FanFiction

My kids know I'm a writer. They're ages 3, 6, and 8, so it doesn't mean much to them. They all love books, words, reading and being read to. It's a major time consumer in our house. My 6 year old, the more tender-hearted of my clan, was saddened to find he can't write Fly Guy books. Fly Guy is the brain child...brain-fly? of the incredibly talented childrens author, Tedd Arnold. My son loves his books and we own every one. My son has a little light he attaches to his books so he can stay up reading them over and over. His kindergarten teacher says he reads above his grade level. She doesn't know I'm a Word Nerd and therefore, my poor kids have the genetic disorder as well. Anyway...he looked so distraught, hearing he couldn't write Fly Guy books for a living LOL. I racked my tiny brain to make it better. I knew telling him he could write another character of his very own wouldn't satisfy him. Then, the proverbial light bulb came on. *Blink* FAN FICTION!

I sat down with him and visited websites filled with stories about other things he knew and showed him how they were all written by different authors. We talked about how not everything, everybody, writes and publishes is done for money. Sometimes, people love a world or character so much, they want to see it go on, or they have an amazing idea for an adventure they want to share with other fans of the series/book/movie etc. New term for his growing vocabulary: Fanfic. He was immediately thrilled. He thought up a new adventure for Fly Guy and got started. He worked a long while on the story and spelling and asked lots of questions. Then he stapled the pages together and took it to school in his little-man backpack. The next day he announced, "You need to teach me to use the scanner, because I have orders for four more!" LOL So, he learned another new lesson, how to use the scanner/printer, and he did. He's working very hard keeping up with orders and teaching his kindergarten class about fanfic. AND he's making notes for his first sequel :) Love that kid! Thanks Tedd Arnold and FLy Guy!