Recently, I read a book called The Song of Achilles, a retelling of the Iliad through the perspective of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. In the last few pages of my paperback copy, there was an interview with the author, Madeline Miller, about the writing process for the book. She shared one instance when her friend referred to the story as a “Homeric fanfiction”, discouraging her at first until she decided: “If it’s fanfiction, it’s fanfiction. I’m still going to write it.”

Those words made me think about my own experience as a fanfiction writer when I was younger, writing stories about characters from my favorite books, comics, movies, and shows. It also made me think about how fanfiction is often looked down upon by the literary community in relation to “real” published literature. And finally, it made me ask myself: how many of the “real” books I’ve read could be considered fanfiction, just like The Song of Achilles?

Admittedly, I, too, can have a bit of a patronizing attitude towards fanfiction, even as a former fanfiction writer myself. While I certainly enjoyed imagining “what if” scenarios for characters like Batman, Iron Man, and Percy Jackson, I never felt like what I was doing was “real” writing. It was a hobby, an amateur pursuit. And when I was reading fanfiction written by others, it didn’t feel the same as reading a “real” book by a “real” author.

But now, I wonder: where does one draw the line between “real” literature and fanfiction? For instance, what is the difference between me borrowing Rick Riordan’s characters from his Percy Jackson books, and him borrowing gods and monsters from Greek mythology for those same books? Is it simply that his characters are copyrighted, while the Greek myths aren’t? What is the difference between me using Marvel characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man, and the great comic book writers and filmmakers who keep those characters alive today despite not being their original creators? Is the difference simply that those writers have permission from the company that owns the characters, while I don’t? From this perspective, it seems like the condescension towards fanfiction is uncalled for, with the difference being more a matter of legality than quality.

Some prominent authors encourage fanfiction, like Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who said she was “flattered” that others would want to write their own stories using her characters. Orson Scott Card, the writer of Ender’s Game, once said, “Every piece of fanfiction is an ad for my book. What kind of idiot would I be to want that to disappear?” Other authors have been more antagonistic, like George R.R. Martin, of Game of Thrones fame, who believes fanfiction is copyright infringement and not “a good way to train to be a professional writer”. Many fall somewhere in the middle, like Riordan, who does not read fanfiction of his work but does not actively discourage it. Award-winning author Neil Gaiman doesn’t “have much of an opinion” but sees no harm in it and describes it as a good way of writing with “training wheels on”. Most authors, however, agree that fanfiction should stay confined to non-commercial purposes to avoid legal issues.

The thing is: it is just not possible to get rid of fanfiction. It is something that has existed and will continue to exist, especially in a society like ours that values the consumption of media like movies and books. Every time a kid plays with their superhero action figures and makes Superman fight the Hulk — that’s fanfiction. Every time an author borrows from old myths, legends, and tropes for their “original” work — that’s fanfiction.

So what’s the verdict? Sure, some written fanfiction can have low quality (heaven knows how bad mine was) due to the lack of an editing process, but I’ve read some pretty bad published books, too. What separates fanfiction from original works is the ability to make money out of it, but that’s not what writing is about. I wrote fanfiction for my own enjoyment and for other fans like me. And while I don’t write fanfiction anymore, I can credit it for helping me learn how to write stories when I was intimidated by having to create everything from scratch.

Fanfiction isn’t for everybody, but nothing is. It’s possible to generalize tropes for certain genres, but it’s better to let each work speak for itself. There’s good fanfiction, and there are bad ones, too — just like every genre. Let people enjoy what they like and avoid what they don’t. It's better to have people read and write fanfiction rather than not read and write at all. If anybody cares to dispute that, just remember that many of Shakespeare’s works, including Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, were based on the stories of other writers — making the Bard the most successful fanfiction writer of all time.