fanfic/speculation - more bletherings

[gwendolyngrace]

Dave says I'm not insane!

He wrote:
>
> I understand the main difference to be precisely the narrative
> context.  I did try to work out a fanfic in my mind, and it fell over
> because, while the *idea* was competent enough, I was unable to
> develop a *sequence of events* to hang it on.  Obviously, if you can
> make up sequences of events, you have a very powerful mechanism for
> testing canon theories, so to that extent, fanfic is superior to
> theoretical speculation.
>

That's kind of where I was heading. I think that more theories "fall
down" or fail to borrow your terms when one tries to hold them up in a
narrative. The ones that can survive such scrutiny and still remain
constrained by the canonical evidence then have greater weight, IMO.

Dave again:
> I think the fundamental device is to keep 'fact' separate
> from 'theory' in your mind.  None of us is very good at this, because
> a good theory replaces a large pile of facts so economically (and a
> bad one seems to).  So, rather than, say, deciding that Snape is or
> is not a vampire, keep all the bits of canon in mind that bear on the
> question, and don't decide.  Develop interpretations of conflicting
> evidence (ie explain away the garlic if he isn't; explain away
> the 'non-wizarding part-humans' if he is) and keep them in your mind
> as interpretations *while still retaining all the facts*.
>

This is very interesting. But do you think non-fanfic writers are any
better at this than fanfic writers?

In one sense, I could argue that the person who doesn't write is
better, because the writer must "commit" to a theory in order to use
it as the structural basis for the story framework.

But then, OTOH, there are those non-fanfic folks who believe just as
vehemently in their theories and reject others. They have still
"committed" to their version of the facts, without ever having put
themselves through the process of writing it. So are they more or less
likely to acknowledge different but equal possibilities?

Dave:
> I think I'm basically with you on this - that speculation suffers
> from the supposed disadvantages of fanfic in terms of diverging from,
> and 'polluting' canon.  There is no such point.  With the very little
> fanfic that I've read, I found no difficulty in seeing the characters
> as essentially different from canon - though stylistic differences in
> writing may have helped here.  Thus POU Hermione does not affect my
> understanding of canon Hermione.  In the same way, I can read
> somebody's speculation and keep my own perception intact - unless I
> choose to change it.

Yes! That's kind of what I think too. Personally, I think I've done a
good job (and I'm assured in most cases that this is true) of staying
"in character" with my HP fanfic, keeping even Draco from becoming a
misunderstood, nice but sarcastic kid who really wants to be good, and
just isn't allowed the chance. ;^) And yet, there were still actions I
chose or needed the HP characters to take, to further my own plot
agenda, and while I believe it was in character to do so, I received
reviews saying it wasn't.

Whose perception determines what was in or out of character? Both of
ours. In my perception, it was okay, an action the character might
have pursued in those circumstances. For the reader, it wasn't okay,
because she didn't believe X would "do that" no matter what the circ's.

I also want to respond to the post Dave put on the main list, where he
asked:

"Are you saying that expressing your conclusions in relatively
abstract logical form (as I think you do) costs you extra work
because it is alien to the way you reach those conclusions?"

Yes and no. I tend to come up with question/theory first, then in the
process of working it through, begin the writing process at the same
time. So it's no extra effort for me to present my thoughts in a
formal, logical format than it is to do it through fanfic, with the
exception that the information is organized a different way.

I keep extensive notes as I write. When something comes up, "Oh
piffle! What about the moon?" I go back to the source and see what I
can figure out. The research gets collected in the detatched, logical
stuff that I wind up posting to HP4GU (and that most sane people
ignore ;^)). But the conclusions from the research find their way into
the fanfic.

Mahoney just sent me a private email where she very astutely reflected
that she sees straight speculation and fanfic writing as the same
thing, but merely presented in a different format.

I think if that definition is true, than to some extent, aren't all
listies participating in analysis also contributing to fanfic?

Brain fuzz. Can't continue.

Gwen