To the average person, this definition means nothing. “Fanfiction,” also called “fanfic,” isn’t something that most people tend to think about, but to those involved, it can amount to any number of things: a passing interest, an outlet for feelings and theories, or an all-encompassing hobby. Surprisingly enough, the people who write fanfiction are average; they tend to fit in with the status quo, just like those who would look at the word “fanfiction” and say, “Huh?”

As time went on, it began to encompass more than the familiar characters of Star Trek. No longer were people only interested in sending the starship Enterprise on new adventures; comics, like Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman, all came into the picture. There were new television shows to write about. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy certainly has its following, as do newer books like Harry Potter. Anime and manga, the animation and comics of Japan, have an enormous fanfiction following, amounting to one of the largest total percentages of fanfiction stories now. The arrival of the Internet is what makes all of this possible...

Also with the Internet comes the concept of personal websites. It is said that with the Internet, everyone can have their fifteen megabytes of fame, and it’s very nearly literal; these days, fanfiction authors regularly archive their work on websites that they maintain themselves, where their readers can easily access a new chapter or information about the author. GeoCities, a Yahoo!-owned webhosting service, is rife with pages created by fans who want to get their writing out online. Angelfire, Tripod, Crosswinds, FortuneCity, FreeWebs… Any webhosting service there is, free or not, will likely have its fair share of fanfiction authors taking advantage of a little HTML and a lot of creativity. Or, in some cases, neither, but those cases are usually the ones that readers would rather forget.

Clearly, fanfiction is a bigger phenomenon than most would assume. It has far outstripped itself in the last forty years. It is beyond a subculture now, to the point of being a culture of its own. Fanfiction has its own vocabulary, which is unintelligible to outsiders; its own behavioral patterns, which may seem excessive; and its own way of life, which varies between all authors and readers, but flourishes nonetheless. Mistress_of_Tales notes, “You won't be published anywhere but on the free, open Internet; you'll never get more than half the cred[it] for your stories because the other half isn't yours.” Nevertheless, the lack of credit doesn’t stop thousands of blossoming and veteran writers from seeking out a place for their fanfiction efforts. Take a look at the numbers on any of the aforementioned public-post archive sites, and you’ll see statistics that speak for themselves. Fanfiction grows the further the Internet grows, or so it seems.

This is the shorthand - though not always so - way for fanfiction authors to get their point across easily in a summary that, in the case of public-post archives, has a character limit. It provides information, such as who is in love with whom, the events of the story, a variation on the canon (officially designated) plot, and so on. It gives warnings; some content is inappropriate for certain age groups, after all, and when some fans see a “D/s” warning, they run for the hills. (For the uninitiated, “D/s” stands for Dominant/submissive, or Dominator/slave. Imagine the context and one can see why some would flee.) It also provides a way for fans of the same type of work to find one another and read stories that will appeal to them, and even make friends within their fandom. Says DClick, “Many of my closest online friends are the ones I met through fandom, or friends of people I met through fandom.” The community aspect certainly speaks for itself.

In all, this fanfiction language is far too complex to summarize without an entire story of its own. The culture has grown so large and so varied that many fandoms have their own individual terminology, overlapped with umbrella terms and Netspeak (the shorthand language of the Internet). However, as stareyednight remarks, “I doubt Legolas would talk in Netspeak, but that's just me.”

Beyond the terminology, one of the other things that the first-timer will notice is the lack of real names for authors. Authors use pennames with no relation to their own, much like the name someone might use for an email address. Some names are in relation to a favorite series or character, while some are more personal or original, even to the point of inventing their own name. Whatever the naming scheme, in most cases, the name is unrelated to the author’s real name. It adds a sense of security in anonymity, a new identity for the author of any experience level. Indeed, this identity grows and can take on a life of its own, to the point that prolific authors are recognizable by their penname. Even if an author is not prolific, to someone who reads their story, they will be identified by that name, or by that story.

