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.