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Can Fanfiction Be Considered as Good Storytelling?
Storytelling has grown and evolved in tandem with us. Telling a story can be done on a
variety of different formats, such as TV, movies, plays, novels, comic books, or a through simple
conversation. Depending on the person, the criteria for a good story changes. The most common
criteria that needs to be met to consider a story ‘good’ is that: the overall affect of the story has
some emotional and/or psychological authenticity; the characters have to be dynamic and must be
relatable on some level; the plot and any subplots have to be entertaining and compelling; and the
writing must be clean and polished.
As with most things, the components of a good story are subjective. Each person has their
own specific set of criteria that must be met for them to like the story, let alone for them to consider
it good or for them to finish reading, watching, or listening to it. I’ve found that my rules for a
good story change depending on the mode it’s presented in. For example, when I’m reading a book
the aforementioned criteria are important, but the most important requirement is having realistic
characters that can be emotionally connected with. With movies, I rely more on visual effects and
how music along with the common criteria, to gauge whether or not I consider it a good movie.
With fanfiction, however, comes a different set of guidelines. Fanfiction, often referred to
as fanfic, is when a person takes a character from an already existing work and creates their own
story using that character. When reading fanfic, it’s assumed that the reader already knows the
basis of the story, and the characters that appear within the work. It’s also assumed that the reader
has the requisite emotional connections with the characters, which drew them to fanfic in the first
place. Characterization is the most important, and it must be compliant with canon
characterization, or nearly so. Canon is the original work the fanfic is based on. Then, the writing
must be neat and the format needs to be polished. Plot, though important, is no longer top priority.
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After all, many fanfics are the same premise and plot written over and over again, just by different
authors.
That fanfiction does tend to recycle the same plot points and premises allows readers to
connect on a deeper level with the story because they don’t have to worry about new characters
and the like. Personally, I tend to gravitate towards the angstier fics. Many fanfic readers prefer
the “fluff” fics – the stories that focus more on peaceful domesticity. Readers gravitate towards
such fics because, most times, the characters they love are mistreated in canon, and readers want
to see those characters in a happy, peaceful environment with the ones they love. My preference
for the darker fics is shared by many in the fanfiction community. These stories are cathartic. I
read these fics because I hold onto the hope, like many readers do, that if my favorite characters
can get through some sort of emotional or physical upheaval and be mostly okay at the end, then I
can get through my own struggles.
In fact, frequent readers of fanfic tend to read more fanfic rather than original books
because of the familiarity of it. There’s no need to have ten pages’ worth of worldbuilding,
character introduction, or character backstory. The readers already know everything they need to
know, especially if the fanfic takes place in the original work’s world. If the fanfic takes place in
an alternative universe, commonly called an AU, then worldbuilding is typically done in the first
paragraph, then sprinkled in as needed throughout the story.
However, there are many people that are against fanfic. Many believe that fanfic cannot be
considered good on the principle that it is not original work. That argument is fairly slim though,
when you consider that many classical works can be considered fanfiction. John Milton’s Paradise
Lost, for example, is a retelling of the Biblical Fall of Satan from the Bible, a fall that turns him
into a conflicted anti-hero. Through Paradise Lost, Milton explored and critiqued the Bible while
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filling in some of the blanks for himself, much like fanfic authors do today. Another famous
example is Dante’s Divine Comedy. If Paradise Lost was the first Bible fanfic, then Divine Comedy
was the first self-insert fanfic. In it, Dante himself imagines what it would be like to go on a oneon-one tour of heaven, purgatory, and hell. He also becomes best friends with his favorite author
over the course of the story. There are many other examples of classical literature that can be
brought up and categorized as fanfic. Should these works be considered ‘bad’ because they’re
based on the Bible? Or, should we acknowledge that good stories don’t have to be fully original
work, and can be based on an already existing work?
