Spin-off site encourages fans to create their own content
Wikia, an online encyclopedia for pop culture fandom, has recently opened a sequel site called Fandom. Although Wikia already provides a space for fans to participate in reporting on fandom topics, as most of the encyclopedic content is written by fans, Fandom is unique to its sister site in the sense that it is a site dedicated to publishing original content.
Run by a real editorial staff, Fandom is a new media site where a group of writers, including outside fans, will publish original stories and content, as well as reblog content published on other sites. Content will cover topics on a large scale, including but not limited to television, movies, video games, and comics.
Fanfiction is a genre that is heavily ridiculed by writers and journalists, as fanfiction writers, also known as fic writers, are often not viewed as real writers.
In brief, fanfiction occurs when someone takes an original piece of fiction and builds their own story off of it. There’s lots of bad fanfiction out there, but there’s also a lot of well-written fanfiction that is so well pieced together that it’s almost as if you’re reading from the original work that it’s based off of.
Fanfiction is also a genre that has always been accepting of those in marginalized groups who may feel out of place in pop culture society. For women in particular, the fanfiction world has historically provided a safe space for women to explore their sexuality. As a lot of fanfiction falls under romance or erotica, the genre has provided a space for females to express their needs and desires that don’t agree with mainstream porn, which is predominantly catered towards men.
In a blog post published by Anna Anderson, an active fanfiction writer, Anderson states “[…] fic, especially erotica, is an easy cultural punch-line, and for many, the stories that have finally made me feel like a real writer mark me out as exactly the opposite. This casual dismissal matters; the majority of fic readers and writers are women and other marginalized genders (more AO3 users identify as genderqueer than male), many of whom have no voice in mainstream writing. But though fic-shaming is linked to misogyny, it’s a little-known issue outside of fandom culture. Even good feminists roll their eyes at rabid fangirls like me.”
A lot of fanfiction is also published anonymously, since anyone can write fanfiction. Many readers also use pseudonyms, giving most fanfiction sites more of an underground vibe, as opposed to a site such as Fandom. Many writers who become successful within the fanfiction community go on to write novels and poetry.
Mainstream sites are notoriously critical of true fanfiction. Odds are, Wikia’s Fandom won’t be the same as fanfiction.net or Archive of Our Own, which are classic underground fanfic sites that provide a safe space for writers to publish the inner workings of their imagination.