When I found out this issue was on fanfic I felt fear crawl up my spine and heard crickets in my ears. Immediately I was like "fanfic? I don't do fanfic. I barely read fanfic. I surely can't write an article about fanfic!!"

Scenarios of superheroes and bad boy titles swirled through my mind and a title wave of feelings of failure and nausea rolled over me. Is it possible I won't be able to do something I've promised to do? I consider myself a semi- professional here, maybe not in the sense that I wrote with any professionalism, but I made a commitment and that's important to me, I cannot chicken out, let my team down, or fail. So, what can I do?

I was working myself into a frustrated mess of anticipation. How the heck would I find a way to write about something I didn't even understand? So I did what any crazed lunatic on a mission would do. I got out the smurf set.

I spent hours arranging tiny figurines on a large plastic mat and making a story complete with scenes, characters, and pics. My instinct was to find out why fanfic? Why is it popular? How does it make people feel? I know, I could have used Superman or Game of Thrones or anything moderately cool, but I like the Smurfs. always have, and I just so happened to have picked up the awesome characters, mat, and book set at Barnes and Noble for like five bucks so it was perfect.

People did read it. A little (very little). And they said they felt nostalgia, remembering days gone by filled with a mix of laughter and warmth from something they had previously enjoyed. The same way I had felt making up the story. It was a fun experience and I felt like I had really worked for my article. That being said, I dusted off my hands, cleaned up my Smurf mess and ignored the assignment for a while.

Cut to today. Today, I realized the end of the month was coming and that I actually had to get writing. A sheen of sweat broke out and I gulped my coffee trying to get my wheels turning until I got hit by a figurative bolt of lightning that, had it been real, I would probably be a pile of cosmic dust not writing this at all. When it hit, I laughed out loud at the way my mind tricks me. What was the stunning revelation?

"I am already a fanfic writer." How did I not put this together? My current published story "The FriendZone Promposal", is a fanfic. What? ???? It's true! I'm an official world record holding dolt!

The contest that made me an official money making author was held on Wattpad and sponsored by Target. It was an anthology of taking fairy tales and "giving them a modern twist". It was fanfic! My story was based on 'The Ugly Ducking'. And it's fanfic! Maybe not in the traditional way, I didn't use the characters names and just mix up the story and surroundings, I gave it a modern day makeover the best I could and by the grace of Wattpad and the friends who helped push it into the winners circle with votes and tweaks, it won! I got my first ever author check and more importantly, a beautiful book in stores that I currently carry around in my purse (yep, I'm that geek).

But this article isn't about The Once Upon Now contest, it's about me discovering that fanfic is everywhere. And for good reason. Many writers scoff at fanfic. It's a misunderstood taboo in some circles until one day you get a shot in the gut of realization and understand that fanfic is found almost everywhere.

Offshoots of things we like are bound to influence our style. Just look at fashion, movies, current books and advertising. Everything trendy and current is influenced by something. Which is how it becomes popular. And let's be honest, Fanfic is sometimes sneaky. Take Wicked. It's a fanfic from The Wizard of Oz. And Dorothy Must Die. Characters from the original story told in new ways with new settings and twists. Fanfic!!!

And my favorites? Pride and Prejuidice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer. Fanfics! These movies are awesome. They add historical twinges and atmospheres and bring out everything I love, cheesy plots and gore fun style. Those - are fanfic!! So many things I squeal over are already immersing me in fanfic.

Maybe I'm taking a much too generalized approach. And I admit, this revelation could be the result of long work shifts, little sleep and a looming deadline with the editor breathing down my neck. (Kidding, I love the editor)! But Arrow, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Supergirl, so many shows I can think of are based on books or comics and just tweaked with new plot lines characters and updates for the current trends and audiences. Fanfic! 

So all this fear and crazy panicking over fanfic thinking I knew nothing about it now has me in stitches. I love fanfic. And what is it? It's a dab. It's a bow. It's a nod to the greatness of the feelings and memories we get when we really get hooked by characters and storylines that make our heart pitter patter. It's emulating and reproducing to make those feelings last. It's basically being a fangirl and taking it one step further. Creating more by our own hands. That is the essence of Fanfic and let me say without fear of hanging to do an article apology or retraction, it has been around forever.

And all those thinking they are diehard "altruist" types who scoff at the very idea of fanfic, I hope you get your lightning strike and realize that it may be a buzzword, a current trendy hot button, but indeed, there's nothing new about it. And you have most likely watched it, read it, lived it, and maybe even have some of your own and don't even realize it.

My journey to fanfic awareness was a roundabout of Smurfs, sweating, panic and laughter. Hopefully this article saves you some of the craziness. Enjoy it all people, life's too short to not try everything you can. What's your favorite fanfic?