Hi! I've been writing fan fiction for years, and I really think that sites like this one are fantastic. It's important to have a place where you are allowed to express your ideas. Right now, I've written works for Fullmetal Alchemist, Transformers, Star Wars, Zelda, Final Fantasy, StarCraft, X-men, Yu-gi-oh, Peter Pan (a school project) and Neverwhere, and I have some original fiction posted at FictionPress. That's quite a variety of genres, isn't it?

I believe that sites like this one provide a valuable "training ground" for future original writers. Fan fiction allows writers to develop their skills, to focus on characterization, plot development, and other skills, without the stress of world creation. Once a writer understands how another's fictional world works, I think it's only a short step from there to developing their own worlds.

Sometimes, fan fiction can even directly inspire original fiction. It has done so for me. By focusing on the non-movie elements of the Star Wars expanded universe in my fan fiction, no Jedi, no Force, I built up a framework that has slowly evolved into an original science fiction universe for me! For the time being, I'm calling it Spiral, and it incorporates not just ideas from my Star Wars fics, but from all my writing.

A little advice to all other aspiring writers: Don't give up! People will tell you that writing is a waste of time, that you should be doing anything but. That you have no talent. Well, talent is NOT something you're born with. Talent is something that is developed over time, through literally years of practice. Keep writing, keep developing your creativity. You may never be the next K.A. Applegate, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King or Shakespeare, but EVERY little bit of creativity, of people expressing themselves, no matter the artistic medium, is important. Never stop expressing yourselves.

Thank you for sharing in my own expression of my creativity. I wish you the best of luck with yours!

Violetlight