The hill I will die on: Fan fiction is real literature, whatever the snobs say | Urooj Ashfaq

Sat, 03 Jan 2026

Yes, it’s messy, derivative and occasionally incomprehensible – but so is life

Fan fiction is democracy in its purest, most chaotic form. It’s the people seizing the means of production. Every “what if?” is a tiny revolution. What if the side character got a backstory? What if the finale didn’t end in heartbreak? What if Harry Styles and Zayn Malik kissed just once, for morale?

Of course, many would argue that fan fiction isn’t real literature. It borrows worlds and characters that someone else created. It’s often unedited, published online for free and written by people with no verified experience. To the purists, it lacks originality, polish and commercial value, the hallmarks of what they believe “serious” writing should be.

Urooj Ashfaq is a Mumbai-based comedian, writer and actor.

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