Canon and Fanfiction: Imagination vrs. Respect

[Ithilwen]

Marileangorifurnimaluim said:

I've written the most unbelievable, unlikely storylines, and been told my stories are "very cannon." Go figure.

I think Canon really is that ineffable quality of believability.

I agree completely! And what is believable to one person may seem utterly fantastic and out-of-character to another, which is why labeling something as "canon-consistent" is always going to be controversial. SOMEONE is always going to pop up and say "But So-and-So would NEVER act that way!", no matter how careful the writer is. Heck, I bet that if I were to post some actual passages from HoME (which most Tolkien fans have never read) and label them as as passages from my new fanfic (omitting their actual authorship), some people would say that those passages were in violation of canon - thus proving that even Tolkien himself might be considered "not canoniacal enough" under the proper circumstances!

Ironically, the opposite is easier to do, in my opinion. Most people would agree that the really wild AU fics are definitely "canon-inconsistent". Too bad we can't force those writers who write "Legolas falls in love with a female Jedi Knight who's travelled back in time to become the 10th member of the Fellowship!!!" stories to label their creations as 'canon-INconsistent"! It would certainly save everyone a lot of headaches.