Nobody is a perfect, right-out-of-the-gate writer. We get into this vocation/avocation to tell stories, and that means learning the tools of the trade: spelling, grammar, structure, character, plot, worldbuilding. Notice how I put worldbuilding, a great love of mine, dead last? That’s because in the long run, it’s the least important of our tools. It is just a tool, a means to an end, not a goal in itself.
This necessary lack of perfection means that first drafts are often just a sketch. It’s in the refining process where raw ores become shining triumphs.
One of the great, seductive joys of writing and reading fanfiction is that we already have templates for character, action, and setting. It’s also one of the great derails, in that fan readers have this immense lexicon stored away, and only need a few details limned to set the stage. In original fiction, everything has to start from scratch. But I’ve talked about that before, and this ramble isn’t about worldbuilding: it’s about being literate, relatively skilled, and fearless toward the first few items on that toolbox list.
If you can do that, I will love you, whether your story is on a fan site, self-published, or distributed through a commercial publisher.
Here, I think fanfiction can teach grad-level courses to new writers – and some established professionals.
First off, the quality levels of fanfiction vary as widely as its writers. Some come to this with the perspective of English as a second language. Some never learned sentence structure or the helpful hints of the various Style Guides. Some just don’t care about rules and want to get a story Out There as quickly as they can. Some fan authors match any pro you care to name. Many are fans and professional writers at the same time.
Second, the only fanfiction rules that matter are the ones agreed-upon by the participants: we try to respect boundaries and tag our works for possible triggers and kinks, so that readers know what they are getting. Beyond that, it’s the Wild Wild West. Because there are thousands of fan stories out there, in nearly any fandom, there’s no guilt about not finishing one. Or not reading it. No money changes hands on the purer sites, so there is no chagrin about wasted opportunities (except time spent reading.) We rely on networks of fan reviewers, so we learn what we like. The good stuff stands the test of time.
Third, fanfiction communities offer a ready and willing pool of beta readers (and sometimes even editors) there for the sweet-talking or the ‘I’ll do yours if you do mine’ exchange. One of my skilled beta readers is someone I’ve met once but known for a decade and a half online – through fanfiction.
I’m a terrible first draft writer, as the errors on this blog can attest. I need beta readers and editors. But when it comes to reading, I am a story snob. Whether it’s a fan piece, self-published original, or professional work, I will drop a story the moment I notice too many glaring errors in spelling, grammar, structure, or internal logic. I don’t ask utter perfection, though I am delighted to get it.
I just finished reading a 150K Avengers fanfiction piece that had a few small glitches, but nothing to detract from the sheer insane glory of it. It’s a M/M/F menage I put off reading, because the basic grouping made me roll my eyes. But the author made me care. Then she made me laugh and cry and become emotionally invested. I read it for 13 hours. Now I can never look at those characters in animation or the movies again, without thinking that somewhere, in another part of the multiverse, this is exactly how their story is playing out. And it’s a damned Work In Progress, so now I have to be on alert for story updates…
I’ve also stopped reading, on page five, an original novel from a celebrated erotic romance author, published by a house I considered for my own work. Five obvious errors derailed me right out of the (predictable, boring, paint-by-numbers) plot. I used the Amazon ‘Look Inside’ feature to assess it before buying it. I’m not going to be catty enough to give it a one-star rating on Amazon. But that particular author isn’t trying anything new or especially daring enough to merit her diva reputation, so I probably won’t read more of her work.
Nor do I leave negative reviews or critiques on the fan sites I visit. Fan writers are often fragile snowflakes who haven’t developed their Critique Armor yet, and they may simply not know better. But I do give strong positive reviews for those stories and authors who rock my world.
So new writers: please, have someone look at your story before you post it or send it to a publisher. Someone who isn’t your Mom or English teacher, but someone neutral and mentally capable of telling you why something works or fails within your story. Fishing for kudos and compliments may feel great, but it won’t help you become a better writer. Learn that you are not your story, and that a hard critique of it is not a condemnation of you.
Treasure your beta readers and editors, for they help you hone your work from meh to readable, and from readable to magnificent.