FF: Canon and fanon (was: McGonagall's book etc.)

[sashibuya at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 12396

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Amanda Lewanski <editor at t...> wrote:
> Doreen Rich wrote:
> <snip>
> This is *exactly* the reason Steve and I and the other lunatic 
purists
> don't read fanfic. We have enough trouble with distinguishing this
> group's well-reasoned conclusions from canon, already.

Yeah, that is a problem sometimes. I read some fanfic, but not HP 
fanfic extensively, because I personally prefer to go reading about 
series that are already completed. I was discussing with my friends 
in another fandom what series are 'ficced more than most, and one of 
the main 'ficcable characteristics was it being "fundamentally 
flawed" in some way. HP right now is "flawed" because it's obviously 
incomplete. There's three more books. I'm wondering, if our theory is 
correct, that the end of the series will actually mean less 'ficcing, 
as canon answers many of our questions that we currently speculate 
about in fanfic. (When I think about fanfic, I think only about the 
relatively advanced authors, as in the folks who post here, not the 
vast majority on ff.net) Actually, I find the existence of a fan 
canon to be very interesting. On some shows whose quality is such 
that I wonder why anyone watches them in the first place, the fan 
canon actually surpasses the real canon. (that sort of fandom may be 
equated to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, in my mind. Just sitting on 
your couch and watching is fundamentally different in some way than 
dressing up in a vinyl outfit, and yelling at the screen)

> 
> Is there an extant term--it can't be "canon," since it's not in the
> books, can it?--for details that JKR has supplied, which are 
therefore
> Right, as distinguished from non-book material from other sources? 
For
> things like Lexicon purposes and such?
<snip>

Hmmm. I'm sure such a term exists, but have no idea what it is. I 
think it should be designated separately from canon, because JKR 
could always change her mind. 

Charmian