This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Western chapter.

Hi, my name is Jill, and I write fanfiction. Like, a lot of fanfiction. Maybe too much fanfiction. I don’t talk about it a ton, because people can get a little judgey. But I’m not ashamed of my writing. In fact, I’m proud.

In the past five years, I’ve written nearly 350,000 words of fiction. That’s as long as Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (though granted mine is spread over 28 stories, not just one). I’ve had over 5,000 people leave kudos to tell me they liked my work. I’ve had hundreds of people leave incredibly kind comments about how much they enjoyed my writing, or related to it, or appreciated a certain detail. I’m proud of that.

Screenshot from the author’s Archive Of Our Own (AO3) stats page.

I’ve read some truly amazing works of fanfiction as well. Stories that I come back to reread over and over, because something about the character or the plot just gets me every time. Stories with lines that make me sit back in my chair and repeat them out loud, because how did they get that sentence so exactly right? Stories that taught me to see things in new ways, that helped me to better understand myself or the world around me.

People who criticize fanfiction have their reasons. And they’re not entirely wrong. My issue is not so much with their facts, but with the interpretation of those facts as universal and as dramatically reducing the value of fanfiction. I have found that many people who criticize fanfiction are basing their judgment off of assumptions and hearsay rather than actual reading. So there are a couple of criticisms that I have to counter-criticize.

1. Fanfiction is badly written

Some of it is. I’ll totally acknowledge that. Fanfiction doesn’t undergo the same polishing that traditionally published works do, and it has a much lower barrier to entry. But honestly, that’s also one of its strengths. Anyone can put their work out there, which removes a lot of the obstacles or requirements for a certain level of success and wide appeal. This is great for including diversity, encouraging new writers to expand their skills and letting people make art for fun instead of finance. Fanfiction does have a higher proportion of works that are rougher in terms of grammar or plot, but those works can still have so many strengths. And there are some truly fantastically written fanfictions out there that are on the level of the best published books—as well as some genuinely terrible published books (I’m still not convinced the House of Night series even had a copyeditor).

2. Fanfiction is just porn

Again, some of it is. But statistically, a majority of it isn’t. Of the over five million works posted to AO3, fewer than two million are rated as Mature or Explicit.

For every AO3 fic rated Mature or Explicit, there are two that aren’t. Graph made by the author.

Further, many works rated for containing sexual content may contain only a scene or two of smut, wrapped in an overarching plot- and character-driven story. Calling works such as these “just porn” is like calling Twilight a story about baseball.

But really, even if fanfiction was purely porn—so what? Some people are horny. Can’t relate, but also ain’t gonna judge. It’s the twenty-first century, you don’t have to be sexually repressed or repressive anymore. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read it, but don’t shame other people for enjoying it. And again, smut isn’t exclusive to fanfiction—plenty of erotica is traditionally published too.

3. Fanfiction is popular with teen girls

People who judge fanfiction for this reason probably wouldn’t phrase it that way, and they might not even realize that’s what they’re doing, but it’s true. Society has a tendency to dismiss anything that is liked by women, in particular young women, despite the fact that those same young women are the tastemakers of the world. The Beatles are now seen as classic and highbrow, but in their day, they were very much a teen girl phenomenon—complete with all the male derision that came with it.

Such sophisticated. Very masculinity. Wow.

So now that we’ve covered the flaws with the main critiques of fanfiction, lets address the benefits—and there are so many benefits, on multiple levels. I’m grateful for the positive influence it’s had on my life, and I know a lot of people who feel the same. So what are the positives of fanfiction that have me so riled up?

1. It gets people writing

I sometimes look back at the fics I wrote when I was sixteen, and let’s be real—they’re not great. I was sixteen, what do you expect? But when I look back, I don’t think, “Wow, what a terrible story.” I think, “This is a little rough, but I enjoyed it because I wrote it for me. And it allowed me to develop as a writer.” Fanfiction gave me a place to explore and experiment and improve. It gave me feedback and ideas and community and deadlines. And I know for a fact that it has done exactly that for a lot of other people.

2. It gets people reading

Similarly, a lot of people find their love of reading through fanfiction. Different genres or topics appeal to different people, and some individuals struggle to find mainstream stories they can connect with. Someone who has never been much of a reader might be more motivated when it’s connected to a story they already know and love from TV. Anything that promotes literacy is a win in my books.

3. It builds communities

There is probably no greater feeling than finding someone who cares deeply about something you care deeply about. Someone who not only listens to your excited rambles (I mean stories) about obscure trivia, but understands every word and (if you’re really lucky) will excitedly ramble back. Connections built through passion are easy to establish, because you already have a foundation of shared values and interests, but they are also so incredibly strong and valuable. And because fanfiction is low-stakes and low-cost to share and to consume, it makes building that investment and that connection all the simpler.

4. It’s really good

It’s so good, guys. It’s really good. Holy shit, it’s so freaking good. Watching people take characters I love and treat them with so much of the same love—it’s great. Watching writers take characters I’m fascinated by and examine their past, their psychology, their growth—it’s great. Watching story after beautiful story play out in worlds I love with characters I adore—it’s absolutely, positively, completely great.

So yeah, I write fanfiction. Yeah, I read fanfiction. Yeah, I sometimes put off writing essays or reading textbooks in favour of fanfiction.

But I won’t apologize. I’m not sorry. And I won’t let anyone make me feel ashamed. There is no shame in loving something—only in making someone feel bad for caring.

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In Defence Of Fanfiction