Photo Courtesy of Lilly Trace
Fanfiction is usually thought of with an air of indecency. It tends to not be taken seriously by most and even by the authors themselves (who are usually self-conscious teenagers), who don’t consider it “real literature”. But what is “real literature”? Are the only authentic works published? Classic, centuries-old stories? AP Literature list worthy?
Of course not. Self-conscious teenagers are more than capable of writing incredible plots rich with deep imagery and engaging character interpretations. Even if the plots are a little outlandish. Most of the time, though, people are looking down on fanfiction for one reason or another.
Works like My Immortal commonly give other fics a bad reputation. The main character of the Harry Potter fic is named Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way. Granted, it doesn’t sound too far off from what Rowling would actually name one of her characters. However, the fic is also riddled with purple prose, hated tropes, and hilariously bad spelling errors, such as “goffik”, “Dumblydore”, “Stanist”, and my personal favorite, “eructation”. My Immortal is so astoundingly bad that some think it’s an ironic trollfic, myself included, but others see it as a representation of all fanfiction: embarrassingly poor writing, shallow and flat characters, and stains on the fandom they originate from as a whole.
Another popularly divisive work is Heat Waves, a romance written about real people, Minecraft Youtubers Dream and GeorgeNotFound. That concept alone sounds weird, cringy, hormonal, and invasive, but dig deeper and you’ll find some unexpectedly spectacular writing. “The way it came from the hearth below his heart, glowing with secrecy and shame—for George, and George only.” Such an abstract and vulnerable emotion written so descriptively, you know exactly what the author means, and exactly what the characters feel. “His memories of George have always been like his dream, soaked in honey and glittering gold.” The imagery in that simile is so rich, I can feel it, exactly what the character is feeling. The sheer talent of fanfiction authors is commonly overlooked by an incorrect, surface-level perception of them as dumb, hormonal teenagers encroaching on published works and people’s privacy.
The truth is, fanfiction authors don’t deserve any less respect than published authors. They are similarly talented and just as capable of writing engaging plots and complex characters, even if said plots and characters are built off preexisting ones. Fanfiction even has some bonuses over published stories. It’s accessible for both readers and writers; anybody can share their stories to anybody who is willing to read, with no fee to either party. It’s a space for young writers who otherwise might never have an audience to get their work to other people, receive criticism, and grow as authors. Plus, you get to read about your favorite characters from your favorite shows, movies, and books!
Here’s a fun fact to further my point: Fifty Shades of Gray was a fanfiction. E.L. James started the story as a Twilight fanfiction called “Master of the Universe”, and her series of novels is now highly renowned. Other well-renowned published books such as The Love Hypothesis and Point Pleasant started out as fanfictions as well, specifically and respectively as fics of Star Wars and Supernatural. What makes these published novels any more “real” than the works written on fanfiction sites? People just cringe and turn their backs upon hearing the word “fanfiction” when they really need to shed their shame.
Now that we’ve established this, I can tell you that the longest piece of English literature ever written is a Loud House fanfiction with over 8 million words. If you’d like to get lost down an Internet rabbithole, feel free to do some research.
Jahernys Baquero