A Writer's Life for Me

There's nothing better than discovering that one thing that makes you feel so quintessentially like yourself that you can't live without it.

For me, it's undoubtedly writing.

I was, for lack of a better phrase, in the closet about my writing habit for a long time. As in pretty much my whole life. But I've always written. And even before I could write, I always had a story in my head, giving myself something to think about, a place to where I could disappear.

I started writing when I was as young as probably 8 years old, pretty much as soon as I was old enough to physically know how. But it was after reading Harry Potter and discovering the world of fan fiction that my writing really took off. In fact, I'm still writing the same fan fiction (though a different reincarnation of it as I've matured a bit as a writer since the age of 12. Ha.). I know my characters better than I know myself sometimes.

In addition to my fan fiction, I'm also working on an original fiction novel that I'm hoping to self-publish this summer. It's based on Peter Pan, but since the story is now in the public domain, it takes my story out of the realm of fan fiction. I do hope to do something entirely original someday, but for now, it's comforting to work with characters I know so well.

It's also nice to be able to come back to my fan fiction when I'm having writer's block for my "real" book. It keeps me writing, which is what I love, without all the stress. After ten years, it is so a part of who I am, and I'm finally not ashamed.

It took working on a novel that I eventually hope to publish to come clean about the fact that I write, period. It came as a shock to some people. And then, what once was my deepest, darkest, secret became just a fact:

I write Harry Potter fan fiction. I've done it for ten years. It's over 250,000 words (400 typed pages in Microsoft Word, single spaced). It's part of who I am. And I'm proud of it!

And you know what? No one's disowned me for it. I'm going to continue to write what I love, be it fan fiction or original works or this blog, as long as it makes me happy.

I hope everyone reading this goes forth and does the same. Do what you loved no matter if it's "nerdy" or "unpopular" or whatever. If it makes you happy, you might be surprised how many people are happy for you.

And this happened the other day...instead of studying for finals, I sat at the campus library in my Slytherin shirt and necklace writing my fan fiction.

So what are your guilty pleasures? Any other fan fiction writers out there? And have you shared your obsession with friends or family?