Working on this fanfic project has been extremely therapeutic and educational.
“But Gab,” you might say. “Why aren’t you putting those hours into an original project that you can actually sell later?”
Because anxiety, my dear friend. The pressure sets up fences. I need the practice. This is a good way to get it. I know I’m just “throwing these words away,” and it doesn’t matter. I know that going in and it’s a-okay. I can experiment and try new things and murder my darlings as much as I need to, ‘cause it’s not going to an agent or editor anyway.
Because fun. It’s not about the money. Sometimes I just really want to write because it’s hella entertaining, and pre-existing works present unique challenges (”how do I write a story with what we’ve been given, since the original writer really screwed x, y, z up? HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS IN CONTEXT AND FILL IN THE GAPS?”), and hey, a built-in audience to throw it to for feedback and critique certainly doesn’t hurt at all.
…no one’s actually said anything to me about it this time around, but yknow.