Creative Liscense

[greenwizard]

I've been having a bit of a disagreement with someone, and I'd like to hear a few other opinions on the subject. Is it ok to give a cannon character a few uncannon characteristics to make a story idea work?

My feeling on the matter is that no one can really write a true cannon anyway. Only the creator knows how a character will really act in a situation, and no one can get into their head. And writters have this thing called creative liscence that says we can write what we want.

Here is the long and the short of it. My story is Harry Potter, and it's about Snape kidnapping and torturing Harry. I'm told the motivation has to be believable. Well... the background is that Snape was in love with James. I also put in that James tutored him in potions and that triggered a very strange and twisted relationship. Ok, I was told that it was riddiculous for Snape to need tutored in potions, especially by James Potter.

My argument is that Rowling only wrote about what Snape was like with Harry. Not much was written however about when he and the Maraders were in school. We know that in public James mercelissly teased Snape. We know James was a troublemaker and good at quiddich. We also know that Sirius tried to 'play a prank' on Snape and James saved his life. Who says that just because James was written as sort of a jock that he can't be really smart too? And who says that Snape was instantly perfect at potions? Everybody has to start somewhere. Maybe he had a little trouble at first and needed some guidance in school.

Part of why I'm wondering why this is a big hangup for some is that it isn't even the focus of the story. It's a backstory. The whole basis is that Snape had his heart ripped out and stomped on, and having to see Harry everyday he snaps. Even though James was technically a bully, Snape wanted him for some unexplainable reason. I feel that having a love/hate relationship with someone is possible. So his motivation for attacking Harry is a mental break where he does to Harry what he wanted to do to James for the treatment he gave him.

This person also talked about Snape's sense of honor. My thoughts on this are; even though Snape turned out to be good in the end, there was a lot of going back and forth. We as readers aren't really sure which side he is on until the end. My plan is that he does this because of a mental break, but even he isn't the type to do things spontaneously. He plans it. Spur of the moment isn't really his style. But some sort of event that I haven't thought of yet will bring him back to sanity land. He'll realize what he's done and feel guilty and try to make ammends with Harry.

I know this was a long post, but I was trying to fully explain my reasoning for why I set it up the way I did. I suppose I could change the subject Snape was tutored in since that won't change the dynamic too much... Anyway, I would like to hear what all of you think. Ideas are more than welcome at this point.

[shinigamiinochi]

As an author, you can give your cannon characters whatever characteristics that you want. You're right though, you can never truly know all the details of a cannon character, especially how they'll react in situations that didn't happen in the original work. Sometimes, when you change a huge thing in a character and it isn't an AU, it can be really annoying, but what you are describing is just back story (and it also sounds pretty logical to me), so it's no big deal. Some readers are too closed minded about the fandoms that they love and don't realize that it is the author's creativity that makes fanfiction great. If everyone only followed what the original work showed us, fanfiction would be pretty boring. But, if you can't stand the creativity, perhaps you should just rewatch/read the original work? So, don't stress it, it sounds like a good idea to me.

[cu-kid9]

Some readers are too closed minded about the fandoms that they love and don't realize that it is the author's creativity that makes fanfiction great. If everyone only followed what the original work showed us, fanfiction would be pretty boring. But, if you can't stand the creativity, perhaps you should just rewatch/read the original work? So, don't stress it, it sounds like a good idea to me.

I would have to second this. In fact, when reading your post, I was thinking to myself, "Hmm, that actually makes some kind of sense."

What's the point of writing fanfiction for something if you're just going to write it the same way it was originally done? It defeats the whole purpose. I say ignore the people who have a problem with this and write your story the way you think it should be written.

[canterro]

apart from the fact that I don't see Snape torturing anyone out of love/hate - I don't mind

actually it all depends on your ability to make things convincing; if you can justify your ideas - perfect

[Keith Inc.]

Actually, sometimes it seems that even the original writer can't write canon.

Some reviews center around the fact that the author had a character do something that the reviewer felt was out of character. I mean, if anyone's going to be in a position to know what LeadingMan1 is going to do, OriginalAuthor is THE person. But the reader has their own plan, their own interpretation and their own reading style, which sometimes seems to include skipping whole chapters that explain something.

If you feel that your story line is justifiable, then go for it. not everyone's going to agree with you, of course, but that shouldnt' stop you from trying.