Meme: 30 Days of Fanfic
Sep. 27th, 2015 10:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
argentum_ls13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
No contest, I much prefer canon. Canon is why I'm into the media I'm in, and canon is generally what I want to play with. That said, I'm not against fanon that genuinely fills gaps in the canon (e.g. Richie's history of abuse). I'm not generally on board with fanon that subverts canon (e.g. Packmom!Stiles).
One of the things I like about fanfic is how it can help me make sense of canon when the canon's been sloppy about providing that sense. In that way, fanfic very much changes how I see source material. Fanfic is also good for alleviating frustration or anger at canon decisions, which can help me continue to enjoy canon that I otherwise would have ragequit.
Even though the question doesn't address it, I'm going to throw an additional category in: the self-limited canon. The conceit that canon can be more limited than it actually is is essential to my ability to be fannish. I have no problem with, and will happily engage in, disowning episodes, plotlines, or even whole seasons of shows; as we all know, Highlander ended with "The Modern Prometheus," and had no other canon except the backdoor pilot to the Methos & Joe show a year later. Except for when other details or characters are necessary in a story.
No contest, I much prefer canon. Canon is why I'm into the media I'm in, and canon is generally what I want to play with. That said, I'm not against fanon that genuinely fills gaps in the canon (e.g. Richie's history of abuse). I'm not generally on board with fanon that subverts canon (e.g. Packmom!Stiles).
One of the things I like about fanfic is how it can help me make sense of canon when the canon's been sloppy about providing that sense. In that way, fanfic very much changes how I see source material. Fanfic is also good for alleviating frustration or anger at canon decisions, which can help me continue to enjoy canon that I otherwise would have ragequit.
Even though the question doesn't address it, I'm going to throw an additional category in: the self-limited canon. The conceit that canon can be more limited than it actually is is essential to my ability to be fannish. I have no problem with, and will happily engage in, disowning episodes, plotlines, or even whole seasons of shows; as we all know, Highlander ended with "The Modern Prometheus," and had no other canon except the backdoor pilot to the Methos & Joe show a year later. Except for when other details or characters are necessary in a story.
Self-limiting
Date: 2015-09-28 04:29 am (UTC)Re: Self-limiting
Date: 2015-09-28 05:15 pm (UTC)And this why it's important to acknowledge both that the self-limited canon can exist and why it doesn't have to be the same for everyone. I like the ROG, so I don't want to give up (most of) his episodes. You don't care for the ROG, so you see no reason to keep them. That's fair.