No matter who you are, you probably have come across a fanfiction or two when browsing the Internet.

The consensus regarding fanfictions typically tends to be quite divided. Some love to get lost in reading and writing about their favorite characters outside of the source material, while some think fanfiction is awkward and disrespectful to the original material. It doesn't help that fanfiction has gotten some bad rep after some less-than-ideal fanfiction-turned-books got made into movies (I'm looking at you, "Fifty Shades of Grey").

However, fanfiction can still be an important tool for the aspiring writer.

No matter how you slice it, writing fiction can prove to be quite challenging. One of the aspects I find the most difficult is creating full-fledged characters with fully realized personalities, backstories, and purpose. If creating characters is not your strong suit as a writer, writing fanfictions can be beneficial.

When writing fanfiction, the only "rule" is to keep the same characters from the source material and try to keep them as "in character" as possible. Whenever I write my own characters, the big issue I typically have is keeping their actions and personality consistent. Writing fanfiction helps with this, as you already have established characters. All you have to do is keep them consistent with how they act and behave in the original source material. This can be helpful practice for character building that you can utilize in your own original works as well.

While fanfiction can be helpful if you are already an established writer, it can be equally useful if you are new to writing.

No matter what fandom you're writing fanfiction for, there will be someone online who is willing to read it. Having an audience and getting feedback for your writing is always helpful, no matter where you are at in your writing career.

Fanfiction allows you to get your feet wet in the scary world that is writing. You already have a basis for setting and the characters you need, so all you need to do is let your imagination soar and write!

Don't let anyone tell you that fanfiction is cringy and you should be writing something else. My writing wouldn't be what it is today if I hadn't been an active writer of "Harry Potter" fanfiction when I was 11! Fanfiction will not only introduce you to a community of writers just like you, but allow you to strengthen your writing skills. And that's all that matters!