Is your child ever constantly on their phone watching stories of some characters from the books or cartoons they like to read or watch? It is possible they are reading fan fiction! These fan fiction apps provide an environment for children to read and write stories based on existing worlds. However, what are these applications, and how influential are they on a child’s creativity and security?
This guide looks into the features of fan fiction apps. And their effects on the young to assist parents in providing their children with needed support in creative pursuits.
What is the fan fiction apps?
Fan fiction apps allow people to read, create, and post fiction based on original books, movies, television shows, or video games.
These apps act as a fan base platform where fans can create more content in the already existing fictional worlds.
In its general sense, fan fiction is a type of creative writing that reuses a given character, place, or plot from a preexisting story.
This practice has existed for decades, but in the new social media age, more people are engaging in it than ever before.
Here’s an overview of how fan fiction apps typically work:
- Content browsing: Consumers can select the stories they want to read according to their preferred fandoms, characters, or categories.
- Reading: The apps provide users with a free reading list of stories created by other users.
- Writing and publishing: Users can create fan fiction and share it on the application directly for other users to read.
- Community interaction: Readers can post comments, rate the stories, and establish communication with other writers if necessary.
- Categorization: Every story comes with ratings, genres, and content warnings as well.
- Personalization: Most apps have options enabling users to bookmark articles, save reading lists, and provide recommendations.
These apps have fostered a rich environment for fans to express themselves. They also bring amateur writers to the international stage and always have plenty of material to read.
Hottest fan fiction apps and sites of all time
Fan fiction has become much more popular over the last decade, and with this popularity come communities of apps and sites for it.
These platforms target fans of various ages and interests, allowing them to read, write, and be part of the fan community.
Here’s a glimpse into some of the most popular fan fiction apps and sites of all time:
Archive of Our Own (AO3)
AO3 is a non-profit organization that is home to one of the largest collections of fan fiction with various fan bases.
It stands out for its enhanced focus on user-defined content tags allowing detailed filtering by genre, rating, characters, relations, etc.
Features
- Compatibility of different media objects (text, images, and sound).
- It is possible to download books in different formats (PDF, EPUB, MOBI)
- Anonymity feature for users who do not want to be identified
- Detailed statistics for authors
Supported platforms: Web-based
Wattpad
Wattpad is a unique social platform that hosts many stories and supports the creation of new ones. Thus, it is a perfect place to find new talents.
Wattpad has a relatively simple and appealing layout and calls on users to support the stories they like.
Features
- Social networking integration (comments, votes, follow)
- Writing activities in the form of competitions and exercises
- Individual reading lists and suggestions
- The Wattpad Stars program to identify the best writers for the platform.
Supported platforms: Web, iOS, Android
FanFiction.net
FanFiction. net is one of the oldest and largest archives of fan fiction on the Internet. It contains millions of stories from various fandoms.
Most of its content is family-oriented due to the clearly stated policies of non-acceptance of any and all forms of pornography.
Features
- Easy-to-understand tool with a clear and uncomplicated layout
- Discussion boards for sharing and writing about fan bases.
- Beta reader system to help authors enhance their works
- Communication channels among users using a private messaging system.
Supported platforms: Web browser, Android, and iOS
Commaful
Commaful is an advanced writing site that combines images with short prose pieces. It became widely known due to its perspective on narrative delivery.
It organizes each text on this platform in different ‘pages’ giving a very animated flow of each piece. This is interesting for the generation who use their mobile devices for internet usage.
Features
- Easy-to-use story creator tool
- Choice of the background and font for every page available
- Such social elements as likes, comments, and shares
- Saved lists and selected stories
Supported platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Tumblr
Tumblr is a microblogging social networking site launched in 2007, which has become one of the prime destinations for fan communities.
It is not a fan fiction site per se, but its format and environment provide good conditions for fan fiction discussion and sharing.
Features
- Text, images, GIFs, videos, audio, or other forms of multimedia posts.
- Customizable blog themes
- A way in which content could be indexed and identified for later use.
- Private messaging system
Supported platforms: Web; iOS; Android
Educational benefits and potential risks of fan fiction
Fan fiction is a very interesting concept to contemplate and write, but as with many activities, it has its strengths and weaknesses.
Let’s delve into both sides of the coin:
Educational benefits
- Improved writing skills: The commitment toward practicing writing stories helps in constructing writing skills, words, and narratives.
- Critical thinking: Text analysis to write fan fiction helps the student gain more insight into how characters, plot progression, as well as the surrounding environment, are developed.
- Creativity and imagination: Fan fiction enables young writers to engage their imagination and practice new concepts, and settings which are quite beneficial.
- Peer feedback and collaboration: Most of the sites allow the writers of fan fiction to get suggestions and constructive feedback that assist them to improve on their work.
