Where do you think the idea that Mrs. Weasley taught her kids how to dance came from?

[Ebudae]

I've been reading a lot of fan fiction lately that mentions Mrs. Weasley taught her kids how to dance, and I've been thinking about where this whole idea originated from. It's quite logical that Mrs. Weasley taught her kids how to dance, because a few of her kids can dance really well, albeit they could have picked it up on their own. However, J.K. never mentioned in canon anything about her teaching them, so I think it's just an idea that originated from somewhere in fanon. Where do you think this whole idea came from?

[Cat]

They're good dancers? How do you know that?

I have no idea where that could have came from. But I think you've started a very interesting thread! There are numerous ideas that originate inexplicably in fan fiction and I always wonder how they came to be. For instance, Professor Lupin is nearly always described as having amber eyes. This is repeated with such frequency that I think many people take it as the legitimate truth. Why him and why amber? It's a bit of a weird colour of all the eye colours to choose from, isn't it?

Know any other 'facts' that aren't from the series but appear throughout fan fiction?

[OrioCookie]

I often read that Hermione's middle name is Anne. It comes up a lot. And Ginny's formal name is Virginia. Okay, I know it seems the most plausible, but it's also the most predictable. Her formal name could be Ginnifer, or something else not common.

[lxs234]

They might be good dancers in canon. In the GoF, Fred and Angelina were dancing quite well, it seemed. Ginny also was seen dancing, and since she was wincing, maybe she was used to only dancing well. Mrs. Weasley could have also taught them very good manners. Ginny acts much more well brought up than Draco...

[giantsquid28]

I often read that Hermione's middle name is Anne. It comes up a lot. And Ginny's formal name is Virginia. Okay, I know it seems the most plausible, but it's also the most predictable. Her formal name could be Ginnifer, or something else not common.

She could also just be named Ginny. I have an aunt whose official name is Jennie.

[FoolOnTheHill]

Besides the Lupin's amber eyes thing, I also often see Ginny's eyes described as being blue in fan fictions when it clearly states in Chamber of Secrets that they are brown. I'm guessing that came from the movies. People also assume that Ron's are blue and Hermione's are brown because of the movies but I don't think it mentions their eye colors in the book. I might be wrong though...

As for dancing Weasleys... We did see a few of them dance in Yule Ball but who knows if they were any good.

[rotsiepots]

Hermione's eyes are brown. It's mentioned in CoS that her eyes were turning back to their normal shade of brown after she was transformed into a cat. :)

As for dancing lessons, I can't say I've ever heard anything about them in canon. Perhaps the Weasleys just have a natural sense of rhythm?

[dumbleedore]

I've noticed that ideas seem to spring from fan fics- I can't think of any of the top of my head, but they do tend to borrow from other fics. Cliches in fan fics :p

[Loz]

Fanfiction is often clichéd (especially when you deliberately make it so, as I do on occasion :p) but there is also that brilliant (and painful) phenomenon which does away with original thought - collective thought. Several different people can come up with something at the same time. This can be because they have the same cultural references to draw upon. It can be because they have similar personalities. Sometimes it just seems to be luck. Maybe we're all linked like the Borg and we don't even know it. It would explain a lot.

Pop culture is a funny thing, it's all pervasive, and there are dominant themes that run all of the way through (the hero arc, the lonely figure, the human non-human). Ideas get knocked about, adopted, thrown out of the window. I'll give you an example - on this very forum an idea I had is commonly used among the Snape fans - that Snape has Fuzzy/Furry Bat Slippers. He doesn't, he never has, he never will. But the idea was so novel, enticing and amusing that a lot of people adopted it. I feel proud. The idea held its appeal because it wasn't entirely original of its own. The slippers were fuzzy because that's cute. Snape wearing something Fuzzy is such an amusing paradox, it automatically provides you with a strong image. They were bat slippers because there's the "Snape is a Vampire/Bat animagus" theory that pervades because there are apparently many Bat references alluded to in the novels. They were slippers because slippers rock.

I can't exactly explain why some fanon has become regarded as canon except to say that a lot of people read fanfiction and spread the word about... other people find it difficult to delineate between fanon and canon, and the misinformation spreads.

