author_by_night: (Default)
author_by_night ([personal profile] author_by_night) wrote2006-04-19 03:00 pm

Where's the canon love?

As far as fandom is concerned, canon is an endangered species.

As I read fics and essays, there seems to be little appreciation of it. 

Now, I have nothing against meta or AU fics, nor disagreeing with JK Rowling. (Well, okay, the last one depends on the reasoning. Will get to that). But it seems like people have forgotten canon, period. I see more fics about the romance between Sirius and Remus than the friendship between Sirius and James, even though the latter is far more a significant plot point. While Remus/Sirius can make for a great fic, it seems that there's more of that, and less of James. If James and Sirius are focused on, they have to be lovers. Why so few stories that show them as brothers?  *

Speaking of love, it also strikes me as ironic how we have all these fanon ships (yes, ones that weren't 100% canon until HBP count), yet you don't see a lot of writing on the canon ships. Arthur and Molly - they love one another so deeply, don't they? Yeah, okay, nobody wants to write smut about two people possibly older than their parents - but honestly, smut isn't everything. And what about Bill and Fleur? That would be a great relationship to explore. And they're not so much older or younger than a great number of the fans! 


Then there's mentors, or lack thereof. I see a lot of fics where Hagrid's importance to Harry is minimized to an
 extreme. Now, you may see him as irresponsible - up to you. But to Harry, Hagrid is the world. He was
 how Harry found out he was a Wizard, and although Harry knows Hagrid's irresponsible at times, he 
won't laugh about it at a bar.

Other mentor relationships never get explored either. James's parents and Sirius, Andromeda and Sirius (though 
that gets more emphasis than others, especially in the "Tonks writers" circle - we're actually a bit obsessive about it), 
Remus and Dumbledore, Dumbledore and Hagrid... all of those. They have such potential, yet nobody seems to 
explore it.

Then there is the sect of fans that have rejected JKR altogether, decided she doesn't know what she's talking about. 
Not to be harsh, but how is that possible, given that she wrote the books? It's one thing to say you wish she'd gone
a different direction, but when people claim they know, say, Lucius Malfoy better  than her... that disturbs me, it really
does.

So, why the lack of canon? I'm honestly interested. And I have to admit, alot of the points I made are things I've recognized myself not looking at. I've been a Remus writer for years, yet it wasn't until his anguish in HBP that I really
thought through his devotion towards Dumbledore. And quite honestly, I really didn't see Bill and Fleur actually 
staying canon. Why?

Is it because we've gotten into fanfic/fandom? Because we've grown up and subconciously moved away from certain
elements? 

I'm interested to see what everyone thinks. Generally, I feel in some cases it's fandom, and others, simple taste. 
So, what do you guys think? Is this even an issue to begin with?

* I am in no way, shape, or form saying James and Sirius can't be with people. Lily, anyone?
Not to mention I'm in an  RPG where Sirius also has a girlfriend, one he's not getting rid of 
anytime soon. ;) I am only saying that I'd like to see Sirius and James explored, as well as their romantic
relationships if it is part of the plot.

[identity profile] ehnel.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I think it's because the fandom exists partially so people can explore things which they know aren't going to happen. I mean, good grief, I know Draco/Ginny is never going to happen - but I love it almost more than Ron/Hermione, because it's got so much potential and so many possibilities. These two characters, both very real and with definite personalities - but they have almost no interaction in canon. Just imagine what it would be like if they did meet for lengthy periods of time - how would they react to each other - affect each other? Weave in the war behind that, the conflict between their families ... it's a hell of a lot more exciting than reading Molly/Arthur, wouldn't you say? I realise that this possibly makes my reading tastes shallow, but I enjoy the HP books for the adventure, the fun, the darker sides, the conflict, the endlessly wonderful fight between dark and light, the plotting - and that's what I look for in fanfiction, even if the basis of the fic isn't entirely canonical.

