What is fanfiction? 🤔
S.R. Beaston
Crafty with words, wit, and wisdom, just add caffeine to make it more interesting.
Have you ever experienced a story so fun or interesting that you just wanted it to continue? Have you wondered about the world beyond the characters shown, or what happens to them after the events of the story? Do you daydream about action that might have happened in between the plot, that the audience didn’t get to see? Then you might have already introduced yourself to the idea of fanfiction.
For those who are not chronically online, that term may be foreign to you, or hold a weird, negative connotation. After all, there’s a lot of weird, cringy fanfic out there, and only the most extreme tend to go viral outside of that space, but fanfiction has a lot of good going for it.
What is fanfiction?
Fanfiction is simply fiction written by fans of the source material the fiction is taken from. Popular and beloved franchises like Pokemon, Harry Potter, Smash Brothers, My Little Pony, and even bands like One Direction or BTS can spur countless works of fiction from admirers who love to write, or perhaps they just want to see their version of events come to life.
You might have unwittingly read books that were originally fanfiction. Fifty Shades of Gray is famously known for being a Twilight fanfiction called Master of the Universe. Books like For Love and Bylines and The Love Hypothosis started as Star Wars fanfics, specifically of the "Rei-lo" relationship.
These works can be as short or as long as the author desires, with crazy twists, turns, characters, and plots that are not directly tied to the source material. (Fun fact: the longest fanfiction to date is The Loud House: Revamped with over 30 million words and two thousand chapters.) When done well, they are still believable, but it’s also a great place for a little self indulgence. Self-inserts and crazy, out-of-character scenarios are very common in this world of writing.
With any luck, the authors know exactly what form of fanfiction their works fall into. Here are a few types of fanfiction and tags to let you know what you might be wanting to read or write.
What is AU in fanfiction?
AU stands for "Alternate Universe". However, it’s an all-encompassing term. It could be alternate timelines, alternate characters, alternate realities, etc. In fanfiction, this tag means that the AU story diverges greatly from the source or "canon" material.
Think of it like comic books. DC and Marvel comics are the perfect example of "AU" writing. There are several stories of Batman running simultaneously. Sometimes he’s in the Victorian era, sometimes the Joker wins. Spiderman has different spider…men, depending on the universe. They even all meet up in movies like Into the Spiderverse or No Way Home.
AU’s are also where a lot of the self-inserts go. People like to really dive into the worlds they love and will put themselves in the thick of it just to see what happens.
What is fluff fanfiction?
‘Fluff’ fanfiction is tagged to describe the writing as a positive, romantic experience. The focus is on heartwarming events, lovey-dovey language, and tender moments between two characters and rarely goes beyond that. There’s no action sequences or heavy plot, just…fluff!
That’s not to say other, spicier content cannot be added, but if it is, it will likely be tame and wholesome, keeping to the theme of ‘fluffy’.
What is lemon in fanfiction?
‘Lemon’ is basically a content warning tag for explicit and graphic sexual content in their fanfiction, the exact opposite of fluff.
A lot of fanfiction that focuses on intimate relations will have this tag. The point of the story is to highlight the sexualized characteristics of the characters. Again Fifty Shades of Gray is a great example for being a lemon Twilight fanfic.
There are other tags like "Lime", which may indicate some spicy content, but mild compared to Lemon. Vanilla, on the other hand, is the tamest of the tame, considered even "boring" to some.
What is angst in fanfiction?
‘Angst’ is used to inform the reader of the overall dread that’s in their story. It often encompasses a character or plot where tragic unrest plays a heavy role, likely the catalyst for the drama of the story.
The tone of most stories marked with angst is more serious and dark, providing a somber approach to their work.
How to find fanfiction?
There are quite a few dedicated websites specifically for fanfiction, $ Archive of Our Own$ (Ao3) and $ Fanfiction.net$ to name a couple.
If you are looking for a specific type of fanfiction, be it the work of fiction itself or interesting themes or tags, google searches do give a good starting point. There are usually also search bars on all of these websites to narrow down the hunt.
How to write fanfiction
Fanfiction is a great way to learn how to write. It’s often one of the first explorations into the writing world, giving the new author a baseboard of characters, world, and plot to borrow and mold, rather than an intimidating blank slate.
You can ask for feedback and read other works to help inspire your creativity for stories you already love.
The world of fanfiction is growing in popularity, with thousands of people with similar love for that very niche TV show you were certain no one else saw as a kid. It’s exciting to both read and write, encouraging writers to better their craft with every installation.
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