Have you ever walked away from a book, movie, or show, asking “What if this had gone differently?” Then you have probably read fanfiction at some point to answer that question. Fanfiction is a beloved part of engaging with a piece of media.
The art of fanfiction is often thought of as a modern work. However, fanfiction has been around much longer than most people understand. The history of fanfiction is rich and full of surprises.
What is Fanfiction — A Definition
Fanfiction is a written body of fictional work based on another media. The works are typically written by hobbyist writers rather than professionals. Fanfiction can range from short quips under ten thousand words, known as “one-shots,” to works nearing one hundred thousand words.
Copyright laws can create trouble for fanfiction writers, as fan work is difficult to define. There have been questions raised about whether fanfiction brings more attention to the original work or is simply a copyright infringement — especially given that there have been cases of entire books or series being rewritten by fans to “fix” or retell the original story. Though there is not a large epidemic of authors going after fanfiction writers, it has happened.
Perhaps the best way to describe fanfiction is a fan-created written work drawing from an original piece in order to explore alternate ideas or content within the original work’s universe. That is a bit of a mouthful, but fanfiction can be complicated like that. After all, fanfiction has been around for awhile. Understanding the history of fanfiction lets us understand what fanfiction is and what it can be.
Religious Texts and Mythology
Depending on how well-versed you are in the fanfiction world, you may or may not realize that fanfiction exists around mythologies and religions. Myriad religions have ancient evidence and preserved relics that are deeply rooted in their beliefs, such as old versions of the Bible or Quran. Such texts tell us the structure of a religion. Religious followers have consequently been inspired to create, thus generating fiction based on the structure of a religion, or even multiple.
Greek mythology endures as a staple of the literary world. Whether they prefer the translated classics or modern-day retellings, lovers of Greek mythology are deeply enthusiastic. Back when the myths first emerged, they were likely told orally. Even when texts are translated, smaller details are lost along the way. With all of these components at work, people have argued that the Greek tales can also fall under the fanfiction umbrella.
Another example is John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which comes a bit later in our timeline. The epic poem explores the story of Adam and Eve as well as Lucifer’s life after his fall from grace. Milton’s work takes liberties from the Christian belief system, as he uses his creativity to craft the story. Dante’s Inferno has also been classified as the first self-insert fanfic. The story’s protagonist is the poet Dante Alighieri himself, and it incorporates both work from Christianity and parts of Greek mythology.
Shakespeare
Everyone knows the name of Shakespeare. His plays are monumental in literary history. What you may not know is that Shakespeare’s work was not entirely original. So, in a way, Shakespeare was writing fanfiction for works he enjoyed.
Shakespeare took most of his plots from other texts, invoking writers such as Arthur Brooke and Raphael Holinshed. Another source was historian and philosopher Plutarch from ancient Greece.
In fact, Brooke was the original creator of the infamous story of Romeo and Juliet. Brooke wrote a poem titled The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, which was published in 1562. Meanwhile, Shakespeare’s version of Romeo and Juliet was not published until 1597. The works have both similarities and differences. Specifically, Shakespeare added characters to spark narrative motion, including Tybalt, Paris, and Mercutio.
Shakespeare’s works are not widely regarded as fanfiction, of course. The plays are retellings, but they can also fall into the fanfiction category. So, if anyone tries to tell you that fanfiction is not a true literary form, use Shakespeare as a prime example.
Star Trek
The history of fanfiction is not complete without bringing up Star Trek. The sci-fi series spawned fanfiction that closely resembles the fanfiction people see today. Even today, Star Trek‘s fandom remains a powerful force.
At the time of Star Trek‘s debut, the internet had not gone live yet, so fanfiction had to be shared in other ways. Fans of Star Trek would create what are known as zines. Zines are magazines written by fans and for fans of the media. In this case, zines were made for Star Trek. The zines could then be shared by hand when fans met up. The process is similar to attending a Comicon convention, where fans can meet, exchange gifts, or purchase fan works.
Star Trek also brought the idea of shipping characters into the spotlight. Everyone has watched a show or read a book and thought, “Those two are cute.” The beauty of fanfiction is that fans can bring their favorite pairs to life in their work.
Without the Star Trek fandom and its dedicated fans, fanfiction may not be where it is. The franchise was the launching pad of modern fan fiction.
The Launch of the Internet
The opening of Pandora’s box; the launch of the World Wide Web. The internet service provider was first launched in 1974. However, the Internet became more publicly accessible with the advent of the World Wide Web in 1989. This gave us HTMLs, URLs, and HTTPs — and with them, access to anything and anyone online.
As a result, fans could connect much more easily, and fan-made zines could be uploaded online and shared via the web.
People just needed a place to consolidate all the fanfiction they were writing.
Fanfiction Websites
FanFiction.net launched on October 15th, 1998. It was the first mainstream website to provide a place for people to publish, read, and discuss fanfiction. However, the site is now rather dated and not used as much as the two dominating sites.
Wattpad debuted next, going live in December 2006. Two years later, Wattpad also launched an app. Wattpad dominated the fanfiction space, as it was easily accessible to writers and allowed them to publish easily. The site also let readers leave comments anywhere in the fanfic. Wattpad was the place to be.
Yet it soon added a paywall, and it now features much more original work, causing upset with longtime users. Despite this, the site is still vastly popular and a good place for first-time fanfic writers to get started.
Finally, there is Archive of Our Own, also known as Ao3, launched on November 14th, 2009 as an open beta. Ao3 gave writers yet another place to publish their work. For readers, the site offers a tagging system, which filters your searches down to what you want to read. For instance, if you hate a certain trope, you can filter it right out. The site also uses an invitation system to control the volume.
No matter what site you read or write on, there is no denying their importance. They connect fans and share works all over the world. Without them, it would be impossible to find fanfic so quickly.
Fanfiction Today and in the Future
Fanfiction has come a long way from what it was all those centuries ago. Modern-day fanfiction remains a valued pastime for an abundance of people.
Now the question is, where does fanfiction go next?
Some fanfiction works have taken on lives of their own. The movie The Idea of You, which stars Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, began as Harry Styles fanfiction.
We are also starting to see a rise in AI-generated fanfiction. On Archive of Our Own, there are just over two thousand five hundred works tagged as AI-generated. This has sparked backlash from real writers, as well as poor reader reactions.
AI is as complicated as defining fanfiction, so there is no telling how far AI-generated fanfiction will go. Will websites take down those works? Will websites support them? It’s all uncharted territory.
For now, as always, most readers are going to only read what piques their interest. People will keep writing fanfiction about their favorite ships and imagining scenarios to their hearts’ content. No matter how you define fanfiction, there is undoubtedly something out there for you.