- Increased reading engagement: Fan fiction can encourage reluctant readers through promptings of continuities that feature beloved characters.
Potential risks and concerns
- Exposure to inappropriate content: While most of it is safe to read, some fan fiction may include adult content that might not be suitable for use by persons below a specific age.
- Copyright concerns: Fan creativity might pose some concerns pertaining to copyright and might be the grey area between originality and piracy.
- Online safety issues: The children using these platforms to interact may be vulnerable to online predators or cyberbullying.
- Distraction from original work: Writing and reading too much fan fiction might make young writers have no idea how to innovate and start coming up with new and unique characters and plots.
- Unrealistic expectations: The desire for quick feedback from the audience online can lead to unrealistic expectations about the writing and publication.
Why kids are drawn to fan fiction?
Fan fiction is perhaps one of the most alluring types of writing for young readers and writers. Here’s a peek into the reasons why kids find themselves drawn to this creative realm:
- Extending the beloved: Fan fiction enables children to extend their time in the fictional world they love and probably would not have seen otherwise. They can inquire into issues that have not been satisfied, or focus on the untold story of a character.
- Owning a piece of the story: Fan fiction entitles kids to play an active role in the stories of which they are fans. They can dictate their own stories and even produce their own characters altogether in the specific universe.
- Seeing themselves reflected: Fan fiction is an inclusive product. It lets kids create characters that are similar to themselves or go through similar things, which is something they might not always see in the media.
- Experimentation without limits: Liberated from the responsibility of building an entirely new world from scratch, children can work on various writing techniques, types, or even subjects within the confines of a known setting.
- Learning through play: Fan fiction makes it easy for children to learn, create, and play at the same time. It will let them test the consequences of various decisions, and build up valuable thinking in the environments they adore.
How do you ensure fanfiction apps are appropriate for your child?
Fan fiction applications can include certain content unsuitable for children. So parents must exercise great care when choosing the apps their children use.
Here are some strategies to help you maintain a safe and enriching experience for your child:
- Research and review apps: It is crucial to evaluate a fan fiction app, its content policies, and users’ feedback before letting your child use it. Search for applications that have a proper check of vulgar and obscene material, and have a non-acceptance policy to it.
- Use built-in safety features: Most fan fiction apps have features that allow users to filter content and apply age limits. It is possible to enable these features to reduce and prevent your child from accessing such items that are deemed fit for adult use only.
- Open communication: Ask about the kind of narratives that your child is reading and assure them to seek your assistance the moment they come across content that is either disturbing or obscene.
- Utilize FlashGet Kids parental controls: As an additional security measure, one can consider using the FlashGet Kids parental control app. This all-encompassing app presents efficient controls that allow you to protect your child and monitor their usage of fan fiction apps.
Several features that can enhance your child’s safety
App blocking: Prevents or allows the use of certain fan fiction apps or only uses them for a limited time.
- Keyword detection: It enables you to set up keywords and monitor your kids’ conversations on social media apps like WhatsApp. You’ll receive notifications if your kids are involved in inappropriate chats.
- Screen time management: Here, parents can set the amount of time that can be spent on these apps in a day to avoid excessive use.
- Activity reports: Provides insight into details about the use of applications by your child.
- Safe search: Turn on safe search options which will exclude any adult material from the search results.
- Regular check-ins: Parents should occasionally check the activities that their child is engaging in the fan fiction apps.
With the help of such strategies, you can ensure safer opportunities for your child’s creativity to blossom in the realm of fan fiction.
Bonus: Fanfiction terms for parents to know
There are some acronyms and special terms associated with fan fiction. Here’s a quick guide for parents:
- Ship: Abbreviation of ‘relationship,’ referring to a pair of characters in a show who are portrayed as a couple.
- AU: An acronym for ‘Alternate Universe’ referring to a story that is located in a different universe than the one in the source material.
- OC: Abbreviation for “Original Character,” which stands for a character who is created by the writer of the fan fiction novel.
- Slash/Femme Slash: Refers to a love affair between two characters and these characters are of the same sex.
- Trigger Warning (TW): Warning messages mainly for unpleasant content.
- Beta Reader: A person who reads through for content and suggests corrections before going to press.
Getting yourself acquainted with such terms can enrich future conversations with your child about fan fiction and also show your appreciation for their creativity.
Conclusion
Many fan fiction applications impact the literary world of the young generation of readers and writers. So, parents are responsible for guiding their children through this new terrain.
As with any internet tool, being informed on these forums and their advantages and drawbacks will help you direct your child’s fan fiction experience positively.
Remember, fan fiction is a way that leads to a greater appreciation of art and literature as well as self-expression.
With your encouragement and supervision, your child can roam these worlds of fantasy without harming himself. Thus developing a passion for learning and reading for a lifetime.
