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And I have decided if we made our own characters and "slashed" them... then it wouldn't be slash, it would be canon.
- Encaitare
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Good point! You are quite correct.
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I have yet to see how this argument can be used to dismiss fanfic that's within cannon limits, e.g. missing scene fics, vignettes, character musings, etc.
- Evisse
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Fairly simply actually. They say "why not write your own original stories?" The implication being that the author should have written something else.
There was a famous story that was called "puerile," and endlessly picked apart by critics who felt the writer ought to have written something, anything else. Yes, it had a high tone; yes, it had some writerly merit. But the subject matter itself was unworthy of such elegant treatment.
It was defended by another author, who felt that these critics should not apply their own agendas and opinons of the subject, but instead consider the work as an artistic whole. He completely changed the attitude towards the "puerile" work in question.
The "puerile" subject that so offended critics: Dragons
The work in question: Beowulf
The defender: J. R. R. Tolkien
We study it today because of his understanding of what it is to be writer (not to mention his understanding of dragons
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If Tolkien made the point that to be a truly relevant criticism, stories should be considered in reference to
themselves, shouldn't we respect that? Isn't that, in itself, canon? If we are building on the intentions of the author?
We have a conundrum. We want to use established canon as a yardstick for fanfiction. Yet the 'canon' of Tolkien's own writings on literary criticism void the entire canon debate. Beowulf cannot be properly appreciated in reference to the 'canon' of established Greek epic tradition. Fanfiction, slash or otherwise, cannot be properly appreciated in reference to the 'canon' of the Lord of the Rings. According to Tolkien, you cannot say "it has no value" because it doesn't fit this or that slot of canon (Greek or LotR).
I must note that I have never heard such a sentiment "why didn't you write something different?" from an author. An author may like or dislike a particular work, but they never seem to say it should not have been written. I suspect Tolkien, too, valued the right to write what he will.
- Maril