Poll: New Fics Using Old Canon

[kennahijja]

I've been thinking about the advantages/disadvantages of writing stories with 'old canon' lately. With that, I mean stories that ignore either whole books (like HBP) or certain events in canon (the death of Sirius, for example), not older stories written before said new canon came out.

I see them occasionally, and don't mind reading them, but have the impression that they are rather frowned upon in fandom. Which, in a way, is understandable, since new canon means tons of new details to incorporate, new situations to explore, and writing in an 'old' context smacks of laziness or resentment against new canon developments. Or does it? Since I'm sitting on an *old* plot right this moment and am tempted to forget that the strange animal called HBP ever showed up in its context, I'd be curious about what 'public opinion' is on this. Hence, poll :).

That said, I really want honest opinions, not reassurance - my decision on said plot will be totally uninfluenced by the outcome of this. If I was going for what's popular, I'd not try to carry the candle for Ron/Lucius ;).


[Poll #785133]

Comments

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

Generally, I prefer fics that take the most recent canon into account, but it depends a lot on what specific changes are made and who the fic centers on. I could read a recent fic where Sirius was alive if he was a minor character; not so much if it's a Sirius/Remus fic, for example. I also tend to prefer it if there's a reason besides "I want it to be this way." We know in canon now that there is no Snape Manor, but if your premise is that Snape is from an old wizarding family and Lucius recruited him as a DE for that reason, that's one thing. If you make Blaise Zabini white because you can't deal with the fact that canon!Blaise is black, that's another issue entirely.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

*nods*
Especially since the two examples are on a whole different level of importance too - writing around Blaise's skin colour and the bit of history we have on him takes a handful of one-liners at most in an existing WiP (well, unless the writer has created an elaborate family background for him that carries the whole story). Writing Snape out of a member of the pureblood wizarding aristocracy plotline can pose a much greater problem for a story.

Though I'm not bemoaning the explosion of Snape Manor in fandom (she says, busy trying to eradicate the term 'Malfoy Manor' from her vocabulary).