Don't Let Anyone Make You Feel Ashamed for Writing

Now, I am not a Sherlock fan. In fact, I’ve never even watched a single episode of the show. However, it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s going on in the fandom. It’s all over the place and with a little searching through Tumblr tags (because you can figure out anything through Tumblr), it’s pretty easy to figure out what happened. I want to focus less on the actual show itself and more on what Caitlin Moran did. The thing a lot of people don’t realize is that Moran’s actions could have an effect on many more fandoms than the Sherlock one. It’ll affect Sherlock fanfic writers, but it’ll also affect other fandoms, and that’s what I want to talk about today.

If you don’t know, yesterday a journalist named Caitlin Moran helped host a special segment for the Sherlock show (I think?) and while she did that, she took the opportunity to shame the fanbase and fanfiction writers. She asked two of the actors to read aloud a slash fanfiction and then proceeded to mock not just the writer of that fanfic, but every fanfic writer.

It’s quite a depressing thing really. I want to feel angry at Moran for what she did but honestly, I feel sadder more than anything. And I will explain why this makes me feel sad in due time.

This blog is not going to be used to belittle or insult Moran, I don’t believe in such awful behavior. I want to ask that you all extend the same maturity and not resort to insulting her. Be the better person, okay? There’s a saying I have always lived by: When you fight fire with fire, you only create a bigger fire. Insulting Moran will do nothing but encourage the idea that fanfic writers are nothing more than “crazy fans”. So control yourself and be the mature writers I know you can all be.

I don’t want to focus so much on Moran’s actions as I do want to focus on the hate fanfiction gets and how it affects writers. This is not the first time that someone took it upon them to belittle fanfic writers and try to shame them for what they do. In fact, just a few weeks ago, many Mibbians participated in this. Many of you wrote “OF VS FF” blogs in which you shamed and mocked fanfiction writers. No, I am not bringing that up again so don't yell at me; I am merely using it as a simple example of how much hatred fanfiction gets and how normal we have come to accept it as. We accept it as so normal that even on a writing community, fanfiction writers get attacked and shamed with very few people standing up to it. If you want to yell at me then go for it, but it'll only show that you completely missed the point of my blog.

The hate for fanfiction and the normalcy of that hate is what we need to confront and stop.

Using another example, there was a similar fiasco when a journalist took an opportunity to shame hockey writers. I can’t remember the team that was used to shame fans, but I can remember the article that mocked and insulted fans who wrote fanfics involving that team. In fact, that article linked a few stories here on Mibba and I think that’s what disgusted me the most. The fact the article was attacking some of our fellow users.

So this isn’t the first time this has happened and if we don’t stand up to it, then it certainly won’t be the last.

Now, I am speaking as a writer who, at one point, did let people like Moran stop her from writing. I have been writing for well over 10 years now, I’ve done it since I was a young child. I’ve written fanfiction for years as well, I found out about it like most fanfic writers do… Through the Internet. I’ve written a variety of different fanfiction types from bandfics to anime fanfics. I’ve never really written an TV show ones because I don’t really like those sorts of things. The point is, I am a fanfiction writer and to be honest, I think I always will be no matter how old I get.

I never gave up on my anime fanfictions but, a few years ago, I stopped writing bandfics largely because I let people get into my head. I listened to all of these people saying bandfics were “creepy” and writer should be “ashamed” of writing them. I was ashamed and I felt scared of the potential backlash, so I stopped. I curbed my own creativity in fear of what people would say or do to me. And I don’t want to see that happen to anyone else.

I picked up bandfics again a few months ago, almost a year ago, when I started writing SCANDAL bandfics. I’m very happy I chose to do this. I love writing these, they’re so much fun, and I’ve met some amazing people. The SCANDAL fanbase is very caring and sweet. We fight from time to time, but what fanbase doesn’t? I and my fictions have been so accepted in the fanbase, it’s made me feel a lot more comfortable with my bandfics and I don’t feel ashamed of it anymore.

That’s what I want to extend to all of you right now.

A lot of people have been focusing on how Moran’s actions are affecting the Sherlock fandom. However, they are not thinking of how her actions will affect all fanfic writers. What she has done is bigger than you realize. She’s an influential person, she is a person that many people recognize. Just think for one second about it like this…. How do you think this will affect young writers?