Are Lupin's eyes really not amber in the novels? Oh my... I better go check that out... they're not described as tawny?... Meep...

[FoolOnTheHill]

Fanfiction is often clichéd (especially when you deliberately make it so, as I do on occasion :p) but there is also that brilliant (and painful) phenomenon which does away with original thought - collective thought. Several different people can come up with something at the same time.
I'm sorry, but I have to tell a story about a study I once heard about monkeys and potatoes now.

There were 2 islands, each with a bunch of monkeys, and the monkeys would eat potatoes. One day, on Island A, a young monkey dropped its potato in the water, so because of him, one by one, the monkeys on the island started washing their potatoes. At one point, a certain amount of them had learned from each other, and suddenly every monkey was washing potatoes. The weirdest thing was, on the other island, the monkeys all started washing their potatoes at that same point. Weird.

Maybe this is how it is with Lupin's amber eyes. :p :rotfl: Once a certain amount of people did it, everyone mysteriously knew his eyes had to be that color! :lol:

[dumbleedore]

That was so odd seeing a post started with the words 'but I have to tell a story about a study I once heard about monkeys and potatoes now.'. :lol:

A lot of the ideas come from theorys- the ones I see anyway.

[Picko]

My ideas usually come from things I find amusing, goats, sheep and gerbils for instance I find terribly amusing and therefore they usually find a way into many of the somewhat humorous pieces I write. Of course nobody in their right mind has ever tried to copy them.

JK really needs to include more sheep, goats and gerbils in her stories :D

[Puffskein]

Professor Lupin is nearly always described as having amber eyes. This is repeated with such frequency that I think many people take it as the legitimate truth. Why him and why amber? It's a bit of a weird colour of all the eye colours to choose from, isn't it?

I'd say it's because people think a werewolf should have some sort of distinctive physical feature, even though Hermione should have brought that up if it was true in canon. In fact we have no idea what colour his eyes are.

"Did you notice that I was always ill at full moon? And that the Boggart turned into the moon when it saw me? And that I have weird amber eyes?"

:eyebrows:

[Nick]

Well, I have a simply brilliant idea for a fic, which I got whilst watching Iron Chef, of all things. I was thinking, wouldn't it be killer if Kaga brought three Iron Magicians to Hogwarts to teach DADA? It would, because then I could use phrases like "Allez Incantatem" and "Today's theme is .. RICTUSEMPRA!" and it would rule if I wrote it properly.

[Dedalus]

I think the weirdest Potter urban myth is that Professor Snape is sexy. He isn't! His features are described in a very unflattering way, and he has a personality that more than matches it. But people still insist that he's handsome and really just misunderstood. Maybe all these people are actually his mum, and that's why they're insisting that he's a handsome man, really. *Pinches Snape's sallow and oily cheeks* ...

I think one of the biggest things that comes from Fan Fiction is the name "The Marauders". It never refers to them as that in the books, yet so many people call them that as though it has. I do know where that came from - it's just a quicker than saying all their names as a fanfiction "group" and comes from the Marauder's Map. But so many people use that name as though it really is used in the books as a name of their little gang, rather than just the fan's own pet name. So I always stubbornly call them Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs instead!

[Cat]

I think the weirdest Potter urban myth is that Professor Snape is sexy. He isn't! His features are described in a very unflattering way, and he has a personality that more than matches it. But people still insist that he's handsome and really just misunderstood. Maybe all these people are actually his mum, and that's why they're insisting that he's a handsome man, really. *Pinches Snape's sallow and oily cheeks* ...


Ah, yes. Contrary to actual evidence, Snape in fan fiction is suave and seductive and possibly 'ivory' rather than sallow. He becomes the kind of man who sits in front of black velvet curtains reading poetry.

Personally, I much prefer the other Snape. If you like him, don't change him to make him look better.

Fan fiction writers also manage to romaticise the whole werewolf thing. Some people do strange and terrible things on Microsoft Word.

