Original Fiction vs Fanfiction.

i saw sparks:

I can understand where you're coming from. I'm a fanfiction writer, and when I have to read a story for comment swap or a contest or whatever that's written in a fandom I'm not familiar with and the author provides no backstory or description of the characters, it definitely frustrates me.

I feel like character development is crucial whether you're writing fanfiction or original fiction.

I know, right? I think everyone should safely assume that when people read a story (fanfiction or not), no one is gonna know what you're talking about. It's always better to include a little bit of info, enough for anyone to understand who's who or what, than no info at all and have some of the readers get lost trying to figure it out on their own.

Every time a reader come across something in a story they may not understand and have to stop to research it, it pulls them away from the story and keeps them from getting wrapped up in the world a writer created for the reader to imagine.

As a fanfiction writer, I find myself getting a substantial amount of comments that say something along the lines of "oh, this didn't read like fanfiction" or "this seemed more like an original story than a fanfic," and while I appreciate the feedback, at the same time, it's kind of offensive because it just concretes the fact that there is that negative stereotype and assumption that all fanfiction is this poor-quality, lower form of writing when it isn't.

When you write fanfiction, you sort of have to fight the prejudices that some people have that fanfiction in itself is just clichéd plotlines, poorly-developed characters, and fantasies. There's a decent amount of people that don't think that you can have fleshed-out, flawed, real characters or a realistic plot in a fanfiction story. I don't know this because I don't really write original fiction, but I don't think people come into an original fic with those same sort of prejudices, biases, and assumptions right from the start.

The stuff I write original fiction about is so vague it may as well be a fandom. No one writes steampunk anymore. No one's ever heard of a story about a man who codes the Universe. No one wants to listen to neo-Adams humour that didn't make sense even when it was popular. It's like its own unpopular fandom, ahaha.

I've written both original and fan fiction, and I love fan fiction so much more. I just find it more inspiring and fun to write.