Young writers will see what Moran said and it’ll scare them. Not only will they see Moran’s actions, but they’ll come to see the hateful comments that other people post. They’ll be too scared and ashamed to try writing fanfics, something they may want to do. Moran and people like her could convince these young writers to not even try to write because of how they mock fanfiction.

For current writers, it wouldn’t be any better. I’ve already seen a saddening number of people wanting to delete their Sherlock fanfics because they’re scared of someone like Moran targeting them. This is what things like this do to fanfic writers. It makes them scared and it makes them feel ashamed. It could very well stop them from writing altogether.

She could make people stop creating. She could make people stop doing one of the single most beautiful things in this world. Your creations, no matter how “good” or “bad” they are, are one of the most beautiful things that you can offer this world. If we didn’t create – if we didn’t think – then our world would be boring; it would be very black and white. Our creativity is what makes our world fun and what makes our fandoms fun.

Don’t ever let anyone make you feel ashamed for your writer.
Don’t ever listen to anyone who has the audacity to shame and mock your writing.

What you do, even if you’re a beginner, is a wonderful thing. You give color to the world and you bring a new way of thinking. Writers and artists in general think of the world in a different way than non-artists do. Many of you don’t notice but when we see things, we think of our art. In particular for writers, a lot of us don’t notice it but we’re finding inspiration in everything. The more you write, the more your mind will fuse your writing and reality. You’ll start to gain inspiration for everyday things and you’ll start to see things in a brand new way. It'll get to a point where it'll become so natural for you that you won't even notice you're doing it. Writers are some of the most open minded people because we have to be. We have to be accepting and open minded or else our writing will fail.

Writing fanfiction isn’t a shameful thing to do, even if your pairing isn’t “canon” as they call it. Writing un-canon pairings add to the beauty of your writing, because you’re thinking outside the box more than usual. There’s nothing wrong with breaking away from the norm of a show and taking things your own way. Isn’t that the point of fanfiction? For us to use our imaginations to continue or re-invent things?

I’m sad to see that a lot of people want to delete their Sherlock fanfictions now after what Moran did. I cannot tell you what to do, but I wish to ask you to reconsider. Don’t let her control you. Don’t let her stop you from doing something you love. You put your heart and soul into your writing, don’t you? You care for it and you’ve worked hard on it. So don’t let someone who doesn’t understand stop you from writing. Don’t bow to that. Stand up and show her and everyone else who doubts fanfiction writers. Show them the dedication you have to your work and show them that you’re as good of a writer as any original fiction writer is.

Now, why does this make me sad? It makes me sad because Moran is a journalist. She is a writer herself. She shamed and mocked writers while being a writer. That is one of the saddest things a writer can do. Writing is a looked down upon as a hobby and job. It’s not well respected; I’m sure some of you have noticed that. As writers, we should stick together and support each other. So to see a writer shaming her fellow writers in such a public and horrible way, it makes me sad. It makes me sad to see someone creating such a rift in the writing community.

Don’t ever shame your fellow writers. They need support and so do you. Even if you don’t read their stories, you’re still supporting them by not shaming the type of writing they do. Don’t call fanfiction “easy”. Don’t call fanfiction stupid or lazy. Don’t claim original fiction writers are more “original” or hardworking than fanfic writers are. We are all writers. We all have a passion and a love for the same trade. We all need support and love, and we should be sticking together as a community, not pitting ourselves against each other.

We need to stop focusing on our differences and start focusing on our similarities. Fanfiction or original fiction... We're not that different from one another. Each and every one of us is a writer, and we all need the same support.

So that’s why it makes me sad. I’m sad to see a writer shaming her fellow writers. I'm sad to see other writers and people in general supporting what Moran did. But don't let this sway you. Don't let this make you feel ashamed and make you stop writing. Keep writing and keep creating. No matter what you write, be it fanfiction or original fiction, your writing is a beautiful thing and it's giving color to what could be a very bland world. You're not just a writer, your an artist and a creator. You think of things in a different way and you're bringing more fun to life.

So don't ever let anyone stop you from doing what you love. People will always try to tear you down, but it's up to you to choose to stand up and refuse to let someone shame you into stopping. There is nothing wrong with writing fanfics, always remember that.