The Internet is a beautiful thing. It allows us to convey ideas with thousands of people almost instantaneously. It lets people explore, share, and abuse their creativity. And for a lot of users, fanfiction is their chosen creative output.
It has almost become a taboo subject, fanfiction. There are no guidelines, no rules, and no limits. I wouldn’t advise anyone under the age of 13 to go exploring on Archive of Our Own. But for mature readers and writers, the freedom that comes along with writing fanfic can allow for beautiful, unexpected stories.
The definition of fanfiction is not solid. Technically, it is a piece of writing based off another person’s work. But with the burst in popularity as of late, it has transformed into a community. There are works based off movies, television shows, book series, music artists, historical figures, and more.
Television hosts and snobby editorial writers may look down on fanfiction as child’s play. But the passion exuded by the writers and response from readers is really what makes fanfic so special. And some of the stories I’ve read have been extremely powerful.
Fanfiction-verse terms for beginning readers
AU = Alternate universe
Shipping = Pairing two characters together in a romantic or platonic way
OC = Original character
OOC = Out of character
A/N = Author’s notes
Drabble = A story that is around 100 words
![DEFEND. Seniors Lydia Cooke and Laura Mihlbachler pose with their awards at the Model UN conference in Dayton. There were three award winners at the Dayton conference. The awards are given to students who were impactful in defending their issues. “[Model UN] is for people who are engaged in national and global issues, or if they want to be a lawyer and enjoy the argument and persuasive style,” said Model UN advisor Mr. Greg Cole.](https://shsleaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2018-11-09-at-11.07.09-AM.png)