Also, to me, reading and writing Draco/Ginny uses my imagination so much more than if I read or write a fic about, say, Molly/Arthur. Molly/Arthur is already there, we know what it is - whereas D/G is an unknown quantity. It makes you think a lot more.

People like reading epic romance, angst and passion and a mention of the happily ever afters - not the happily ever afters themselves, because happily ever afters make dull reading. The majority of fans would prefer to read a good adventure featuring Draco/Ginny than a quiet, serious exploration of the relationship between Harry and Hagrid. There has to be something of excitement, conflict, and interest in a story, and frankly, Harry and Hagrid's connection is not very interesting except for essays.

Just my two Knuts. :)

[identity profile] stmargarets.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I think it's inevitable that as JKR closes more doors in canon, fan fiction writers will start to look further afield. Way back after GoF came out there was a lot of speculation about Remus and Sirius - with the canon at the time a slash relationship was plausible - or a relationship with other OCs, etc . . . Now after HBP, we have Sirius dead and Remus with Tonks. Canon has boxed in those characters. So if you love the character but want to do something with them - well, AU here we come.

I don't know why mentor/Harry stories aren't more popular - probably because they're harder to write. And let's face it - the romance/adventure genre is very popular - not just in fandom, but in the movies etc ...

I tend to gravitate to the same themes over and over again in my writing - love and work and time - so I'm lucky in that I can work through those things with many different characters. But if you're a writer who just likes to write one ship or a few characters - then it's going to be harder to stay in canon world if you have certain situations you want to explore.

[identity profile] parsimonia.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I think the simplest answer is a societal focus on romance. Romantic and/or sexual relationships are seen by a lot of people as the most important. It also happens to be the most elusive, in that it can take a lot of time/energy/searching/angst to find it. So I think for a lot of people, they see it as the most important thing to worry about, and therefore the most interesting aspect in the HP series.

I know it's not true for everyone, and it's certainly not for me, but that's the way I've been able to make sense of it all.

Although sometimes I get the sense that a lot of fanfic is inspired by what doesn't happen in the books. They see a canonically plutonic or antagonistic relationship and amplify everything so that it plays out in an extreme way (I think that's where all the smut is coming from, really).

Also, I think with some characters, like Hagrid and Dumbledore, they are really hard to write. I've yet to see any interpretation of them in fanfic that I thought matched their representation in canon. Hagrid can easily become a dumb cartoon of a character. Dumbledore can easily become way too solemn and all-knowing, or just boring.

As for James and Sirius...I think that again, it's harder to write James than it is to write Remus, because we've got a much better sense of what Remus is like. We know very little about James's personality in comparison. And while the Pensieve scene did give us insight into James and Sirius's friendship, it's very little compared to the canon interaction we've seen between Sirius and Remus.

So in an odd way it's partly canon's fault that there's all this uncanonness! lol.

[identity profile] sprite6.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
Also, I think with some characters, like Hagrid and Dumbledore, they are really hard to write. I've yet to see any interpretation of them in fanfic that I thought matched their representation in canon.

I agree, and I'd extend that to other major characters, especially Harry. Whenever I read a fic with his POV, it feels jarring to me because I'm used to the way JKR writes him. Snape often sounds wrong to me too. IMO minor characters whose voices are less familiar are easier to bring off in fanfic.

I also think non-canon ships appeal because the series is still unfinished. Obviously SS/HG will never happen in canon, so those authors needn't worry that their fics will be jossed by book 7. Besides, people fell in love with certain ships when they were still possible, and that's hard to give up. Once the series is finished, I think more people will strive for canon compliance.

