Why I Write Fan Fiction (and Think Other Authors Should, Too)

30 July 2023 (Updated April 15, 2024) – RM Watters

There’s no question that Fan Fiction sometimes gets a bad rep–although as more writers and readers admit to enjoying it (or even doing it), that is starting to change. One of the biggest reasons some people snub their noses at fanfiction writers is due to a misconception that someone who writes fanfiction does so because they are unable to come up with anything good of their own. Part of the reason this misconception exists is because there are not many published authors who admit to writing fanfiction. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. In fact, there are actually a great number of bestselling authors who admit to writing fanfiction, either currently or in the past.

(See also: “8 Authors Who Started Out Writing Fanfiction” and “21 Authors Who Write Fanfiction” for even more examples.)

Although I’m not yet a known author–(my debut novel, The Book of Jezebel, was just released March 1, 2024)–I am another example of an author who admits to writing fanfiction. I can’t help getting sucked into other author’s worlds, but I definitely have plenty of my own ideas and ongoing projects to keep me busy.

Apart from my historical fiction novel coming out this year, my debut fantasy novel The Revenant is currently in development and will be merely one of 6 novels I have planned that are set in my own original fantasy world. There will most likely be more set in that world, which I’ve been building for more than a decade, but so far only the first six have been clearly envisioned. I also have plans for several historical fiction novels I intend to publish over the next ten years, and a historical fantasy novel set in Anglo-Saxon Britain that may follow The Book of Jezebel and The Revenant.

The fact is, like all novelists, I have so many ideas of my own that I can’t even keep up with them. Since that is the case, why would someone like me bother to write fanfiction?

The bottom line: When you’re a writer and you get immersed in the worlds other writers have created and fall in love with their characters (literally or figuratively), sometimes you can’t help imagining stories and characters of your own with them–the same way someone who is artistically inclined makes fan art to show their love for the brand. Some writers create new stories with their own characters set in those fictional worlds, while others enjoy expanding the original characters’ stories in more depth or in another direction than their original creators intended. (Shall we call the original creators their ‘Master Creators’?)

Whether it’s a book, a movie, or a video game that has brought their world into being, the characters and stories people have created often tend to take on an existence of their own in the minds of those who have allowed themselves to be transported by their imaginations. Reading, like playing, is a creative endeavor. It is not just the original creators who take part in the creation of their worlds and characters; everyone who attunes their senses and indulges their imaginations in order to join the Master Creators in their worlds become creators themselves. That is the nature of using our imaginations and sharing them with others. Simply put, we’ve invested so much of ourselves into the Master Creators’ works that we can’t help but to be inspired by them.

(To read more on the connection between reading and creativity: “Unlocking Imagination: How Books Transport Children to Magical Realms.”)

Not everyone feels this way, of course. Many people are content simply to put down their books or games, or step away from those movies and tv shows when they’ve finished them, and carry on without a second thought about the worlds they’ve left behind. Others, like myself, sometimes find ourselves still so moved by what we’ve become a part of that we can never fully extract our creative spirits from those worlds and characters until we have satisfied whatever questions were left unanswered or curiosities have been awakened. Especially when we see something of ourselves in those characters, and then they have become so much a part of us that we can’t quite shake the connection. We need some kind of closure and, for those of us who find solace (and catharsis) in the written word, sometimes the only way to get that closure is to write. And the moment we write a story that uses another writer’s creative content (i.e., it takes place in another writer’s worlds and/or uses their characters), we become writers of fan fiction.

There is also another question I’ve sometimes encountered from people when I’ve spoken with them about the pros and cons of writing fanfiction. I’ve been asked, “But wouldn’t that suck all your time and creative juices away from your own projects?” In short, no. It could, if we let it become all-consuming. But if we stay committed to our own projects, we can still continue to write fanfiction on the side.

In fact, writing fanfiction is a good way to keep up the momentum, because it gives us an occasional break to avoid burn-out. Sometimes when we’re working on a project, we become so entrenched in it that we begin to lose our spark and feel overwhelmed by the prospect of finishing it. That’s when it’s necessary–preferably before one gets to that point–to step away and work on something else entirely. If it’s another one of our projects, we’ll likely never finish any of them. If it’s fanfiction, we can never fully commit to it (since it can never be published), so there is less risk of having it divert us entirely from our original works.

Writing fanfiction is something I’ve done for most of my life. Apart from providing closure, it is also a good exercise in honing my craft, thus improving my own original creative works. Most of my previous fanfictions have been lost to the ravages of time, before they even got the chance to be shared with anyone who might have enjoyed them.

One of the best fanfictions that I ever wrote was based on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, taking place some years after the game and told from the perspective of Princess Zelda.

That was one of the unfortunate victims of a crashed hard drive. I may still have some remnants of it stored on an ancient piece of technology known as a floppy disk, but I have little hope of it ever being recovered if the information hasn’t already deteriorated inside.

Other fanfictions have been shared in series on various forums all over the world wide web throughout the years, but most of those forums have long since gone away or the older posts have been deleted by the moderators to make room for new material coming in. Some of those fanfictions have been spared complete and total loss–and some are still in the process of being created, in between writing my own original works.

Some of these I have posted on my site (or am in the process of adding) for those who may be interested in reading them. Some are unfinished stories with an actual plot; others are more like short stories or vignettes that come to something of a natural ending without turning into anything more. None of them have become so all-consuming that I haven’t been able to continue working on my own publishable projects.

And considering the number of bestselling authors who have admitted they also write fanfiction, it seems more plausible to see the act of writing fanfiction as good practice–certainly not something of which any serious writer should be ashamed. After all, every creative work has been inspired by the work of somebody else. It’s the nature of creation.

Cheers,

RM