Is it a good idea to include fanfiction in my college application?Answered
The title pretty much says it all. I've invested a lot of time in fanfiction. I don't like generally linking my personal identity with my internet fanfiction-writer persona because fanfiction writing is generally personal; all writing is to some degree. A lot of the reason why writing fanfiction is so easy compared to writing with the goal of publishing is because of the anonymity and accessibility to share the works I think. There is also the idea of working with existing characters and constraints but that's a different discussion.
Anyway, I don't particularly linking my identities but I have fairly weak ECAs (average debater (wsdc-style), did some unpaid teaching, was a content writer for a while that paid pennies so I quit after a month, proofreading, general member of six school clubs ... you get the idea. It's all half-baked stuff). Writing is the only thing I have put a lot of time and effort into outside Academics (and debate, but I am very average at it so I can't say it's something I can talk proudly about in applications) and I am fairly confident in my writing.
However, because my skills center very much around novella and novel-style writing, I don't really have much to show for it. The last writing related award I got was in sixth grade (I think I should mention that I haven't participated in many writing competitions, particularly because of the pandemic in the recent years). I don't have published works or published short stories in journals. I should maybe write short stories sometime but writing just for the sake of writing is difficult. I don't personally care about short stories. I like building characters over thousands of words only to take them apart and put them back together again. I like writing novels too, but my novels are either incomplete or old and bad. I do plan to build my writing character outside fanfiction but I already have a fairly strong writing profile if we include fanfiction is what I am trying to say.
Lastly, I don't have any "questionable" works (all sfw), unless you see fanfiction as something in and of itself bad. I think I should mention I still have one and a half years of high school left and really strong Academics. Given all that, is it a good idea to talk about fanfiction writing explicitly in my applications?
I guess it could be broadly classified as romance but falls more under character-centric introspective writing? Basically typical detangling-emotional-constipation kind of fanfiction. Is there a name for this kind of genre?
Yeah, that's fine, I definitely agree with the answer you accepted since you're very passionate about it. Good Luck!
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4 answers
By reading your question, I see your grammar skills are strong and you conveyed your message well. I think you could include your fanfiction as long as you maintain the expectation that college is a time when you will be opening new doors in literature and, therefore, your writing. Fanfiction is a genre that is innovative and takes a lot of patience to work with. You can write about the secrecy and the separation you have to upkeep from your daily life and something you adore doing. Don't worry about it being too "niche." If it's your passion, your voice will shine through when you're talking about it and I think that's a strong reason to write about it.
You can mention your fanfiction writing in your college applications if you feel it's an important part of your writing profile, but it's also possible to talk about your writing in general terms without explicitly mentioning fanfiction. Fanfiction often makes good writers. For example, Joseph J. Ellis, an excellent author whose books can be found here https://freebooksummary.com/category/founding-brothers, started with very small stories and did not even publish all of them. If you do mention fanfiction, be prepared to address any potential biases or misunderstandings, and emphasize the positive aspects of your writing. Ultimately, the decision is up to you.
Honestly, I say go for it. Like you said you don't have much to show for how much time you've put into writing or how much skill you possess. Whether or not you include your account name is your choice. That may be something better kept private (just in case you have comments or bookmarks under that same name). Fan fiction may even show them how creative and dedicated you are (an added plus). Good luck! :)
I think that if you do decide to include fanfiction, it should not be the main focus of your application. I think the best place to include it would be in your personal essay. If you have won an award based on your fanfiction (such as Wattpad's Watty's) then it definitely should be included in your main application, but otherwise, keep it in the essay.
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If you don't mind me asking, what is the usual genre of your fanfiction?