Oh, yes - it's the world that needs to be reworked in "filing off the serial numbers" - in which Gabaldon really missed the point. You're not just filing off serial numbers, you're filing off everything external about the characters and their situation. Almost anything that could be identified as specific characters. And yeah, that's a lot of effort (and, yes, it's enjoyable, too).
It's a different kind of writing (easier in some ways) and it's got a set of rewards that involve an already-established community.
And it's very much a training ground for writing, if you're intelligent enough to recognise it as a learning experience.
I know that I'm a better writer now than I was ten years ago when I started writing fanfiction; I know that I can complete a novel-length story, I know how to structure a plot, I know how to write characters. I may not be very good at it, but I was even worse at it ten years ago.
no subject
It's a different kind of writing (easier in some ways) and it's got a set of rewards that involve an already-established community.
And it's very much a training ground for writing, if you're intelligent enough to recognise it as a learning experience.
I know that I'm a better writer now than I was ten years ago when I started writing fanfiction; I know that I can complete a novel-length story, I know how to structure a plot, I know how to write characters. I may not be very good at it, but I was even worse at it ten years ago.