Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to All Things Fanfiction!

 

There is a small corner of the internet that has been booming since its conception. Many consider it to be a “dirty little secret.” Others consider it to be an escape or a way to continue the story after the original story ends. It's called fanfiction. Whether you have heard of this genre of writing or not, it is not new to this generation or even the last. It’s been around for decades. Circling every fandom you can imagine. 

So, what is fanfiction? I’m glad you asked! It’s fan-created content based on a fictional world, in most cases, that already exists. In other words, it’s continuing a story that has already been told or adding an element you’d like to see within that world. For example, you could create a new wizarding character and write a storyline alongside Harry Potter and friends at Hogwarts. There are so many facets to fanfiction, so there is a flavor for everyone. The most amazing part of fanfiction is that it is not boxed into being just literary universes. You can find a ton of work dedicated to your favorite movies, shows, and musicians. In your favorite fandom, you can find works within the known universe or an alternate universe. Within those universes, you can find a myriad of genres and subgenres that will satisfy your palate. The possibilities are essentially endless. But really though, where did it start?

 

Some traces of fanfiction date back to as early as Shakespearean times. I even heard it argued that the Ancient Greeks changed their oral stories to be something different. (See what they did there? Took an existing story and put their own spin on it.) Fanfiction, as it is now, started with the creation of Star Trek. Trekkies, fans of Star Trek, began making “fanzines” about the characters in the Star Trek universe and published them themselves and gave them away at conventions.  With the creation of the internet in the early 1990s, the consumption of fanfiction became much easier. And since then, it’s been growing and reaching further than one can imagine.

 

What you’ll find in the coming posts is some basic information about fanfiction, including how to write your own and an interview with fanfiction author, D.L. White, who is also a published author! The full interview will be its own post; however, you will find smatterings of quotes from her throughout the blog. 

 

If you’re interested in dabbling in reading fanfiction, there are many popular websites available to read and post to: the first three are general sites where you can find a variety of fandoms. The fourth is a specific fandom for *NSYNC fanfiction.

 

https://www.wattpad.com/

https://www.fanfiction.net/

https://archiveofourown.org/

https://nsync-fiction.com/archive/index.php

 

 

Coming up in the next post: An interview with a published author!

Sources:

Burt, Stephanie. “The Promise and Potential of Fan Fiction.” The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2017,   www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-promise-and-potential-of-fan-fiction.

 

Miller, Jonathan. “Fanfiction: What Critics Say and What Literature Really Is.” Year Round Riders, 8 June 2020, yearroundriders.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-fanfiction/.

 

Mumal, Ayesha. “The Renaissance of Fanfiction.” Open Book, open-book.ca/Columnists/The-Renaissance-of-Fanfiction. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

 

Unsplash. “350+ Writing Pictures [HD]: Download Free Images on Unsplash.” 350+ Writing Pictures [HD] | Download Free Images on Unsplash, unsplash.com/s/photos/writing. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

The Interview!

 I had the opportunity to conduct an email interview with author, D.L. White. She is the author of several books and the site manager of a fanfiction website for the *NSYNC fandom. She works as an executive assistant for a global beverage brand. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interpersonal Communication Studies from Eastern Washington University. She also minored in teaching English as a second or foreign language. She has published over ten books centering around Black literature since her debut in 2015. And she was kind and gracious enough to give up some of her time for me. 

She is an independent author, meaning she does not use an agent to publish her work. She makes all the decisions when it comes to her books and her writing. 

 

For more information or to purchase a book from her, visit her website Books By D.L.White.

 

 

Q: How did you get started writing? When did it evolve into published works?

A: I've always been a writer. I was writing in elementary school when we had to do spelling words and use them in a sentence. To make the assignments more interesting, I would join my sentences together into a story. My teacher seemed to be entertained, and my mother also really liked it, so I kept doing it because I was a people pleaser. I moved on to fanfiction work after I started reading some fanfiction, and I started to get ideas. In 2008, I started writing fanfiction stories, and then around 2011, I got the idea for my debut novel, which was loosely inspired by my real life: a brunch group of ladies from different backgrounds and walks of life. We would get together once a month and commiserate and laugh together and help solve each other's problems. In 2015, I finished and self-published my debut novel, Brunch at Ruby's.


Q:  There are many folks out there who think fanfiction should not be considered literature. They believe it offers no value to literacy skills. How do you feel about that?