Most public-post archives also have review meters, where praise and criticism, sometimes even flames - rude, negative feedback meant in a non-constructive manner - dwell for all to see. Here, readers submit their own opinions and read others’ thoughts. Reviews can become the subject of argument or the cause for a writer to move their story along faster. Often, writers will add an “R&R” (read and review) message to their summary or the author’s notes that may be placed at the start of a chapter or story. This indicates that they want to know what others think. Still, posting fanfiction publicly means that anyone who so much as reads the summary can post thoughts - both an advantage and a disadvantage. “Some of the reviews that people receive are good, so they ignore the criticism, because even though their grammar and style leaves something to be desired, someone, somewhere, likes their story,” says _chelly_bean. Readers may be more detailed (“Sad and slightly haunting--you portray Kenshin's feeling of time slowly runing [sic] out quite well. It's interesting how he accepts the fact that he will one day be alone so calmly... but I like Kenshin-Kenji interaction; nice job.”) or very brief (“I like this. Good work [sic] keep it up.”). Nevertheless, their opinions are publicly presented when submitted in this format. Of course, some may take the time to email an author, but in most cases, when presented with an alternative method such as the automatic review-posting that can occur on public-post archives, the readers will take the alternative. Some may not even review at all, but can add to a hit counter that is only occasionally visible. “Reviews are far from the only important thing but if some of the point is sharing this with other fans and you can't even tell if anyone reads or cares, it gets demoralizing,” TeaRoses says. Hence the frequent requests for “R&R” or “C&C” (comments and criticism). Fandom is a community; sharing means some reciprocation, and this is why the automatic submission features are so often used, and sometimes even abused, as in the case of flamers.

Characterization isn’t the only problem, either. Far from it! Fanfiction standards, as many will note, seem to be lower than that of published work. “The standards are lower so some try to get away with entries littered with grammatical errors, caps lock everywhere, and horrible punctuation in random places, as well as plot holes,” says gracefulfall. Spelling and grammar are sometimes entirely ignored, much to the chagrin of those seeking well-written work. No matter the standard, it is always better that writers strive to attain a standard for themselves that defies conventions of fanfiction as being a haven for bad writing skills. “When you include the right grammar, you may even surprise yourself!” Konoha-Crash states. For some, it is hard work. For others, this is all a part of their writing process. For all, most writers of merit agree that even the most basic of technicalities are worth honoring.

Some authors go so far as to belittle traumatic events. This includes abuse, rape, suicide, murder, and other sensitive, unhappy subjects. DClick explains, “Most authors don't treat certain issues properly. Rape is not a good thing. I seriously doubt that a person would fall in love with their rapist in real life, although you know what they say, truth is stranger than fiction...” In the fanfiction world, it isn’t only the fandom that’s fair game: it’s the subject matter. When dealing with such matters, it is always best for an author to use tact, and to do the subject justice. How can an author do this if they are an amateur?

Simple. There is an entire group of people who volunteer themselves as beta readers. A beta reader’s job is that of an editor: they catch characterization errors, correct grammar and spelling, and make suggestions as they see fit. Emily M. Hanson, who provided her real name, says, “I learned a lot from my betas when I first started writing. I think that every beginning writer should have a couple of good betas. One for grammar and spelling, and one for character inconsistencies (unless the character is OOC for a darn good reason, and even then it had better be consistent throughout the story), plot holes, etcetera.” (“OOC” is the acronym for Out Of Character.) One might note that the presence of these editors adds to the image of fanfiction as its own culture, perhaps even as its own publishing company of sorts. No, the standards aren’t as demanding as those of a real company, but there are ways to rise above that and establish oneself as a skilled writer, despite the fact that one does not own the characters.

Creativity such as this allows for greater growth in writers who take themselves seriously, and provides readers with a source of fun anyway. “Fanfiction is addictive. I know this sounds weird and that you'd normally associate that word with things like 'caffeine' or 'heroin,' but there has never been a more true statement,” says citcat299. “Even though fanfiction rarely offers us anything new, or teaches us anything we don't already know, we become addicted to reading about certain characters and certain situations.”

So fanfiction is challenging and allows people to reach new heights when they can meet those challenges head on. So it’s addicting and fun. So what? So many people are turning to it as a vent for love of characters, as a place to let creativity flow, as a place to unwind and relax - or not. Authors like SirPsychoSexy obviously appear serious about what they are doing, to the point that they are willing to share their devotion.

