Should they stay or should they go?

[sholio]

*cue the Clash music*

Hey, I've got a question; this is something I've been dithering about (yes, I do that a lot). I'll deliberately keep this post spoiler-free, but the comments may not be.

Let's say that a fanfic writer makes some rather baseless assumptions about canon and then writes some stories based on that. Then canon makes it clear that these assumptions are wrong, so these stories are now wildly inaccurate. Let's also suppose that she sort of prefers her own AU universe to actual canon, but wants to be accurate in her stories.

Should the author:

1- Take down the offending stories completely?
2- Rewrite them to agree with canon?
3- Leave them up and consider them snapshots of a particular way of looking at canon in the past, but write accurately from here on out?
4- Ignore canon totally, and write AU?

(Option #4 is on there mostly for the heck of it, because while it may work for some, it just doesn't for me, I think.)

Comments

[neonhummingbird.livejournal.com]

Personally, I would feel #1 to be an overreaction; lack of canonical agreement doesn't invalidate good writing. #2 and #3 depends on how much it would bother you as an author for those stories not to agree with canon. Do you feel they would be stronger if they agreed with canon, or weaker? Or would it just drive you up a wall knowing they're out there and 'wrong'? I guess I lean towards #3, personally, unless it was a story I dearly loved and dearly wanted others who are deeply into canon to adore as well.

[wneleh.livejournal.com]

In part, I see fanfic as a conversation about canon. So, I vote for #3 - the stories reflect a particular interpretation at a particular time.

- Helen

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

As someone who lurks just to read the fanfic (I know, I'm awful) I'd say number 3

[atlantis-fan.livejournal.com]

#3 sounds like the best option to me.

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

#3, because no matter what we imagine, at some point, it might be proved incorrect, but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy said story when it was done (and still do).

[with-apostrophe.livejournal.com]

OK, let's try again. LJ *ATE* my last comment! And then it ate it AGAIN - good job I composed it on Wordpad the second time!! GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have also e-mailed you, in case it happens again.

Honey, you, I and about 500 other SGA writers have written things that way - because at the time that's what canon suggested. We weren't to know that in some fit of (edits self) .... *something*, the writers were going to Joss some of us (did I use that right?).

I know how into canon you are - you're more into it than I am, and that's saying something as far as I'm concerned, but you can't go changing things because the writers decided to perform a retcon. They told without showing, while in my opinion they showed soemthing else, and they messed up.

But at the time you wrote those stories - we weren't privvy to this information, and you and I and the 500 others were convinced canon indicated otherwise. So your stories are canonical for the time.

Please do not delete them (I can't imagine that anyone is going to suggest that), please do not change them (so now you seem prophetic or something!) but go with number THREE!!!!

You're not going to go for number four I know. But I think given our back and forth on this subject there is the middle ground of one aware and one unaware (hope you understand my code, I don't want to start that up as a public debate for a while). And I'm sticking to what I believed I saw in canon - WITH the new development (it was new) in canon.

If you like, you could add an A/N caveat mentioning WHEN the stories were written, and WHY they are as such.

[blade-girl.livejournal.com]

Every fanfic writer and reader has to be aware that if the show is still in production, anything that the writer is forced to theorize or make assumptions about can be Jossed at any given moment in canon. Therefore, there's no reason to get all drastic and yank Jossed stories from sight. And I find the idea of rewriting them to correct the false assumptions to be almost as drastic.

My recommendation, therefore, is option #3.

Now, of course, you've got me curious about which assumptions you've made that have been Jossed. May I ask?

[blade-girl.livejournal.com]

Ah, from with_apostrophe's comments above, I'm guessing it's about Sheppard not being Rodney's best friend? If that's the case, I submit that canon is thoroughly in conflict with itself on that point. As she says, they told without showing that Carson was Rodney's "best friend," whereas they've shown without telling that Rodney and John are extremely close. So I don't find stories that portray John and Rodney as especially close friends to be in conflict with canon at all. Canon in this case has multiple personality disorder, so fanfic writers can pretty much take it either way.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say, if you feel like it, why the heck not #4? Or a modified form of 4, in which one doesn't drop all canon, but twists what is later given to fit the alternate scenario. In this way one's fanfic still remains a dialogue about the canon - a harsher critique, perhaps, in that it may illuminate flaws in the original creators' visions, by potentially showing how much better something could be; but still relevant. I don't think this is "wrong" or even disloyal of a fan - the creators are the gods of their universes, but that doesn't mean we have to be mindless worshipers.

I may be a leeeetle bit influenced by being presently entrenched in a fandom with arguably the biggest denial of canon ever perpetrated by fen *cough* But while I'm usually a canon whore, sometimes it is interesting to explore alternative avenues (and hey, even with global warming, the weather in Egypt is always lovely...)

There's nothing wrong with doing both, too - write some stories in AU land and others in canon!

Whichever - I do beg that you choose between 3 & 4 and don't consider the first two! Number 2 can be okay for small details (like changing the names of a char's parents based on new canon info) but massive rewrites of plots can sometimes reach the point of making a totally new story. In that case I'd advocate leaving both versions up. And #1 is just the most painful thing, when one is rec'ed a great story only to find it's vanished...(besides, I have personal stake here; I want to read these stories, once I have the series background!! canonical or not!!)

[(Anonymous)]

It does bother me a lot; I think that's the major sticking issue that I've got right now. I've been quietly adjusting things, every so often, as I go along -- like when we found out a little more about Jeannie, I went back and made a couple of tweaks to the Jeannie flashback in Killing Frost. It's just ... this would require some darn big tweaks!

