The Star Trek franchise has always inspired creative individuals, even back when the original series was still airing. The first fandom magazine, Spockanalia, appeared in 1967 and ran for 5 issues. This fanzine and others that followed gave rise to the creation of fanfiction, and Star Trek fans continue to post their original works online to this day. However, despite this flood of creativity, some people still scoff at those who write and share their own adventures. Fanfiction is often labeled as “childish,” “silly,” and “a waste of time,” but as a writer who’s been penning Star Trek fiction since 1989, I can tell you that there’s great value to this type of storytelling.
Fanfiction creates future writers
One of the greatest values of writing Star Trek fanfiction is that it helps mold young writers and keeps them writing for years, allowing them to try different styles and genres. In some cases, today’s young fanfic writers are tomorrow’s novelists, poets, and content creators. I can say with confidence that if I hadn’t poured my desire to write into fanfic in my late teens and early 20s, I would not be a writer today.
Fanfiction helps hone the writing craft
Are writers made or born? This is a question I knocked around with my peers all through college, especially in creative writing classes. I believe that drive and passion are more important than talent, but a combination of all 3 is what makes a writer. Writing Star Trek fanfiction not only keeps that drive alive for many but also helps them learn their craft and discover their style. When I revisit some of my early fanfic, (with most of it centering on Chekov because I had a big crush on Walter Koenig,) my inexperience is obvious, but so is the passion I had for telling stories, even at age 18.
Fanfiction creates writing communities
When I first began writing, the internet was still better than 10 years in the future, and life in a small Western New York town didn’t exactly offer opportunities to meet other young writers. I wrote my fanfic in our small library, at night after supper, and on weekends and felt extremely isolated. Now, thanks to the ever-expanding world of cyberspace, young writers can meet up and form supportive communities where they can share the fun of writing Star Trek fanfiction.
Fanfiction teaches writers about characterization
One of the biggest complaints Star Trek fanfiction writers hear from their detractors is that they aren’t creating their own characters but merely borrowing and building on someone else’s creation. While this is true, putting beloved Star Trek characters to paper (or in the case of today’s writers, a Word document,) teaches them about crafting natural dialog, how characters relate to each other, and how to craft exposition and narration through different points of view. It’s excellent practice when writers use characters they already know and feel comfortable with.
While not all Star Trek fanfiction writers become novelists, a good many of them continue to write stories as a hobby and to escape everyday life, such as I did. No matter the series, the franchise is a jumping-off point for writers of all kinds, allowing us to venture into those strange new worlds that we know and love so well.