Fanfiction: Fueling Fandoms or Fizzing Out Real Literature?

Fanfiction is a type of writing that involves fans creating original stories based on existing works of fiction or media. At its core, it is a genre of writing where fans create stories based on established works of fiction. This may range from Harry Potter (All the Young Dudes, we see you), Star Wars, Marvel, and more obscure literary works .What distinguishes fanfiction from other types of homage or intertextuality is that it’s often written by non-professional authors who post their work on platforms such as Archive of Our Own (AO3), Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad, mostly never profiting off of their works. Maths geeks can call the internet and fanfictions directly proportional to each other. Where one rises, the other is never far behind to claim the crown of being an internet sensation. However, do these threaten literature as a whole? One of the strongest arguments in favour of fanfiction as the future of literature is its inclusivity. Traditional publishing has long been criticised for being gatekept by a narrow spectrum of perspectives—typically from the Western, white, male, cisgender experience. Fanfiction offers a space for marginalised voices to reimagine beloved stories in ways that reflect their lived realities. Writers from LGBTQ+ communities, people of colour, and women have embraced fanfiction as a space where they can see themselves represented in genres and universes that may have originally excluded or tokenized them. Moreover, fanfiction writers frequently challenge conventions and limitations in the source material. Fans rework beloved stories in ways that introduce new narratives or explore characters more deeply than the original authors or creators might have. As literature evolves, it arguably moves toward more collaborative forms of storytelling, and fanfiction epitomises this participatory culture. Readers don’t just passively consume content—they engage with it, remix it, and contribute their own perspectives. But on the flipside: Despite fanfiction's vibrant, inclusive nature, detractors argue that it may spell the fall of literature. Critics often describe fanfiction as formulaic, poorly edited, and derivative. One of the primary criticisms is that fanfiction lacks the originality that is central to what many perceive as "great" literature. Because fanfiction builds on existing characters and worlds, it does not always grapple with the complexity of world-building or character development from scratch. For many, this is a fundamental aspect of literary artistry—creating new and unique stories rather than expanding on someone else’s. However, accessibility and opportunity on one hand, fanfictions have never seen themselves reach the same fame as published novels and stories would, and in turn have never threatened toppling over the Literary demographic for one major reason: 1) They aren’t original pieces of story Though they normally have plots that laugh in canon’s face and toss it into the garbage can labelled “unimportant”, fanfictions can never market themselves as original, because their entire fame is contingent on whether the work they are based on is famous or not. The bigger the fandom for the actual book, the bigger the fandom for the fanfiction. Infact, the popularity of the actual book is one of the major factors that play into whether fanfictions on the book will be made or not. If barely anyone likes the series, you won't ever see fanfictions based on it, because little to no one cares enough about the series to make their own fanon out of it. Harsh, yet that's the literature industry. With this, any fanfiction that publishes itself as an original piece of work, independent from the actual series, or even markets itself as a spin-off, will be sure to receive legal backlash from the actual author– and that's something no one, especially one who writes on Wattpad as a profession, is willing to risk. Hence the fanfiction writers contend themselves with being seen only on the screen, and receive applause from those who loved their fanfictions instead of actual cold, hard cash. This lack of incentive shreds the motive for writing fanfictions to one basic thread: Write for the sake of engaging with the fandom and the actual book, without the intention of publishing it as a book. Hence fanfictions can be seen as not the contributors to literature, but rather extenders that diversify how literature can be seen. Books and series will be the face of literature, yet these fan-fiction will shed light to just how far we go for these faces.