(no subject)

[wisdomeagle]

Whilst I attempt the incredibly onorous process of getting my xgenchallenge fic from the floppy to LJ, why don't you discuss this amongst yourselves?

I see fanfiction disclaimers that say things like "if I owned them, this would be canon" or similar. And okay, sometimes I feel like that... but mostly I don't. Certainly not literally, and mostly, just not at all. Because a) I know most of what I write would make really lousy television, being mostly along the lines of one-shots with benefits and pr0nful and not action-adventury and b) I actually generally trust TPTB to create good stories -- not the best stories, maybe, but good stories, worth reading and um. I suppose sometimes things like gen missing scenes that address specific canon events that weren't covered in canon... or other people's fics, those gifted and intelligent people who can actually write plot-driven fic... but mostly not so much and ah yes, c) why does canon-status matter so much? I can kind of see it for extracanonical pairings in television fandoms, simply because of the aesthetic value, and if you're a visual thinker actually getting to see it could be better than reading it, but eh...

So. Discuss amongst yourselves. <3

Comments

[mylittleredgirl.livejournal.com]

I personally find disclaimers like that to be a reeeeeally gauge for the quality of the fic.

[gloss]

I'm with you. I don't necessarily want to see the stories I tell onscreen, because what was onscreen was wonderful. It provides the seeds of characterization that enable *other* stories.

[jedi-penguin.livejournal.com]

There have been fanfics that I liked better than canon ("Death Brings Clarity" by JK Phillips springs to mind. THAT is what really happened after "The Gift" as far as I'm concerned.), but for the most part, I only read or write fics when I already love the canon. (And if I used to love the canon and then started hating it, I tend not to read fics set around that part in the timeline. For instance, I read VERY little season seven fics and am very selective in post-Chosen ones. Fics set before "Tabula Rasa," however, I devour.) So to suggest that the ideas in my head are better than what I've actually been given is ridiculous.

[cheese-munkey.livejournal.com]

A) I think disclaimers are prime examples of fans attempting to assert their unique-ness, often through humorous or inventive spins on the phrase "not mine." This type of disclaimer, which I have also encountered quite frequently, I usually view as simply another fairly non-inventive style of disclaimer an author uses to evoke humor and interest in the fic. I've never viewed this type of disclaimer to be serious, as I don't really see any humorous/attempts-at-unique disclaimers to be serious declarations of the author's intent.


B) a) I know most of what I write would make really lousy television, being mostly along the lines of one-shots with benefits and pr0nful and not action-adventury/i>
Ahah, that crazy equation of canon with onscreen events. ;) Again, when I see this type of disclaimer, I tend to be vaguely amused, not actually consider the contents of the fic as competing with or wishing to be onscreen or otherwise incorporated into the visual productions of the series. Instead, I consider the author to be expressing a light-hearted wish for their events or character perceptions to be regarded *as* canon, which leads me to your letter C, the importance of canon status.
I have several musings on the importance of canon status (in other words...fanon, the process of creating canon). At the moment, I'd like to pull out some anthro!crack & say that declaration of canon, or events or perceptions achieving canon status, helps to distance that event or perception and create the distinct space of canon. Since this is now external, distinct (...Other XD) from the author, abnormalities -or, ok fine, inversions- (as in slash, shota, squid, etc. etc....hah, they all start with s...;)) are expected/sanctioned/become apparent. Behold: fandom=inversion. (...Sorry; I can do this better in a 50-page thesis. *sigh.*)

...& I'll cut this short there; can you tell I'm suffering from paper withdrawal? (...Ahhhh, but Sensei's class starts next week.... *_*) Yes. <333333333333333z0rz to Reness! ;)