The Missing Stranger

Doubts and Steps Back ~ Pt. 1

   Over the years of writing I've come to notice something. It's easier to write fanfiction than it is original stories. You don't have to think up any names, places, characters. Heck, sometimes you don't even need to think of plot. It's more simple. More clear cut. But there's always been one story in my works that has been the exception.

   The Missing Stranger.

   This "fanfiction" is special. It's an original story. An "AU" I suppose. It can't be compared to my more basic "Falling for my best friend."

   In the past year, I've been watching some anime, reading some manga and books, etc. Even thought of my own ideas. Through all of this, I've learned story writing skills and techniques that far outclass how I used to write. This was why I chose to rewrite The Missing Stranger. I had written it so poorly in my eyes, that I felt I could do it so much better if I just did it over. So I did. I started rewriting it. And things were going well. I was so much happier with it... except there was something still bothering me about it. I couldn't figure it out, but something still felt off.

   Then, I finally realized it. The problem with it wasn't the plot... it was the genre itself. The whole reason for it's creation.

   It was a fanfiction.

   I realized that as time went on, while I'm confident I wrote a good story, I didn't write a good fanfiction. I didn't keep any of the characters true to themselves that much, and I never really tried to. I never really wanted to. It made me ask myself...

   "What if I wrote my own original stories?"

   I didn't want to write fanfiction anymore. I didn't want to be limited by someone else's creations. I wanted to write my own stories, my own characters. The Missing Stranger was my favorite work because it was the furthest thing from fanfiction I had ever written. I thought, if it was my own story from the beginning, would I have had more enjoyment in writing it?

   "Maybe... it should be my own story. My own stories. From now on..."