[Carriebear]

As a 33 year old writer of fanfiction, I'm not what one would call a "youngster." I agree that there's always the question "Why won't you write original stuff?" but I'd also say that there's a common misconception that fanfiction is "easier" to write. While there is a stability in writing about characters that have already been created, in a world that's already been established, the readers of fanfiction are rabidly invested in this world, in the characters, and most readers worth their salt won't accept a poorly-written, horridly characterized fanfiction story. I strive to treat a fanfiction story as if I were writing for that show (I stay mostly within a certain t.v. show that I love and enjoy) and keep the characterizations, emotions, and settings true. Those of us who write fanfiction write it to introduce situations or plots for the characters we love, knowing that it would probably not occur in the show/movie/book, etc. I know many brilliant writers of fanfiction who have written novel-length stories, stories that were just as engaging, as true, as real as original novels. It's also worth noting, I think, that if you've ever picked up a Star Wars/Star Trek/CSI/etc. novel, you've read fanfiction, at least in my opinion.