Oh, and I also hate the term 'The Marauders' when applied to Harry's dad and co. I don't know why, it just really rubs me the wrong way. It would be bad enough if it stayed within the confines of fan fiction land.

[FoolOnTheHill]

I have to agree with the Snape thing. I mean, I've read a fanfic or 2 where Snape was a decent person and I still liked them but I still don't see why people think he's all sexy and stuff. I know that many Snape lovers I know (not neccesarily from cos) love him because they find Alan Rickman attractive. I don't really understand it.

You will be happy to know that in my fan fiction, Snape is the same evil git that he is in the books. :D

[Loz]

LOL. The Snape thing.

See now, here's the deal. He is sexy. He is! He's mysterious. And a bad boy. With long black hair. And penetrating black eyes. (Crooked yellow teeth and a hooked nose). Who wouldn't find that sexy? Not everyone thinks of him as Alan Rickman, either, and they still find him sexy. With that many people thinking it, it can't be wrong.

I still have Snape being an evil git in my stories, but I admit I bend his character a little (a lot) to suit my purposes.

I loved the monkey and potato story... it supported my theory wonderfully. Though I still think we're all linked like the Borg...

[Picko]

I think the big problem is some people look at him from the books and think he's sexy and a wonderful fellow, those people scare me.

[Cat]

See now, here's the deal. He is sexy. He is! He's mysterious. And a bad boy. With long black hair. And penetrating black eyes. (Crooked yellow teeth and a hooked nose).


He's forthright and doesn't do much to hide his feelings. He's irritable and vindictive. He has greasy hair. His stare is probably more intrusive than penetrating.

Oh, and he's probably got the sexual wiles of a potato.

EDIT: No, I can't let this go now! Did you not see his behaviour at the end of POA? When he was spitting and screaming and acting like a travesty of a little boy? Was he a mysterious, sexy bad boy then?

'IT WAS POTTER I KNOW IT!'
:lol:

I adore Snape. The real Professor Snape, that is.

[Picko]

I'm tending to side with Cat on this one Loz :lol:

Snape's a git and an ugly one at that :D

[Rowlingfan1]

Ah, cliche fanfic. My favorite topic. Why has it just now been brought up?

Ah, yes, Lupin's eyes. I too am thoroughly convinced they are amber. But, not amber eyes. Oh, no. Amber orbs. :)

[Loz]

I checked and there is a character with amber eyes. It's Hedwig. I think some mad fangirl got confused. Rowlingfan1, lol... yes orbs... lovely orbs.

Cat - LOL. He is mysterious... he is! I agree with you, however, the fanfiction writers have their way with him... I'm reminded of Barbara's green paisley boxer shorts...

:scared:

It is interesting to see the common connections and fanon 'facts' throughout a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction. So far we have Ginny's name mentioned, Lupin's eyes, Snape's sexiness, The Marauders. How about the "Harry becomes a recluse" complex?

Are these 'facts' all completely fan created or is there textual evidence to support some of them?

[Picko]

The 'Harry becomes a recluse' doesn't have textual evidence per say but wouldn't exactly surprise me if that was the way he went.

[FoolOnTheHill]

I don't really see textual evidence for these things.

Here's one. I've seen a few in which Draco Malfoy is misunderstood and actually a good person. Sometimes he and Hermione even fall in love. This one seems to come from peoples theories, probably about how Lucius treated him badly and he acts the way he does to please his father.

[Picko]

A big one for me is that Lucius is an abusive father, I've seen this in tonnes of fanfics but there is no textual evidence to back it up.

[Loz]

There is *some* evidence to back up the abusive father Lucius fanfic idea. Check out a thread about it here (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=18567). It really depends on the nature and extent of the abuse however. It's also a great way to make people sympathise with your character. It gives them an 'excuse', a 'reason' for the way they behave.

As for Draco being a good person, or will become a good person. Well... there's other threads on that here (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=11231) and here (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=5514). This is the same deal. For some reason people are attracted to the bad characters, and then try and change them to being good.

It's obvious to see that a lot of fanfiction is based on theory. Of course, the reverse must be true as well. It wouldn't surprise me if "Snape is a Vampire" theory came from a piece of fanfiction. It's what occurs when people think about the books too much, and decide to taint it with their own imagination.

