Yes, I wrote fanfiction.
I said it. It's out there. I'm going to admit it.
I wrote fanfiction.
Tumblr. became a really big outlet for many young writers in 2012, when Wattpad started gaining followers and everyone began writing. It was hard to have your work be noticed and acknowledged by fans and readers because the audience was drowning out any story that didn't hold at least 500,000 views. Tumblr. became a spot for updates on your favorite celebrities, your favorite authors (who most of which would become your friend) and a million-reader wide audience that would enjoy your writing and wait every week to be notified of a new story or post. It wasn't a website or social media platform that was particularly designated for writers, instead, there was a conglomeration of artists, writers, poets, update accounts, fans, and readers all signed onto one website to create an expressive outlet.
I loved that.
I wrote on Tumblr. for years. I wrote fanfiction. It became a job.
Once a week, twice a week, maybe three times a week, I would be writing a story or a prompt or an Instagram post (that became popular in 2013 and 2014), to accompany my stories and chapters that began to turn into a full series. By the time I was graduating high school, I had been writing three different series, all at once. It became such an important aspect of my life because my writing was my outlet of expression. I built characters in my head, their stories, their lives, their emotions all lived in a tiny spot in my brain that I connected to once, twice, three times a week.
Tumblr. became one of the most important aspects of my life - because of my writing.
While I wasn't a huge blog, I definitely had a dedicated audience. It doesn't go unnoticed when you don't post, I learned that after my first hiatus. You will receive messages asking when you will be posting, asking why you have been gone, asking if you are coming back. You will receive angry messages, rude messages. You will receive the nicest messages.
One night, I was laying in bed, writing my favorite story I have ever written, a chapter that was over 15,000 words, a twenty page Word document, and I received a message from someone that said that they had seen another blog's response to a message saying that they would have to read my stories because I was their favorite author on Tumblr.
I didn't have more than 2,400 followers, I don't think.
It's a feeling that I can't describe - that people love what you do.
Tumblr. is made to be such a taboo social media platform. It's all NSFW and thirteen-year-old girls writing dirty fanfiction. Sure, maybe in some corner of the platform. But, trust me, I have found that on Instagram and Twitter, too.
So many incredible writers are on Tumblr. Writers who post and share their stories without any copyright or trademark, that don't get paid for their hard work, that don't get rewarded when they post a twenty-page story on their day off. Writers should be paid. Writers should be given their credit where it is due.
I'm not going to lie, I started writing from Tumblr.
I'm happy where I am, now.
