How Fan Fiction Changed My Life
By Susan Krinard
Website: http://members.aol.com/skrinard/

For the first third of what I presume will be my expected life span on this planet, I didn't think I'd ever be a writer.

I didn't dream of it. As much, as voraciously, as I loved to read and tell myself stories in my head, the idea of writing for publication was about as realistic as flying to the moon on my own power.

I did illustrate the stories in my mind--from the time I was two, I drew and painted constantly. It was only natural that, when I went to school, I'd want to become an artist. Specifically, a cover artist for Science Fiction and Fantasy novels.

Things didn't quite work out that way. I went to New York with my portfolio, all filled with naive hope, and came home empty-handed. Oh, I did continue to draw, and paint. I did artwork for Science Fiction conventions, and illustrated fanzines.

Ah, yes. Fanzines.

I discovered fanzines with my first real, enthusiastic plunge into fandom with the movie THE ROAD WARRIOR. (I'm not counting STAR TREK and STAR WARS; I was still isolated then, and completely unaware that many groups existed which were devoted to these universes.) I began to correspond with other fans of the film--and for the first time, ever, I began to write a story based on the post-apocalyptic RW universe.

That story was never completed, though I began a "career" of several years illustrating for fanzines. I also wrote a RW poem (actually a song without music). And then my connection with other RW fans gradually faded, and it was some time before another media offering captured my attention to the same level.

That second plunge into fandom, however, changed my life.

It behooves me to say--and this is not meant as a downer--that fan fiction is based on copyrighted characters. Any writer who publishes or posts her own fan fiction for public consumption risks being zinged for violation of copyright, or--as recently happened on one server--having her site shut down.

That said, it was a single completed piece of fan fiction to which, in large part, I owe my current writing career as a romance novelist.

In 1988/89, I became a fan of the television show "Beauty and the Beast." The romantic fantasy was right up my alley. I joined fan groups that exchanged letterzines (in those pre-Internet days), and eventually became one of the better-known artists in B&B fanzine illustration. And finally, I tried my hand at my first story for publication.

"The Third Wish" was a tale of Catherine's wish to be with Vincent forever, made on a magic lamp. As a result of her wish, she became like Vincent--a human with lion-like characteristics--at least temporarily.

Though the story was not widely read, I sent a copy of it to a pair of friends, sisters who had been writing for a great deal longer than I had. (I'd actually met them because of my admiration for another pair of Science Fiction writers, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.) One of the sisters was a multi-published writer in several genres, including Regency, Fantasy, Science Fiction and Mystery. They read my story, and one of them promptly said, "Why don't you try writing a romance novel?"

At that point the only romance I'd read was of the Regency type (which enjoys "crossover" appeal for SF/fantasy readers), so I was dubious at first. On the other hand, I'd always loved romance as part of my SF/Fantasy reading. So I went out and bought a few romances and read them. Some I loved, others I did not. But I sat down shortly thereafter and began writing my first book: PRINCE OF WOLVES, which incorporated some of the elements I had loved about B&B--the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, the theme of outcasts in society, and forbidden love. The book went on to sell as part of a three-book contract to Bantam, unagented, and even made the lower reaches of the USA TODAY list. I had found my niche--paranormal romance, which was a natural progression from my B&B story.

As I look back now, "The Third Wish" contains the voice and most of the elements I continue to use in my writing. It sprang "full-blown" out of my head, after years of reading and absorbing all kinds of writing by many accomplished authors. It seems only natural, now, that I should have become a writer--but in my fanfic days, I never would have seen myself where I am now, with eight novels and two novellas to my name. My fan fiction, published and unpublished, was a way for me to "test the waters," and try out my style and voice.

If it hadn't been for my involvement in fandom, my subsequent writing of a fan fiction novella, and my writer friends who read it, I wouldn't be published at all. But moving from fan fiction, based on pre-existing characters and a specific place and time, to one's own world and characters requires something of a leap of faith. You can learn a great deal from writing in another's universe, but ultimately the challenge is in creating your own. Therein lies the greatest satisfaction.

You can find information on Sue’s books through her website, at http://members.aol.com/skrinard/