Let's talk about Fanfics

There is a world out there where budding writers write thousands and thousands of words based on characters from the books, tv shows and movies that we all love. They "borrow" the characters and write their own stories with them, some are sequels, some are prequels, some extend small moments into chapters, some show a different perspective and some cross over a few different fictional texts.

You may ask at this stage, if they are any good. The answer is: OMFG are you kidding me?!

Sure, some are written by 10 year olds and have you questioning your own sanity, but many of them are even better than the original texts. I know, I know. Now you're thinking I must be insane for thinking that an amateur online could write better than some of the most popular, best selling authors out there. Being a published author myself, I like to think that I have pretty decent writing talents, but I am inspired by FanFiction all the time.

I started my writing journey on FanFiction.net, writing stories based on; none other than Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. Looking back over and reading my old FanFictions, I am appalled by how immature some of the writing us. But if it hadn't been for Edward and Bella, and FanFiction.Net, I would most likely never have discovered how much I love writing, nor would I have been able to grow and mature my writing.

I also made some really great friends through the FF.Net community that I am so grateful to have in my life. The first FanFiction I came across and reviewed, was another Twilight fic called "What Your Family Forgot to Tell You', The writer of which is now one of my best friends in the world and my editor.

The good news about the fact that it has been close to a decade since my days writing fics is that there are now many more places to find amazing FanFictions, and many tips I can share about finding the best ones!

Archive of Our Own has some really amazing fanfics for you to browse as well, from book fandoms, tv fandoms, movies and more. So does FanFiction.Net, for that matter.

On FF.Net, Once you have selected the fandom that you are just itching to read fics from, use the filters and sort by number of reviews and set the status to complete if you want to read fics that are finished; although some of my favourites are still works in progress.

Personally, I find FF.Net has a bigger collection, probably because it has been around longer.

A few of my favourite fics:

Veronica Mars Fandom: Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own (FF.Net) A Long Time Ago We Used To Be Friends (FF.Net and AO3) I Do, But Only For You (FF.Net)

Once Upon A Time: Definitely, Maybe. (FF.Net)

The Script: A Scripted Love (FF.Net)

Twilight: Once Upon A Time (FF.Net) Whatever Happened to Happy Endings (FF.Net) Pieces of the Puzzle (FF.Net)

Divergent:

And Then It All Comes Crashing Down (AO3)

You know what's even better than reading FanFiction though? Writing it! It always completely sucks when you turn the last page of an amazing book, or watch the finale episode of a beloved tv show, or even if the writers just do something to pull apart the couple you ship and hence don't give you the scenes you love.

So, if the story doesn't go exactly the way you want it to, or it ends far too soon, what better way to carry it on than to write your own ending? It helps build your writing skills greatly and it is a huge confidence high when you get nice reviews and follows!

From personal experience, writing is extremely therapeutic, cathartic and so much fun. "If there is a story you want to read but can't find; write it yourself."