Is Fanfiction Good Practice?

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Who else writes FanFiction? I want to be A comic book writer, but right now the only story Ideas Im getting are FanFiction stories. Am I wasting the time I could be using to work on my comic book, or Am I getting good practice in writing?

Comic book writing is very different from standard fiction. You can listen to the podcast Writing Excuses. They are all professional writers and one writes an online comic strip. It can give you a good idea of how the two styles differ.

Having said that, writing fan fiction is good practice. I've never done it myself. I don't like playing in someone else's sandbox and I have dozens and dozens of ideas. There are writing exercises that involve using the opening paragraph, page, whatever of a published novel. The idea is that your own story idea will kick in and you will start writing your own words instead of copying. Keep in mind these are writing exercises. Although acceptance of fan fiction is growing, there is still a stigma.

I'm a firm believer in doing your research. Familiarize yourself with your chosen genre. In this case comics. Talk to those writers. They often attend conferences and are approachable. Follow their blogs. That sort of thing.

Kimberly