I came here to thank you for the fave. Then I read your profile, and...
"I have a creative writing degree that I'm struggling to find a professional job for. Struggling to write anything original. Writing lots of fanfiction so I guess that's something? My ultimate goal is to be a novelist. We'll see. Anxiety and depression fight me every step of the way."
...holy god, Deja vu! Right down to the anxiety and depression! (Actually, I don't know for a fact that I have Depression per se, but I've certainly had suicidal thoughts.) So I guess I'm here to express my sympathies and amazement at how identical our stories seem to be....
...though, in retrospect, it might not be that remarkable. I imagine a lot of people who grow up wanting to be novelists get writing degrees, have mental issues, get addicted to fan-fiction, and struggle to compete in the job market.
Fanfiction's a great way to practice writing and get feedback on it. But (maybe you already know this) I will warn you about writing more than one chapter story at once. To say it will get in the way of the novel you're working on is an understatement.
Best of luck with your writing career!