If that's how you use your fanfic writing, "as practice", I'm 100% supportive and dear lord am I hyperaware of my internal critic. So do what you gotta do? But maybe try not to frame it in a way that implies fanfiction's worth is only in its use as a practice ground?

There is just a lot of "writing fanfic made me a better writer" floating around whenever someone says nice things abt fanfic. But the emphasis implies it's something you grow out of, it's a stepping stone, it's writing with training wheels. Rather than valid in & of itself.

I get that for many the goal is to write original fiction & be paid for it. It was & is my goal too (tho my novel is Brontës fanfic) but maybe don't talk about fanfic in that light? I mean, writing love letters made me a better writer too but I don't talk about it like that.

I think this is an excellent point. And again (I know I'm repeating myself) just because it can be good practice doesn't also mean its sole worth is being that. https://twitter.com/parkerfoye/status/1174337445191716864?s=21

Screenplays don't involve writing description the way writing prose fiction does but no one dismissed it as just "dialogue practice". Neither are poems called "description practice" for usually not having plot.

If I were to post about how much I love writing letters to people, I won't get half a dozen earnest peeps telling me how much the think letter writing is good practice is my point.