Seriously, guys, fangirling isn’t just kittens and unicorns shitting rainbows. Fangirling is hard. I mean, it takes away sleep, eats up all your energy and sucks out your souls.
But there are some pretty awesome ways to be a fabulous fangirl, and today I’m going to share those tips with you.
1. Know the fandom inside out.
When you’re having an intense discussion about your Hunger Games analysis, you want to make sure you don’t accidentally tell people that Katniss is from District One. That would be em-ba-ras-sing. And it will probably degrade you from “fangirl” or a “fanboy” to simply a “fan.” We don’t want that, do we?
2. Be proud; be loud. GO CRAZY.
Obviously, we know that our fandoms are awesome. That’s why we became fans in the first place, yeah? So we have to let other people know about the awesomeness of these fandoms. We have to spread our love and excitement for them! But how do we do that, exactly? Here are some suggestions:
Someone asks for recommendations? Recommend your fandom. Remember, rave about them in detail. And do it with love, of course.
You hear someone mention your fandom? Subtly insert yourself into the conversation by screaming at the top of your lungs and possibly hurting that someone’s ear drums. Show your enthusiasm!
BAKE SOMEONE A FANDOM CAKE.
3. Buy all the fandom merchandise.
If the places you buy merch from are legal, then they’ll help the authors and publishers out–huzzah! Then they’ll be able to publish more books similar to the ones you’re currently obsessed with.
And if you have a low budget? You can always go ahead and CREATE your own fandom merch!
4. Follow the authors’ social media accounts.
Throw in official character accounts, too.
You MUST be updated with all the fandom’s latest happenings. And what better way to do that than to follow the fandom creators themselves? And if the CHARACTERS have social media accounts, follow those, too. You’ll never miss any important fandom news this way!
Plus you’ll get to know the author and the characters on a more personal level–BONUS POINTS.
4.2. Don’t become a creepy stalker.
Following the authors on social media is one thing… trying to weave yourself into their personal lives is an entirely different story. Please don’t be one of those scary people who try to discover where other people live and watch them while they sleep.
5. Turn fanfiction into your life.
Fanfiction is probably the best thing that’s ever been invented. *advertisement voice-over mode activate* With fanficition, you get to:
- Read about the worlds and characters you love so much (usually in ideal situations);
- Imagine that your ships are now canon and have a bajillion kids;
- Make your favorite characters come back from the dead;
- Force villains to cater to your every whim; and
- Discover some potentially fabulous new writers!
And that’s it!
If you follow all these steps, surely* you’ll become the best fangirl–or fanboy–out there on the interwebz**. If symptoms of non-amazingness persist, consult your favorite book blogger.
*Probably.
*Maybe just in your house.
Are YOU a fabulous fangirl? If not, did these tips help you out? ;)
About Aimee
Aimee loves being a little bookworm (okay–she doesn’t like being little). She also loves chocolates and sweets but is freaked out by the thought of possibly getting diabetes.
This post is so easy to relate to haha I am just so enthusiastic about everyyy thing when it comes to my fandoms. These are some great and hilarious (at times) tips!
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I can’t properly express how much I can relate to this. Give me a checklist and I’d probably pass it with flying colors!
I adore this post. A lot of fangirls, and fanboys, will read this and be like, “I’m totally doing that. Hurrah for fandoms!” or “That’s a great idea. I should do that. Must up my game. I’m not fangirl-y enough.”, because, for us bookworms, the books are not enough. We need more. More from the books. More from the fandom.
I especially like point #5. Fanfiction. Where else would we see/read about our OTPs being together, doing couple stuffs and being sweet and mushy and just overall fluffy? It’s like our life. (Of course, moderation is a must. Can’t be too attached or you won’t have time for anything else. At all.)
I’d also like to add fan arts. Those pretty illustrations of our OTP/favorite scene made by awesome people who could draw. (I can’t. It makes me sad. Such is life.) They bring the books, and fanfics, to life.
Overall, I love your tips! Looking forward to another great post.
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I’m meeting leigh bardugo at the fierce reads event tonight, I will most definitely be fan girling!
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This got me smiling and agreeing to every words! Great post, Aimee! XD
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I LOVE THIS POST. My best fangirl skill is shrieking and flailing and squealing incoherent things and getting weird looks from people. Being a fangirl is hard and our souls are misunderstood but fangirl life is the best life yo.