A: There are a number of agents and published authors that started out in fanfiction. I think there's a level of fanfiction that is basically fantasy. It's pure fun. But there's also a level of fanfiction that I would almost rather read than whatever Random House or Penguin or Simon and Schuster is putting out. There's an expectation for readers of fanfiction that you get deep into character and deep into the story and deep into the world that you are building that makes readers fall in love with those words. Those are the fanfiction authors and works that actually get bought and turned into commercial fiction. If those writers weren't that good, you would never see people pull their One Direction or Backstreet Boys or whatever fiction and turn it into books that can sell.

Q: What is your writing process? In what ways does it differ from when you're writing fanfiction compared to when you're writing publishable work?

A: Whether I'm writing fanfiction or commercial fiction, the process is the same. I usually get an idea that's based around a character or a situation, and I just jump in with both feet. There are a couple of questions I need to answer before I can start writing: I need to know how I want to end, not exactly, but I need to know what my end goal is. I need to know who these people are and why anybody cares about them. What do they want and why can't they have it? What are the obstacles to them getting what they want? And how am I going to solve that issue? I write until I hit a wall, then I pull back and start planning how to get to my end goal.

Q:  In my research, I have found many people think fanfiction is "low-brow". What are your feelings on that?

A: I think it can be low-brow. On purpose.  I think it can be pure entertainment and fantasy. I think it can also be important work that mirrors real life and shows people a reflection of themselves that maybe they don't want to see. Fanfic answers the question 'what if???' What if it didn't end that way? What if it didn't start there? What if these two had met... or never met? There's an existential question that gets answered in fanfic and I never think that is lowbrow.

Q: Have you ever published any of your fan fiction stories?

A: Yes, I have turned several of my works into commercial fiction. And I'll tell you -- UNficcing a work is harder than just writing a brand new book. You have to recreate so much about the world your characters live in so that a general audience understands them. Backstory, lore, canon... you have to recreate ALL of that. Easier to start from scratch.

11. What authors/books/stories inspire you?

A: I love Maya Angelou, Terry McMillan, Tayari Jones, as well as some really great independent authors like Delaney Diamond, Sharon C Cooper, Tasha L. Harrison, Stephanie Nicole Norris, Jacinta Howard, Nia Forrester. The list goes on and on and on!

Q: What led you to start your own fanfiction website?

A: The *NSYNC fiction website is actually a site that I took over from a good friend of mine. Her life kind of fell apart, and she wasn't going to be able to run the site, and my works have come to mean a lot to me. I didn't want to see it disappear, so I took it over.. it runs itself and at this point is a cultural artifact for NSYNC fandom. So many fans have given their personal POV on situations involving the group like almost losing their name or winning aawards or the public struggles of certain members. I needed to preserve that, so I make sure it stays up and encourages people to write or continue the stories that they have started.

 

Thank you D.L. White for taking the time to answer some questions about fanfiction, and writing! She was a wealth of knowledge and it was a pleasure getting to know her process. Check out her fanfiction site here!  

 

 Coming next: Writing your own fanfiction story: a how-to guide.

So you want to write a fanfiction, huh?

I assume if you’re here, it’s because you have either read fanfiction or you are interested in writing it. While the idea of writing something and posting it to the internet can be a daunting and potentially emotional task, it can also be liberating and cathartic. D.L. White and I briefly touched on the scary part of posting your work to the internet and she feels if she’s not nervous, she didn’t take enough risks in her writing. And I would agree with her.  

Creating and immersing yourself in a world where you get to decide what happens is incredibly freeing. So, do you want to learn how to write a fanfiction? Excellent! You’re in good company! I’ve been reading fanfiction for nearly twenty years and writing my own stories off and on during that time.

 

I’ve scoured the internet looking for the best tips and tricks and put them all conveniently here for you to follow. With a little flare from what has worked for me and some advice from Ms. D.L. White.  

 

 

Step 1: Choose your fandom.

                  Make sure you choose a fandom that interests you and one you know a lot about. Write what you know. It’ll be very difficult to write about something you know very little about.

 

Step 2: Create an original character.

                  Choose characteristics you find admirable. Is your character going to be a main character? Are they the antagonist? The protagonist? Are they the love interest of a character already in the universe? Avoid making your character a “Mary Sue,” unrealistically perfect or flawless. No character is infallible.