Another common argument against fanfiction being considered as good storytelling is that
fanfiction is lazy. Perhaps this is true to some extent: the characters are already developed. In many
cases, the settings and overall plot are already developed as well. However, we must remember
that many people begin to write fanfiction when they’re thirteen or fourteen years old. At that age,
most kids don’t know how to build a character, a plot, or a setting from the ground up. Writing
fanfic is a way for these kids to learn how to write a good story. My first try at fictional writing
was a fanfic based on the Warrior Cats Saga by Erin Hunter. It was an AU where the cats were
actually wolves, and their pelts were rainbow colored. And though, as expected, my writing was
terrible and I wouldn’t’ve known a decent plot if it hit me in the face, I kept writing. Just as
dinosaurs and outer space act as gateways into science for kids, so does fanfiction act as a gateway
to fictional writing. It helps them develop their skills and voice. Some people continue to write
fanfiction and never write their own original work. Why should we fault them and call them lazy
for that? Were there not artists who only painted scenes and characters from the Bible? Are they
lazy as well?
Like many, I did branch out into non-fanfic work. Now I write short stories. That doesn’t
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mean that I don’t still write fanfiction to practice my skills though. Today I write mostly Star Wars
fanfiction, with some Star Trek and Lord of the Rings thrown in for good measure. There’s one
character in the Star Wars universe that I particularly gravitate towards: Obi-Wan Kenobi. He’s an
intensely internal character, constantly hiding his true feelings behind a veneer of sass. He deals
with his hurts alone, bottling them up and never reaching out for help. He’s one of those characters
that can be a bit troublesome to really pin down their actions and words because he is so internal,
but also because Anakin Skywalker’s understanding of Obi-Wan tends to overshadow his actual
characteristics. As an audience, we usually see Obi-Wan through Anakin’s perspective, and I think
we can all agree that Anakin is not exactly the most reliable narrator.
I’ve had the opportunity to write a fanfic for my Writing 281 course this semester. The
assignment was to write an analytical paper arguing why fanfiction should be considered good
storytelling. Or, we could write a fanfic and argue why the fanfic we wrote should be considered
good storytelling. Predictably, I wrote a fanfic. Even more predictably, I wrote a nine-page fanfic
on Obi-Wan Kenobi that took place during the end of Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith.
In my fanfic, aptly and dramatically named These Little Things Called Pyrrhic Victories, I take
Obi-Wan through the aftermath of the slaughter at the Jedi Temple and have him confront Anakin,
now turned to the Dark Side, at Mustafar, much like in the movie. Where I deviate, though, is in
the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Most of us, I’m sure, knows how the scene should
go: Obi-Wan chops off Anakin’s limbs, leaves him to die in the lava, and goes to try and save
Padme. In my fanfic, though, Obi-Wan does his duty as a Jedi and kills Anakin.
Many would argue that my having Obi-Wan kill Anakin is a gross mischaracterization.
After all, Anakin’s his brother. He would never kill him. However, in my AU I’ve made it so that
Obi-Wan is marginally more loyal to the Jedi Code than he is to Anakin. In my version, Darth
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Vader never exists. And the questions that such an action posit are interesting: What would happen
to Leia and Luke? How would this impact the newest trio, Rey, Finn, and Poe? Because while
Anakin may have been the Chosen One, Anakin’s fate had always rested on Obi-Wan, a fact that
many seem to forget, and one of the reasons I love writing him.
And it is here why I think fanfiction should absolutely be counted as good storytelling.
Fanfiction authors take characters and put them in situations they don’t find themselves in in their
original work and keep the characterization. Fanfiction authors manage to understand a character
to such a degree that they can fully change the setting or happenstances of that character but still
maintain characterization. And that is why, out of all the common criteria that makes a good story
a good story, characterization is the most important in fanfiction. Half the time, the fans don’t fall
in love with just the world – they fall in love with the characters. I love the Star Wars universe,
but I would read a modern day AU where Obi-Wan is the owner of a flower shop rather than a
Jedi Master as long as the author gets his characterization right. How do I know I would read such
a thing? Because I have. Many times.
And I know when I’ve done my job as a writer when people leave comments such as these
on my story. If good storytelling is when your readers can connect with your characters in such a
way, doesn’t that count for something? Doesn’t that mean fanfiction can be considered good
storytelling? Contrary to popular belief, many fanfics do meet the common criteria for what makes
a story good. We haven’t shunned classics such as Paradise Lost – why should we shun fanfiction?