[identity profile] ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't see the non-canon stuff as being that omnipresent - but that's probably because I don't seek it out. I couldn't be less interested in non-canon ships, to be honest - I've read some, but that's more out of a kind of reluctant fascination and getting 'sucked in' when I've happened across them while idly browsing, rather than actually seeking them out. But that's not to say I *wouldn't* get interested in Draco/Ginny, if I stumbled across a fic that whetted my interest...I might then want to read loads more. One of my favourite ships de jour is Snape / An OC, not exactly about to happen in canon but it's a plausible extrapolation and well-written, so I'm sold on it. On the other hand, I've known about Rising From Ashes for ages and haven't been compelled to read it beyond the first page or so - even though I know it's extremely well-written and (given the authors) bound to be an excellent fic.

Would I go and seek out a mentoring fic, or, a non-canon-era fic? Probably not - although I love all that kind of backstory & minor character development when I come across it. I suppose this probably just means I'm extremely conservative in certain of my searching criteria. I prefer to read fics by people I have reason to believe will repay my time - which usually happens through recommendation or a personal interaction I've had with an author. I particularly like reading stuff by people I already know - not because I think my *taste* in choosing those authors is better than the next person's, more because I know there is a potentially limitless number of great fics out there, and so I need to apply some kind of selection process. It helps me to feel connected to the story, if I know the person and already am pre-disposed to think they are a kick-ass writer. It's the same with non fanfic - I'll read another by the same author, even if it isn't part of a series, because I know I've been able to establish some kind of emotional connection to their work previously, so I'm more willing to *give* my time.

There are also interests (characters /situations / eras / genres) that I gravitate towards time and again - in my reading and writing - so I wouldn't be sold on a Harry/Hagrid story straight off - but I'd certainly appreciate some Harry/Hagrid interaction in a story I was already reading and enjoying.

Arghh. I'm sure you didn't mean to generate this kind of blether - but if you *will* write interesting posts...

[identity profile] valerie-valerah.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I totally agree about the Arthur/Molly thing. I'd love to see more fics and art about them. They must love eachother, what with nicknames such as "Mollywobbles" ;P

[identity profile] in-the-blue.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
As someone who's explored some of the other relationships -- I've written Molly/Arthur and Lucius/Narcissa and Sirius-as-mentor and Dumbledore-as-Mentor and Bill/Fleur and Sirius's friendship with James -- all I can say is that my gut reaction to your question is that it's been too long (from a fan's perspective) a wait for the books. In the in-between dry periods, people go kind of crazy and stretch what's there; it happened between GOF and OotP in a big way. Also, the fandom is so huge and so much has been written that if you want to do something original any more, it has to be something pulled out of left field.

In some way, I envy the people who are just now getting into the HP fandom. They're still innocent enough to say things like: "Wow, I wonder what the real relationship was like between James and Sirius and how Lily impacted it?" without it becoming some long drawn-out fandom war.

Just my 2 Knuts' worth. But yo me. I'm not even writing HP fanfic any more, so there.

[identity profile] angieweasley.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Word, ABN. I mean, I love 'ships that aren't canon. Take Harry/Ginny pre HBP. I also like 'ships that JKR has mentioned and hinted at (Ron/Hermione, Fred/Angelina [SQUEEOMGsomuchlove]).

What you're saying is true. Plus, the people who think that they know Lucius better than Jo? They know what they imagine his life to be, not what's canon. I, for instance, made up half of Angelina's maternal side of her family today during spanish. Maybe there's no such person as hipster-coolio Aunt Imani in canon, but I won't have a little temper tantrum over her if Jo decides not to make her canon.

Peace out.

[identity profile] cats-are-snakes.livejournal.com 2006-04-19 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree with the others here that stepping away from canon can be a way to explore interesting possibilities that will never happen in canon.

In general, however, I view departure from canon in fanfic and RPGs as fantasy fulfillment. I feel this is especially true of romantic/sexual relationship fics and RPG relationships. Now, I don't read a lot of fanfic and I'm in my first ever on-line RPG, so YMMV. That said ...

