To every 1D fanfiction author, whether you’ve been here for years or been here for months, whether you have one or one hundred published fics, whether you have a single special kudos or hundreds of thousands of kudos, I am begging you,
Please, please don’t let anything dim your light. Don’t let any post or any person throw water over the fire-magic and burning brilliance of your incredible creations.
This fandom is so lucky to have your canon-divergent comedy and your alternate-universe tragedy, your epic romances and soul-searing heartbreaks, your wild werewolf angst and your pining college fluff, the coffee-shop disasters and post-apocalyptic perfections, the break-ups, the make-ups, the love and the loss, the joy and the terror, the hope, the glory, the disappointment and the fulfillment.
The untamed and unrestrained cosmos of your mind that you are brave enough and kind enough to share with us is the purest and highest of gifts.
We are so lucky that this fandom has so many amazing and incredible and brilliant authors like you. Your work is exactly what this fandom wants and needs.
Sometimes we crave the crystal waters of a mermaid lagoon or the real-life normalcy of blue-collar love stories. Sometimes we want to be dragged relentlessly through the mud in the darkest of angst when there seems to be no hope only to be set back on our feet and cradled by the comfort that comes after so much hurt. Sometimes we are so fragile that all we can do is curl into a cotton-candy cloud immersed in the most heartwarming of fluff.
Sometimes we need to be triggered because the only way to heal our own inner anguish is to rip the plaster off and dig down deep, cleanse it out and stitch the wound closed so that it turns into the most beautiful of scars.
You give us that. Your words, your creativity, your passion. All these horrific and euphoric emotions that you translate into the written word are exactly what we need.
Your words, the care and attention and passion and hard work you put into your tales of wonder and woe, bring so much joy and excitement, catharsis and healing, escape and love to so many people.
Your stories are loved, they are cherished, they are needed. That unfinished gem you have sitting in a folder on your computer? It is someone’s next favorite story that they don’t know they need yet.
Yes this community has fanfic gatekeepers, but whether you have mixed together the perfect concoction of longevity, divine timing, perseverance, and talent to become a well-known name or whether you’re still struggling to get that potion to finally bubble bubble burst, just remember that none of us in this fandom got to wherever we are now without help and support.
I support you. I am so grateful for your patience and dedication and bravery. I see you and I acknowledge every ounce of courage it takes for you to write and to share your words. I will go to the ends of the earth and personally draw you back from throwing your fics over the edge and into the abyss. If you need it, send me a message or an ask and I will hold your hand and stand beside you every step through the dark.
Can you imagine a world where the twenty-six thousand completed fics in the Larry sub-genre alone were narrowed down to just 10? 20? Even 500? Can you imagine if the world only had fifteen 1D songs? Louis once mentioned he’s written over 100 non-1D songs, yet we’ve only heard sixteen. Does that mean he should stop? Or that the seventeenth song isn’t good enough? We don’t play them simply because we don’t have them. And no one can read the story that you don’t write.
No single one of us can fulfill everything this fandom wants and needs and loves. Never underestimate or underrate just how important your creations are to this community. Only you can bring your special brand of humour and angst and imagination to the table. Only you can write the characters the way you do. Only you can tell that golden nugget of a tale hiding out in your mind. Make the lads we love reading about proud. Keep on championing the unrestricted love and creativity and soul power they stand for and that make this community so incredibly special.
So go listen to Don’t Let It Break Your Heart and Drag Me Down and Through the Dark and Fireproof on repeat. Buckle back up, love. Crack those knuckles and show us what you’re made of. We’re all waiting for you.
I am a single voice in an ocean of voices, but sometimes one voice is all it takes. Please spread the joy, share the love, support one another, reblog this and send this to others so that it reaches every corner of the fandom. 2020 has been one hell of a ride but it’s up to us whether we make it an earthquake or a rollercoaster.