Writer's Guide 101 (Wattpad Edition)

LXXXIV. My Thoughts On Fanfics

If you ever ask me what I think about fanfics, I would say they're not my cup of tea. Now, hear me out! I don't want y'all to take this the wrong way as this is just my opinion.
Fanfics are kind of like a fan's reimagination of a preexisting story.
I don't care how much they insist their Harry Potter OC is original when I still kind of see it as another Harry Potter character within the same universe. For example, one of the characters from my graphic novel "BIOMETRICS", Mina, actually started out as a Hetalia OC while her design was inspired by Frozen.
However, she continued to grow on me that I decided to give her a much different story and put her in an original story. I am aware that fanfics have been a bloodline to the Wattpad community since and how much they can inspire many people to write their own stories. Even as a teen, I never really got into fanfics that much.
I know that if I wish to break into the publishing industry, I would have to write my own original stories. I believe it's important for young aspiring writers to branch out and come up with something unique.
    If you only continue to write the same ol' stuff, how do you think you're gonna grow as a writer? You end up being a one-trick pony and eventually your audience are going to demand something else.
     Another reason why I don't enjoy fanfics has to do with the majority of people within that niche. It pisses me off how many authors would try to shove it down your throat and insist it's the best thing ever.
    They would even go as far as demand their fanfics become canon (though in other cases, the fandom can consider a fanfic canon in case the official source material fails to resonate with its fans and ends up retconning everything).
I assume they're mostly young who might not understand that not everyone is gonna be into the same stuff as they do. I also sort of understand why Wattpad is pushing for more original stories as they started removing the fanfic category from the annual Wattys event.
After all, Wattpad used to be a place for original stories while fanfics were commonly found in sites like Fanfiction.net or AO3 (Archive of Our Own). Fanfics are supposed to be fun and allow us to express how much a certain media has inspired us. There is more creative freedom.
It is interesting to see various takes on that particular movie, show or book. It kind of reminds me of the Tangled series where it's like they hired a bunch of rabid Disney fanfic writers to work on the show.
Imagine something like the Moonstone also coexisting alongside the Sun Drop. Whoever is granted the power of the Moonstone could destroy the kingdom of Corona. I personally wish to see that tackled in the sequel for "Tangled." You get to see different writers' style shine through like you know who wrote it based on the world building, prose and character tropes.
At the same time, it wouldn't hurt to try creating new stories so the world would have more inspirations for many generations to come.