Fanfiction stories worth reading

Screenshot of reviews on the "Questioning" fanfiction story.

There tends to be a stereotype that fanfiction is low quality writing. In some cases, that may be true, but there are also a number of well-crafted, well-written stories.

Fanfiction takes quite a bit of creativity, regardless of whether the writer is trying to navigate within the confines of the original author's world or creating their own expansions and twists to the narrative. It takes even more effort to ensure that their fanfiction is properly edited, especially if they don't have beta readers.

The following stories are all of reasonably good quality. Two of them are stories I've read, and two of them are stories I wrote as a teenager.

Stories I've Read

I feel a bit vulnerable sharing the fanfiction stories I used to read in high school, but I can't deny the quality of writing for either of these stories.

Even with them being stories that I probably wouldn't take the time to read today, and I certainly haven't read them in full since high school, "The Mating Games" and "Kissing Quinn Fabray" are two of the most memorable and well-edited stories I've read in the realm of fanfiction.

The Mating Games

"The Mating Games" is essentially "The Hunger Games," but with... well, aged up characters and sexual content.

The story centers around the idea that the Capitol requires all individuals 18 and older to immediately get married and start having children to repopulate after the devastating loss of life in the previous war.

Anyone who doesn't pair off has to participate in the Mating Games, which is a televised event where contestants pair up with each other by any means necessary.

The story is a bit odd and pornographic, but the plot is creative in its efforts to reimagine the original story. Likewise, the story is very well edited and easy to read if erotic content happens to be your cup of tea. If not, just skip it.

Kissing Quinn Fabray

"Kissing Quinn Fabray" is a fanfiction story based on the TV series "Glee," specifically about Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) becoming a couple.

It's a soft romance story between the two characters and is exceptionally well written, so much that I wouldn't be surprised to discover that the author pursued a creative writing career. The story was also one of the first LGBTQ+ fanfics I ever read.

The story is a fluffy foray into the wildly popular Faberry relationship and adds its own interesting content to the mix.

There's a story within the story about "Chuck Bunny and Daisy Bunny" that I still find both hilarious and adorable, and I have to remind myself that it doesn't exist outside the context of this fanfic, which means I can't just go around quoting it.

My Fanfiction Stories

It feels a bit discomforting to share my fanfiction, especially with how far I've come as a writer since then, but both stories are something I was proud of at the time they were written and they're an integral part of my evolution as a writer. They're also two of the longest stories I wrote in the vein of fanfiction.

Awakening

"Awakening" is a fanfic that takes place during and after the events of Richelle Mead's "Blood Promise," which is the fourth book in the "Vampire Academy" series.

The story diverges from the canon narrative by having Dimitri Belikov turn Rose Hathaway into a Strigoi, whereas the canon plot sees Rose escape before he has the chance. Despite the divergence and the introduction of new plot points, the plot does continue to interact with the real series' plot.

"Awakening" spans 38 chapters and, while not as polished as my current writing, is still easier to read than many of the other fanfics I've had to wade through since I obsessively self-edit even as I'm writing a story, a quality that was particularly noticeable during my fanfiction era.

Questioning

"Questioning" takes place after the events of Richelle Mead's "Silver Shadows," the fifth book in the "Vampire Academy" spin-off series "Bloodlines."

"Silver Shadows" ended on a cliffhanger and the next book in the series wasn't due to be published for another month, so I wrote "Questioning" to keep myself and others entertained.

The plot initially focused on characters questioning the authenticity of Sydney Sage and Adrian Ivashkov's marriage, but it evolved into an even bigger story spanning 17 chapters. One reviewer even said they liked my story more than "The Ruby Circle," which was the real sixth book in the series.