Why Fan-Fiction Isn't That Bad

When I was thirteen years old, I began writing my first fanfiction about a show called Once Upon A Time. I binge-watched it on Netflix and had missed the first half of a certain season. I wanted to get a synopsis of what happened when I stumbled onto a site called Wattpad. That's where I found many stories of the show and the season I missed.

What I hadn't realized though, was that the books I read had absolutely nothing to do with the plot of the season. It was instead just a reimagining of what happened.

I began diving deeper into the fan-fiction for the show. I came to realize there were no rules. Some writers wrote in a different universe, some had bent the cannon of the show and made it their own. They changed the roles of characters and even made new histories. It was a whole new world involving the characters that I knew and loved. But one thing was holding me back from truly enjoying what I read: What I wanted didn't seem to exist.

If you've never watched Once Upon A Time, the show is about fairytale characters with a twist. Disney's the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, casts a curse on the entire Enchanted Forest where most, if not all of your favorite storybook characters live, in revenge against Snow White. This curse will take all the characters to a new realm. Our realm. The characters will have no memories of their past lives and will be eternally unhappy. But all curses can be broken.

Snow White and her Prince Charming have a daughter, who is the product of true love. True love is the most powerful magic of them all, so she will be their only hope of breaking the curse and defeating the Evil Queen.

The show became my obsession for the better half of three years. I was sick and tired of reading stories that didn't have what I wanted to happen, so I officially became a fan-fiction writer. I wrote stories that centered around my favorite couple in the show and rewrote their love story over and over again in my own way. The plots were my own. The only thing that I was borrowing was the characters.

At first, I kept it a secret from all of my friends and family. Honestly, I was embarrassed that I was doing it and to this day, I still don't know why. My stories got thousands of views and many positive comments. I had idea after idea and I was writing every day for my books. I had fallen in love with writing fiction, so I decided to go to a local performing arts school for writing. I was accepted and began my high school career for it.

As of this article, my account has been abandoned but the stories are still there. I made many friends from the account that I keep in touch with every day. Because I decided to write fan-fiction and make worlds that I could shape however I wanted, I found my passion. Writing is what I want to do with my life, and I will never be prouder of my beginnings.