I've noticed a major percentage of on-line fans are younger than those who attend cons. My con-going fannish friends tend to prefer canon and use fanfic to fill gaps or offer explanations for things that happen in canon that may seem slightly off. Sometimes, they write pure humor fic that is completely absurd. One furry-smut story written by one friend for another specifically comes to mind. There is little difficulty separating canon from fanon and, though character interpretations vary, they are generally supported with canon facts.

The on-line community, however, seems to have more difficulty separating reality from fiction in general, separating RPG characters from themselves, and separating canon from fanon - especially after time passes and the author has progressed the story. I am disturbed by the trend I see of writers using Ms. Rowling's universe and ideas, character names and settings, and minimal details about the characters but COMPLETELY IGNORING CANON. I consider this a gross example of plagerizing ideas and am sickened by it.

For example, I am troubled by fics putting Harry into homosexual relationships (unless it is specified as an exploratory-type fic). Why? Because, in canon, Harry is attracted to and has relationships with Cho and Ginny. His friendship with Ron has never crossed into anything physical that we know of. Thus, in canon, Harry has demonstrated heterosexual tendencies. He might explore, yes; fer chrissake, he's an adolescent boy. But find it hard to believe that he would fall in love with another male without considerable time passing. And having Harry in a relationship with Draco Malfoy without major time passing stretches my credibility beyond the snapping point.

Is this an issue? Hells, yeah!

[identity profile] viverra-libro.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
I appreciate cannon for its creation of a stage and characters and a basic backstory. However, I, like some of the people you're talking about, don't really care about cannon or care about trying to adhere to it very closely. Why? Because I don't think JKR has thought about all of the implications of cannon very well. I don't think she cares about most of her characters half as much as many of her fans. A lot of her secondary characters are pretty two-dimensional, and fandom develops them much more than JKR ever will in just one more book. Really, most of what I am interested in reading, and what I write, really has little to do with the *purposes* of the books, so why should it have to adhere to cannon? That's not its purpose. It's purpose is to see what one can make of these outlines of overlooked, underappreciated characters.

[identity profile] miss-sophia.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
I am only saying that I'd like to see Sirius and James explored, as well as their romantic relationships if it is part of the plot.

OK, total pimpage here: My WIP "Yellow" is basically devoted to the deep, deep friendship between Sirius and James and how Sirius transferred that love to Harry from PoA until his death. It can be found at a variety of places, including The Sugar Quill (http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=2747&chapno=1) and here on LJ (http://miss--sophia.livejournal.com/6381.html).

To me, canon is always the best. I treasure canon-based fics the most, especially alternative PoV fics and missing-moment fics. Fanon is fun as hell, and I've definitely discoverd the joys of shipping and slashing (yay Remus/Sirius!), as well as crack, but canon/fanfic will always be my OTP.

[identity profile] likeafox.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
One of my favorite things about HP is that there is such a huge and complex world and an even larger cast of characters. JKR has made a world so big that there's absolutely no way she can really dig into every aspect of it in canon, and she obviously can't explore even a small percentage of the plot/relationship possibilities. So she takes the main point of the story, and explores the relationships she planned on exploring, namely Harry, Voldemort and the horcruxes, and all the canon romances. Jo's focusing on her story and what's important to that, and that's clearly as it should be.

However, because there is such a fantastic world there, I (and I'm sure a lot of other people) can't help but want to play around in it a bit. This is a fandom absolutely full of great fanfic possibilities, many of which veer towards being "AU" in the sense that -though no fanfic is going to happen in canon- their very premise isn't going to happen, much less the specific events. Jo obviously isn't going to have Harry date Draco Malfoy, and I think you'd be very, very hard-pressed to find a fan who honestly believes she will. Still, how interesting is it to imagine that Harry does question his sexuality, and that maybe he and Draco find that over the years they've come to understand the other better, and then perhaps a mitigating circumstance leads them to put aside their rivalry and enemy status and to become friends or even something more?

