I found this article when I was looking for a fic, and found it kinda amusing. It was written last year and they didn’t even mention ff.net or ao3
https://edition-m.cnn.com/2017/07/05/health/kids-teens-fanfiction-partner/index.html
Tagging as many writers as I can remember right now because I want your opinions, sorry if this annoys you.
@helly-watermelonsmellinfellon @gemnika @sprinklesbopalop @tsume-yuki @cywscross @crimson-chains @asreoninfusion @bookedequestrian @esamastation @evenescenttranquility @hiruma-musouka @herperlo-d @littwink @ladyhallen @nimpnawakproduction @skygemspeaks @saferion @squidspawn @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin @therapeutic-steter @up-sideand-down @weiila
It’s not the first article I’ve seen about fan fiction in general, though I’m pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t talking about fan fiction negatively, more so since it is on a big brand news network like CNN. Maybe a little misinformed?
I don’t know what she’s googling if those are the links that she recommends. The feeling I get from this piece is that she doesn’t know what exactly she is talking about–like she sort of knows but not really about fanfic things. I don’t think she even googled anything about fan fiction, except for the ‘fanfiction lingo’ because the sites she provided have already been reviewed by her other colleagues. The part where she said, ‘completely mild to nearly soft-core porn’ is a pretty huge hint, like lady, it goes way past soft-core porn you don’t even know.
I like that she asked parents not to read their child’s stories, not many people realise that it feels quite invasive since it ‘isn’t legit writing’. But asking the parents to take a look around the fandom? The kid is never entering into any of the sites, like ever.
What bothers me the most about this is the line, ‘Not all of it is about sex -- but a lot of it is.’ Less than half of most fandoms, especially the bigger fandoms unless canon was based around mature/explicit things like murder, are made up of explicit/mature content. People can also filter them out easily (another hint that she isn’t truly into fanfics). Though I clicked on a few of her given fanfic site links and I realised that they were completely unlike FFnet or AO3. They had little to no filtering system for ratings or warnings. At most, their tags were for general stuff like genres or fandoms, so I guess it is understandable if those are the only sites she knows.
All in all, it isn’t the best or worst article about fan fiction, though I wish that she had done a bit more research before writing her article.














