Chances are Johnathan Walkeryou’ve heard of fan fiction. It’s pretty common knowledge that the successful “Fifty Shades ” series started as “Twilight” fan fiction, and the “After” young adult franchise started as One Direction fan fiction. There’s no doubt that fanfic—as it’s often called—has a place in our culture. But what exactly is this medium? If you’re new to fan fiction and curious for more, here’s what you need to know.

What is fan fiction?

Fan fiction is essentially original writing about existing fictional characters or, sometimes, real people like celebrities. The original medium fan fiction is based on can vary from books, movies, television shows, commercials, performances, or real people, to name a few.

“It’s basically taking those things as a jumping off point for more because you want to see it continue, because you like the characters or the personalities… and you want to see them in different contexts,” says Lori Morimoto, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia who researches transnational and transcultural fandoms. “It’s very much about imaginative play in that sense.”

Fan fiction is typically associated with amateur writing, although some professional writers engage in fan fiction as a hobby. The stories can be any length – some pieces are even longer than the original works they’re based on – and are often published on an online platform.

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Is real person fan fiction legal?

While fan fiction is popular, there is some controversy surrounding the hobby. Critics take issue with people publishing fictional stories about real people online. Often these stories are romantic in nature and can “ship” real people who are not otherwise together in real life. Critics argue that this behavior operates as an invasion of privacy, Morimoto says. One might also be concerned about issues of defamation like libel.

However, these stories are primarily protected. According to legal scholar Rebecca Tushnet, who is one of the legal committee members of the Organization for Transformative Works – a nonprofit dedicated to fanworks, “As long as fiction about real people doesn't claim to be the truth, it is … protected creative expression.”

Morimoto echoes this statement, emphasizing that people don’t expect fan fiction to be true. When people create fan fiction, they are essentially asking what if this happened to a certain character or celebrity, says Morimoto.

Examples of fan fiction

If you are interested in reading fan fiction, there are many great places to start. Here is a list of published books that started as fan fiction, according to Business Insider:

• “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare is inspired by “Harry Potter.”
• “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood is inspired by “Star Wars.”
• “Beautiful Bastard” by Christina Lauren is inspired by “Twilight.”
• “We’d Know by Then” by Kirsten Bohling is inspired by “Star Wars.”
• "Sempre" by J.M. Darhower is inspired by "Twilight."
• "Gabriel's Inferno" by Sylvain Reynard is inspired by "Twilight."
• "Point Pleasant" by Jen Archer Wood is inspired by "Supernatural."
• "For Love and Bylines" by Merrin Taylor is inspired by “Star Wars.”
• You can also read original works of fan fiction or publish your own stories on various online platforms. Some popular ones include Archive of Our Own, Fan fiction.net and Wattpad. Another option is to check out recommendation lists, like The Rec Center weekly newsletter.

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