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Essays

canon vs au/non-canon

Everyone has their own thoughts on this, and there's no hard and fast rule.

But, what I have gleaned from my time in other fandoms is that there are five classes of fanfiction.

Canon: This could have been written by the author. It fits into the established framework of the storyline, stays true to the spirit, tone, characterization, and timeline of all canonical works. It is very hard and very rare to find a story that can be considered "true" canon fanfiction. IMO, I have one story out of all my writings that I could consider to be canon, and that's "Anywhere On My Own". It does not contradict anything, it does not deviate from the established timeline, it stays (I hope) true to the tone and style of Tolkien's writings. All it does is shift a few subtextual things into full text.

Non-canon: 95% of all fanfiction falls into this category. While these stories do not negate anything in established canon, they are nevertheless deviations from style, tone, timeline, or intent. Stories like this may feature married Elves having side affairs because their marriages were political in nature, or they may deal with things that, while not explicitly stated in canon, could have happened if you think about it in a certain way. Most of what I write, I consider to be non-canon.

Alternate Universe: These involve radical changes to the established canon, and blatantly negate one or more established canonical facts, which skew the timeline into something totally separate from the original works. Mordorians Plains Elves were mentioned -- prime example, along with any mpreg fic. I also count, from my portfolio, my "Time Until the End of Time" series (mainly because it rewrites the established "rules" on rebirth of Elves), "Reality Is On The Blink... Again" because it paints the whole of Middle-earth as a figment of Man's fantasy made real through force of will, and "Meleth Vrêg" because of the whole concept of Elf and animal spirits merging.

Parody: Intentionally spoofing the canon, I consider to be completely separate. They are meant to be funny and not taken seriously, and canon concerns are nonexistant. "Council of Elround", "Midsummer Night's Tryst", and "Labor of Love" are the parodies that I've done so far.

Uber: This term was coined (so far as I know) in the Xena fandom. This type of story takes the characters from one established universe and plops them down in the middle of completely different one. This is different from Alternate Universe fics. In an AU, the dynamics of the world are the same; the only thing to alter are plot points. In Uberfics, the characters would actually leave their world in favor of another. I tend to think of Crossovers as Uberfics because it always takes some character from one fandom and drops them in the middle of another. I only have one fic that I consider to be Uber, and that's "Gohen" because I have taken Erestor, Glorfindel, and Maglor out of Middle-earth and into our world and time.

Now that I've established what I think, my personal opinion is to do what makes you happy. Just don't expect everyone to read it. I personally tend to avoid AUs except in radical circumstances. For example, I did read Magic Rat's story because it came highly recommended by someone that I trust. (And I honestly can't think of a single Uber fic in the LOTR fandom that I've come across.)

And I won't touch RPS because I personally am against it. But having said that, I don't go on tirades about it.


	Disclaimer This site contains content of an adult nature, both in written and graphical versions. If you are under the age of consent in your city, state, country, or province, please click here and exit the site. Site Map home lotr fanfiction elvish rants inspiration artwork links Section Links Canon vs AU/Non-Canon Children and Music The Civil War Debunking Evil!Thranduil Elven Haircolor 101 Elvish Names 101 Elvish Names Continued Elven Population Elven Rebirth Fanon, Part One Free Speech Independence Day Bullshit Musings On The Movie "Supersize Me" The Mysterious Glorfindel Nazi Germany Symbols and Words Voting Rights Act Who Is Gildor Inglorion? Why Gay Christian Is Not An Oxymoron		Essays canon vs au/non-canon Everyone has their own thoughts on this, and there's no hard and fast rule. But, what I have gleaned from my time in other fandoms is that there are five classes of fanfiction. Canon: This could have been written by the author. It fits into the established framework of the storyline, stays true to the spirit, tone, characterization, and timeline of all canonical works. It is very hard and very rare to find a story that can be considered "true" canon fanfiction. IMO, I have one story out of all my writings that I could consider to be canon, and that's "Anywhere On My Own". It does not contradict anything, it does not deviate from the established timeline, it stays (I hope) true to the tone and style of Tolkien's writings. All it does is shift a few subtextual things into full text. Non-canon: 95% of all fanfiction falls into this category. While these stories do not negate anything in established canon, they are nevertheless deviations from style, tone, timeline, or intent. Stories like this may feature married Elves having side affairs because their marriages were political in nature, or they may deal with things that, while not explicitly stated in canon, could have happened if you think about it in a certain way. Most of what I write, I consider to be non-canon. Alternate Universe: These involve radical changes to the established canon, and blatantly negate one or more established canonical facts, which skew the timeline into something totally separate from the original works. Mordorians Plains Elves were mentioned -- prime example, along with any mpreg fic. I also count, from my portfolio, my "Time Until the End of Time" series (mainly because it rewrites the established "rules" on rebirth of Elves), "Reality Is On The Blink... Again" because it paints the whole of Middle-earth as a figment of Man's fantasy made real through force of will, and "Meleth Vrêg" because of the whole concept of Elf and animal spirits merging. Parody: Intentionally spoofing the canon, I consider to be completely separate. They are meant to be funny and not taken seriously, and canon concerns are nonexistant. "Council of Elround", "Midsummer Night's Tryst", and "Labor of Love" are the parodies that I've done so far. Uber: This term was coined (so far as I know) in the Xena fandom. This type of story takes the characters from one established universe and plops them down in the middle of completely different one. This is different from Alternate Universe fics. In an AU, the dynamics of the world are the same; the only thing to alter are plot points. In Uberfics, the characters would actually leave their world in favor of another. I tend to think of Crossovers as Uberfics because it always takes some character from one fandom and drops them in the middle of another. I only have one fic that I consider to be Uber, and that's "Gohen" because I have taken Erestor, Glorfindel, and Maglor out of Middle-earth and into our world and time. Now that I've established what I think, my personal opinion is to do what makes you happy. Just don't expect everyone to read it. I personally tend to avoid AUs except in radical circumstances. For example, I did read Magic Rat's story because it came highly recommended by someone that I trust. (And I honestly can't think of a single Uber fic in the LOTR fandom that I've come across.) And I won't touch RPS because I personally am against it. But having said that, I don't go on tirades about it.