
Yes, there are some bad fanfictions and there are some ugly fanfictions out there, but just the same as with published literature, there are some masterpieces among the rough. I've read fics that I'd be happy to put on my shelf of honor, right in between Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien.
And as to whether fanfiction is an insult to the original work? I would argue that it's out of love and respect for a work that fanfiction is written, even if it's to correct or work something out that the fan wasn't comfortable with. But I think a lot of that stigma comes out of the 1990s and the legal issues that made it difficult to share fanfiction. (Even now, better safe than sorry: write a brief disclaimer!)
Here's a list of reasons—because I actually have no chill about this subject and I am fighting a bitter battle against thought-clutter—why fanfiction is beneficial for both readers and writers, and why it shouldn't be automatically discounted as a form of artistic expression:
FOR WRITERS:
1. Space/Experimentation.
Fact is, some writers just won't get published, but that doesn't mean they're any less of a writer. Fanfiction archives give people the space to experiment and express themselves without a formal rejection letter. Because you're working with stories/characters you and your audience are already acquainted with, it's much easier to just jump on into the story you want to tell and how you want to tell it, which can work as a warm-up exercise; almost a writer's scales and arpeggios.
2. Feedback/Community.
Most dedicated fanfiction archives allow readers to follow stories and leave reviews or kudos for fic writers, which is really amazing, because those writers are sometimes writing full on novels for free and out of the goodness of their hearts. And those readers are super niche, so their comments can be most constructive. They're reading because they love it. Also, feedback produces statistics that can point potential readers to the more popular writers and fics.
FOR READERS:
1. Free Entertainment.
Again, free! Free! I feel like we don't talk about that enough. Some fics are HUGE; larger than some pretty dense published books. That's an awful lot of uncompensated labor. Fic writers are a GIFT.
2. Prolonged Escapism.
Okay, honestly, sometimes you just need to read something to distract yourself, and it's too much work to get into a full on book. So you read about characters you already know in plots that you don't. And it's wonderful.
3. Learning.
Because women make up the majority of fanfiction writers and readers, it's an important space for women to articulate and bond over their experience of the world. It's comforting, realizing that you're not alone and seeing the way writers and their characters put one foot in front of the other. I'm pretty sure that for having read so much fanfiction over the last ten (?!?) years, I have become a stronger and more sympathetic woman than I would have been otherwise, at least at this point in my life.
Also, some fics actually do make you learn; for instance, I don't think I would have known at eleven years old what "Schrödinger's cat" referred to or what "diaphanous" meant or what a "non-sequitur" was, had I not had to look them up in my light reading.
Even if I hadn't reviewed the good, the bad, and the ugly of fanfiction, I think I would have come to the same conclusion I did, because those harsh words on the post were vastly outnumbered.
People remind me every single day on my activity feed that fanfiction is important, because some person started reblogging the post with fics and writers they loved, and thousands and thousands of people followed the trend, recommending their favorite stories and tagging/complimenting their favorite writers. I've seen thousands of fic writers responding confusedly to the fact that their voices are important and appreciated. It's so cute. It's like a network of love.
