I'm Writing Fanfiction?

I have mixed feelings about fanfiction. For the longest time, I was completely opposed to it. My sister, on the other hand, is an a avid reader of various fanfics. She told me about them often and recommended them to me. Unfortunately though, I was actually offended at first by her suggestions. I was bothered by how she lauded fan fictions, because I struggled for a long time to come up with my own original characters and stories. 

Even aside from that, I struggled with the idea of fanfictions. I really respect and admire the artists, writers, and creators who bring their stories and characters to us. As an opinionated reader, I may not always agree with their decisions, but I respect them, because the stories and characters are theirs. As a result I was a little irked by the idea of someone else taking and misconstruing a writer's characters, changing their plots. 

Since I was initially introduced to the idea of fanfictions, I've slowly changed my opinions of them. I've seen that authors often create alternate universe versions of their stories, and I've myself imagined taking my characters and plopping them into a different world or situation. I can see why alternate versions of stories exist now. 

Still, I never thought I'd write one about any characters other than my own. That was, until the other day. While revisiting a story I hadn't read in awhile, I won't name which, I silently lamented that I could not be a part of that world. So I thought, "Hmm, maybe I could write about my own adventures in that world." Lo and behold, new characters appeared. I'd hoped for an avatar, or a character more akin to myself, but completely different characters came to mind, and they didn't go away. 

So, I started writing. I let the newbies out and they started to carve their own path through that world. They quickly created a compelling backstory for themselves, and strong relationships. Suddenly, my little snippet of an idea had taken on a life of my own. I thought after typing up a few paragraphs that I'd just delete it and move back to my other stories. My characters, and thus their story, aren't going anywhere. 

I guess that means I'm writing fanfiction now?

-Hi, everyone! Sorry it's been so long! I'll try to post a little more regularly so I stop needing to add these apologies to the ends of my posts.