What is Fan Fiction?
Fan fiction, aka fanfic, is unauthorized fiction written by fans based on an existing work (movies, TV, and books). It is a hobby. Fan fiction authors cannot officially publish and make money off of their work legally, because they do not own the IP (intellectual property). Think of it as a creative gym where you build craft and community—no membership required except love of the source material.
Outsiders often look down on fan fiction because of stereotypes that it is “not real,” fake, unskilled work.
How did Fanfic Start?
Fan storytelling is older than the internet. It began with men writing their own Sherlock Holmes stories (called pastiches) in the 1880s. Even today there are scores of people writing and publishing their own Sherlock stories, which are versions of fan fiction. (Sherlock stories can be published because the character Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain.)
Today’s fan fiction culture started in the 1970s at Star Trek conventions in fan-produced magazines that people would make and pass out for free. Fanfic really took off in the 1990s with the start of internet culture and online forums.
Where do you Post?
There are lots of fan fiction sites. Here are the three most popular:
- AO3 (Archive of Our Own) — is nonprofit, ad-free, and volunteer-run. It’s built for discoverability and preservation.
- Fan fiction.net — one of the oldest large fanfic sites; many fandoms still live there.
- Wattpad– a social storytelling platform where writers share original fiction and fanfic.
What do People Write?
Everything. But here are fan-favorite zones:
- Favorite IP: There are vibrant communities in Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, and Hunger Games.
- New stories and adventures: Fans want to spend more time in their favorite worlds with the favorite characters.
- New romances: A favorite is getting enemies together like Star Wars’ Reylo (Rey/Kylo Ren) or Harry Potter’s Dramione (Draco/Hermione).
- Rewrite history (a.k.a. “fix-it” fiction): Writers change a finale they hated, heal favorite characters, or reroute canon entirely.
Why Write Fan Fiction?
- Love of the IP: It’s fan joy in action—celebration, invention, expansion.
- Great community: Feedback, kudos, bookmarks, beta readers. It’s social, supportive, and wildly generative.
- Skill-building: Writers practice voice, scene work, tropes, pacing, and long-form serialization and then carry those muscles into original fiction.
- Training Ground: Authors find their voice and explore trends before they reach traditional publishing.
- Publishing Interest: Traditional publishers and agents now increasingly look at popular fan fiction authors who have large followings as potential candidates for publication.
How to Publish
If you want to publish for pay, you’ll need to transform it into an original work. Fan fiction writers call this “filing off the serial numbers.”
This is the industry term for transforming your fiction into a legally distinct novel with new names, new world building, altered dynamics, fresh plots, so it’s no longer tied to the source IP. E.L. James famously did this with Fifty Shades of Grey, which began as Twilight fanfic. Fifty Shades’ breakout status brought new attention to the possibilities of fanfic.
Inspiration for Screenplays
Reworked fan fiction is a wonderful way to generate screenplay ideas. Think of your favorite story universes as another place to mine for templates. High-engagement stories show audience appetite (Tropes! Love! Angst!)—and when reworked into fresh IP, they’re pitch-ready for adaptation.
Takeaways
- Play first, publish later. Treat fanfic as a low-pressure lab to test tropes, voices, and story engines.
- If you go pro, go original. Change more than names—shift world rules, backstories, plot architecture, and character arcs so the new work stands on its own.
- Leverage your community. Reader enthusiasm (comments, shares, BookTok buzz) can translate into momentum when you launch original work.
- Mind the ethics. Keep fanfic free and for fun; keep the published work legally distinct.
Books that Started as FanFic
Alchemised by SenLin Yo – Dramione – epic fantasy*
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – Star Wars: Kylo & Rey (Reylo) – scientists in love*
Forget Me Not by Julie Soto – Dramione – Flower Shop romance
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon – Rylo – epic fantasy
Knives, Seasonings, and a Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan – Rylo – romance among chefs
After by Anna Todd – One Direction – romance*
*optioned for film
Learn More
The Creative Penn, Writing Fan Fiction with KimBoo York – podcast
Out from Fanfic: Transforming Creative Freedom by Kimboo York
Legendary Pays 7 Figures for Alchemised, Book that Began as Harry Potter Fan Fiction
From Friends to Lovers: The Fanfic to Romance Pipeline Goes Mainstream
How Fan Fiction Went From Dirty Little Secret to Money Machine
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