"Tainting the canon"

[Ebony AKA AngieJ]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "yael-pou" <yael_pou at h...> wrote:
> And Cassie - People are going to get very upset if you stop writing 
several months before OoP comes out.
> 

Amen.  We want Cassie's Draco up until OoP, and beyond that, too. ;-)

It must have been so nice to have had the choice of reading 
fanfiction or not.  I wasn't so lucky.  As I've said before, 
fanfication was the means by which I *learned* there were adult fans 
of the HP series online.  If it hadn't been for fanfiction, not only 
is it doubtful I would have found all you lovely people, I'm not sure 
that I'd be half as involved with JKR's stories as I am now. 

I do think I'm just about maxed out on indiscriminate reads of HP 
fanfic, though.  I used to enjoy going to ff.net, scrolling down, and 
hitting everything no matter what it was or how awful it was.

Now I scrutinize summaries at ff.net, go by the recommendations of 
people I know whose taste I trust, and keep up with a couple dozen 
writers who I like.  

IMO, the reason why it's quite easy to separate fanfiction from canon 
is that no one write JKR's characters like JKR does.  

I hesitated for a *very* long time before writing fanfiction of my 
own for several reasons.  First, it never occurred to me to write HP 
fanfiction.  Half the fun of writing is making up new characters and 
new worlds IMO. I love reading JKR and being transported into her 
world, but ultimately, it is hers and hers alone.  She knows its 
features, its idiosyncrancies, and its people FAR better than we ever 
can.

Then, too, I felt as if I was so far removed from Jo Rowling's 
context and culture that any attempt I made at fan writing would be 
laughable at best.  I've shared my background here on this list 
recently... nothing further need be said.

Finally, I had no desire to write fanfiction for months and months.  
People may think that I'm being less than truthful when I say that, 
but I am not.  I loved reading canon, listening to Dale's rendering 
of canon, and reading everyone's fanfics.  I loved debating on list 
via posts.  But I thought that writing Harry Potter fanfiction would 
be presumptuous on my part, as I know very little about England, and 
even less about writing science fiction and fantasy.

When I began TiP, it wasn't for the pleasure of writing per se.  It 
was putting theory into practice, so to speak.  From the beginning, 
I've thought of TiP as a very long, fictionalized HP4GU post.  I have 
two more fan stories planned after TiP, to round out the narrative.  
I'm not sure if I'll do any fan writing outside of the Paradise 
cycle... considering both sides of the coin, I am happier as a reader.

I have to agree with Cassie.  All fanfiction "misses the mark" in 
some way, even those on our personal favorites list.  I'm weird in 
that I like fanfics that are way out, and that have outcomes that 
will most likely never happen in canon.  

The basic premise of TiP--an R/H marriage gone bad--is something I 
find extremely OOC to begin with, as I really can't see any version 
of canon Ron and canon Hermione walking down the aisle together.  So 
that in turn skewed a lot of other elements in the fic... and gave me 
license to have fun.

It's like making gumbo in my mind.  You toss in a little bit of this, 
and a little bit of that.  An HP fandom friend wants a cameo?  Not a 
problem!  Do you have favorite books/movies/media you want to insert 
as a lark?  Sure, go ahead!  Are there minor characters in canon who 
are always on the fringes of things, and you want to know more about 
their life and background?  Make up one for them!

As we don't have access to JKR's personal files and notes for the 
series, the more important aim to me (and this is what I look for 
when reading longer fanfics) is internal justification.  That is, it 
may not be canon, but if the writer can make me believe it by giving 
a good explanation that's rooted in canon, I'll buy it.

Another thing is that because of the nature of online media, I am a 
lot less harsh with my critiques than I would be in real life.  So I 
don't think any fanfic on my recommend list is perfect, and I could 
take the red pen to them... but am I an editor or a teacher in the 
fandom?  No.  I'm a fan.  A fan who is twidding her thumbs, waiting 
for the movie and Book 5.  The way I see it, the fanfictionists are 
doing me a FAVOR... they are giving up large slices of their time and 
personal lives to entertain me at no cost.

Here's just a few of the HP fan authors that have entertained me so 
richly over the past year and more... for that, I thank them.

The PoU listmoms, or the Fanon Four (Lori, Cassie, Carole, Penny)
My roommates on the Paradise List (Heidi, John Walton, Jim Ferer, 
Sarah Rettger, Yael-pou, Al, Jana, Viola, Rave)
parker
Wotan
Alicia/Sue
B Bennett
Sarvihaara
Rhysenn
CobraGirl

There are many other fan writers who are more than readable, but 
these are the writers I consistenly read and whose work I keep up 
with and recommend to others at the present time.

None of the above toe the canon line, though... which is why I 
love 'em.  JKR writes the characters as they are, of course... these 
writers write them as they could be, or in some cases, ought to be.

--Ebony AKA AngieJ (who can't believe how late she's entering this 
great discussion)