gettin' REAL nerdy

This goes beyond that.

Listen: I cosplay, I go to Comic Con, I've done RPG (think Dungeons and Dragons), I know every word from every song from the Buffy musical- but there are still some things that even I am embarrassed to admit because of how nerdy and stigmatized it has become. I'm talking about fan fiction.

I'm sure some of you are already laughing at me, and that's fine. For those of you who are unfamiliar, fan fiction is just what it sounds like; fiction written by fans about their favorite books, movies, games, TV shows, real-life celebrities- basically whatever they want to write about. This type of fiction is not regulated. Anybody can write anything they want on the subject of their choosing without the restrictions of editing or censorship. And it is GLORIOUS. You can go to a website that archives this sort of work, browse for whichever fandom you are interested in and even search for key terms that you are hoping to read about.

Here's where the stigma part comes in; when given this much freedom in your writing (especially while anonymous) there is going to be a whole lot of sex stuff. Like, the craziest, kinkiest, strangest sex stuff you've ever read in your life. And that's fine, that has its place in the world, but for so many people that categorizes the entirety of the genre. And that's just not the case! I'm here to stand up for fan fiction writers and readers everywhere and let you know that I'm firmly on your side.

I ran into fan fiction at 12 years old when I couldn't handle finishing my beloved Song of the Lioness series. At first, I didn't understand that these stories were written by people other than the original author. I consumed story after story until I thought my eyes would start bleeding. The series wasn't over! The author had written thousands more short stories and posted them on this obscure text-only website with a hot pink font! Wonderful! Eventually, I caught on to reality of the situation but this didn't dampen my excitement one bit. In fact, it increased it. You mean these are thousands of stories written by people from all over the world with different thoughts, ideas and perspectives on the characters? Sign me up! I will dive face-first into this chasm and will refuse to emerge until I'm saturated up to my eyeballs in character exploration and alternate universes are falling out of my pockets. 

For those of you not sold yet, here's another perspective. As a (fledgling) writer, I often read works written by people who have around the same level of experience as myself. This is a big component of any writing class- peer review and workshop. Okay, maybe this stuff isn't written by professionals (sometimes it is, but not always) it can sometimes have glaring grammar, spelling, plot issues...etc. So what? You can treat it just like one of those writing workshops;  you recognize where they went wrong and try not to make the same mistakes. All the while, you get to hang out with your favorite characters as they go on adventures you would never otherwise get to experience.

These writers aren't restricted by a publisher and they aren't writing to sell. They are housewives and psychologists and teachers and librarians all writing about how they would like to see the world. This is going to sound crazy but I swear I've learned more about human relationships and self-respect by reading fan fiction than I have from any other source I've ever encountered. As for the sex stuff- whatever, you have your guilty pleasures and I have mine. Live and let live, man. Plus, who knows, if you keep an open mind, you might just learn something about yourself. 

Today's post comes with some outside references. 

First, a link to my favorite fan fiction archive in case you want to have a peek around at your favorite fandoms: Archive of Our Own

Second, a hilarious video created by the lovely lady who inspired me to "come out" today: Shit People Say When Reading Fanfic

If anybody wants a real belly laugh, I can upload the fan fiction I wrote when I was 13 about Star Trek: TNG and what happened after the episode where Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher could read each other minds. 

That's all for today, folks. Thanks for sticking with me!

By request, here is the fic I wrote when I was 13. I've added it as a jpeg so it might not be viewable on mobile.