That and a million other situations aren't ever going to happen in canon, but that doesn't mean they couldn't happen in canon. I think that, if Jo made up her mind one day to have Harry fall madly in love with Draco, she could do it and do it well. And I think that there are a lot of fanfic writers are doing just that -writing about interesting but non-canon situations in the context of Harry and his world- because Harry and the rest of the series are so fun to play around in.

I do enjoy fic that digs deeper into specific and very canon parts of the book, but honestly I enjoy things that we probably aren't going to get in canon more. We're never going to get as in depth a post war story as AtE, and that's why I love it and reread it so much. We're not going to ever see a canon way of Draco becoming friends with Harry. We aren't going to ever see how a Remus/Sirius romance might work in the group dynamic of the marauders of a whole. Jo is never going to explain to us what motivation Ginny might have for loving Draco, but that doesn't mean I don't find it endlessly fascinating, and it doesn't mean I didn't feel like someone had reached into my stomach and quickly extracted my insides when I was reading Rising from Ash.

I seriously doubt I'll ever read a fanfic more times than I've read any of the HP books, much less the series as a whole. But the thing about fanfic is that if I want to read about Harry and Hagrid's relationship, or about the twins antics, or about Molly's relationship with her family, I can go read the best fic out there -the books themselves. For me, a lot of fanfic is for the everything else.
ext_6866: (Hmmmm..)

[identity profile] sistermagpie.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
It seems like there's two completely different ideas being conflated here: writing stories that you'd like to read and not liking canon. Sirius/Remus slash, for instance, is based on canon--it's based on the two characters and their relationship through romance or whatever. It is, for me personally, a far more interesting relationship and more important canonically than Remus/Tonks (and I'm not an R/S shipper). So I don't think to write one ship over another shows any lack of love for canon, just lack of interest in writing certain stories. If somebody wants to write an interesting story about Andromeda and Sirius that's great, though I'm more interested myself in something about Sirius and Regulus. Both stories would be equally canonical and un-canonical given that neither Andromeda and Regulus have actually appeared in canon so it's all made up.

I guess I just tend to be more wary of "I'm writing canonical fanfic!" than "I'm writing something different than canon!" Because while both groups can write equally bad stuff or have ideas I don't agree with, it's the first group that is claiming to be writing something official or "just a little closer to the actual books!" when they're not, and maybe more likely to start insisting that they're interpretation of canon is canon when it's not.

[identity profile] yeats.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
I really like what you said at the end, about people assuming the mantle of JKR's official interpreters. I think a lot of people who enjoy writing ships that appear in the books get a sense of superiority out of it - as if that somehow makes their stories of a better quality than everyone else. Which I think is silly, because writing skills do not equal reading skills, and questions of interpretation aren't the same as either. So yes. I think you're in the right. *salutes*
trobadora: (Default)

[personal profile] trobadora 2006-04-21 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
You said everything I'd have said, only better. ;-) A shame the OP doesn't reply to comments - I'd have liked to read an actual discussion about these issues.

[identity profile] author-by-night.livejournal.com 2006-04-22 11:50 am (UTC)(link)
*Cringes* I'm sorry! But I honestly don't know how to reply to an opinion. I can't attack people for them if I disagree, and I feel like agreeing to only some... well, this is a survey, you know?

I may do an entry similar where there will be discussions. Really. I'm sorry if I offended you.
trobadora: (Default)

[personal profile] trobadora 2006-04-22 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Not offended at all! I just thought there were a lot of interesting opinions, and I'd have liked to actually talk about them. But I feel kind of rude to talk over someone else's head in their own LJ, you know? It was a bit rude of me to even post that remark, and I'm sorry about it. But if you do start a discussion post I'd be very interested in it.

[identity profile] konishi-zen.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
I don't think that many people hate cannon. I just don't honestly see the point in writing fic that mirrors cannon so closely that you are pretty much writing an HP book yourself.