To the outsider, fanfics may very well be nothing more than a few rabid fans’ fantasies about their favorite characters in different situations. The trouble is that the outsider will rarely see beyond this illusion of superficiality. It should be clear that fanfiction isn’t necessarily the deepest of subjects, as felix-hortensio explains, “[Fanfiction] also (sometimes) descends into the obsessiveness and shallowness of popular culture - the things wrong with many fans are also what's wrong with much of fanfiction.” Elaborating upon this same idea, Natalie Williams says, “It's a good sociology tool, in that you can discover how many people think that being perfect/being slutty/doing drugs/cutting yourself automatically makes you cool.” In that sense, fanfiction is to society what an indicator species is to an ecosystem: it shows what people of varying age groups and backgrounds think. It shows how they think. It adheres to trends, but at the same time, it allows for some to break free from the norm.

But it also means a great deal more than some great philosophical lesson. Much like stareyednight states, “You can find some of the most amazing fiction written in fandom.” It isn’t the lesson that readers and writers alike are seeking. Fanfiction is, first and foremost, writing. Not all is good - SirPsychoSexy adds, “Unfortunately, a good 95 percent of existent fanfiction out there is BAD. Meaning, were it original fiction, it would never, EVER see the light of a printing press.” - but it is writing, and it is art, despite its lack of glossy covers and official recognition. It is an outlet, as noted by Sjeve, “Writing fanfiction offers amateur writers an outlet for the writing urge; it lets them explore the world that they're so fond of reading and have a bit of control over it as well.” And at that, it is a popular one.

Not to mention easy. “Personally, I like creating new worlds to work in, but the story always takes longer to get off the blocks in original fiction. In that way, fanfiction is easy. You’re playing with someone else’s toys, already out of their boxes, assembled, painted and powered. All you need is to tell them what to do,” states ResourcefulIdiot, whose main fandom is the anime Dragonball Z.

Easy, popular, an outlet, creative, even addictive... It seems that there are quite a lot of factors weighing in on fanfiction’s side! Remembering the cons, everyone must be careful, but there seems to be little reason not to take a look into things, just to see what this not-so-little world is all about.

In short, fanfiction is a form of writing unto itself. With so many followers, the real question ought to be, “How is fanfiction insignificant?” In other words, thousands of people can’t be wrong. Can they?

This brings up another question: is fanfiction, no matter how the original creators feel about it, legal?

Many writers would say that it is. They use disclaimers at the start of fanfics to say that no, they do not own the characters they are writing about; to most, that would suffice. Hanson explains, “I would say that as long as you aren't making money from it, and you have the appropriate disclaimers, it's fine. Also, keep in mind that parodies are still legal and fall into fair use.” However, in accordance with the wishes of authors such as Anne Rice and Anne McCaffrey, fanfiction archives now refuse fanfic authors the privilege of posting stories for such fandoms on their websites. It is better to act preemptively than to have a lawsuit on their hands, although in the end, Hanson has a point: fanfiction is relatively harmless. Sjeve mentions that, “No matter how originally worked or how beautifully written, the bulk of fanfiction is forever relegated to status as illegitimate and largely unoriginal.” If that truly is the case, there oughtn’t be so much worry about violation of copyright law, or fuss over fanfic authors taking an original author’s idea and somehow perverting it by writing about characters they love. This is how most fanfiction authors seem to feel on the subject.

But what about manga and anime creators? Unlike in other parts of the world, Japan encourages fan creation of manga based upon an existing series. The resulting products are called doujinshi. There, it is an honor to a manga or anime to have doujinshi to its name, showing that the fans like the characters well enough to make their own stories about it. The only stipulation, which applies in all forms of writing, is not to plagiarize.

As for plagiarism, this is as taboo in the fanfiction world as in the professional publishing world. Archives usually offer some kind of service to help authors whose work has been stolen from them. Protecting one’s work, even if it is a work of fiction involving someone else’s characters and/or settings, is always important.

In the end, that’s exactly what it comes down to. Fanfiction is creative work. It isn’t meant to be entirely serious, nor is it intended to harm the original creators. It is a takeoff on something that people love, that they may even relate to strongly. So much interest in it has been generated that fanfiction really is a world of its own, chocked full of nuances that would require an inordinate amount of pages to cover.