 

Step 3: Decide on a theme.

                  Based on the fandom you’ve chosen, decide what the overall theme of the story is. Is the story in your head in an alternate universe from the original content? Is it a romance? Is it funny? Once you decide on the general theme, you can start thinking about the direction you want to take your story. 

 

Step 4: Decide how the story will end.

                  Once you’ve decided if the story will end happily, tragically, or somewhere in between, ask yourself, “How will my characters get there?” I have found that if I think of a scene that doesn’t make sense in the context of my story, I ask how to get my characters to this scene and work backward, in a sense. If I want my characters to end up happily married, how does one propose to the other? How do they first start dating? How do they meet? Doing this makes it easy to avoid the “where do I go from here” way of writing.

 

Step 5: Start writing!

                  When I interviewed D.L. White she suggested, “Just start. If you can get it down on paper, you can fix it later.” I have the same approach when it comes to writing. I have found that if I just get my thoughts on paper, I can rearrange them later during the editing process. While you’re writing, assume your audience knows the fandom. There’s no need to get too descriptive on the background information. If someone has decided to read your story, odds are good they already know the lore behind the overall universe.

 

Step 6: Have fun!

                  The fun part about writing fanfiction is not to take yourself too seriously. It’s supposed to be a way to check out of your head and into another world. Let your imagination run wild on paper. The only rules to break are the ones you’ve set for yourself. Take notes from the authors who have inspired you.

 

There are plenty of resources out there to help you get started writing. If you’re looking to publish your creative story, not fanfiction, you can use sites like storybird.

 

These Writing prompts can get some creative juices flowing and allow you to get a jump start on writing. Even if you aren’t writing fanfiction and just writing creatively. This is a great way to do that.

 

Once you’ve written your story, the next step is to edit it and you can either do it yourself, have someone else be a beta, someone who reads your story and gives you feedback, or you can use one of the many websites out there to help you. Two sites that I have found that are easy to use and free are scribbr, and grammarly . Each of these sites can be used to proofread your work before you publish it to the internet forever.

 

Like I said before, posting to the internet is scary. But do it scared. Put yourself out there, or you may never know how good you really are. I know the site I’ve posted on does not take kindly to disrespectful comments. Instead, the comments are usually focused on congratulating the author and celebrating the writing or story.

 

Here’s a fun video about fanfiction writers! 

 

Coming up next: The ugly, and somewhat legal side of writing fanfiction.

 

Sources:

 

“A Beginners Guide to Writing Fanfiction by Animedemon001 on DeviantArt.” By Animedemon001 on DeviantArt, www.deviantart.com/animedemon001/art/A-Beginners-guide-to-writing-fanfiction-454700419. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

 

Connor, CJ. “How to Start Writing Fan Fiction.” BOOK RIOT, 4 Jan. 2023,                    bookriot.com/how-to-write-fan-fiction/.

 Unsplash. “350+ Writing Pictures [HD]: Download Free Images on Unsplash.” 350+ Writing Pictures [HD] | Download Free Images on Unsplash, unsplash.com/s/photos/writing. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5Y6k01WiP0. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

There are some negatives to fanfiction....

This is a bit of a more serious post, and for that I apologize; however, we cannot talk about the fun and silly parts of writing, without discussing the more legal side.

 

Despite how many fanfiction stories end, it’s not always sunshine and daisies. There are plenty of authors who believe fanfiction should be illegal, and they believe it is plagiarism. First and foremost, do not publish any fanfiction to make money. That alone will likely get you into a heap of trouble. However, under Fair Use Laws, so long as the work is transformed in some capacity, it is not necessarily copyright infringement.

 

Some famously published authors believe fanfiction is copyright infringement. George R. R. Martin of Game of Thrones fame thinks writing fanfiction is not a good way to “exercise their literary muscles”. Interestingly enough, Mr. Martin has said in the past that he wrote fanfiction in high school, a bit hypocritical if you ask me.

 

Diana Gabaldon, who wrote the novels based on the series Outlander, sees it as a violation of the characters. She believes if you write fanfiction based on characters whose creator is still alive, it is unacceptable. Gabaldon did find herself in a very touchy situation where a fan was auctioning off a story he had written with one of her characters and the proceeds would go to benefit his friend with cancer.

