Many years ago, I was fairly active on this site. Now, I have begun to take a renewed interest in it.

I understand that for many people (though, I suspect, none here) reading and writing fanfiction carries a heavy stigma. To be fair, some fanfiction is pornographic material about My Little Pony. Some, not all. That's perfectly acceptable, if you're into that sort of thing, but that is not why I wrote fanfiction in the past, and it is not why I might return to writing it in the future.

So why do I write fanfic?

It is a unique challenge. A writing exercise, of sorts, which has certain value to it. Successful fanfiction requires the author to analyze and understand characters and situations in the source material very effectively. To take known and loved characters and put them into uncharted territory is risky. To have them act and react in ways that fans of the source material can enjoy and that are not OOC is difficult. Fanfiction is the ultimate intersection of raw creativity and rational thinking. To produce effective work in somebody else's universe requires the creator to engage both the left and right brain in almost equal measure, a quality sorely lacking in many skills development tasks we encounter these days.

In short, I wrote and may continue to write fanfiction because it provides a uniquely challenging and effective way to hone my skills as both a creative and critical writer.

As for reading it?

Hundreds of thousands of fans, people who adore the source material, working collaboratively to expand the universe is mathematically likely to produce sound works of fiction. Do you have to sift through some weird stuff to find the gems? Yes. Welcome to the internet. It really is worth it, though, when you find a story that breathes new life into the characters you fell in love with.

Please feel free to trot any of the above out next time you hear somebody bashing on fanfiction, and enjoy the site.