Fanfiction (noun): fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, book, etc.

Fanfiction is growing fast in today’s society. It often adds an author’s twist to the original plot of a specific story. But there are a lot of misconceptions on what fan fiction is, and why people write it. The most common question asked, is “Why are you trying to copy the original authors?” This question often irritates fanfiction writers. “I don’t write to copy anybody! I write fanfiction because I love to.” said senior Karly Vera (real name withheld).

Oftentimes, writers may hide the fact that they write fanfiction because of the discrimination against it.

“I don’t like telling people that I write. Not only because they are going to judge, but because most of it is fanfiction. Most people don’t understand fanfiction,” said Vera.

But on the other hand, there are also some very passionate fanfiction readers. Readers come in different categories as well. There are fanfiction readers who are very open about the things they read, and others who are just casual viewers. Casual viewers are readers who don’t spend a lot of time reading fanfiction, but they still enjoy it at times. No matter what type of reader, they owe their reads to the writers.

“I love to read fanfiction, it’s one of my favorite pastimes. I have my favorite authors, who I always keep tabs on and read everything they write,” says Sarah Martinez, junior (real name withheld).

Because fanfiction is a growing topic, there have been many websites set apart just for readers and writers. Some of these include Wattpad, fanfiction.net, and Skrawl. Each has very different stories, but all of them have dedicated fans.

Fanart is another genre that is closely related to fanfiction. Though, fanart is more accepted than fanfiction. Fanart has many different categories as well. Some are for books, while others are for movies, television shows, and even video games. Just like fanfiction, there are many ways to find fanart, the most common is Deviantart.

“I’m a huge fanatic when it comes to fanart and fanfiction. It honestly just becomes so weird at times, that I can’t help but become interested. I love it so much!” Martinez said.