 

The Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice is vehemently against fanfiction. She is so against it, in 2001, her lawyers issued a cease and desist order to fanfiction.net to remove all works revolving around Rice’s characters and to never allow them back up. Failure to do so would result in further legal action against the website.

 

Some authors like and even encourage the writing of fanfiction.

 

J.K. Rowling thinks its okay, with some conditions. She wants her characters to stay clear of any adult content on websites, to ensure the author of the fanfiction does not publish the work for commercial gain, and that she is not credited with the new works so as not to confuse her work with the fanfiction work.

 

Leigh Bardugo wrote Grisha Trilogy and she is flattered by the idea of fanfiction! She thinks its awesome that fans become so invested in the world and the characters that they want to see something new happen.

 

Famous author C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, encouraged fans to write fanfiction. When Lewis was asked about how the stories continue he simply said the stories were done, but he encouraged the young boy to try writing their own Narnian tales.

 

Coming up next: Fanfiction as literature

 

Sources:

Jacobs, Monique. “Approve or Disapprove: What 8 Famous Authors Think of Fanfiction.” Winter Is Coming, Winter is Coming, 4 July 2021, winteriscoming.net/2021/07/04/8-famous-authors-think-fanfiction-george-rr-martin-anne-rice-jrr-tolkien/2/.

 

Theorangutanlibrarian. “Fanfiction vs Plagiarism – the Epic Battle (/Discussion).” The Orang-Utan Librarian, 16 July 2017, theorangutanlibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/fanfiction-vs-plagiarism-the-epic-battle-discussion/.

 

“Is Fanfiction Legal? A Lawyer’s Guide to Copyrights & Avoiding Lawsuits.” NovelPad, novelpad.co/blog/is-fanfiction-legal. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

Fanfiction... as Literature?!

 I was embarrassed as a teenager to admit that I read fanfiction. Even more embarrassed to admit I wrote it. There is such a taboo feeling when one reads and writes fanfiction that it’s juvenile or childish. I wholeheartedly disagree. Writing can happen at any age, and if writing fanfiction is what gets you started and builds up your confidence, do it! If reading fanfiction keeps you reading, do it! You're still building upon the skills you already have by exposing yourself to other works. 

 

While I do think fanfiction writing can be amateur writing, it can also be used as a catalyst to improve one’s writing skills. Writing fan fiction allows you to use a world that already exists and characters that have already been established while still creating a new character to add. Every writer starts by writing something. But the real question here… should it be considered literature?

 

The short answer is yes! Realistically, what is literature? Stuff we read, right? In all honesty, it’s any writing published on any one subject. But when we think about literature, we think about the “stuffy” and “boring” books written by old, dead white guys from centuries ago. When you consider the amount of work a fanfiction author has to put into it to make it their own and to create new characters and events, it should be considered literature. Especially if the author decides to make it an alternate universe from the original content. Fanfiction has its own cadence when it comes to the way it’s written. The style is all its own. But the tone, and the content is all decided upon by the author. 

 

While the art of fanfiction has its own merit, some think it should not be considered literature because of the “smut” factor. Because many forms of fanfiction turn to the romance genre, and in many cases, adult scenes are written, people do not think fanfiction should be taken seriously. I disagree. Those scenes are not easy to write.

 

Sometimes it’s these alternate universes that can then be rewritten and create whole new stories to be published. What I mean is there are current books out there that started as fanfiction.

 

Fifty Shades of Grey was famously published but began as Twilight fanfiction.

City of Bones started as Harry Potter fanfiction.

Beautiful Bastard began as Twilight fanfiction.

Point Pleasant was a fanfiction based on the show Supernatural

We’d Know By Then was originally based on Star Wars

After was written as a fanfiction surrounding the boyband One Direction.

 

Sources:

 

Arzbaecher, Lauren. “10 Books You Didn’t Know Started out as Fan Fiction, from ‘Twilight’ to ’Star Wars’-Inspired Stories.” Business Insider, Business Insider, www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/fanfiction-books. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

 

Burt, Stephanie. “The Promise and Potential of Fan Fiction.” The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2017, www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-promise-and-potential-of-fan-fiction.

 

“Published Fanfiction Is Part of Literary History (for Better or Worse).” Paste Magazine, 17 Jan. 2024, www.pastemagazine.com/books/fiction/history-of-published-fanfiction-explained-trend.