Fanon

[ostarella]

Pam posted a great article on fanon versus canon:

http://ljconstantine.com/column14.htm

I have to agree whole-heartedly with the author's opinion that fanon is dangerous. When I first started writing, it was after many years without seeing TAT, and after reading many, many fanfics that relied on fanon - and consequently there are now pieces of my earlier stories (and indeed, characterizations of some secondary characters) that I would dearly love to hide under a rock. Not that fanon-based stories are *bad* - but there were certain characteristics of the guys and the perirpherals that the fanon authors liked that I don't - and had I realized those were fanon versus canon, I wouldn't have adhered to them. Which is one reason I started writing "Their World" - it was a way for me to make sense of the some of the glitches in canon and yet make sure people understood where canon ended and speculation began. (Which reminds me, I need to get back to work on that...)

Anyway, maybe that's why I'm such a stickler (aka "pain in the ass") when it comes to things such as the priest at the orphanage, BA's real name, and character "surprises" in fanfic - if it goes completely against canon, you better be able to explain it believably - and you'd better do it in the story.  ;-)

Comments

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Magill comes from one of the novels - not exactly fanon, as you say, but considering how the books slaughtered canon, and the fact that they were not as "available" to people as the televised episodes, I don't consider them at all "official" - more like "authorized fanfic".

So they may assume that some idea everyone is using is canon.

Exactly my problem when I first started writing, when eps on TV were hit or miss and the DVDs weren't out there. And just being new to fanfic in general, one has some strange ideas about what's "acceptable" and what isn't. ;-)

[beckyblack]

Yeah, Magill comes from one of the novels - not exactly fanon, as you say, but considering how the books slaughtered canon, and the fact that they were not as "available" to people as the televised episodes, I don't consider them at all "official" - more like "authorized fanfic".

Sounds fair. I still can't get over that passage you sent over to me from the Till Death... adaptation. Good grief!

Exactly my problem when I first started writing, when eps on TV were hit or miss and the DVDs weren't out there. And just being new to fanfic in general, one has some strange ideas about what's "acceptable" and what isn't. ;-)

The DVDs did change everything. Hah, the early days in fanfic can be a strange and scary experience. :D

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

the early days in fanfic can be a strange and scary experience

Sometimes they still are... ;0