The hill I will die on: Fan fiction is real literature, whatever the snobs say | Urooj Ashfaq

Fan fiction is democracy in its purest, most chaotic form. It’s the people seizing the means of production. Every “what if?” is a tiny revolution. What if the side character got a backstory? What if the finale didn’t end in heartbreak? What if Harry Styles and Zayn Malik kissed just once, for morale?

Of course, many would argue that fan fiction isn’t real literature. It borrows worlds and characters that someone else created. It’s often unedited, published online for free and written by people with no verified experience. To the purists, it lacks originality, polish and commercial value, the hallmarks of what they believe “serious” writing should be.

But this is to misunderstand the purpose of fan fiction. Fan fiction starts with the itch of dissatisfaction, it is the art of emotional correction. When what is canon fails to deliver, the fan fiction writers step in, armed with Word documents and righteous indignation. You think this character deserved more hand-holding? Fine. Someone out there is writing 10,000 words of forehead kisses and mutual healing right now.

Because fan fiction isn’t just rewriting, it’s repairing. It’s giving yourself the closure you need when the author won’t. It’s deciding that pain can end differently, that love can be louder, that characters who were doomed in print get to live this time. It’s literature written by people who refused to move on and sometimes these people spell really badly (and that is completely OK).

And yes, it’s rebellion. Against gatekeeping, against prestige, against the assumption that stories only count when they make money. Fan fiction exists because readers loved something so much they refused to let it die.

Besides, the cultural influence of fan fiction is undeniable. Fifty Shades of Grey crawled out of the Twilight fandom and bought itself a mansion. Every fandom renaissance, from Marvel to One Direction to A Court of Thorns and Roses, is quietly fuelled by people writing feelings into being at 2am.

Fan fiction allows people to explore identity, sexuality, trauma and love through characters they already trust. For many queer readers and writers, it was the first place they saw themselves represented.

It’s messy, derivative, occasionally incomprehensible, but so is life. And that’s what makes it beautiful.

Fan fiction is democracy. Fan fiction is rebellion. Fan fiction is literature. And sometimes, we all just need more hand-holding.