So I finished reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell a few days ago, and I've just posted up a review of it on my book tumblr. A big part of Fangirl is how the main character, Cath, writes fanfiction and is a big part of online fandom.
And for the most part, this is viewed as positive - Cath is occasionally poked fun at for her fanfiction, but it's lighthearted, and it's clear how important the fandom is to her, and how much effort she puts into her fanfics.
Fanfiction writers get a lot of criticism, and I think it's unfair. Because fans do put a lot of time and effort into writing fanfics, and I think that's brilliant. Because they're not doing it to get famous or to make money, they're doing it for the love of the show, the love of the characters, and the love of writing.
One of the arguments I see against fanfics is that it's not 'real' writing because the characters aren't original. But by that logic, retellings of fairytales aren't 'real' stories. By that logic, adaptations of other works aren't 'real' stories. (I mean, BBC Sherlock is basically fanfiction with a TV crew and a budget, and there's books like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and they're still considered valid. Why not online fanfiction?)
I have read so many great fanfictions, stories with 50,000, 100,000 words. And that's amazing, especially since many of the writers are young writers, juggling other commitments like school or work. And I really think that's something content creators need to start appreciating more.
Anyway, this is just me giving love to all the fanfiction writers out there, because you guys don't get enough love.
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