I love fan fiction. There is just something that burns me about certain peoples’ attitudes towards fan fiction. I hate it when people don’t try their best to create an engaging story because “It’s just fan fiction” or “Just a hobby.” So? Simply because it is a fan piece done in spare time does not mean that you should slack off. Fan fiction does not equal badly written. There are some wonderful masterpieces in the fan fiction world. Yet, some people continue to perpetrate the rumor that fan fiction sucks or should not be given any sort of artistic value. Well, if people would stop posting crappy stuff then we wouldn’t have problems with people thinking fan fiction is all badly written and uncreative.

So why is it that people continue to post poor quality works and when they get fussed at for not making any effort they say “It’s just fan fiction” and “It’s only a hobby.” Yes, but if you’re going to take the time to write it, show some pride and make it worth reading. Baking is a hobby of mine, when I burn my cookies I don’t say “Oh, it’s just a hobby, who cares?” I start over again and get it right. Nobody wants to eat burnt cookies and nobody wants to read bad fan fiction!

Don’t hide behind the false mantra! Make some effort to improve and become a better writer. It’s such a lame excuse. One day, these will be these same people will be writing the novels, newspapers and magazines we‘ll read. Then their excuses will be something along the lines of “It’s just a rough draft” or “That’s what an editor’s for.” Yes, but if you learn to do it correctly now, your writing can go so much farther. Even if it is fan fiction, put some effort into it!

It’s not as if putting some effort into it will kill them. Creating one good story is better than creating loads of bad fics right? Isn’t it nice to be known as a good author instead of that person who writes cruddy fics? Why should we waste our time reading if they can’t waste their time writing? People need to stop making excuses and strive for better quality in their work. Then, the next time someone says “I write fan fiction” they can be proud of that fact.

Any thoughts? Are you as tired of that lame excuse as I am? Honestly, you’d think it would kill them to try and write something of quality.