Creating Canon

[donutsweeper]

(This was originally going to be a MUCH longer post but I've been poking at it for close to five months and decided to trim it up and just throw it together before it languished away before I ever wrote it up.)

I have this weird phobia about creating canon in my fics even if I know it's unlikely whatever I come up with will ever be Jossed (aka later proven incorrect by canon).

What I mean by creating canon is things like names filling a gap of information that may or may not be given in canon, like names, for example. There are a lot of characters that canonically have not been given names of one sort or another. Whoverse's the Doctor, the Master and Jack Harkness (all nicknames/aliases); Grimm's Monroe and Teen Wolf's Sheriff and Stiles Stilinski (none of whom have first names). And then there are character's parents' names, how many moms are mentioned but never named?

Or dates. We know both Tony DiNozzo (NCIS) and Stiles' moms died. We don't know when or how. And probably 90% of characters out there have no specifically mentioned age.

Or events. Was Jack Harkness ever really pregnant? What actually happened in Budapest (Avengers)? Were any of the Magnificent Seven other than Nathan involved in the Civil War (Magnificent Seven, TV)?

Should the producer/writers' intent matter? If someone said in an interview that Gaius was Merlin's uncle, should we take that as fact (Merlin)? What about things that have been accepted as fanon? Does Mycroft continually kidnap John (Sherlock)? Does Thor really like poptarts?

Anyone else have issues with this? Does any of it matter to you as a reader? Have you ever decided on something in your head (like a character's name) which makes it hard to read a fic that has come up with something else?

Comments

[rustydragonfly.livejournal.com]

If someone said in an interview that Giles was Merlin's uncle, should we take that as fact (Merlin)?

Not being familiar with the show and the situation there, I can only go on my own thoughts on extra material in general, but I would say yes.

I think this is because as a creator, there's a lot of stuff floating around my head which for one reason or another might not make it to an actual written story, but as far as I'm concerned it's still canon. That may give me a difference perspective of the issue, I'm not sure.

BUT... I really don't have any issue if someone was to fic my stuff (oh wistful thinking!) and put something aside, whether it's something that explicitly occurred "on screen" or just something I said, if that's what works with the fic author's story. Also for all I do know, I also have a lot of situations where I just plain have no idea what happened, maybe because I didn't do much with so and so's backstory and that bit's hazy or whathaveyou.

I suppose the short version would be: as a creator, I do think the creator's intent and ideas count, but feel free to go in and do what you like, because that's part of what fic's about.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Does your intent ever change though? Like originally you figured A would be B's nephew, but then as the stories progressed you realized that while there was a avuncular aspect to the relationship it'd work better if there wasn't the blood relationship?

[rustydragonfly.livejournal.com]

Hmm.... for stuff I haven't written yet? All the time! For stuff I have written, not so much... I can't think of any specific examples. It sort of becomes set down for me then, so it's part of the story unless I decide to reboot the whole thing.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

That's why I question accepting things authors et all take in interviews and the like- they say X but that's way back in S1 or after the first book and now there's all this new canon with possibly more canon yet to come so is X still the case?

(It's a little silly, I know, it's just one of those issues my brain has)

[rustydragonfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get you. I don't usually share what I'm going to do in the future, part because I don't want to reveal spoilers and part because it could change.

I suppose it's a bit like real life. There are all sorts of ways the future can go, but the past is set.

That said it's still relatively early days and I do add new stuff to the backstory if it makes sense. Case in point - when starting out, I though the main characters' mother was just an incidental character. Now she's the reason the plot's happening as it is at all. Sometimes I can still surprise myself.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh neat. Stories and their characters just take on lives of their own sometimes, don't they?

[rustydragonfly.livejournal.com]

That's still nothing next to the ones who walk in and go I'M PART OF THIS STORY NOW, I'LL PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE IF YOU TRY TO GET ME OUT.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

*giggles madly*

[rustydragonfly.livejournal.com]

She was very insist on that.

I suppose, going back to the original question, I will only specify extra details as canon if I know for definite they're true. Otherwise, I'll state "I'm not sure, but I think blah blah blah." That might be why I take most stated things as canon, because I guess I automatically assume the creator is likewise sure, but different people have different ideas of what sure is, I guess.

It's interesting seeing this from the other side, so to speak?

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh absolutely!!! :)