You guys all know me as that fanfiction person, but would you believe there was a time in my adult life when I didn't write it? I spent maybe five years at the end of college not writing fanfiction at all, with the exception of one attempt at NaNoWriMo. Why not? Well, I was ashamed. Almost everyone I talked to, in real life and offline, acted like fanfiction was the dumbest thing ever. What was the point of writing in someone else's universe? Isn't all you do insert yourself into their stories so you can play pretend like a little kid? There are better things you can do with your time, aren't there?

Even after I started getting back into it, those voices were in the back of my head. The little bits and bobs I posted here on dA, the stuff I did with the bronies back when I was a brony, it was all just something I did quietly to fill a need. It was only when I read a very engaging piece by a now friend of mine that I remembered the magic I'd seen a long time ago: that fanfiction can be just as profound and intelligent as its source material, that it can comment on what we watch and play and read as easily as a discussion of those things, that it can be beautiful. 

Then a perfect storm happened. I started writing again. I wrote a story for the friend who lead me back to my one true love. And that story was granted a Daily Deviation. The then-sole administrator of a little group requested it to her group, as she did all fanfiction DDs. That was how I discovered LiteraryFanFiction, and it is literally the most fulfilling thing in my life right now. 

Through LiteraryFanFiction, I have found exercises that have strengthened my writing. Through LiteraryFanFiction, I have made friends I'd never have found otherwise. Through LiteraryFanFiction, I've read stories in fandoms I'd never consider and enjoyed them. LiteraryFanFiction gave me the tools to once again be proud of the thing I'm best at. LFF turned what might have been a passing fling with my lost love of fanfiction into the hobby of the rest of my life.


LiteraryFanFiction is a quality-centered fanfiction group. Of course, describing it that way doesn't do it justice, especially since there are different kinds of "quality." LFF is specifically devoted to fanfiction that has literary merit, a concept I've talked about in my blogs before. We seek out and accept works that have meaning or beauty beyond just what they pick up from their source work, and we try to facilitate an environment where people can improve their fanfiction writing.

There are really two aspects of our mission.

One is collecting quality fanfiction. We have an extensive gallery and relatively high standards to accept it, standards that are geared toward high readability, beautiful writing, and meaningful content. That isn't to say that pieces have to be perfect to get in, but they do have to be good. The very best stories, the ones chosen as Daily Deviations, occupy our group's Featured gallery. That was how I became aware of the group in the first place!

The second, and more important aspect of our mission, is facilitating improvement for writers of all ability levels. There are several ways we do that. For example, I'm happy to furnish detailed critique to pieces that are declined from our galleries. I wait for authors to ask, of course, because not everyone wants constructive criticism. 

We also keep a gallery folder of fanfiction tutorials and other non-fiction to help our members write and edit. Some of these are general writing tips we've found around deviant art. Some of the submissions there are fanfiction specific guides or editorials on controversial fanfiction topics. A few pieces were custom-written just for the group and our members, like my recent write-up on literary merit in fanfiction.

Perhaps the most important way we give back to the fanfiction community is through our Flash Fan Fiction Friday challenge. Almost every week, we post a prompt, often a one word idea or a particular game. Our members have roughly a week to compose a piece of no more than 500 words in response, and we feature the results at the end of the week. 4Fs are accessible to almost everyone; because of the limited time frame, we aren't quite as picky with them as longer, freeform stories. Editing still counts, of course, but we let mistakes on trickier issues slide in 4Fs.

Flash Fan Fiction Friday, or 4F, as we call it, was probably the single best thing for my writing in the whole group. There have been weeks where I haven't known what to write, even though the urge hit me, hard. 4F prompts have given me direction and guidance, and prompted me to create pieces I never would have otherwise. Some of our more complex challenges, like the "No dialog challenge," have helped me to work on the weak areas in my own writing. 

Lastly, we also feature contests and other fanfiction events for the community on a weekly basis. 


If you mostly want to read fanfiction, or familiarize yourself with the format, we strongly encourage you to watch the group. We only accept a few stories a day, and at most two pieces per author per week (three if they do a 4F). This means it's a manageable list, curated for mostly high quality. If you are new to fanfiction and aren't particularly attached to a particular fandom to read in, we're a great way to get your feet wet... and we have some amazing authors in particular fandoms if you're looking. Our folders are sorted by fandom name, so you should be able to find what you're looking for! If you only want to read the best of the best, we have a dedicated folder for fanfiction DDs: our featured folder!