[OrioCookie]

I don't think that Draco a good person and Lucius an abusive father quailfy as facts. These are more future plots than characteristics.

[Barbara Kennedy]

An awful lot of the ideas come from wishful thinking, too much time on your hands and an overactive imagination.
(Yes, Loz, even the 'green paisley boxer shorts' :lol:)

Some of the ideas obviously come from reading some of the more....creative....theories we read here and there.

[Puffskein]

Oh, and I also hate the term 'The Marauders' when applied to Harry's dad and co. I don't know why, it just really rubs me the wrong way. It would be bad enough if it stayed within the confines of fan fiction land.

Harry, Ron and Hermione don't call themselves "The Trio", but lots of fans call them that anyway. It doesn't matter so much what MWPP called themselves - lots of us call them the Marauders. Just a little bit of shorthand that everyone understands.

As well as the sexy-Snape thing, I cringe when people talk about Lupin being sexy. Although I love him to bits in a cuddly sort of way, I can't imagine him getting jiggy with it any more than, say, Arthur Weasley (though he obviously has!). Lupin reads books! He makes tea! He prematurely ages! And he doesn't really have the sexy thing in the way he moves that Sirius did. Some people might think there's something sexy about having a terrible curse that wears you out, but I don't. It's meant to be a metaphor for diseases and disabilities, isn't it? So it ought to be as sexy as HIV or a wheelchair.

[Lady deMimsy]

Hey, some of us think reading books and making tea are the epitome of sexy! Different strokes for different folks, you know...

I have to admit that fics that attribute "enhanced werewolf senses" and whatnot to Remus in his human form make me cringe (though not enough to stop reading if they're otherwise well-written). There's zero indication in the books that he's anything other than a completely normal human when he isn't transformed. Ditto for ones that give him a modified genetic code or imply that lycanthropy is somehow hereditary (how is that supposed to work, exactly? -- especially since Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them explicitly states that the only way to become a werewolf is to be bitten by one).

[SnorkackCatcher]

Harry, Ron and Hermione don't call themselves "The Trio", but lots of fans call them that anyway. It doesn't matter so much what MWPP called themselves - lots of us call them the Marauders. Just a little bit of shorthand that everyone understands.

Yeah, it's convenient, but it comes from the "Marauders' Map". Is that meant to imply "a map written by the Marauders" or "a map for the use of Marauders"? Given that neither Lupin nor Sirius ever refer to their group as "Marauders" AFAIR, I'll guess the latter. But I'll still probably use the term "Marauders" for convenience ...

Another odd thing is those fanfics which have Hermione as a striking beauty. In the novels, she's definitely meant to be fairly plain, with (for the first three and half books) protruding teeth.

Emma Watson may not have those (a twelve year old actress is hardly going to be enthusiastic about making up to look worse, is she?), but that's just another example of the actor playing the character so well that people picture them like that when reading the books. Good example: Alan Rickman as Snape, who does have a certain charisma that rubs off on the written Snape. (Bad example: Richard Harris as Dumbledore, who for me just didn't get DD's calmness and humour.)

Hermione may look nice when she's made up with her teeth fixed and hair covered with potion, but she's not a head-turner like Fleur. (Don't get me wrong - Hermione's one of my favourite characters, and the sort of person I'd like in real life, but fanfics which get all maudlin over her stunning beauty just don't ring true with the books.)

[Dedalus]

I cringe when people talk about Lupin being sexy. Although I love him to bits in a cuddly sort of way, I can't imagine him getting jiggy with it any more than, say, Arthur Weasley (though he obviously has!). Lupin reads books! He makes tea! He prematurely ages! And he doesn't really have the sexy thing in the way he moves that Sirius did. Some people might think there's something sexy about having a terrible curse that wears you out, but I don't. It's meant to be a metaphor for diseases and disabilities, isn't it? So it ought to be as sexy as HIV or a wheelchair.
Oh, I don't understand that one either. He's just meant to be a very normal if very nice man, but one who's aged sooner than he should and, obviously, being a werewolf too. But I have difficulty finding fanfiction where he's like how he actually is in the book. Fan art too, really ... Lupin is often good looking, sexy (and, oddly, rather effeminate) in fan art as well. I wonder why ...

