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Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Why I Like Reading Fanfiction

So the other day, I just finished reading an actual book for the first time in a long while (manga does not count, lol), and it made me realize why I like reading fanfics so much.

Like I've said many times before, I like reading fanfics because they're short and easy to read when you're on a time-crunch, when you want to read something quick during a break before continuing studying or something. But when I was started reading the book, From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas, I realized a couple of other reasons why I like reading fanfics.

The main reason is that it's easy to get into fanfics since you already know the characters and the general plot. If the fanfics are canon, then it literally takes a paragraph or two to set up the story and get the plot going, whereas starting a new book or series requires pages and pages of lead up to get the characters fleshed out with backstories and the setting down. Don't get me wrong, I like that about books, the slow buildup and getting to know the characters and setting through their actions instead of longass info-dumps in the beginning, but sometimes, the mystery or buildup take too long for my liking or they try too hard at being mysterious that it doesn't really even make sense.

Also, even if the fanfics are in alternate universes (AU), the characters mainly retain their identities so it's not hard imagining them in different settings. And I think that's what makes fanfics so great. You can put the characters that you love so much into different settings and see how they react in that type of environment, different from anything you've read or seen in their canon verse. And people write the cutest AUs; god, I love bakery and college AUs. XD


Another main reason why I love fanfics is the fact that you get to continue seeing your favorite characters even after the book or show is over. I mean, wasn't that the reason why fanfiction was created? A lot of fans were disappointed that their series was over and wanted to somehow continue it or have their own spin to it? Some series are just too great to just be over, or they left a lot of loose ends that could be intentionally interpreted, or they have noncanon pairings that fans would love to ship (yeah, I'm looking at you Teen Wolf and Supernatural), so where else can you ship them but in fanfics and fanart? But really, fanfics are there to satisfy your cravings of your series because they legit have basically everything you can think of: other interpretations of scenes or afterwords, noncanon pairings, AUs, podfics, etc.

I had a couple of other reasons why I like reading fanfics, but I seem to have forgotten them whilst getting caught up in reading the book, lol. But these reasons are the main ones anyway. Maybe I'll write another post if I can remember them. :3

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