If you want to write, please, join us! There are no special requirements to join the group. If you aren't sure about your skill level, try writing a 4F! The new 4F should post about a day or so after this journal goes live, too, so you'll have a fresh one to start with. If you can do basic copy editing, like complete sentences and spellchecking, you can do a 4F!

If you join and you find your work declined, make sure to ask in the correspondence. I'm happy to answer questions. All the admins at LFF have a background in writing, too, so we're qualified to answer your questions about grammar and usage. I even have a degree to teach it!

And even if you aren't into fanfiction, even if it's not your thing, if you see a fanfiction contest, please, let us know! Not only are we happy to feature it, but our founder, SingingFlames is the fanfiction CV, and may choose to feature them in her regular features and journals.


I've been very personal with this entry, so why don't I show you some of the amazing pieces that LFF has helped me create?

Mature Content

  Art Academy: Add-On Lesson: Vanitas (4F)This crossover monologue is done in the style of an Art Academy lesson, taught by the in-game tutor, Vince. As such, there will be references to visual images that, due to software limitations, you can't see. Some links and additional info will be furnished in the artist's comments.
Hello! This is a bit embarrassing: I forgot you were coming today. I had just sat down to sketch one of my favourite possessions: my watch. I suppose this gives us an excellent opportunity to explore more advanced still life paintings!
You may have come to think of still life as fruits and flowers; until this point, all of the lessons we’ve done together have included some piece of the natural world. However, the term also includes pictures of man-made items alone, items like this timepiece.  
Consider Francisco de Zurbarán’s “Bodegón.” There are no pieces of nature here, not even food: just manmade artifacts. Look at the rich detail on the patterns of the pottery, 
Iniquity of the SelfishSam Witwicky listened to the radio as Bumblebee barreled down the road. NEST agents chattered about search formations, leads, all in code, asking whether they’d spotted “the hunter.” Occasionally one would ask about “the busybody,” and the familiar voice of Lennox would chide them he was running down his own leads.
“Bee, over there, take this exit,” he snapped, pointing up at the sign.
The car changed lanes slowly, as if asking why.
“Just trust me; I have a feeling.”
He reached into his pocket, thumbing the phone, thinking of the terse recording on his voicemail: “Give Prime a message: get his ass back here.”
And he was trying. He’d tried everywhere he could think of at least once. Parks; Optimus liked kids well enough. Libraries for the bookworm. Every interesting outdoor thing he could think of. Half the universities. The science labs. Car washes. Truck stops. Every time they changed directions, Bumblebee complai  The Widower (Transformers Aligned Crossover)This story contains spoilers for Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters and Transformers Prime: Predacons Rising. It also contains overt shipping between two Prime characters.
The human sat down across from him, making the chair squeak as he settled into it. He sipped the long-necked bottle in his hand, then draped his arm across the arm of the chair. “Well, Ratchet, how do you like Griffin Rock?”
“It’s interesting. Chief Burns, I’d like to work with your rescue team.”
Charlie took another sip, and Ratchet struggled not to chuckle, knowing the beverage wasn’t the sort of intoxicant one would expect in a scene like this. “I’m glad to hear it. But still, I have to wonder what brings you out here. Don’t get me wrong, we’re eager for help, but rescue work is a little different from the war you fought. Bill has a mind that you’ve got an empty nest and you can’t take it, but I’d like to h

These pieces are listed from earliest to latest, and you can see my growth as a writer. But I picked each of these for a reason!

"Malignant Narcissism" is one of the earliest 4Fs I'm really proud of. The prompt was to write inspired by a song. I went to town with a Rush instrumental and came up with a story I would never have been comfortable with if I weren't doing a challenge: a story tackling the relationship between Pokemon's N and his father head-on. That's a popular topic among Pokemon writers, but very few end it on the positive note I did.

"Vanitas" is just funny, because it was so many things. My first and only Art Academy fanfic, It was my first successful fanfic in both of its fandoms, and it actually forced me to write a more or less educational lesson on a topic I knew nothing about. It's also a fine example of a plausible, and thematically appropriate, crossover.

