The real conversation that needs to be had around the genre
There can be questionable stuff on the internet. That is simply a reality of dealing with technology and public forums. We are taught from a young age the relevance of a digital footprint and darker content in certain corners of the web. This applies to a variety of things, whether it’s video, photo, or writing. In the world of Fanfiction, this philosophy is still true. There can be some weird stuff out there. We have seen this proven on many occasions almost a little too publicly. After, The Mortal Instruments, and more recently, The Idea of You are all examples of mainstream media based primarily in Fanfiction. There are several reasons why many of these examples are more than a little uncomfortable, but I’ll leave that up to your independent research.
All this being said, many of those strange and even lewd examples have become the default reaction to the entire category of Fanfiction. In reality the genre is just as wide and diverse as many genres of published print literature. I have read popular printed novels more racy and uncomfortable than almost all of the Fanfiction I have ever consumed (Cough, Colleen Hoover, Cough).
Similar to finding good movies, books or other media, the key is most often research. Because the rabbit hole of Fanfiction exists primarily on the not-always-reliable platform of the internet, research is important to find quality publishings. May I also add, one of the beauties of Fanfiction is an established world. Picking up a spin-off of a series you have already read means you already know the characters, setting and magic system (if there is one).
I fell into the world of Fanfiction, Wattpad and Archive of Our Own (AO3) during the primary months of full Covid lockdown, in 2020 and 2021. TikTok was probably the main reason for this. As I’m sure many of you remember, these months were responsible for a massive resurgence of Harry Potter popularity, especially on TikTok. Same as many others, I grew up loving both the Harry Potter books and movies. I was quickly sucked into the TikTok world of Harry Potter and creative ways influencers and other users spun trends and cinematic videos on the social media platform.
Through these videos, I was often recommended the titles of many different Fanfictions. I was definitely hesitant at first. Archive of Our Own is generally considered the more reputable way to access Fanfiction, although slightly more difficult to use. I started with Wattpad, but when discovering the ability to download AO3 files straight directly into my Books app on my iPhone, I was hooked. It is not an exaggeration to say I have read some of the best literature of my life on that platform.
Specifically when searching for Harry Potter inspired material, you can filter for the most popular titles. The first two results are titled All the Young Dudes and Manacled. ATYD is a Marauder-era series; Manacled, an alternate ending to the original series. Each of these publications have upwards of 13 and 7 million hits respectively. This is absolutely insane, considering the reach of most Fanfiction and other digital writings. Many fans of these titles go as far to print and bind their own titles, as the authors cannot sell physical copies due to copyright laws.
I can personally attest that these two writings are some of the most heart wrenching and well-written pieces of literature that I have ever had the pleasure of reading (for accreditation, I have read 50+ books each year since I was ten and enjoy everything from classics to romance). I have read All the Young Dudes more than 3 times. Oh, and not to mention, that particular title is comprised of more than 520,000 words. That is more than half of the entire original seven book Harry Potter series. One of my less depressing recent reads is the fourth most-read title on AO3, titled Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love. I highly recommend this one as well.
All this being said, we as a society need to put some respect on the name of Fanfiction. I am tired of the prejudice. If this article inspires at least one person to pick up ATYD, I will consider my attempt successful.