pennswoods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pennswoods) wrote2013-10-08 08:39 am
pennswoods) wrote2013-10-08 08:39 am
Why Read So Much Fanfic?
[Originally posted to my Tumblr]
I find myself reading copious amounts of fanfiction when I am troubled by something. It’s like I’m looking for answers - a mirror, a model, a map for addressing something in me that needs work.
And other times I read fanfiction looking for validation for things I struggle with but don’t want to change about myself. I seek solace in the angst and successes of these fictional characters to reassure myself that it will be okay and that the hard times are all a part of life.
There are still other times when I read fanfiction to escape from the troubles and the struggles of reality or the noise in my head. I seek universes and plots that are so wholly engrossing and different from what I experience or see around me that I can forget for a little while.
Original fiction can certainly serve these same functions but not always as immediately or as often. There is also something so reassuring about going down these paths with familiar characters, who I can rely on as a constant while I deal (or don’t deal) with whatever it is occupying other parts of my mind.
I find myself reading copious amounts of fanfiction when I am troubled by something. It’s like I’m looking for answers - a mirror, a model, a map for addressing something in me that needs work.
And other times I read fanfiction looking for validation for things I struggle with but don’t want to change about myself. I seek solace in the angst and successes of these fictional characters to reassure myself that it will be okay and that the hard times are all a part of life.
There are still other times when I read fanfiction to escape from the troubles and the struggles of reality or the noise in my head. I seek universes and plots that are so wholly engrossing and different from what I experience or see around me that I can forget for a little while.
Original fiction can certainly serve these same functions but not always as immediately or as often. There is also something so reassuring about going down these paths with familiar characters, who I can rely on as a constant while I deal (or don’t deal) with whatever it is occupying other parts of my mind.