To me, fanfics are elaborating and exploring specific corners of the cannon world that probably (Or more than likely for sure) will never get mentioned by the author themselves. It is also a place to play the what if game? What if Sirius had found Harry before he was whisked off by Knight Bus? What if Harry hadn't heeded Remus and gone after Sirius? Etc Etc.

People, for whatever reason, latch onto a specific character and want to play with that character and most of the time to do so, usually means taking a huge step away from cannon.

I do agree that there are some things (like a Draco/Harry relationship) that I personally can't fathom, but others do and they want to write it. Hey, all power to them. They wanna do it. Meh.

Also, many people stop writing cannon relationships because they just don't relate to what the cannon dictates as being the perfect relationship for the two mentioned characters.

What's the next best option? write a fanfic where he/she gets together with someone else. Hence the deviation from cannon.

Cannon, especially the way JKR writes it, seems like a springboard for people to make their own mythologies. It's full of unexplained things and plotholes that writers can exploit and make their own. Hence the fun in playing in the HP universe.

My three cents take on that. Cheers.

[identity profile] m-ho.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree with other posters that imagination and creativity are about pushing or breaking boundaries; logic and reasoning may be about the problem solving of attaining mimicry, and that's a separate challenge.

And in some sense, to gain control over its world, the natural instinct of the human brain is to categorize, set up dichotomies i.e. canon vs. AU, female vs. male, etc. Rising above that subconscious action, the ego can begin to push these categorizations forward and beyond unto a greater understanding. Then it turns out that JKR has no more a monopoly on the characters she creates than those who recreate them by reading. How can Now!JKR, who is as different from Then!JKR as her readers, have any more right to ownership? That's the stuff of intellectual property laws and Western societal norms. Communication breaks down once each party starts to horde that which cannot be owned.

[identity profile] skull-bearer.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Pre-HBP, I focused on characters not really explored in canon, ie, Voldemort and his Death Eaters, a lot of people seemed to be writing about canon, so i wasn't all that interested. Besides, Voldemort was my favourite character and I found him far more interesting than Harry and the others.

Post-HBP, I was so disgusted with the book I signed off the fandom for the most part, I'll take part in debates (like this one), but for the most part canon (and fandom after the Orange Crush vs Harmionans fiasco) just makes me angry.

One of the reaons I think not many people write about the romance was because it. Was. Shite.

And the reason I threw fanfiction was because suddenly my favourite character was turned into a sociopath from birth. The muses went on strike and the bunnies left in disgust, so the HP fanfiction stopped.


Skull Bearer.

Here from the Snitch

[identity profile] auctasinistra.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
And your other posters've probably said this, but one of the things I like best about fandom -- it's raison d'etre, for me -- is that it fills the interstices, the silences, and the holes in canon. It takes canon in other directions, takes a sentence or a scene or an idea, and runs with it at an angle away from canon (not too far, I hope; I do have personal preference parameters, as we all do). If I want canon (and I do) that's what JKR's there for. A reader who wants strict canon (and, oddly, there seem to be a couple of people who do in the fandom -- why they're here, I'm not sure, since by definition the fandom is not canon) is probably best served sticking to canon itself. :)

[identity profile] melusinahp.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I like sticking to canon because it adds a certain challenge to the process. It's part of the fun, for me. But I also totally get how writing AU would be fun, as well.

I can't tell you how weary I am of all the J. K. Rowling hate. It's like some people go through the books with a nit comb trying to find things to critcise. "Look! I found a flaw!" Whatever. I'm really not interested in picking her writing apart in any way. I love the books and her writing, and am perfectly happy to overlook the flaws.

I've friended you. :)

[identity profile] eirien84.livejournal.com 2006-04-20 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I so agree to your comment on the lack of Marauder!friendship!-fanfic, but I though I was the only one bothered by it.. *shakes hands*

I hardly ever read stories about the Marauders, just because the majority of those show at least two of the four boys shagging each other. I don“t mean to condemn the slashy part of fandom, but it sort of frustrates me that nobody seems to be interested in friendship anymore.
At least you can find SOME friendshippy Trio!Fanfics..

