To fic or not to fic: The motivations behind writing fanfiction and the ways in which they integrate with wider fan culture.
Fanfiction, as modern audiences define it, has been around since 1967 and the publication of Star Trek fanzine Spockanalia. Since then, the growth of the internet and digital culture has enabled the growth of fanfiction to culminate into archives where fanfiction authors have the ability to publish their work freely. Yet the impact that writing and creating fanfiction has over fan behaviours has yet to be analysed. This dissertation asks what the motivations behind writing fanfiction entail for fan culture. Through the process of analysing case studies, researching fan experiences, and an interview with fanfiction podcast co-host Allie LeFevre enabled the researcher to determine their final argument: that while some fanfiction practices need to moderated, there are still numerous benefits that writing fanfiction can have over wider fan culture.