No, seriously… What is fanfic?
Beyond the whole ‘transformative work of fiction based on the works of…’ And other technical definitions-
Fan fiction is love.
When I started reading, a long long time ago, I loved stories, loved books, and sometimes those books stopped. They ended. Nada. No more.
But I wanted more. So I thought “What if?” And those stories were mostly in my head. Or I’d talk them out with my friends.
When I was a teenager and reading my way through an avalanche of fantastic fiction, I wanted to live in those worlds. I wanted to be a character in the worlds and I started to write down those ‘day dreams.’
And then when I was an adult, a young mom, at the first swell of Internet fan sites, there was fanfiction… Websites where you could share your love of a tv show or book series and other people could comment on your stories. It was… Amazing.
And, boy howdy, did I learn. What worked. What didn’t work. Better, tighter, description, POV, grammar. Oh, I’ll never be perfect, but I always strove to be more… Do more.
And mainly because I loved the show I was writing about. This was a fandom for a show that had been gone from TV for a few years. Gone, but not forgotten!
And how did we keep it alive? Fan Fiction.
So I spent the better part of my adult life writing fanfiction for Tv, movies, books… Whatever struck my fancy. And my own ideas as well. But fan fiction was a creative release. It allowed those ideas that were rolling around in my head to have a home. And that pesky problem about no more episodes? Fixed!
Now, I’m not a complete Pollyanna about fanfiction. Dear me, there is some cringeworthy stuff out there! But there is the same in original fiction as well.
But I have rarely come across someone that wrote fanfiction because they wanted to ‘hurt’ anyone. Most just want to keep a show/series/movie alive and breathing.
Friends you don’t want to say goodbye to.
And why am I talking about this?
When I heard about Kindle Worlds I was intrigued. Licensed fanfiction. The ability to play in worlds that I loved and share that with others? Lovely!
I will be making more posts… With information about the Kindle Worlds that I’m writing in… The inspiration for my stories… And the fun stuff that happens when you’re writing in someone else’s world.
So, Aloha for now…
Reina