[WeasleyIsOurKing]

I personally hate it when people change characters like Hermione and make her have a "makeover" where her hair magically transforms into silky curls and she becomes very curvy and hardly wears any clothes... and after all this Ron or Harry or Draco, whoever, they notice her. And want to be with her, blah blah blah. Sorry, but I think that whoever Hermione eventually falls in love with will notice her for who she is and she won't have to be some sexy little vixen in order to get a guy... *shakes fist*

And I also hate fics where Ginny is a pathetic little fangirl who pines longingly for Harry or who plots ways to kill girls who have a date with Harry... that's incredibly out of character as well.

[ginnybatbogeysyou]

I don't like it when charcters get out of character in a serious, dark story. The story become so unbelievable when the writer does that.

When the story is meant to be funny, I can totally live with character-changes. The stories will only get funnier when some of the character's qualities are exaggerated, or when characters get qualities/abilities they didn't have before.

[Cat]

Harry, Ron and Hermione don't call themselves "The Trio", but lots of fans call them that anyway. It doesn't matter so much what MWPP called themselves - lots of us call them the Marauders. Just a little bit of shorthand that everyone understands.


But 'The Trio' are actually a trio, so that makes sense. It's not like giving them a club name.

Besides, being The Three main characters, they deserve the capital letters.

Oh, and 'Marauder' isn't shorthand for MWP&P. If I have to be lazy, I'd use the latter.

I personally hate it when people change characters like Hermione and make her have a "makeover" where her hair magically transforms into silky curls and she becomes very curvy and hardly wears any clothes... and after all this Ron or Harry or Draco, whoever, they notice her. And want to be with her, blah blah blah. Sorry, but I think that whoever Hermione eventually falls in love with will notice her for who she is and she won't have to be some sexy little vixen in order to get a guy... *shakes fist*


Oh my goodness gracious me, I hate this too! I thought it was rather significant that Hermione, after sleeking her hair and dolling herself up for the Yule Ball, chose to go back to her more comfortable self. It seems that many fan fiction writers didn't pick up on that. Why does she have to be sleek and sexy to be a worthwhile character in their story? Why can't she just be Hermione?

I've noticed people have strange ideas about werewolves in fan fiction. They tend to be a bit soppy, which is bad enough, but then there's things like a 'crescent-moon' scar. Since when do bite wounds look like crescent-moons? Well, maybe if you were bitten by a rabbit or something with similar front teeth...

Werebunnies? It just might happen!

I remember a funny encylopedia of Harry Potter fan fiction - does anybody know what I'm talking about and can provide a link?

[GryffindorGr]

Another odd thing is those fanfics which have Hermione as a striking beauty. In the novels, she's definitely meant to be fairly plain, with (for the first three and half books) protruding teeth.

Emma Watson may not have those (a twelve year old actress is hardly going to be enthusiastic about making up to look worse, is she?), but that's just another example of the actor playing the character so well that people picture them like that when reading the books. Good example: Alan Rickman as Snape, who does have a certain charisma that rubs off on the written Snape. (Bad example: Richard Harris as Dumbledore, who for me just didn't get DD's calmness and humour.)

Hermione may look nice when she's made up with her teeth fixed and hair covered with potion, but she's not a head-turner like Fleur. (Don't get me wrong - Hermione's one of my favourite characters, and the sort of person I'd like in real life, but fanfics which get all maudlin over her stunning beauty just don't ring true with the books.)

Totally true! I have noticed the few fanfics I've scanned through out fanfiction.net and elsewhere that Hermione is either this gorgeous beauty who has come back from a summer's tan with curves, etc. lol.
Of course there aren't enough fanfictions of Fleur either. Maybe after GoF, there will be a sudden pregnancy for it.

So I absolutely agree with Weasleyisourking and Cat, I think its hands down that Hermione is portrayed with such strange exaggeration. I also agree with Weasleyisourking on the falsity of Ginny's character, making her a simpering drolling little girl chasing after Harry. Um, she doesnt. She is her own person. lol.

