TED: The creativity and community behind fanfiction | Cecilia Aragon

The speaker shares her journey from a lonely Latina girl to a data science professor, inspired by fanfiction. She discusses how fanfiction communities provide a supportive environment for young writers, especially those from marginalized groups. Through research, she found that fanfiction helps improve writing skills through distributed mentoring. The speaker suggests integrating fanfiction into formal education to enhance students' writing abilities.

What inspired the speaker to rewrite 'The Lord of the Rings'?

• A writing competition

• A desire to include more female characters

• A school assignment

• A suggestion from a friend

What did the speaker and Professor Katie Davis aim to explore in their research?

• The impact of fanfiction on young writers

• The popularity of fanfiction among adults

• The financial success of fanfiction authors

• The historical origins of fanfiction

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a popular fanfiction theme?

• Harry Potter

• Twilight

• Pokémon

• The Hunger Games

What is a key feature of distributed mentoring in fanfiction communities?

• Mentoring is abundant and comes from multiple sources

• Only negative feedback is given

• Mentoring is only provided by professional authors

• Feedback is scarce and limited

How does the speaker propose to use fanfiction in formal education?

• By publishing fanfiction in school magazines

• By organizing fanfiction writing contests

• By replacing traditional literature with fanfiction

• By connecting students for anonymous feedback