I Do Not Own Gossip Girl”: Examining the Relationship between Teens, Fan Fiction, and Gossip Girl

• Main Author: Caroline Land
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada 2010-10-01
• Series: Language and Literacy: A Canadian Educational e-journal
• Subjects: writing; fan fiction; teenagers
• Online Access: https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/langandlit/index.php/langandlit/article/view/9319

After reading Gossip Girl, I explored several pieces of fan fiction related to the series that were created by teen authors. From these pieces, I observed how teens can use fan fiction to exercise their own creative ideas, align a fictional world with their own, connect with other fans and writers, and receive instant feedback on their work. From these findings, I suggest how teachers and librarians can use this knowledge to support teens that are engaged or interested in the practices of writing fan fiction and writing for pleasure.