‘Canonicity’: the Book or the Reader?

[mark12_30]

That is, are you trying get it all, or are you trying to get it right?

I would say, trying to write eucatastrophe.

With the reader in mind, if one begins in a Tolkien environment with Tolkien characters (who are so well known), it is jarring to proceed inconsistently or treat the characters inconsistently and the spell is broken. If one can maintain 'it'-- the characters especially-- then one is less likely to lose the reader.