About werewolves and vampires, my goodness! Snape is portrayed as this sexy vampire and Lupin as the sexy werewolf. lol. I suppose being decidedly snarky and bitter, giving out insults left and right when you dont "cut it" is pretty sensual? lol. As for the werewolf thing? hmmm. Lupin is a smart, intelligent guy and I never saw his character sexy, just nice.
I guess it makes for fun reading and ludicrous fabrications. Perhaps the authors themselves get a kick out of distorting the characters to their liking. :)

Back to Hermione.....
Hello...she's a bookworm and the only summer vacation she'd be doing is knitting up hats for elves and reading History of Hogwarts II for light reading.

[SnorkackCatcher]

And I also hate fics where Ginny is a pathetic little fangirl who pines longingly for Harry or who plots ways to kill girls who have a date with Harry... that's incredibly out of character as well.

To be fair, for a long while she was a pathetic little fangirl pining longingly for Harry - it's only in the last book and a half that she's grown out of it and become a more interesting character. Fanfics that portray her that way now are missing the point, though, and as for her going the bunny boiler route - nah, can't see it.

[Barbara Kennedy]

I really cannot stand what the majority of the fanfictions out there seem to be - self-insertions or Mary Sues, even if they claim not to be.
Any story with an OC (other character) is suspect, especially when this OC becomes the one saving factor in [insert character name]'s life.
A variation on this theme that really bothers me are all the "me and my friends fall into the [state genre world] and either wreak havoc or save the day" stories that were usually written simply on a dare or because someone was bored.

[Cat]

Oh yes.

A mysterious, beautiful, intelligent, kind, feisty, powerful and incredibly tedious foreign exchange student from America comes in and Harry/Ron/Whoever falls instantly in love with her. She then goes through a lot of danger, reveals remarkable and unique abilities and saves the day.

Then she buggers off again.

How can writers possibly think this is a good angle? It can't just be youthful naivety, surely. Youthful naivety involves mispelling and a grammarectomy.

I remember things I wrote for English when I was young and they were bad, but not like that. That's a different kind of bad. I'm beginning to think it's done on purpose.

What's a 'Mary Sue', anyway? A horribly perfect female character created by fan fiction writers?

[Barbara Kennedy]

Oh yes.

A mysterious, beautiful, intelligent, kind, feisty, powerful and incredibly tedious foreign exchange student from America comes in and Harry/Ron/Whoever falls instantly in love with her. She then goes through a lot of danger, reveals remarkable and unique abilities and saves the day.

Then she buggers off again.

How can writers possibly think this is a good angle? It can't just be youthful naivety, surely. Youthful naivety involves mispelling and a grammarectomy.

I remember things I wrote for English when I was young and they were bad, but not like that. That's a different kind of bad. I'm beginning to think it's done on purpose.

What's a 'Mary Sue', anyway? A horribly perfect female character created by fan fiction writers?


Urk!

Grammar and spelling mistakes and 'summeries' (their speling) that read like "I can't do sumeries so just read the stories" or "Neways its rilly grate, ya gotta read my story!" are the quickest way to make me pass the story by without another thought.

Yes, Cat, that is essentially what a Mary Sue is, any character that embodies the writer or their idea of what a 'perfect' character would be.
I'm not perfect, but at least when I write, I try to use only canon characters and I try very hard to keep them in character.

[Cat]

Oh, bad spelling and grammar is alright. It shows that, if the story is dire, it is because the writer is inexperienced.

The worst ones are by authors who appear to be capable and older than thirteen. There has to be some talent there for it to be really painfully bad. :D

I understand how bad spelling could put somebody right off, though.

I have found what I was looking for: http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=656&chapno=1
There should be numerous examples of the strange new ideas fan fiction comes up with on this site.

[GryffindorSeeker]

An awful lot of the ideas come from wishful thinking, too much time on your hands and an overactive imagination.
(Yes, Loz, even the 'green paisley boxer shorts' )

Some of the ideas obviously come from reading some of the more....creative....theories we read here and there.

