I, thankfully, have been able to avoid writing original fiction since the 8th grade, which is when I discovered that it's (1) not something I like (although odd ideas occasionally jump into my mind and give rise to about one paragraph of "original" fiction every now and then) and (2) not something I can actually do with anything approaching even mediocrity. When I first stumbled across fanfiction, it didn't even occur to me to make a connection between the writing process for original and fan fiction, but there are those out there who do. That they can see writing fanfiction as a precursor to or as practice for writing original fiction mystifies me. But more power to them, I say. For me, they are and will forever be completely and totally separate manners of expression.