Imagine if Jack from “Titanic” had survived the disaster and arrived in America with Rose? Or what would Harry Potter’s life have been like if his parents had survived? That’s what fanfictions are all about.
Fanfictions, fanfiction, fan stories or abbreviated fanfics are stories written by fans about a book, a series, a music band or a computer game. These stories use the characters and universe of the original work and rewrite it. They add events to it and let characters live even though they died in the original work.
Most often, these stories take up the usual themes of friendship and love or drama. In connection with fanfictions, own words were invented over time, such as the term “shipping“. This is about a fan’s desire for a relationship to exist between two or more people. The word comes from the English term relationship or friendship. There are countless other original abbreviations fans use to describe their fanfictions. Fans can use these abbreviations and terms to briefly share what content appears in their story. Whether it’s a crossover – an overlap of plot – between two worlds, or whether it’s just about one character. For example, Anakin Skywalker, a main character from the Star Wars universe, suddenly goes to school at Hogwarts and his experiences at the wizarding boarding school are recounted.
If you want to read more about the topic, you can find information on the fanfiction sites on the Internet, e.g. on
fanfiction.com
and
Wattpad.com
. Interested young people can discuss their favorite parts of books and movies with other fans, give free rein to their creative streak in fanfiction contests, and find friends who are interested in the same things as they are.
Fanfiction can develop the writing talent of children and young people and stimulates the imagination. For anyone who would like to write their own books or can imagine a career as a writer, fanfiction is a good exercise.
Fanfiction has been around for a long time. Even the ancient Greeks liked to pass on stories. The Internet now provides a portal for all these stories. Nevertheless, it should be noted that fanfiction is in a gray area. This is because copyright and personal rights are violated here, for example by using protected terms from the original works. Using and rewriting the thought of authors can be considered illegal. However, most authors have no problem with this and see it as something positive, as long as the fan stories are not sold.
You should also note that many fanfictions on the Internet have been written in an adult manner. This is usually indicated by an age rating or a warning against drastic content, since some stories also involve sexual acts.
Fanfiction websites offer a wide range of stories and it’s worth checking out. Maybe you and your child have a favorite movie in common and want to dive deeper into his or her world this way.
