Why Writing Fanfiction Can Help in College

Why Writing Fanfiction Can Help in College
By: Tyler

Abstract: In this article Tyler will analyze the process and creation of fanfiction and how it can help college students to adapt at writing. Tyler will be expressing their own experiences and how it helps them out in college. The planning, the organization, the writing, the editing, and the feedback of fanfiction writing will be explored along with the many different types of fanfiction.

Fanfiction is usually a topic avoided by most people, as it is seen as taboo in most ways. However, fanfiction is not just all the erotic works that people write about fictional and real people, that is just a small fraction of what fanfiction truly is. Fanfiction has many different categories. The main categories include, but are not limited to Angst, Alternate Universes, Crossovers, Fluff, Self-Insert, Soulmate, Smut, and Modern/Old World. I will go more in depth on these individually and how each one can help in, not just college, but in life as well. Fanfiction is just one of the many ways communities of fans of something can come together to enjoy. These communities are often referred to as fandoms. Many people meet lifelong friends and even significant others within these fandoms. 

My Fanfiction Character Growth

Writing fanfiction is a process. You don't start of magically amazing at writing it. It's a process. One of the steps I've taken to better myself at writing fanfiction is using a Writing Process. Writing Process is the methods and steps someone uses to generate a finished piece of writing. My writing Process has changed over the years. 

Originally my process was write what I want and post it, no editing, no proof reading, and no care. At the time, it didn't matter because I was writing for me because I wanted a fanfiction that did not seem to exist. Then it developed into writing it and proof reading it. That helped me gain some more followers, who were eager for the next chapter. But it still wasn't the best. I knew I needed to try something different.

That is exactly what I did. I wrote it, proof read it, and had someone help me do the Editing. Editing is a way to fix up mistakes you may have made in writing and it can help it make it look more professional. That seemed to work, but most the readers stopped reading because there was no concrete storyline. Once again, I knew I needed to change up my writing process. 

Now, my process is very organized and helps me keep on track. When I start a new story, I make a chapter that no one else will ever see and the chapter is just the outline of the story. I write what I want the story to be about and how I want it to end. Then I split it up in to chapters. Once I start writing the chapters, I put in a few quotes or things that I know I want in that chapter. Then I write out the chapter in detail. I proof read it every 5 minutes to make sure it is clear and there are no mistakes. Once the chapter is finished, I send a copy of it to my friend, who enjoys editing, and they send it back with some recommendations on how to improve the chapter. I then go back and revise and this process repeats a few more times. I then add some Design Elements to add to the enjoyment of reading. Design Elements are the way one uses Multimedias  to engage readers. Some things I do are, putting pictures and fanart of the scene playing out and I put a song that goes with the chapter. When I put a song that goes with the chapter it engages the reader and gives the emotion of the chapter.

I know this may seem like a lot to do for a simple fanfiction that not a lot of people will actually read, but it helps a lot. In fact one of my fanfictions currently has 8.7k reads on it and is continuously growing.

Another thing about fanfiction that is fascinating and brings people together is that every character that is and OC, which stands for Original Character, has their own Social Identity and can make people feel seen. Social Identity is the way a person identifies. This can include sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, and hobbies. In fact self insert fanfiction uses that to the readers advantage and when a prompt comes up about the reader they can insert the part of them they want to use. Such as one thing that is common to see in self insert fanfictions are the use of (Y/N), (E/C), and (H/C). (Y/N) means Your Name, (E/C) means eye color, and (H/C) is hair color. This is why a lot of people like self insert fanfiction is because they want to be apart of the world they are reading about and this type of fanfiction lets them do it.