Thanks for the input.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input!

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

er ... that last was me.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Lurking is just fine. :) But appreciate you unlurking to give input on this! Thanks!

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input!

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the input! :)

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I do appreciate the input. Thanks!

The thing is ... I do try very hard to be true to canon, and I will even go back and make "fixes" (like when we found out more about Jeannie, I went back and tweaked the flashback in "Killing Frost"). It's just -- this is a darned hard one to fix! And there's one WIP I was working on that is TOTALLY "jossed" -- since the Sheppard/McKay friendship was not only IN it, but sort of a pivotal plot point ...

All part of writing fic for a running show, of course! I just never expected to get jossed retroactively...

[cetpar.livejournal.com]

I agree with neonhummingbird:
#1- I think this is overreacting, unless the thought of someone reading and enjoying these stories is just so horror-inducing you can't stand to have them up. As a reader, I can love a story that may not be entirely consistent with canon (or has other mistakes), if it otherwise captivates me. It would be a shame to pull down stories that people have already read and would like to re-read again.

#4--No. I like AUs, but I like canon stories, too.

#2 and #3: I think that decision would be best left up to the author and how badly she is bothered by the canon irregularities.

#3 is perfectly reasonable, and an author's note could be added if desired. A lot of stories end up being technically AU's after more episodes of a TV show, but that doesn't necessarily make me enjoy them less if I know they were written then Jossed.

#2--If the inaccuracies bother an author enough to interfere with writing future stories or make her cringe at the thought of people reading them, then re-write them.

So, yeah, what neonhummingbird says.

[leenys.livejournal.com]

HA!! I'm with xparrot. BUT.

This is how I see it, and this is how I've written fics. Follow the original plan. If the clash between what you see in your fic and canon is too much, then adjust it while following the original plan. Don't let canon be the dictator of your writing, because that's actually very unpredictable. I'll tell you this, I've had several episodes pop up this season that has severely tampered with Sea'scape Three. Once I realized I was on the verge of not writing the story at all due to this, I stepped back and retreated to the original plan.

All fanfic is, is our interpretation of the show. It's like reading a poem, everyone gets something different out of it, and even the person that penned the poem will feel differently that he did when he first wrote it. In the grand scheme of things, there is no such thing as canon, every story and plot is an AU. Just go with your gut, and don't think about it too much.

[with-apostrophe.livejournal.com]

But do you really think the McKay/Sheppard needs to be changed? I don't. They're not mutally exclusive.

Canon shows a friendship, a close one.
We know what else it shows. By all means tweak a WIP, but don't rewrite. Rodney has more than one close friend. I've seen fics that have John, or Carson, or Radek as best friend. All three are close to Rodney. You chose to concentrate on John - doesn;t negate the others

[cetpar.livejournal.com]

Also, if you went with #2, as a reader I would like two things:

1) If major changes and significant re-writes were done, then consider leaving the old version up as history. There may be still be readers who have read and still want to re-read the old version. (ie they may like both versions_

2) Even if minor changes have been made, wither an occasional announcement on the author's LJ or a note would be nice on the story pointing that out. This is for perfectly selfish reasons: I tend to DL stories for reading on PDA or saving in a personal favorites folder. I'd love a way to know that corrections were made so I could update my favorites collection if needed.

[pavaneofstars.livejournal.com]

I vote #3. I love all the winding roads that writers can explore in AUs. :)

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

no, finish it! I think they ARE, and just not admiting it. Dang, and if I had known, I could have asked that at the Stargate convention I was at back in November!!!!!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

ps - er, I know, I don't know canon, but...I've read a few spoilers of the recent stuff, and I gotta ask - what exactly is the jossing here? Do they actually say outright that McKay & Sheppard *aren't* friends? I mean, calling someone a best friend...people can have more than one "best friend". (Hell, especially a slashy couple; you can always spin it that when they say "best friend" they mean it platonically; they'd never call their lover that!) But this has rattled fans so much...sounds awfully traumatic!

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

completely #3.

if it makes you feel better, include an Author's Note to inform your reader that you were Jossed, and point out the deviance from now-established canon. But all fanfic for tv shows still-in-production suffer from the same issues, as they can have the canon rug pulled out from under them at any time. Not a biggie, really.

#4 is actually not a terrible option, as long as you label it AU. that way the readers know to expect divergence from canon. And your vision may be compelling enough to carry the day. Sometimes it seems that SGA is the Fandom of AUs or ARs, which I have no complaint with. It's all fun....

as for #1 -- please, no.

and #2 -- I think your readers would prefer you used your writing energies to produce new stories rather than trying to retrofit the older ones....

thanks for asking our opinions before doing something drastic...

[blade-girl.livejournal.com]

I've read a few spoilers of the recent stuff, and I gotta ask - what exactly is the jossing here? Do they actually say outright that McKay & Sheppard *aren't* friends?

Exactly! They don't. The problem, I think, is that many of us have read into the relationship - mostly based on the actor's interpretations - that the McKay-Sheppard relationship was pretty special, that they were closer to one another than either of them was to anyone else in the city. So a lot of people are now feeling that the overt statement by Rodney that Carson was "the closest thing I've ever had to a best friend" completely invalidates that other interpretation. Me, personally? I think the original interpretation can stand, particular in a franchise where canon is as flaky as it is in SG.