Fan Fiction

I am kind of ashamed to admit that I have been dabbling in writing fan fiction. I don't read it but I thought it would be fun to write it. Though I know my work on fan fiction will never ever lead to anything sometimes it is nice to work within a universe that has already been created. I like expanding it with my imagination and speculating on other activities that beloved characters may have embarked upon.

It didn't occur to me until my husband bought a copy of Price and Prejudice and Zombies that augmented versions of works which have passed into the public domain are publishable. For modern novels that's a long way off and I have no plans in this direction. However, take classic literature and add an element of zombie invasion and you've got a publishable book! I've read a bit of PPZ now. It's ok but not as infused with zombieness as I was expecting. The author kept a lot of the original story, changed a details here and there, and added zombie scenes. It reads very much like the original book with added sections of undead action.

For me, the fan fiction is a solid story that I can write on when the well of ideas or willingness to work on my own book falters. Since I'd rather write something than nothing, it becomes a fall-back project when I just can't bring myself to work on my original stuff. They say that writing is best done on a regular basis and this keeps that regularity going when all else fails. However, it's not my only option. I also have some nonfiction writing projects that sometimes get my attention. I cannot, however, allow myself to work on any of my other fiction stories for fear of falling in love with them and abandoning my current fiction novel. So fan fiction is an option I can live with.