Scared to Write? Try Fan Fiction First

If you're not a writer this might sound strange: sometimes I'm scared to write. If you are a writer, then you have probably experienced this at one point or another. For me it's usually a fear the plot isn't good enough, the characters aren't fun or the world I'm building is boring or doesn't make sense. This is especially true when I'm writing longer pieces of fiction. I can usually hold a story-line together for a short story, but plots get muddled the longer a story gets.

One way I have battled my fear of writing is to go play in someone else's world. It's almost like playing Role Playing Games online. When I'm having trouble thinking of plots and characters of my own, I hop on over to the Wizarding World and jot down some Harry Potter fan fiction. J.K. Rowling has an intricate world already set up for me and her characters are already fully formed. I can come up with new scenarios and settings for them, use old stand-by's and have them interact with characters both old and new. There's also no pressure when writing fan fiction, or at least there shouldn't be. You can't pubhslih Harry Potter fan fiction anyway, so it doesn't need to be perfect. You can write it just for fun while honing your craft.

I have found writing, and writing well, becomes easier the more you do it. The more times you sit down in front of your computer or with a pen and paper the easier it becomes to write something. It's almost like working out, but it doesn't make me sweaty and short of breath or give me a stich in my side.

There are also a multitude of websites out there that welcome fan fiction. People even get friends or other online writers to beta-read and edit their works of fan fiction. It's really kind of cool. I only have experience writing Harry Potter fan fiction, so I don't have a lot of examples of other fan fiction websites for other book series, movies and TV shows. Figment, however, is a good writing resource for youth and young adults and there are entire sections of the forums and tags for fan fiction specific pieces of writing.

My favorite Harry Potter exclusive fan fiction website is www.harrypotterfanfiction.com. It gives you a place to post your writing, get feedback and read really, really good Harry Potter-themed stuff. Founder's Era, Marauder's Era, Post-Hogwarts, Next Generation...everything!

So the next time you find yourself scared to write or if you are new to writing novel-length stories, try some fan fiction first. It works for me!