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Love this post! Points 2 and 5 are my favorite :) For me, fanfiction is the best part of being a fangirl and part of fandom.
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Wowieee, GREAT, AWSOOOOME post Aimee. I literally agree with every point you stated and it got me smiling after having an awful day. Thank you for that. And fanfiction is the point which I loved the most and it really is the best thing ever invented! :-)
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OMG YOU CRACK ME UP. XD I totally follow a lot of these, so I am well on my way to being a professionally great fangirl. *nods* Gotta work on baking those fandom cakes though. And if people resist being abducted into a fandom, it’s also highly useful to duct tape them to a chair and just force them to watch 4839038 episodes of your show, or listen to the book on audio, until they’re wholly converted.
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I DUNNO MAN, I think a fandom cake is an awesome idea :) But definitely the best part is being loud about your fandom. How else would I coerce other people to read TFIOS?
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Omg that was so relatable! I am a fangirl in and out and this post really made me laugh
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YES THIS IS IMPORTANT. I used to know the ASOIAF fandom well enough to get 100% on almost every QuizUp round. AND I SCREAM ABOUT MY FANDOMS ALL THE TIME. I haven’t tried a fandom cake, though, that ought to be a thing. Fandom merch is the most important and I’m so happy that the publishing world is now including these with preorders (Like !!!! I just preordered A Gathering of Shadows for such pretty art cards) and such. Also in addition to fanfiction, I’m also a huge fan of fanart and headcanons and such.
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I wanna say I’m a fabulous fan girl but I think I’m only fabulous lol! After reading, I think what I do as a fan girl isn’t enough. I only usually follow authors on their social media accounts and that’s about it. I don’t even remember when a next book in a series’ supposed to come out. I think I might have to up my fangirling game. :p
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This is hilarious! I am absolutely a fangirl. No question. I don’t really do fanfiction, unless the ending leaves me VERY stabby and I must reread it into something better ::coughs:: Allegiant::coughs::
I think I could furnish my house with Hunger Games merch. And I own like, 6 editions, at least. So.. yeah, I have some problems ;)
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The best part of fangirling for me is interaction with other fans and creating fanwork! I can’t draw or write to save my life but I love making graphics! I wish the bookish world has huge ransoms such as HP once more!!
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By ransom I obvs mean fandom. That’s a tragic typo.
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This is such a cute post :-P And I can agree with too much… Character accounts though, I didn’t think of that! I better go find them all RIGHT NOW :-P
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I am the wort fangirl ever. For one, I’m waaay too lazy. And for two, I barely care about the authors, I just want alllll the books. LOL Though I have to say I am impressed by the stamina of some fangirls (even though some are super creepy) :P
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Whenever my friends and I are at the bookstore and they’d ask me what I think they should get, I always tell them, “Definitely Red Rising (or some other book I really, really love). Buy it. Read it. Tell me what you think. Let’s fangirl together. Then get the next book. Re-read book one then read book two. Then let’s fangirl some more.” XD
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Why was bake a fandom cake crossed out??? THAT IS LIKE THE BEST IDEA EVER. I want someone to bake me one! Or it could be a team-building exercise and I could bake cake with fandom friends- that would be awesome! ;) Awesome list, Aimee!
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Your posts always put me in the BEST moods!!! Love this!!!! ♥
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This sounds about right! One thing I’ve never gotten into is fanfiction – I think I need to KNOW that things are canon, and if the author didn’t write it, then I can’t believe it’s real… Idk, I’m weird that way. :P
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LOL! As a fellow fangirl, I’ll admit that I FANGIRLED all over this post. Sure, I’ve got the how-tos down pat by now, but I ADORE reading about fangirling with other fangirls :D This. Was. Awesome. I have a pretty great memory, so #1 comes naturally to me. #2 is one that I LIVE AND BREATHE every day of my life. I need more $$$ for #3 but I WANT IT ALL! #4 done, including not becoming a crazy stalker.I think?! Hahahaha. Oh and I love your disclaimer at the end there XD
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I love this post, it is so relatable! I don’t screech about every fandom, but I definitely relate with Simon, and many others! :D
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