[HPforGrownups] A bit frustrated with fandom at the moment - DH spoilers

[Lee Kaiwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 172926

Lisa blessed us with this gem On 26/07/2007 08:42:
> 
> I can't keep quiet any longer.

Thanks, Lisa, for your views.

Unfortunately, I think you've weakened your argument by concatinating 
together all the various opinions as if they were held by a single 
person.  For example, I am one who DID feel HP's wanderings in the woods were overlong and dragged down the story. I have criticized JKR's writing (note: NOT JKR, just her writing) at several points; however, I wouldn't style my comments as "savaging", merely the legitimate opinions of one reader. I have also never read any of the fanfic (well, I did read most of one book a couple of years ago, that's all), nor am I a huge HP fan (just a casual reader). As a result, though I do hold several of the opinions you've challenged, I don't hold them for the reasons you've mentioned, and therefore I feel a bit abusd by finding myself lumped together with the alleged abusers of JKR, or lashers-out expressing their grief.

> Lisa:
> Recently, I've seen fanfic authors
> berate her epilogue and other portions of the story (like the 
> battle in/around Hogwarts) for being "cliched" and "over-done" 
> because it had been done a bunch in various FANFICTIONS.

CJE:
I didn't specifically feel, on a first reading, that the epilogue was 
weak, though I understand the arguments of those who do, and feel they may have a point. I don't know if "cliched" is how I felt about the climactic battle, but I did find JKR's rather weak prose distracting as I read it, and NOT because I was grieving over the end of an era. I personally have found myself increasingly distracted by JKR's over-wordiness and clumsy style since at least Book 3. In the end, I found the Hogwart's battle satisfying on some levels, unsatisfying on others.

> Lisa:
> This is positively infuriating to me. I'm a fanfic writer, too, and 
> a lover of all things fanfic, but I think it behooves us all to 
> remember that these are her books, her characters and her stories 
> to tell how she wants.

CJE:
Agreed. I also agree that it's unfair to criticize HP7 on the basis that fanfic sometimes got there first. But as those are hardly MY reasons for my criticisms, I'm unable to find your counter-arguments compelling.

> Lisa:
> The travelling aimlessly through the forest was unnecessary? How 
> so? 

CJE:
It may or may not have been "unnecessary". It WAS over-long and 
seriously dragged down the pacing of the story. If the point of the 
wanderings WAS, as you argue, to prepare Harry to some point emotionally or intellectually, then I'm afraid the problem is simply that that point could certainly have been made more clearly than it was. If, as some have argued, the point was to force Harry to choose between Horcrux and Hallow, I think that could easily have been clarified with, say, a one-paragraph flashback of Harry recalling Dumbledore's words about our choices defining us.

If we're being asked to bear with many chapters of seemingly pointless wandering, it behooves the author to make sure we understand why, in the end. I saw no clear point to it.

> Lisa:
> As I say in the essay in my journal, I personally believe that JKR 
> left some things 'loose' to give us who do play in the 
> fanfic/fandom areas wiggle-room!

CJE:
Hmm, coming from a fanfic author, this argument strikes me as a bit 
self-serving. How many of JKR's hundreds of millions if readers 
worldwide are even aware of fanfic, let alone have ever read any of it. It doesn't seem plausible that JKR would leave her worldwide readership hanging on so many points just so the the tiny-by-comparison fanfic community has something to play with.

> Lisa:
> I think the lack of mention of Severus' body and such after
> his death was *intentional* , and done *for us*. 

CJE:
"Us" being the fanfic community. But what of us readers who are NOT part of your community? Are we to be left unsatisfied just for your sakes?

> Lisa:
> This was her story. To accuse her of being cliched because she has 
> been so wonderfully tolerant of all the fanfiction out there ...

CJE:
Well, from my point of view, I would say she was cliched simply because, at times, she was cliched. That's not necessarily a criticisms. Most authors are guilty of employing cliches; what's probably more important is whether they're employed WELL.

> Lisa:
> Is there any other series of books 'out there' which has inspired 
> such a broad variety of fan-groups?

In short, yes.

CJE Culver, Taiwan