Welcome to 2019, y’all! Let’s bring in the new year with a dash of real talk.

Many of us who indulge in popular media – fiction or non – have undoubtedly experienced the feeling of longing for more of our favorite stories, characters and worlds. After the book, movie, TV series, comic or graphic novel draws to a close, many of us are left feeling somewhat empty.

Enter fanfiction. That’s right, fanfic – the ‘shameful’ love child of compelling source material and an audience engaged enough to dedicate sometimes ample amounts of time to building upon the people and universes of their favorite fandoms. But how shameful is it? Yes, even if it’s ‘smutty’ (fan jargon for erotica). Who is really there to judge us, especially anyone whose opinion matters?

…and if you already guessed it without reading ahead, you’d be correct: I am a published author who still both reads and writes fanfiction. Why? Aside from the obvious opportunity to laugh and share these beloved worlds with fellow fans, using the fictional characters of fellow creators keeps the imagination alive, even during periods of the densest writer’s block.

That said, I leave you all with one tip: All writers or creators of any type having a slow go at drawing in fans, allow me to let you in on the ego-inflating secret of producing fiction for fans of an established fandom. Think of it this way: A swarm of fan girls (and boys, etc) bombarding you with oodles of positive feedback in return for feeding their love of your shared fandom.

Sound like fun? Ready to experience that coveted love confession between two of your favorite characters, even if that reveal never quite made it to canon? All writers – and non-writers too! – who have not yet partaken in reading or writing fanfiction, I encourage you to give it a go and let us know how it goes in the comments below. The top fanfiction websites are ao3 and ff.net. 😉

For those of you who have dabbled in fanfic, tell us about your experience!


For 2019 reading, check out sci-fi debut Apex Five!