What do a business professional, a Cobra-Kai fan and a podcast creator have in common? They all describe the creator of Talkin’ Fanfic.

Sara B., who asked that her full name not be used, is 31 and originally from Kansas. She created a podcast late last year, while working as a business administrator for her company. Her job allowed her to work remotely, giving her the time and freedom to start Talkin’ Fanfic. She had one goal: have fanfiction taken seriously.

Talkin’ Fanfic was launched on July 6th, 2020, with pilot episode, “Intro and ‘Defiantly Amateur.’” Episodes consists of interviews with authors, in-depth talks about fics and discussions on characts, ships and tropes. The podcast done in a laid-back style, were cocktails make appearances in most episodes.

Growing up in the 90s, fanfiction wasn’t nearly as talked about or known as it is today. As a child, Sara had a family computer and after watching the first Star Wars movie, she began searching online and stumbled upon Star Wars fanfiction. She fell down the rabbit hole and spent a lot of time reading fanfiction.

“I didn’t tell anyone about fanfiction ­— that I read it,” Sara said. “My sister knew, ‘cause she read fanfiction and we’re really close.”

Like many fans, Sara had an indescribable shame surrounding fanfiction. She didn’t want her parents knowing because she knew the connotation fanfiction had in the late 90s and early 2000s. A connotation that still lingers till this day: adolescents are poorly writing explicit content about their favorite characters. So, instead, she told lies that she was playing online games or online window-shopping.

“I don’t remember reading explicit stuff at that age, but I knew it existed,” Sara said. “So, I didn’t want my parents to… just pull up a fanfiction site and just be shocked and freak out.”

Over the years, as Sara discovered more fanfiction and even began writing a few of her own, she still carried that shame with her. When she got a job and developed friendships with coworkers, she hid her fanfiction life from them. She used to call herself a “creative writer” to cover up her fandom writing.

Eventually, she began the slow process of “coming out” about that part of her life. She had reached her late 20s and felt more confident. At the same time, fanfiction was becoming more mainstream.

During an end-of-the-year staff party, she and her coworkers hosted a Secret Santa that became a roast for whoever they got. Sara said that she loved it and jokingly said: “You can’t hurt my feelings, I love roasts… I don’t mind making fun of myself. The only thing that would be horrible was if, for some reason, someone found my fanfiction and read it out loud.”

Unbeknown to Sara, a coworker did just that. He had found a short story of Sara’s and was going to read it out loud. She said when he had pulled out a piece of paper, she instantly knew.

“It was like me facing my worst fear,” she said.

But in a rush of adrenaline, she grabbed the paper from him. She said that she felt that if anyone was going to read her fanfiction it was going to be her, not the coworker. As it turned out, it was only a little paragraph, and she liked the story he had picked. She said that it was liberating to read her fanfiction out loud, though she doesn’t necessarily recommend it as a way of “coming out” for other fans.

Throughout all her fanfiction ups and downs, Sara’s twin sister Elise was right there with her. Elise said Sara was the one who got her into fanfiction. When she was first introduced to fanfiction sites, Elise was shocked. She didn’t know that the stories of her favorite TV shows, movies and books could continue.

“I think I assumed I would grow out of [fanfiction],” Elise said. “But now I’m like, ‘I don’t have to grow out of this. This is really fun. There is no reason for me to grow out of it.’”

Sara and Elise grew up in a small town in Kansas. While they said it wasn’t necessarily a conservative household, it was a sheltered one. They didn’t have a lot of diversity around them. Elise said “Will and Grace” was on TV, but queer and LGBT topics weren’t as talked about as they are today.

“Reading stories about queer relationships, and other different kinds of relationships… That really made me a more progressive person,” Elise said.

Elise said she is proud of her twin. She loves the work that Sara is doing. Sara’s work is about coming clean and making fanfiction more acceptable.

“Fanfiction is something that you can be proud of,” Elise said.

Sara and Elise’s childhood friend, Kellsey, shares similar views. Kellsey thinks Sara’s podcast is a great idea.

“It’s helping to progress the art, you know, [fanfiction] is really an art,” Kellsey said.

A coworker of Kellsey called Sara a nerd for doing her podcast. Kellsey was upset for her friend. She said Sara spends hours putting together a good show and researching her guests.

Many who accuse fanfiction of not being real often haven’t tried to take characters, original or reused from other work, and write a story. It takes a lot of time and energy, regardless of whether it’s fanfiction or original fiction. To Kellsey, it’s frustrating.

“I’ve tried to smack people before,” Kellsey said. “But that doesn’t work.”

Sara believes people can learn a lot from reading and writing fanfiction.

“And then it also gives you confidence to know, like, ‘OK, I can do it,’” she said. “If you just keep going, and pushing yourself.”