"Iniquity of the Selfish" was my first really successful story in a fandom that's now become my most decorated: most of the awards I've received have been for Transformers fics! It's also my most-faved one-shot over at Fanfiction.net. A comedy story about Sam and Bumblebee seeking a missing Optimus Prime, I managed to write a funny story about a serious character without violating anyone's essential nature. I don't think I could have done that in 2012. 

Lastly, my recent fic "The Widower" is a Transformers Aligned intra-continuity crossover, setting up a potential future in which Ratchet joins the Burns Family of Heroes in Griffin Rock. It was my attempt to highlight and discuss the thematic overlap between a very subtle shift in the way Chief Burns is portrayed with the most painful loose plot thread from the Transformers Prime movie. Of the pieces I've posted at Archive of Our Own, it's the one that has the most kudos.


Here are some wonderful 4Fs other authors at LFF have produced in our challenge! Each of these stories made me laugh out loud, cry real tears, or giggle madly at how brilliant it was. 

Unspoken Code (Transformers Flash Fic)
Unspoken Code
Transformers Flash Fic
Prompt: Spring
Characters: Steeljaw, Blaster, Rewind, Eject, Ramhorn
Universe: G1
Word Count: 463

    A field of multicolored flora swayed in the light breeze that washed over the glistening lake they surrounded. Their alluring scents permeated the immediate area around them, and their dazzling colors attracted a range of pollinators to spread their pollen. As the breeze stilled, a little patch of golden chrysanthemums continued to gently quake, nearly invisible puffs of dust shaking from the blooming buds. Bees angrily buzzed away as they were disturbed from their perches, but the flowers continued to shake as the perpetrator prowled through the clustered mass of yellow flowers and tall grass.
    The golden feline rubbed his muzzle against one of the drooping buds, tickling his snout with the small, thin petals, before continuing his slow journey    4F Challenge - No Be Verbs (Minecraft)When you came, so did the zombies. It's you the monsters want. You brought them here. You looked innocent enough at first, participating in trades and tending the farms. But then night came. Night never left. The sun may shine, but night will never leave.
You refuse to leave. You locked us in our homes. You buried me, and probably others. There I stayed, for months. Helpless and forgotten in a little hole just barely big enough to fit me. I thought I would never get out. The zombies' moans and footsteps loomed over me every night.
Months, and I finally got to see what you had done. You built a massive, ugly wall around the place. Beyond the wall you built some evil monstrosity. I know what it does. You forced some of us into small glass confines. You trick our guardians into coming, just to send them into a death trap. And for what? A little iron.
You shipped me and a few others out though unnatural, white doors to a house away from the village, Never to see our ho 
Portal: You Will be PerfectDisclaimer:  Some people might be offended that I'm writing GLaDOS comparing herself to God.  If that bothers you, please turn back now.
You Will be Perfect
Indiana
Characters: GLaDOS, Atlas, P-body
Setting: Portal

They were her Adam and her Eve. 
She had brought her creations to life, and it was good.  Life begets life, and it had now done so in a way not forseen by anyone living or dead, past or future.  But against all expectations, all predictions, it had been done, according to her will.
She was their Alpha and their Omega, and though she had been prescient enough to initiate their beginning, she had no plans for an end.  She who could live forever did not plan for death.  That was for finite beings.  Lesser beings.  She had an entire universe to lay diligence to and did not need to waste time with insignificant details.  One did not concern themselves with the individual grains when the entire mine needed one's atte  Transformers: Beautiful CreationTitle: Transformers: Beautiful Creation
Universe: G1
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Author's Note: This is for the Flash Fan Fiction Friday theme “create.” This is not my normal humor story. I'm feeling cruddy right now, and this is what I come up with. Maybe I shouldn't write while sick. Word Count: 439
Starscream leaned back, a tight grin across his face. Three computer screens displayed rows and rows of formulas while a fourth scrolled through equations at a rapid pace. A holographic display diagrammed a three dimensional model of a complex molecule. The digital representation spun, allowing him to view it from any angle he desired. The various atoms and chemical bonds were color coded, forming an unique octodecimal spectrum. Beautiful.
His grin slipped into a smirk.
It worked. He'd ran over a thousand simulations, with only a 0.03% variance in results. Success. He had never doubted his eventual triumph. This miracle, this work of art, had taken over a vorn of s