Fan fiction

Several years ago, while I was dealing with the death of a close family member, a strange thing happened: I suddenly found myself unable to stop watching Supernatural. I'd never been a huge fan of the show, but I'd recently decided to catch up on its many seasons. So I began marathoning episodes - though it was more like I inhaled them at a level approaching nihilism.

Once upon a time, writing and sharing fan fiction on the internet carried a distinct stigma. Extending other people's universes or characters was widely seen as an outlet for the uncreative, the unsocial, and the sexually frustrated.

Those days are coming to an end.

However it started, however you define it, and whether or not you read it, at this point you've probably heard of fan fiction (abbreviated as "fanfic" by its enthusiasts).  Read more

Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes wasn't the first of his kind-Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin arguably owns that distinction-but The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was revolutionary nevertheless. Placing beautifully drawn characters in a series of self-contained episodic conundrums was groundbreaking, anticipating the blockbuster movie franchises and TV series to come.  Read more

Once writing was the most solitary of professions. Now it's the most social.  Read more