I actually love working within the realm of fan fiction, with already established characters and I love the challenge of it. I don't want to write novels, I don't want to be a professional writer, I don't want to create completely new characters, I want to deep dive into the world of my blorbos and create new possibilities for them, I want to explore where they came from, why do they behave the way they do, I love "fixing" the canon and to me, in many ways, writing fan fiction is way more enjoyable than watching the shows.
I also feel that it's so so important to have a hobby, a creative hobby, completely seperste from your professional life. It just does wonders for my well being even though my writing process is long and arduous.
It takes me 3 to 4 months to write a chapter and it took me over 4 years to finish my latest fic. But I love the process, I love how the story / chapters stay in my head for weeks and weeks until I can literally SEE it like a movie or an episode in my mind and only then I sit down and type it. And then it can take another good month to edit it before I'm happy to post it but I just love the process so much, almost more than the end result despite the frustrating writer blocks along the way.
I don't want to be a professional writer, I actually love what I'm doing professionally and I can't imagine doing anything else but I love writing. And fan fiction is such an amazing way to be a writer and share your work with others.
Sure, it's all for free but there's no pressure, no deadlines, no words limits, no publisher telling you what can and cannot be published.
And there's no better way to embrace my inner cringe than through writing fan fiction.
