Fanfiction

Dear Bloggie,

I’m thinking about fanfiction again and what it means to me. I started writing fanfiction at the tender age of eight, when I was reading the “Hardy Boys” and wanted more adventures to read. Of course, I was writing for myself and one or two friends. I graduated to “Star Trek” and “Star Wars,” and from there to other favorite shows. Always for myself and one or two friends—with one or two fanzine exceptions. Now, thanks to the Internet, I can share my love of my favorite shows (okay, right now SHOW) with others who also love the show. It’s such an amazing thing and has led to friendships with people around the world.

I have also been honored with some awards, including a Best Story Supernatural Fanfiction Award for my story “Wolf’s Bane” and a Best Story Runner-Up for “When Last I Cried”. I have also been honored with other awards from the SNFAs. Recently Supernaturalville/UnGen awarded its first annual “Unscripted Genius Awards” and I was deeply honored and humbled to find I had won four of those coveted awards. I was stunned and pleased that my stories had touched people, I can’t begin to say how much these awards mean to me and what they symbolize.

Fanfic brought me back to my first love—writing, and thanks to the friendship and support I’ve found I have taken a few terrifying steps, including my novel The Legacy. Would I have done that without fanfiction? Perhaps, but certainly not as soon or as confidently.