Fanon "ruining" canon (was Obsessiveness quiz)

[Ebony]

No: HPFGUIDX 9597

> Amy wrote:
> 
> > Sounds like a question to add to the quiz:  Do you make a 
point not to
> > read any fanfic because you need to keep the canon version 
of things
> > in your head?
> 

To which Amanda added:
 Definitely something to add. I do this same thing, and haven't 
read any
> fanfic so as not to get muddled.

Hee hee!  Amanda, this is a valid point.  I used to read the books 
over for the stories.  Now, I read them with a slant that I'm sure I'll 
never be able to shake.  I'm always finding evidence for my pet 
theories, missing scenes that I'd love to see played out, etc.

Having said that, I have to express how much I admire those 
who have managed to avoid fanfiction.  I found HP fanfiction by 
accident... I was reading fics from other fandoms at ff.net at the 
time.  At the time, I'd just finished teaching a very successful 
literature unit of Harry Potter... and was extremely annoyed that 
the series was not done.  Also, as a composition/rhetoric 
scholar-in-training, one of my (many) research interests is online 
discursive formation.  The explosion of adolescents/teens the 
same ages as the kids I teach writing fanfiction was a 
phenomenon that fascinated *and* excited me.

If it wasn't for reading PoU, I'm not sure *how* I would have found 
other adult fans of the series my students are so crazy about.  So 
even if fanfic does taint canon, it has its uses.

--Ebony