A few years ago a friend of mine, who I will refer to as "Terry" in order to protect the true identity of the guilty party, told me that I was wasting my time writing fan fiction.

Was Terry right?

HELL NO!

I can already hear the arguments from some of you, a few of which Terry made. You're not writing original stuff. You're not getting paid for what you're writing. This is only for amateur writers, not professionals. Isn't fan fiction written by lonely people who still live with their parents? Heh, gotta love people who think in stereotypes.

Before I go on, I should probably explain what fan fiction is for the uninitiated. These are stories based on existing TV shows, movies, books, comics and even video games written by fans instead of their original creators/authors. And yes, many amateur writers populate these sites, the most prominent being www.fanfiction.net . Nothing wrong with that. Writers have to get their feet wet somewhere and sites like FFN are a great place to do it. Every writer wants their stories read and FFN has a very, very large audience. Granted, some universes have more readers than others. You're likely to get more hits with a "Harry Potter" or "NCIS" story than "F Troop" or "Centurions." Still, you will have readers, who if they like your story can hit the favorite tab. Even better, they can give you something all writers crave. Feedback! This, I feel, is one of the most important reasons for budding writers to dive into the world of fan fiction. It is important to find out from readers which elements worked in your story and which ones didn't. Granted, many times reviews consist of just a single line saying, "This was good" or "This was bad." Not very helpful. But there are times you will have a reviewer who takes the time to give you a very good critique. Also, be prepared to deal with what are called "flamers." These are people who stalk the fan fiction world and leave scathing reviews filled with personal attacks. Amateur writers should not be discouraged by them. I find it disheartening to hear writers talk about quitting because someone tore apart their story and insulted them. If you love to write, why would you let some jerk sitting at a computer thousands of miles away who you don't even know stop you from doing that? Besides, many of these flamers are cowards who leave their reviews anonymously or disable the private messaging feature on their personal page, meaning they can dish out the smack talk, but they can't take it. Just ignore them, or laugh about it, or count how many spelling mistakes they made and shake your head.

As for fan fiction being a waste of time, one of the best pieces of advice I ever heard about how to become a better writer is this:

Keep writing!

If you are a writer and you are writing a story, you are not wasting time. Writers, by definition, write. Whether you are working on a novel, a short story for an anthology or a "Godzilla" fan fic, with every word you type out, you are improving your craft. You're fleshing out characters. You're tightening up action scenes. You're maintaining the flow and pace of the story. All of which can help when you write a story for publication in a paying market. For years I struggled with writing short stories. I'm more of a novel writer, who can spend 40 to 50 chapters telling my story and developing my characters. How the hell could I do that in 3,000 to 4,000 words?

The answer . . . fan fiction. I started out writing several "Harry Potter" short stories, or "one shots" in the fan fic world. This helped me focus on what was really important for story and character development. The result? Before my first story on FFN in 2007, I had zero short stories published outside the fan fiction world. Since that time, my short stories have appeared in five different anthologies.

Fan fiction also allows you to write outside your comfort zone. I'm mainly a sci-fi/action adventure writer. But with fan fiction I have delved into other genres, from drama to mystery to even romance. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But you give it a shot. I'll never forget one comedy fan fic I did in the "Harry Potter" world titled "Family Reunion." In this story, Harry wound up marrying Luna Lovegood. Many years after the final battle with Voldemort, the couple is at the London Zoo when they run into Harry's vile aunt and uncle. Who hasn't thought of how the Dursleys would react to some as "unique" as Luna? When I finished writing the story and read it over a few times, I wondered if it was funny enough. It's true, comedy is the hardest genre to write in. Despite my concerns, I went ahead and posted it, thinking, "Well, it'll either fly or it'll sink. We'll see."

At the time of this blog, "Family Reunion" has been read by more than 19,400 people, favorited by 782 and reviewed by 202. It is my most popular story on FFN. In addition, fan fiction has helped me write believable teenage characters and strengthen my writing for female POV characters, both of which have benefitted me in my novels and short stories.

You also never know where a fan fiction story can lead. While there is a lot of bias in the publishing world toward authors taking fan fiction stories and turning them into original novels, remember this. "Fifty Shades of Grey" began life as a "Twilight" fanfic. E.L. James removed all references to vampires and Stephanie Meyer's characters and next thing you know, she has a best-selling novel. Obviously, that is the exception and not the norm. Still, it might be worth the chance taking the plot of your fanfic or any original characters, or OCs, you use in the story and transfer them into your own unique work.

Finally, another reason to write fan fiction. It's fun. Fan fiction let's us come up with answers we always ask about our favorite books, movies and TV shows. What if Harry married Luna instead of Ginny? What if Tony and Ziva from "NCIS" were actually in a relationship? What if "The Transformers" movies had actual character development? Fan fiction also allows us to combine different worlds. What if Doctor Who met Captain Kirk? What if the Jedi and Battlestar Galactica fought side-by-side? What if Jack Bauer and Jack Reacher worked on the same case? The history buff in me wondered what would happen if the Nazis found a way into Narnia? Thus, the fanfic "Warpath" was born. Last summer while on vacation I suddenly found myself thinking, "Hey, when 'War of the Worlds' ended, the Martians were dead, but all their technology was intact. What if the human race reverse-engineered it?" That idea gave rise to "War of the Worlds: Retaliation," where mankind invaded Mars in 1924 and famous soldiers like Patton, Rommel and de Gaulle fought the Martians. I have also combined my love of giant monster movies with my love of military adventure novels. "Return of Titanosaurus" and "Rise of the Mechakongs" are Godzilla fanfics set against the backdrops of U.S. conflicts with Venezuela and Iran respectively. "Gamera the Defender" features the giant fire-breathing turtle in the midst of a second Korean War. Even well known authors have written and still write fan fiction, including Meg Cabot ("The Princess Diaries")and Cassandra Clare ("The Mortal Instruments").

Not only is fan fiction a great writing exercise, but as I said, it's fun, and if you're not having fun writing, why do it?

----

John J. Rust is the author of the military sci-fi book "Dark Wings." He has also written several short stories, including "The Art of Fear" starring the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe. His fan fiction stories can be found at www.fanfiction.net under the pen name JJ Rust.