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Why I miss Fan Fiction
Writing Fan Fic was fun. It was interactive and the response I received from the very beginning was overwhelming. My first story was tragically written, full of plot holes and an obvious desire to write about sex. It’s pulled from all the fan fic sits, you can’t find it, ever. If you do I shall hunt you down and burn your computer. It’sterrible.
I took a few more stabs at it, and when I wrote I Will Burn I was cranking out 1-2 chapters a day. People would comment as soon as I posted and it was exhilarating to hear what people thought, how they were invested and what they didn’t like. I fine tuned and learned about writing styles and pushed myself to be better. Then I wrote The Fragrant Taste of Rain.
Art by Candace Brazier
Something about RAIN took me over. I wrote over 100k words in a month, posting everyday with a clear vision of my story and characters. It received awards, I got fan mail and art and more and more people were suggesting I try writing my own stories. During this time some amazing things started happening. Not only did I start to find my voice, but I found myself. As the always lovely Laxmi Hariharan would put it, I found my Author Avatar.
While RAIN is Fan Fiction and will always be Fan Fiction, the story grew into something beyond the confines of Twilight. It’s an All Human story and I delved deep into myself to write it. Of all my work, RAIN is probably the most exposed I’ve ever been. I talk about love and loss, I talk about friendship and pain, I talk about family and solitude. The story is as much about me as it is about Bella.
While I’ve written a number of Fan Fics (Walking in the Air, GrindCore, and a handful of One Shots), and now have published my original stories, RAIN will always be special. It will always be the story that taught me I could do this. It will always be the time in my life when I discovered something important about myself, that my art didn’t die when I left the theatre, it was just hibernating until I could reclaim it.
Recently, I finished a pivotal chunk of Two Moons of Sera. I wanted to post it right away, send it to my BETA reader and get it up so I could see what people thought. But 2MOS is not Fan Fic and I have another 25k words to write before I can even send it off to Carissa to look over for me. And it made me miss Fan Fiction. I miss getting my readers reactions as I write. I miss talking and emailing and posting every day. I wish there was a way to merge the two worlds. In publishing 2MOS as a serial novel I’ve come as close as I think I can, and it’s been oodles of fun, but there’s nothing like the day to day interaction with readers.
More than any other period of time in my life, the time I spent writing Fan Fic is a time when I was vulnerable and open. I was blessed to meet amazing women (and a few men) who supported me, encouraged me and loved me. Many of them still do. I count my Fan Fic friends amongst some of my best. Some like YNotJacob and Shawnie have become real life friends. We vacation together and travel across the country just to be together. They have held my hand when I cried and laughed when I drank faaaaaarrr too much. Others like ShadowLynx have lent their expertise and inspiration to my original stories. Two Moons of Sera wouldn’t exist without her brainstorming and encouragement. There are too many to name and the well of talent too deep for me to even try to list them all. Check out Tricky Raven for some unexpected sparks of genius and all around fun stories.
I’m slowly editing my stories and posting them on Tricky Raven. I may not write Fan Fic anymore, but I value the lessons I learned, the friends I made and the art I created. Thank you my Wolf Girls. You will forever hold a place in my heart.
If you’d like to read The Fragrant Taste of Rain, you can download the full PDF of the story here: http://ow.ly/dt6i2
Or you can read it on Tricky Raven, leave a comment, let me know what you think of it 
I remember choosing to read Burn because of your name. And Rain (and the references to Sita therein) solidified my theory that you were someone awesome in a heap of crazies. Rain remains one of my favorite Jacob/Bella fics and will be in the halls of our dying ship forever. I’m proud to call you my friend and sometimes confidant. You went to the mattresses for me (and suffered for it) when you didn’t have to. So. Hats off to you my precious. <3
I remember our conversations about Sita and how we slowly felt out how much it was safe to tell the other about ourselves. I’m so glad I took the risk and opened my heart to you. I know I can trust you to always tell me the truth and I know you’ve always got my back. Love you too Candy Cane
Pavarti K Tyler recently posted…Why I miss Fan Fiction
FF misses you too, honey! But I so happy and so proud of you for having the courage and guts to publish. I applaud you! Knowing that you balance your family, friends, aspirations and dreams so magnificently gives hope that I can eventually do the same.
Nothing meant more to me than sharing my work with you, and I’m still over here, cheering for you from the sidelines. I’m glad to see you still so excited and enthused by your work!! Tight hugs, big kisses and best wishes to you!!
Thanks Janny
I still read now and then but not like I used too. I can’t tell you how much all your support and love has meant to me over the years!
Pavarti K Tyler recently posted…Why I miss Fan Fiction
I also have very fond memories of my fanfiction writing days! I wouldn’t be where I am today without those years of posting on ff.net.
From fanfiction I progressed to webfiction (original online fiction)which gave me the same interactivity and immediate response, but this time about my own stories and characters. (My webfiction site is http://qazyfiction.com).
If you haven’t been to webfictionguide.com you should have a click around – there’s some really inspiring webfiction out there, and it’s the perfect middle ground between fanfiction and print.
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