The debate about the validity of fanfic has reared its head once more after a tweet thread, which I won’t give any further traction to by linking to it, hit mid-January. Co-author of the Paper Dolls Series, and friend, Emma Chamberlain has described it as fanficgate 79.0, but really it’s a conversation that never fully dies down.

The particular hot take on the debate this time around is that fanfic writers never grow to become quality writers. The argument is that fanfic doesn’t require anything new. It’s tired tropes and basic craft.

I disagree. I emphatically disagree. The argument presented was full of pretention.

The same kind of pretention as people who denounce genre fiction as having anything of substance because there’s vampires or too much sex. The people who rolled their eyes at me and scoffed when I said Laurell K. Hamilton was my literary hero.

It’s the same argument against NaNoWriMo as a valid means of writing a quality story. As if everyone isn’t aware that all first drafts are full of shit that needs cutting regardless if it was written in 30 days or 300 days.

This is forgetting, of course, that not all writers write because they wish it to be their career. Some writers write for the absolute sheer joy of writing. They write to exploring different worlds and characters they love. That is okay, they aren’t any less because turning it into a career would suck the fun out of it for them.

The argument made also discounts the hours people have spent writing fic. As if they haven’t spent hours in deep character analyses or spent hours over an arc to create their fic. The love, and sometimes even the hate, that goes into these pieces are beautiful

Are all fanfics created equal? No, but neither are books even the ones found in shops. I can’t count the number of times I passed up a book in the shop because I felt I could find better elsewhere. The reasons for this are subjective. What works for one person won’t work for another.

But that’s not why I’m here talking about fanfic. I’m here as an author to say thank you to fanfic writers and as an extension thank you to fanart artists. Thank you for loving the work someone has spent endless hours crafting so much that you want more, even if that means creating it yourself.

Now here’s a thank you to fellow authors who not only write engaging worlds and compelling characters but welcomed fan creators. Without you it’s highly unlikely I would be here now. Fanfic and collaborative writing have saved me at numerous points in my life.

The community I found in fandom – the support – is perhaps one of the main reasons I feel I can pursue the dream of publishing. It’s where I started. My dream no longer treats self-publishing as the backup option, but my first choice. That is largely due to the cultural shift thanks to fandom and fanfic.

So, let me say without vague wording the following: if something in my work speaks to you, please follow that inspiration and create. Please put it out there for others to see. Fandom is there first and foremost for the fans.

My only one caveat is if what you’re producing takes income away from an artist or writer who requires the money to live. I’m not sure how likely that is, but I’m going to wager a guess at not very. If anything, the publicity might help.

So, that’s it

Fanfic is valid. It’s saved me and shaped me, and thank you to fandom for putting your love out into the world. Maybe one day we’ll be able to just let people enjoy what they enjoy.