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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/03/hill-die-on-fan-fiction-real-literature>
"Fan fiction is democracy in its purest, most chaotic form. It’s the people
seizing the means of production. Every “what if?” is a tiny revolution. What if
the side character got a backstory? What if the finale didn’t end in
heartbreak? What if Harry Styles and Zayn Malik kissed just once, for morale?
Of course, many would argue that fan fiction isn’t real literature. It borrows
worlds and characters that someone else created. It’s often unedited, published
online for free and written by people with no verified experience. To the
purists, it lacks originality, polish and commercial value, the hallmarks of
what they believe “serious” writing should be.
But this is to misunderstand the purpose of fan fiction. Fan fiction starts
with the itch of dissatisfaction, it is the art of emotional correction. When
what is canon fails to deliver, the fan fiction writers step in, armed with
Word documents and righteous indignation. You think this character deserved
more hand-holding? Fine. Someone out there is writing 10,000 words of forehead
kisses and mutual healing right now.
Because fan fiction isn’t just rewriting, it’s repairing. It’s giving yourself
the closure you need when the author won’t. It’s deciding that pain can end
differently, that love can be louder, that characters who were doomed in print
get to live this time. It’s literature written by people who refused to move on
and sometimes these people spell really badly (and that is completely OK).
And yes, it’s rebellion. Against gatekeeping, against prestige, against the
assumption that stories only count when they make money. Fan fiction exists
because readers loved something so much they refused to let it die."
In the last few years, I have read far more fan fiction than professionally
published literature. Yes it varies widely in quality, but even the weaker
efforts are generally worthy of encouragement and often contain sufficient
sparks of excellence to be rewarding. It’s an important path for the growth of
new writers, and even well established and popular authors occasionally dabble
in it.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
