November has come and gone, and if you were following along, then you've surely noticed the lack of writing challenge updates. That's because both my friend and I gave up. Now, it's not as depressing as it sounds. We both love to write and have been, just not for the challenge. I see it less as a failure and more of a redirection in my craft. My friend wants to try actually completing the challenge another month, but for now, my focus is back on fanfiction.
I know not every writer takes fanfic seriously, but I'm lucky enough to have a small group of mutuals and friends that do. It's for the simple joy of the craft, not for money. It's about sharing ideas, inspiration, and love for fandom with others. Fanfic is something near and dear to my heart, and I refuse to let anyone make me feel like less of a writer for prioritizing it right now.
You see, the joy in fanfic for me is the connection to others. When writing for the challenge (so original works), I found myself losing momentum as I got deeper into the stories beyond mere concepts. I have no one to bounce ideas off of that understands my characters and world the way I do. At least with fanfic, I can post on social media about my works in progress with an audience that somewhat cares. I guess I have this blog now, but I haven't added a comment/chat feature yet. So there's no feedback or connection. Plus, most authors try to keep their character names, main plot points, and even their titles secret until publication. I can't operate like that. I'm a community-driven person when it comes to creative projects. I can't believe this isn't something that's typical in writer spaces (though maybe I just haven't found the right space yet).
I won't be fully abandoning my original works. I think of my characters and world-building often and with adoration. I love these stories I've began to build, but they're lonesome and tiring to work on. I much prefer posting to AO3 with characters people already know and worlds they already care about. The gratification of comments, kudos, and bookmarks makes it feel like I'm connecting with others through my work. I've found some of the best people I know through fanfic. It's hard to want to move on from this part of my writing career, so I don't think I'll ever fully move on from writing fanfic. Who knows? Maybe in a few decades I'll feel differently, but for now, I'm enjoying my focus on fanfic over original works.
I have a new chaptered fic series I've started on AO3 for Arcane (aka my favorite show of all time). It's dark and gritty, yet sweet and lovely. I adore these characters and their relationships. They give me endless inspiration. I've received so many wonderful comments already, so I'm motivated to keep editing and writing so I'm ready to post it all for them to read. I'd love a similar experience of connection with my original work. Maybe I should join a writers' discord server? I'm sure those exist.
All of this is to say, I love fanfiction and doubt that love will ever fully go away. It's what got me into fiction writing in middle school, which influenced my desire to change my major to English Creative Writing in college. I'm happy with the progress I've made as a writer through these silly little fanfics and the friends I've made along the way. I wouldn't even trade it for a publishing deal. One day I'd love to be a published author, but I'm young. I have plenty of time to dedicate to original work when their time feels right. For now, I'm going to write what brings me joy. And right now that's fanfiction.
I'd love to hear the thoughts and opinions of other writers on this subject. My social media is all linked on the home page of my site except for Bluesky, which is still ribreadlen like the others. Reach out to me! My DMs and ask box on Tumblr are open! Tell me what you think! I also might add comment/chat on this site, so if I've done so by the time you're reading this, please leave thoughts there as well. I hope you have a great day full of creative endeavors that bring you joy.