Hello there! What a wonderful morning it is. I think today's the earliest I've ever woken up so far this year (I woke up at 7:30-ish, which is half an hour later than I usually get up for school). It's actually pretty nice to see the sun's beams without the actual sun for a few hours before the clouds move out of the way.

And even though yesterday it rained and felt delightfully Christmas-sy, I still missed the sun a little. Too bad I'm not doing anything today! I don't have a ride anywhere and no pertinent plans, so I guess it's another day of Avatar: The Last Airbender! Not that I mind too badly. I'm still surprised at how oddly complex it is for a standard, "children's show".

And yes, I've already started reading fanfiction. DON'T JUDGE ME.

Oh boy, now I have to rant. WOO FIRST RANT ON MY BLOG. Heeere we go!

Fanfiction is a legitimate form of writing, if you ask me. People never give it credit where it is due. They claim that fanfiction writers leech off of legitimate writers and don't do anything with their lives except watch anime or something equally as dorky and don't contribute to society.

WELL GUESS WHAT. I write fanfiction and I'd say I'm perfectly competent in real life. In fact, it was what opened my eyes to other forms of writing and eventually landed me a spot in the Creative Writing conservatory so HA.

It just bothers me when people bash fanfiction and its writers because of the bad examples. Yes, there are tons of terrible eye-burning fanfictions out there. But there are some fantastic pieces out there, too! That's like discrediting all of romance or fantasy teen romance because you didn't agree with Twilight or Stephenie Meyer. There is always gonna be fantastic parts of a genre and not so fantastic parts (I will not label Twilight and its author as either so as not to offend anyone). Why should fanfiction receive the short end of the stick?

If I had an original story and people liked it enough to use my characters for their own plots (so long as they were still my characters and credited to be so (which many good fanfiction authors I know, do)), I'd be ecstatic! It just proves that my fandom (fan-kingdom) and characters that much stronger that it can hold up in almost any plot.

And fanfiction, mind you, isn't always inserting yourself into the story to make out with the main character. The fanfics horror stories of that you often hear of have a bad reputation even within the fanfiction community. We call the characters often utilized "Mary Sues"--or characters that are impossibly (and irritatingly) "perfect".

For example, the, "average" teenage girl with daddy issues who is battling her inner demons while her giant group of friends (that are all guys that are all attractive and attracted TO her) are vying for her broken heart and soul. She is also the daughter of a multi-billionaire (but is modest) and plays the electric cello in her free time. Her favorite subject is Advanced Chemistry (though she'll never tell anyone because she's above that). She has secret powers and talks to actual demons in her spare time but she can't let anyone know or else it'll threaten the relationship between the real world and the demon world of which only she holds the key! She has jet black hair with red streaks (all natural, of course. She's not those kinds of girls that fusses too much over looks). She ends up with her boy of choosing and makes a blindingly beautiful (but still independent) housewife.

WE CALL THOSE BADFICS. Even the fanfiction community despises those kinds of fics. But I guess somewhere along the line, that part of it ended up representing the entirety of the community. It's a shame, really. And a disappointment that people aren't willing to repress their laughter long enough to try and find redeeming qualities in a style of writing.

It's unfair for those who find sanctuary and peace in writing fanfiction. I know it's gotten me through lots of rough patches. Writing good fanfiction is just as difficult as writing an original piece of fiction, if you ask me (in different ways, of course). And I've done both. For one, you still need a good plot that moves at an appropriate pace while maintaining readers' interest. You also need to find a way to make your own unique character arch for your selected characters in a way that differs from the original text.

I personally wasn't hesitant at all to write my first fanfiction. I still remember what it was. It was set in the Edo period of Japan and I had to do a lot of research on Bushido (samurai code of conduct which could also have been a hoax, but that's on another spectrum of the research I did) including small festivals and niceties. And okay, it was pretty bad. But aren't almost all first tries? Of course, I don't remember too much of it now, but the point is that I experienced the same thing months later when I tried to write my first multi-chapter original fiction (which also required lots of research and updating).

I'm not saying that everyone should like fanfiction. Some people have legitimate reasons as to why they dislike parts of it such as not wanting their favorite book to have a different plot made up by a teenager or to prefer the ending of the book of the original author and not wanting to draw out anything more from the work. Or even just respecting the author's license to such a brilliant piece.

I get it. I understand. It is when your laughter out-speaks your argument and your ignorance outshines your curiosity that I become frustrated. I would never want to ridicule someone who is inspired. Why would you want to taint that creative process (as different as it may be from your own in music, painting, theater, etc) with mockery and arrogance? It is when respect is not given where it is due or when doubt isn't momentarily suspended in the wake of a legitimate argument that I become angered.

"Why don't you spend that time and energy on your own ideas," you say? Well, it IS my idea. It's my own plot--it just involves the characters and/or dynamic of another writer that I respect and admire enough to want to be a part of their world. And honestly, what I choose to write is none of your business and if I want to write fanfiction, I shouldn't be ostracized for it. Fanfiction can be a teenage phase that leads into other forms of writing, or a professional career. Or both.

And in my opinion, authors that are adamantly against fanfiction need to weigh the facts and realize that fanfiction is often created out of love and inspiration--not with intentions to tear down the work and make it less valuable than it is (though badfics might unintentionally do so). If you don't want fanfiction, then I'd highly suggest not publishing your book because it's impossible to have a popular book with a large backing not inspire something more in your readers. It should be a compliment.

And for the record, I should mention: that book Fifty Shades of Grey currently selling millions of copies? Fanfiction (okay, bad example. But how many millions of books have you sold today?). C.S Lewis? Fanfiction writer of J.R.R Tolkien (adopted certain elements from J.R.R. Tolkien's largely unpublished legendarium (mostly Númenor, there spelt "Numinor") and incorporated these into the last novel, That Hideous Strength, of his Space Trilogy.) The second part of Don Quixote? Fanfiction. Hamlet and King Lear? Not Shakespeare's characters (aka: Historical Fanfiction)! The Aeneid? ODYSSEY. FANFICTION.

The hostility and presumptuous nature (not to mention the pure nerve) of some people to criticize fanfiction without knowing much about it is absurd and makes me wish I could just announce to everyone that wants to write and/or read fanfiction that it's okay; it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Why should someone with an artistic vision have to bow their head in shame because of the passing comments of their peers? That is oppression. And to me, that is horrifying. I don't want a young girl like me to tell herself to, "just forget about it" so that she doesn't have to ever explain what it is she's writing. I wouldn't want a child whose poem is inspired by her love for a certain character have to be ridiculed for lack of creativity--because it is. It is creative.

Done in the right way, taking characters and/or some aspects of a permanently established work and making it somehow your own while still paying homage to the original writer/work IS creative and damn difficult too, if you ask my personal experience.

So think twice before you laugh at someone for writing/reading fanfiction. Perhaps if you used the time you spent spitting in their faces whilst making a bogus, "holier than thou" argument actually reading their work and drawing conclusions of it as a SINGULAR piece, you'd be more or less secure in your previous argument--both of which are just fine and preferable to blind off-handed comments.

/LARGE GASP OF AIR