On Writing Fanfic Part 1 - Know Your Canon

[tsukinofaerii]

I've only been in comics fandom for a little over a year-incidentally, that coincided with my discovery of Steve/Tony. (No, seriously, I have the exact moment that I discovered the joy of Steve/Tony bookmarked. I'm weird that way.) And you know, I got really, really lucky that I came in during a relative lull, and managed to not fall down a million

Comments

[muccamukk]

This is well done, I especially liked your who, what, where, when how break down.

I would also mention that there are self-contained sections of canon that are less daunting. MA is one, and some of the smaller universes. They can make good entry points.

I do think that the though I think it would flow better with more headers.

Also, Doctor Who canonically does not have canon -g-

[tsukinofaerii]

MA and Ults definitely are easier entry points, though taste matters a lot. If you don't want extra gritty realism, or fluff, 616 is really the next place to look.

(adds headers) :D

I... just... Ow. Does this have to do with time travel and paradoxes? Or is it even more confusing than that?

[muccamukk]

Love the headers!

Here's the best explanation of Doctor Who's lack of canon that I've read

[tsukinofaerii]

... (reads)

...

... as soon as I am not typing with my thumbs, I'll add a footnote. And then I will have a stiff drink to soothe my aching brain. It makes sense, but... oh, ow.

WE MAY HAVE DISCONTINUITY, BUT WE OWN IT.

(weeps)

[muccamukk]

This is why I love Doctor Who as much as I do. It's absolutely gleefully chaotic.

Also,
I swear to god as soon as I'm over this head cold, I'll do that beta thing.

[tsukinofaerii]

The idea of being without a canon is both terrifying and seems extremely freeing. It could possibly be better than constant retcons, but I am not sure I wish to try.

It's no problem. I was thinking of presenting you with 700 words of vamp!verse for the prompt "bloodloss", if that works for you?

[muccamukk]

Oooooh. Um... Vampires. Do they... get stabbed? I really only like them when they get stabbed. Like in that UK mini Ultraviolet. Probably the only vampire show I've ever truly adored. Well, and Buffy. When she was stabbing vampires.

[tsukinofaerii]

LOL Nope, actually. Well. Sort of. It is post-vampire, and Steve has an owie. It's actually set about five years after this? I can drag something else out, if you prefer.

[muccamukk]

I'm really sorry :-(

That's link was like all of my squicks together in a bucket.

Have I mentioned my immense dislike of vampires that don't get stabbed?

[tsukinofaerii]

lol It's fine. That's why I asked, after all. Tony is not likely to be stabbed any time soon, so you're best off staying out of that 'verse. (noddle) I shall dig through what I have-I've still some of Valtyr's prompts from December to get through. :D

[elspethdixon]

I'm always kind of iffy on the recommendation of most of the other non-616 verses, and especially Ultimates, as an entry point, because the characters are often so distorted from their core canon selves in the canon AUs (sometimes the distortion is even the point, and you might not appreciate the AU as much if you don't know what's been changed and how and what's the same). It can give people a false impression that a certain trait is a core element of the character, when it's actually only something that shows up in Canon AU [X] (sometimes, this leads to the oh-so-fun Ultimates-inspired "Hank Pym = evil cuz crazy LOL, Jan = doormat" discussion, but usually just to far more benign forms of "oh, canon really isn't like I expected," with varying degrees of pleasure or disappointment

[valtyr]

I think starting in a comparatively small verse, movie, MA or Ults is not a bad idea at all - of course, the characterizations are different, but the small canons are easier to work with the the sprawling mass of 616, which can be overwhelming. As long as the person is clear that it is a different continuity, it can be an excellent starting point.

(Also, I have no idea how anyone would take the idea that Jan is a doormat from Ultimates, so.)

[elspethdixon]

I have no idea how anyone would take the idea that Jan is a doormat from Ultimates

You used to run into a lot of people on scans_daily who did. I'm not sure how they got that impression either, but I'm also not sure how pre-TOS-ing s_d got the impression that Ms. Marvel was a slut, or that Reed Richards was an evil fascist.

[valtyr]

Yeah - when someone posted the Ults domestic violence scene to S_D, several people suggested Jan was to blame because she fought back. D: (Several people were warned, at least.)

But honestly she was never characterised as a doormat in Ults so that's not a fair blame - Hank Pym, sure, but not Jan.

Erm... a dissenting opinion

[jazzypom]

As long as the writer at large realises and acknowledges the point of canon where xie is planting xis fanfiction flag so to speak (be it MA, Ultimates, or 1602), and that for each AU there are different interpretations of the character (but they still have a fundamental sameness in traits, however) it should be good enough

Re: Erm... a dissenting opinion

[elspethdixon]

Sorry -- I didn't mean to offend anyone who likes Ultimates. I personally have issues with the way that verse treats Hank and Jan, but that shouldn't matter from a Steve & Tony perspective, I guess.

I'm really sorry if me not liking Ultimates very much made you uneasy about joining the fandom. I spend enough time sick with anxiety over writing the wrong thing or liking the wrong thing that the last thing I want to do is do that to someone else.