a love letter to my fanfiction community
When I was fourteen, I was obsessed with a TV show called Teen Wolf. I was no stranger to obsession, having attached myself to The Hunger Games two years earlier and found myself in a loop of re-reading. I had joined Tumblr when I was thirteen and took any recommendations that came my way — books, movies and TV shows. I trekked my way through every season of Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock (yes, SuperWhoLock was my jam) and wanted something new. Teen Wolf was halfway through its third season and I was desperate to catch up. I knew nothing about the show other than it was filled with werewolf drama, terrible CGI villains, a little romance and everyone’s favourite sidekick: Stiles Stilinski.
No one seemed to be interested in the ‘real’ relationships in Teen Wolf. Instead, a large group of fans were passionate about wanting two of the lead men — Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski — to get together. I learned about the wonderful world of ‘shipping’ — a fans desperation for two or more characters to get together. Fanfiction became the only place I could see the characters I loved, together.
I became obsessed fast. I read hundreds of fanfics, ranging from cute PG moments to bizarrely explicit content. The Teen Wolf ‘sterek’ (Stiles x Derek) community opened my eyes to the wonders — and the horrors — of everything fanfiction had to offer. There was something for everyone. As I read through paragraphs fanfiction tags, I realised you could write about anything — and people would read it. It didn’t matter whether it was a mundane storyline set in a cute café or a bizarre tale of male pregnancy — people wanted to read it and people wanted to write it.
I started to recognise prominent figures within the community, and I admired them as much as any author I had on my bookshelf. I paid close attention to what they were writing and what readers enjoyed. After three years of observing, I wrote my own fanfiction. I barely proofread my first piece in my excitement to post it. I refreshed the page over and over, keeping an eye out for views, comments and likes. I was overwhelmed with the amount of positive comments that offered feedback and helpful criticism. I was encouraged to succeed and improve. At the end of most comments, there was something along the lines of ‘keep writing’ or ‘can’t wait to see what you do next’.
As I wrote more and became more involved in the community, I made friends. People I’d never spoken to before began supporting me by sharing my work and asking others to read my fanfiction. I met someone who was writing their thesis on ‘feedback within fanfiction communities’, people who spent their time editing fanfiction and people who dedicated hours of their time to running writing and community events.
Throughout high school I struggled to find people with similar interests to me, so when I discovered the fanfiction community, it felt like I had finally met my people. I didn’t have to bore my friends, talking about things they didn’t understand. Now I had people I could talk to for hours on end about Teen Wolf, ‘sterek’ and fanfiction. Even now, six years later, when I don’t particularly care about the TV show itself anymore, I still read fanfiction and logon to the group chat to discuss it. The ‘sterek’ community Discord server has over 600 members — not just fanfiction writers but artists, editors and general fans.
The more friends I made, the better connections and opportunities I found. For a fan-run fanfiction event, it was mandatory to have your work beta read (a term that basically means editor) and so I was paired with my beta, a college student with an English major. My beta reader taught me how to punctuate dialogue and how to sound American: say sofa, not couch; comforter, not doona. My beta was the first reader of many of my fics and she encouraged me to finish them when I’d grown bored.
My friends were surprised that I was so involved. To them, writing fanfiction was something one did alone — but the ‘sterek’ fandom is truly a community. Events are held throughout the year: Christmas Secret Santas, a week of ‘sterek’ appreciation and so on. One of my favourite events was the creation the Sterek Charity Zine — Solstice. The zine still has a special place on my bookshelf and is full of art ad fanfiction by my favourite fandom artists and writers.
Encouragement and support seem to be at the core of the fandom and fanfiction community. We promote one another, lift each other up and help each other when we are struggling. I have given shout outs to new writers and re-blogged countless posts of fanart or links to AO3. I don’t write as much anymore, but I offer to beta read. I think of the impact my first beta reader had on me and my writing and I want to do the same for someone else.
I am proud to be a part of something so kind and positive. Fanfiction gave me the basic skills and the confidence to chase my dream of being a writer — I know that if I had never joined the ‘sterek’ fandom, I would still be pursuing a career as a flight attendant.
So thank you to everyone who ships Sterek or participates in the fandom in any way. I’ve loved every second of our journey together.