[identity profile] edeainfj.livejournal.com 2006-04-21 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
First of all, WORD to all that. Frankly, I'm baffled by the people who seem to hate JKR's writing, hate her main characters, hate the relationships, and yet continue to stay in fandom. Wha...? And you're right, SQ is one of the increasingly few places to find fic that's faithful to canon.

I'm glad you friended me, because we seem to have a great deal in common. Good to meet you! :D

[identity profile] author-by-night.livejournal.com 2006-04-21 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad you friended me, because we seem to have a great deal in common. Good to meet you! :D

Nice to meet you too! :) I liked your Ginny essay - I mean, I'll be the first to admit she can get insensitive, but who is perfect anyway? Besides, she understands Harry's needs more than anyone else except Ron and Hermione, which makes me really appreciate her.


here from metafandom

[identity profile] pinkpolarity.livejournal.com 2006-04-21 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
Not in the HP fandom anymore, so my comment is more general. I'm simply not interested in canon-strict fanworks. If I want something that sticks to canon, I'll go watch/read/play the actual canon again. My interest in reading and writing fanfic is mainly seeing what new and interesting things people will do with the world, particularly things that the author wouldn't do. I want to read the antagonist's POV, the ships that aren't canon and never will be, the focus on minor characters or minor locations, the exploration of issues that the author hasn't chosen to focus on because I *like* seeing the original spin people put on something familiar.

[identity profile] fandom-me.livejournal.com 2006-04-21 01:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Not active in the fandom, anymore, but this is an interesting discussion that I find myself firmly on the fence for.

On one hand I have little to no interest in works that mirror canon- to me there's no damned point in writing or reading them. This is personal opinion, but it's a waste of *my* time for *me* to read them because I'm just not interested in the canon relationships and fic in which nothing changes. I don't want my characters put back just like I found them.

On the other hand when things go too far afield and too MUCH is changed, to the point of characters and universe being unrecognizable I'm not interested either.

I think for me it comes down to needing to see something signfigant changed about characters I recognize and love. If you change nothing there's no point for me- that is WHY I read and write fanfic. On the other hand if there's too much changed they don't feel like the characters I care about and I could do just as well reading original fiction.

[identity profile] author-by-night.livejournal.com 2006-04-21 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey guys - I'm not really commenting on your opinions, because I don't want to take sides per se, but I AM interested in them!

I do want to clarify something: I'm not saying not focusing on canon characters is wrong at all, only that not everyone works within them. I'm interested to see the valid points though - that, for instance, we don't know a lot about James. Actually, that's very true, and I do realize not everyone is like me and enjoys making stuff up about characters we barely know. ;)

Also, I wasn't insulting Remus/Sirius - that was probably actually an inaccurate example anyway, as now that I think of it, though fics tend to very much include James. But the thing is, I actually see the reasoning behind the ship, so it was easier for me to use that as an example as opposed to a ship I really strongly disagree with, where I might unintentionally express an opinion that didn't belong here. This isn't a ship debate, just a discussion of canon vs. fanon.

[identity profile] angel-jem.livejournal.com 2006-04-22 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
For me, I still can't fully and comfortably read pure canon or possible canon fic. In my case it's actually trying to keep myself true to the real canon. See I've already caught myself once thinking of something I thought happened in the books, and then realize it occured in a fic I read. So I'm desperately trying to avoid that.

I seperated fandom from canon basically as two different worlds I guess. In canon I love Ron/Hermione, but fandom wise I'm all Draco/Hermione and sometimes fanon!Blaise (which there's another point, the fans created a version of him the was once possible, until JKR finally more fully described the character in book six. Some people actually thought Blaise was a girl!)

But yea, I think once the series is complete I'll be able to fall into canon more. Because then you can use fic to continue the story, without changing what happened in the real story.