It’s fairly common knowledge these days that many people write stories about their favorite media for fun or as practice before going pro, but do published authors write fanfiction?
It might seem a little bit absurd to picture your favorite author sitting around writing, say, a Star Trek slash fic, but the truth is, many of us writers do still dabble in fanfiction. Some of us even get paid for it. Let me explain.
Yes, (Some) Published Authors Still Write Fanfiction
It used to be that fanfiction was something you whispered about in dark corners of the internet while hiding under a sheet in your bedroom in the middle of the night. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see that changing, however slowly.
Yes, there’s a lot of cringe-worthy fanfiction out there. But there’s also a lot of really amazing literary-level fanfiction out there, too—and some of it has even been professionally published. (Why hello there, every Sherlock Holmes or Cthulhu story that wasn’t penned by Arthur Conan Doyle or H.P. Lovecraft. I’m especially looking at you, “A Study in Emerald” by Neil Gaiman.)
There are even books that started out as fanfics that later evolved into their own thing, including Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments and, of course, 50 Shades of Gray by E.L. James.
For some people, it’s just for fun. For others, it’s good practice. And for others still, it’s basically self-directed therapy.
For me, it’s all of the above.
How I Use Fanfiction in My Writing Process
Like a lot of authors, I’ve dabbled in writing most of my life, but the first novel-length works I finished were fanfics—mostly about The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean, two of my favorite things.
Those stories were awful, of course. I was a kid and I was new to writing—of course they were terrible. But it was also so much fun. I had a few other friends with the same interests, and we used to have a blast trading stories and chasing plot bunnies down the rabbit hole together. (Don’t tell them this, but I still have all our stories stashed away somewhere in my nostalgia hoard. Shhh.)
Those stories connected me not only with my friends, but others on the internet who loved the same things, especially reading. I was lucky in that most of my reviewers were kind and supportive (and that I had enough sense to ignore the occasional trolls). Their feedback helped me get better and made me more confident as a writer.
As I got older and began to work on my career in earnest, I let the fanfics go in favor of focusing on original works. I convinced myself I didn’t need fanfics anymore—I had my own worlds to build, and my own characters to bring to life. Occasionally I indulged in a short drabble just for fun, but most of the time if I had an idea, I just told myself “no” and went back to work.
Then I went on vacation back in July. Instead of stepping away from my computer as I had planned, I tripped and accidentally fell into writing fifty pages about the fourth season of Stranger Things in the span of about three days.
I’ve never written that fast before. And I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun writing—not because I don’t enjoy my work (I usually do these days), but because for once, I was writing without constraints. No outline, no deadline, no edits.
After several months of feeling pretty burned out and bogged down by imposter syndrome, that fanfic brought me back to life. It reminded me that not all of my writing has to make money or make someone else happy. Sometimes, I need to say “yes” to whatever foolhardy idea pops into my head when it pops into my head.
Not only did that fic reinvigorate me and reignite my love of writing, but it also gave me a clear direction as to what I want to do next. After I wrap up some of my current works in progress, I’m going to be focusing heavily on novels for a while. It’s about damn time I finally got some books on shelves.
And I just so happen to have had a few possibly good ideas for books while writing that fic in the hotel… but those are stories for another time. 😉
Kim Berkley writes fantasy and horror books and video games, and (apparently) the occasional fanfic on the side. Sign up for her newsletter to be the first in line for updates, beta testing/reading opportunities, and more!
