These days, fan fiction isn’t as much of a dirty little secret as it used to be. With the huge success of Fifty Shades of Gray, which began as a Twilight spinoff, fan fiction has become more mainstream. I am here to admit that I have spent many an evening reading fan fiction, mostly based on Twilight. And I’m not even much of a Twilight fan, but I feel like the characters and the world Stephenie Meyer created were fuzzy enough for other people to easily manipulate them into something entirely different.
So what really is fan fiction? It’s when amateur authors write their own story based on an already-existing book, movie, TV show, etc. The stories will use the same characters, but they don’t always take place in the same setting or in the same time period. In some stories, the only way to tell it’s based on another piece of fiction is that the characters have the same name; everything else is completely different. Most fan fiction lives on FanFiction.net, but it can also be found on Wattpad, FicSisters, A Different Forest, and Tumblr, among other places. No matter where it is, Twilight fan fiction runs the gamut from all-human stories to the original vampire/werewolf storyline.
Because fan fiction so widely expanded, most authors use an abbreviation system at the beginning of their stories to give you an idea what categories they fall into. Here’s a handy guide for some of those:
AH: All of the characters are human, meaning there are no vampires or werewolves.
AU: The story takes place in an alternate universe. It may still include vampires, but it won’t be in the same world as Twilight.
OOC: The characters in the story are out of character from what Stephenie Meyer originally wrote. Edward may not be so broody, or Jacob might be gay.
Lemons: A happy little term for the sex scenes.
I’ve pulled together a few of my favorite stories to stream you over until Fifty Shades hits theaters and the new Twilight short films hit Facebook next year. A lot of my old reliables have since been pulled from the Internet for publication or personal reasons, so I sadly left those off. If you can get past some of the subpar editing (most stories are either self-edited or barely edited by someone else) and some supercheesy writing (you’d be surprised how many times you hear Edward referred to as an Adonis. Thank you, Stephenie Meyer, for giving us that one in the original.), you’ll find that a lot of fan fiction is really enjoyable. Take your pick from a few of my favorite Edward Cullens below, and let me know if you have any other favorite Twilight fan fiction!
Stripper Edward
The Red Line
Edward is an exotic dancer under the control of a crazy nightclub owner, and Bella is a psychology student who wants to study him.
Mind-Reader Edward
The Blessing and the Curse
Edward and Bella have always had an unusual connection, and she has to decide if she wants to throw caution to the wind and let him all the way in.
Horny Teenager Edward
You Get Me Closer to God
Bella and Edward are having fun, casual sex when feelings start to (inevitably) interfere.
Shipwrecked Edward
Cullens Island
The usual crew goes on a booze cruise and ends up stranded on an island together where they’re all fighting over the last of the condoms.
Sweet, Smitten Edward
Making Love Out of Nothing at All
Basically Bella’s loved Edward for years and he’s finally realizing she’s a babe, so they have lots o’ sex.
Real-Life Edward
If Every Word I Said Could Make You Laugh
Although this story isn’t smutty like the others, it’s a fantastically real and well-developed story about friendship and love.
Angsty Edward
Wide Awake
In this epic tale (and I mean seriously epic; it’s SUCH a long story), Bella and Edward are neighbors who can’t sleep at night, so they spend their nights together doing each other. . . things. things.
Conflicted Edward
Show and Don’t Tell
Edward’s stuck in a dead-end relationship with a crazy woman, and Bella tortures him relentlessly until she can finally call him hers.
Cocky Edward
The Cocky and the Cougar
Cocky Edward meets Cougar Bella in corporate America; sparks fly, sex happens. Source: Lionsgate, Focus Features
