[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Fanfic yes or no and why?

[Amanda Lewanski]

Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer wrote:

> I don't have any problem with the notion that I'm "tainting" my views
> of canon.  I really haven't, as yet, ever *sworn* that some particular
> tidbit was canon & have it turn out to be fanon instead.  I can keep
> track of it all fairly well in my head I think.  Maybe I'm just
> flattering myself, but I do think it's possible to keep the two
> universes separate.

Oh, my dear expectant one, just wait! You, too, will get to the point
where you swear the only brain cells that function anymore are the ones
that make you eat and wake you at night to go to the bathroom......

>  It would be really interesting though if someone devised a quiz that
> included questions with fine nuances & asked you to distinguish canon
> from fanon.  Alas -- something else *I* don't have time for!

Oooooh, I'd love this. I can't do it, of course, since I don't read
fanfic, but someone should! It'd be fun to have stuff from JKR (non book
but still Authority), the canon, and fanfic, and see if there *has* been
an effect.

So far, the instances of people just *knowing* something's in the book
(when it's not) have been confusions of JKR-provided info at other
places. I think fanfic can skew your perceptions of the character of the
characters (yes, I said that, but read it slowly and it'll make sense),
and I only want JKR's take on them, but it'd be fun to see if there's a
detectable effect.

--Amanda