How I Write or Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Fan Fiction - Another New Thing

I used to not appreciate fan fiction. It seemed to me that the writers of it were stealing from the author. Stealing her or his world. Stealing the characters. The work that went into that story and became that book or movie was incredible. How could someone think to just take it like that?

Then I met a young man--let's call him...Chandler. I volunteered with the student group at our church and decided to lead a young writers group. Chandler was one of the first takers and came almost every single week even when that meant arriving late from his job at Rita's (yumm--can you taste the frozen ice?). We each brought a piece of writing to share if we had one ready for the group--and Chandler's first contribution was fan fiction. I became interested because I knew this young man and could see the work he put into his longhand creation. He taught me what I'd never quite gotten before.

Now I can see the fan in "fan fiction." How that person honors the story they love and the writer who endears them. How an author inspires this other person to add their imagination to answer the driving questions. What happens next? Where will this all end? The characters that run, walk, talk etc. in my mind have not only gone to the page, they have become alive in someone else consciousness. How does story make the leap from one brain to another? I used to say through the book. How does creation make the leap from conscious to conscious? This is fan fiction.

Chandler wrote his own story building around what he saw and admired in Rick Riordan's works. There was no theft. There was no injured party. There was a sophomore in high school with page after page or unassigned writing. Charles Caleb Cotton said "Imitation is the sincerest [form] of flattery." I had to look up who said what I've heard translated into "Imitation is the highest form of praise." There is was clear as day. You should have seen Chandler when he got to meet Rick Riordan, get his book signed, have a photo with the man himself.  A fan in the truest sense--the deepest form of fan.

Recently I joined wattpad and I've spent some time exploring. There is a lot of fan fiction, but here I've learned another new thing. Fan fiction can also be built around celebrity. Many of my compatriots write fantasies about meeting their favorite musicians or other super stars.  How brave! I couldn't imagine sharing my fantasies or my writing when I was that age.

All this writing, these stories are waiting to be discovered on wattpad. The community encourages and supports every writer. So here I am writing about the fan fiction writers. So free! So bold! So uninhibited! I am become your fan.

This one is for you and the other writers I've know who dared to share. You inspire me to so much more than I ever dreamed before.