The Internet is rife with content. There are many websites where you can listen to music, play games, and watch videos. But it is no secret that one of the industries it has disrupted is print media. While there are still bookworms who flock to bookstores for the latest releases, a lot of the same books are also being sold digitally. This is more prevalent now that people have tablets that have form factors and user interfaces, which replicate the experience of turning pages very well. People also see the value of bringing one device that stores thousands of books compared to carrying physical copies, which can get very heavy.
One thing that the digital world has done is to open up the floodgates for writing talent. The Internet has a lot of avenues where you can share your short stories or novels. If you have aspirations to be a leading author for kids and ascend the best-sellers charts, you can start your career by posting your works online. If you have gathered a large and loyal following, you can take advantage of that and start self-publishing for children’s books. Having amassed an audience also means that you have marketed yourself well and created a demand for your own content, so going at it yourself should post little to no risk.
As far as budding writers go, the Internet has an abundance of them. There are different kinds of reading pieces that started or got big in the cyberspace.
Fan Fiction
There are a lot of popular and established franchises scattered across the realms of books, TV, and movies. These are properties of their respective creators, but this does not stop people from expanding their stories based on their own ideas and create pieces called fan fiction.
A great example of this is the Fifty Shades saga, which started out as a Twilight fan fiction. These fan-made pieces are created not really to disrespect or outdo the source material; instead, these should be seen as paying homage to them. For an author, stimulating the minds of their audience is a great accomplishment.
Webcomics
One of the main stalwarts of print media, the newspaper, saw huge declines in readership with the advent of the Internet. A staple of one’s downtime is reading the comic strip section of the broadsheets. These are fun and light time killers, providing you bite-sized stories or funny panels that often are of the slice-of-life variety.
These days, the webcomic has seemingly taken its place, having similar contents but made by lesser-known artists. Computers are used in homes and offices, and people spend a lot of time in front of their screens. If you find yourself feeling that boredom is sinking in, you can sneak in a webcomic page or two to lighten up the mood.
Creepypastas
There are numerous forums on the Internet, and they are the perfect venues to post short stories. The great ones get spread naturally by being reposted or shared on social media or other forum websites. A popular type of shared user content is the creepypasta.
Creepypastas are scary stories or pictures where the name is derived from the act of copying and pasting. Some of them are presented as urban legends such as Slenderman, which is of the most well-known stories around. It has secured its place not just among Internet trends but also in pop culture. It has seeped into the public’s consciousness by being featured on TV, in video games, and even on film.
If you think about it, the Internet is a haven for those who like to read. You would have to wade through a sea of subpar writing. But if you look hard enough, you will eventually find some reading gems.
