“‘Appearances can be deceptive,’ he says quietly. ‘I am not fine. I feel like the sun has set and not risen for five days, Bella…I’m in perpetual night here,’” writes author E.L. James in her “Twilight” fanfiction piece “Master of the Universe.” Many find it surprising that this internet story, which fulfills fanfiction’s reputation for containing a substantial amount of erotica and awkward, subpar prose, ultimately transformed into the New York Times bestseller “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
Yet it appears that only those who do not read fanfiction think of its rather unfavorable reputation. According to senior Greta Ruttenberg, fanfiction is what satisfies every fan’s dream for more, which may include a new relationship, a longer story, or even an alternate universe. “Fanfiction is experiencing the world of a fandom in a new way,” she explains.
A “fandom” is purely a fan-made world, created around the already existing world of the story and its characters. From each fandom comes many different pieces of fanfiction, and there even exist stories about classic novels like “The Scarlet Letter” and “Lord of the Flies,” kids’ television shows like “Blue’s Clues” and “My Little Pony,” and popular musical groups like One Direction and Girls’ Generation.
One of the most famous fanfiction sites, Fanfiction.net, had a total of 5,879 fandoms and 3,744,842 stories around two years ago; today, these numbers continue to grow at astounding rates, with around a total of 800,000 pieces written based off of only “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” alone.
In a sample study conducted on a fanfiction research blog, nearly 80 percent of registered members on the site were found to be female, and 80 percent to be between 13 and 17 years of age. Because websites like Fanfiction.net collectively bring together readers and writers with similar interests, fanfiction communities have formed over the web, unlike clubs at school.
Formerly an active contributor to the fanfiction community, senior Derrick Leong used to write many fanfiction stories of his own. “There are always things that you want to happen in a series but don’t actually happen,” he says. “Writing fanfiction is a way to convert those thoughts and feelings into real life and to have people appreciate them.”
“Every good author likes to try something new,” he adds about his writing style. “I liked to take characters and put them in different situations. I’d range from plots that were twisted slightly to science fiction to love stories to action adventure.”
While Leong is a former fanfiction writer, senior Abby Clemens is a former fanfiction reader. Clemens understands why fanfiction can be so addicting, yet time-consuming as well. “Fanfiction is a growing trend because it tends to be more imaginative and extreme, and because of this, more people like it…and want to read that,” she comments.
Unsurprisingly, this “imaginative” and “extreme” nature of fanfiction is what establishes its reputation for being quite explicit.
As another writer of fanfiction, an anonymous junior addresses why erotica can be considered a necessary addition to fanfiction. “Fanfiction lets people who aren’t legit writers, or published authors, have a go at manipulating the characters. It addresses stuff that’s not covered in mainstream media,” she says, “and you’re not restricted by what society says must be in a show.”
She admits of her own erotic pieces, “When I try to write something, it usually turns into porn. I write gay porn during math class.”
Senior Kaylee Pritchard believes that the mature content is not solely meant to appeal to teenagers’ hormones. “It describes all the things you didn’t learn in sex ed, and most importantly, it teaches you about relationships.”
On the other hand, in sophomore Amy Yu’s opinion, fanfiction and its reputation do not always have to be taken so seriously. “It’s fun to read nonsensical, humorous fictions that make you laugh because of the impossibility of it ever realistically happening,” she says.
Whatever the style or plot, when it comes to fanfiction writing, most people agree that fanfiction cannot be original since it bases its plot off of an already existing story. However, does fanfiction count as being called literature, despite the fact that they are not published novels?
Ruttenberg answers, “It’s literature because people actually spend the time to write the stories. Some fanfiction writers have lots of followers because they write so well.”
While Ruttenberg believes that a clear, grammatically correct piece qualifies as good fanfiction, Pritchard believes that it’s all about the characters. “For me, good fanfiction is being in character. Some people can capture a character so perfectly that it’s like the original author wrote it.”
She adds, “It’s really a hobby; you read it for fun. When you fall in love with those characters, you don’t want it to end.” As long as fans have this mindset, fanfiction will continue to exist. And wherever popular culture goes, fanfiction will be sure to follow.
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