Fanfics Are for Everyone

Fanfiction is where a lot of young, middle, or older but enthusiastic creative writers start. You have a beautiful story already laid out, which you can change and shift as you wish. Fanfiction is where people in a certain fandom sees different twists of it. Fanfiction is for everyone.

What is Fanfiction and What Are Some Fandoms?

I like to write fanfiction, so I write a lot of it, and people often ask me, “what is fanfiction?” Well, Fanfiction is taking a story, or a fandom that you are in, which someone else has written and changing it in any way you like. Whether it is a piece of classic literature, a new TV series on Netflix or even a game character, writing fanfiction can start off with absolutely anything. So, what exactly is a fandom? A fandom is a group of people that like the same book or TV series, like Harry Potter. On the note of Harry Potter, let’s take use it as an example. You want to enter the magical world that JK Rowling has left us and dive even deeper into some characters or situations using your imagination. You can focus on Hermione’s private life or you can create new wizards and witches. That is how fanfiction works.

When you write fanfiction, you can change up the story as much as you like but using the original story to start is absolutely okay, too. Every new step is up to you. That’s the beauty of fanfiction.

Why and How to Write Fanfiction

If you’re new to writing, fanfiction is a great place to start. You don’t really need to spend too much time thinking through characters, settings, and a brand-new storyline. But it does not mean it is as easy as a walk in the park because you still must create a storyline and plot that keeps your readers interested! Also, readers might not stay if you simply re-write the original story! It will give you a lot of writing experience and get your mind thinking of ideas. There are many different types of fanfiction.  For example, an original story, a reader insert, a character x character, a character x reader, one-shots, scenarios and headcanons, and textfics/chatfics. Here’s a little more information about each type:

• An example of an original story is when you take the existing series and write a story of your own, like Harry as a villain, fighting alongside Voldemort. 
• A reader insert is when you use second person POVs (point of view) or use (Y/n) as “Your Name” and insert the reader into the story as you go along. 
• A character x character is a story of your favourite pairing, this is usually the case when this pairing did not work out in the real series. An example would be Draco x Hermione. 
• A character x reader is exactly what it sounds like, it’s inserting a character into the story for them to end up with one of the characters in the series. For example, a Draco x Reader will be a story about Draco and the reader. 
• One-shots are one- or two-chapter stories (although two-chapter stories are also known as two-shots). 
• Scenarios are taking a certain list of characters and writing a few paragraphs on what each character would do in a certain scenario. Headcanons are like scenarios but way shorter, they are normally a sentence to a paragraph each. 
• Chatfics or textfics have never been something I liked but I do see it a lot. This is when you write a story in text format, like the characters are texting each other. These are usually for laughs and entertainment, although it’s not impossible to write a real story like this. 

I would say that these are mainstream types for fanfiction with which you may like to start, although you are free to create your own style. I personally like to write in the “character x reader” style.  

Platforms Where You Can Write Fanfiction

There are several companies to host fanfictions. You can start by visiting some platforms like Wattpad or Archive of Your Own (A03). I started off with Wattpad so it is my personal favourite, but I have heard that A03 is also a very good platform to write on. Although I haven’t used it, Fanfiction.net is also an option but just as the title says, it’s only for fanfiction. If you want to try writing your own stories from scratch, Wattpad or Archive of Your Own might be a better option. Quotev is also a good company, but you can even write some drabbles or short one-shots on Tumblr. I only know Wattpad well enough to talk about, but the site analyzes your readers and provides stats like the demography, gender, age, and of course number of reads. When I found out I had a reader in Qatar, I felt humbly elated!

A Little about What Kind of Fanfiction I Write

I absolutely love anime. I have been watching anime since I was very little, and I still watch plenty. I also like to write, so finding fanfiction was the perfect match of what I like. Now I write fanfiction on Wattpad. It is not for the recognition, but it is kind of inspiring to see there are indeed people in the world who spend time to read my words.  It warms my heart and motivates me. I post my anime fanfiction on Wattpad, (Flaming [Todoroki Shoto x Reader] and Lightning [Kaminari Denki x Reader] are two of them if you’re interested!).