Dream a Little Bigger, Darling

Why reading fanfiction is good for you?
Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanfiction)

1. Escapism- what’s the best way to forget about the tons of works that keep on piling on your desk or mountains of books that you have to read? You don’t need anvil to kill your headache and smoking or alcohol that will kill you or your hangover will. Fanfics? Download them, keep them, hoard them, whatever fit your purpose (to escape remember..) and read them. Embrace the new realm, enter the pristine world where words are weaved beautifully and you will put that every unhappy related things on hold.

2. Life is beautiful- maybe not in the real world (scorn me as you want but pessimism is my default setting. So your argument is invalid.) Don’t read stories with angst or torture or dark in the warning (seriously people READ the warning first before you start anything else or I can assure you’ll be scarred for life) but chose humour, au (alternate universe), romance, fluff (well you get the draft). You want to enjoy yourself so start with something light.

3. Fulfill your darkest deepest heart desire- you have favourite TV Series? Anime? Bands? Trust me they are too many talented people out there. They write good stuff so good I think they should be allowed to write for TV or publish books. Every show, musician, anime etc will have their own fandom (bandom for bands i.e Fall Out Boys, My Chemical Romance, Panic at The Disco etc). You like hetro/slash pairing? Do you want them to be in alternate universe? Where they’re not famous figures/celebrities but gardeners or students or bakers or vet (and the possibilities are endless). All you have to do is be creative and diligent. Use search engine or delicious.com or the best realm of fanfic is at livejournal. Be specific of what kind of stories you like, who are the characters you want in and again the warning. Some people only like fictional characters while others enjoy real people (who really exist) in the stories.

4. Learn and learn- yes fanfic fit the purpose of entertainment but trust me you can learn many things from reading them. Novels are expensive, newspapers are morbid and magazines full of glossy pictures yet fanfic not only mould to your interest but they’re also one hell of learning experience. You won’t have to buy encyclopedia to learn about some medical or police work related jargon. Yes they are the work of fiction based on imagination and not factual facts but trust me some good writers go to extend length to do research on the subjects they’re writing about. The most obvious thing I discovered after all the years I spent reading fanfiction is (I started when I was 18) my collection of vocabulary increase drastically. Try and see for yourself.


Conclusion:

I discovered fanfic by accident. I’m addicted to anime and my first ff was from anime (Gensomaden Saiyuki, Cardcaptor Sakura, Gundam Wing) and as the years went by my interest shifted form tv series to bandom, from fictional characters to real people but the essence remains the same. Fanfic is awesome. If your hobby is reading then you are one step in this realm already. I can’t make you like them and I won’t because this thing you need to discover on your own. Once you’re there then we can talk. Happy Reading!~