Anime-Inspired FanFictions

This weeks readings once again referred to something altogether new to me, "Anime-inspired Fanfictions". I began reading the article and immediately asked myself "Just what are Fanfictions"? I shortly discovered that this is a form of writing where someone makes up a story or cartoon that is connected to Japanese animation. This form of writing gives students the opportunity to express their crativity through both a written and artistic means.
The girls highlighted in the article, Rhiannon and Eileen, referred to their fanfic writings as simply dreams or ideas that happened to pop into their heads. They considered these writings to be better pieces of literary works than those they produced in their formal class settings. I suppose this was because their level of interest was higher and they veiwed these writings as fun creative ways to keep themselves entertained.
I found it interesting that the girls often shared their writings with friends and family, but seldom with their teachers. I imagine they didn't feel that their teachers would have proper appreciation for their writings. It makes you wonder how often our students hold back things from us because of fear of ridicule.
I think that introducing Fanfiction to our students could be a catalyst to help peek interest in a new form of literary writing as well as improve upon existing literary skills.