I think you've covered it! A lot seem to be from wild imaginations that aren't even bridled by the laws of grammar! You get to see zillions of new words that are synonyms to words that look vaguely similar! Misspellings and bad grammar to such an extent turn me away from a lot of fanfics. They're too hard to read, and usually aren't even worth it.

[OrioCookie]

I don't mind reading ones that have Hermione being changed, because I some of them still have Hermione's personality. And Hermione's character isn't really that pronounced. She may be the bookworm/house elf activist we all know and love but sometimes in ffs I ask Would she really do that? There's those certain surprises she springs on us and some of them in the fanfics are....not those surprises. Her wit is hard to match as well. Changing her appearence may just make up for the lack of real Hermione in the story.

Another thing that really ticks me off about certain fan fiction. Mione. Why why why would you do that? Hermione is a long name but why Mione? Hagrid put in "Hermy", but that was for Grawp. It just bugs me to take such a respected character and shorten her unique name.

[FoolOnTheHill]

Um, I thought this was the "Where do ideas for fan fictions come from?" thread rather than the "What about fan fiction do you hate" thread. I understand a lot of it, it's just that I can see some of the talk possibly upsetting fan fic writers who come and read it. I mean, I've already found myself going "Oh god, have I done that!?" and getting paranoid. (Of course maybe that's the point :lol: )

Anyway, the glamorous Hermione thing- I'd think this comes from nowhere except from a need to get the male love interest to notice her. It's the easiest way to write it, she looks gorgeous so he falls for her.

[Rowlingfan1]

I don't mind reading ones that have Hermione being changed, because I some of them still have Hermione's personality. And Hermione's character isn't really that pronounced. She may be the bookworm/house elf activist we all know and love but sometimes in ffs I ask Would she really do that? There's those certain surprises she springs on us and some of them in the fanfics are....not those surprises. Her wit is hard to match as well. Changing her appearence may just make up for the lack of real Hermione in the story.

Another thing that really ticks me off about certain fan fiction. Mione. Why why why would you do that? Hermione is a long name but why Mione? Hagrid put in "Hermy", but that was for Grawp. It just bugs me to take such a respected character and shorten her unique name.

Ooh, yes. Mione. Why, oh why? I read a fanfic at fanfiction.net, but I barely know who's who because they never even use the word Hermione...Just Mione.

[ginnygal189]

well as for ideas for fanfictions, they just pop out, for me i would be reading the book and be liek 'well what woudl happen if.....' and some i wrote the book in a different point of view (i did cho's for order of the phoenix once)

and i too sometimes start believing fanfiction things much like the potatoe-monkey thing mentioned earlier. and most of the time it ends up being true, over little details like that.

[liteairyfairy]

Ginny=Virginia. Where do they get these ideas? It was never mentioned in the five books, not even once. Hermione's middle name always seem to be Anne or Marie. Her hair had even been described from dark blond to brown to dark brown, and it always seemed to be perfectly tamed when she grew up. Hermione's eyes had ranged from grey to hazel to blue, but it clearly states in the books that her eyes are brown. Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy had been described as perfect gentlemen and Harry and Ron are evil in those HG/SS and HG/DM fics. They are so out of character that the whole point of fanfiction is lost. Fanfictions are where you can take given characters and add a plot of your own, not changing them so much that they are original characters with the same name.

[Niffler_8882]

My ideas come from either songs, tv shows, books, or right off the top of my head..things that I wish would be true for me

[Puffskein]

Hey, some of us think reading books and making tea are the epitome of sexy! Different strokes for different folks, you know...


Maybe it's just that I find overt sexiness a bit scary, and Lupin is a very approachable kind of person. In any case, I don't like it when people make him too good-looking because it misses the point of why people like him - for his warm and dignified personality (well, I do). JKR adores him, yet she's never told us what he looks like, so she can't love him for his looks. She might just be teaching us a lesson about superficiality here...

Here's another common fanfic thing - Sirius's middle name was Orion.

[Lady deMimsy]

Maybe it's just that I find overt sexiness a bit scary, and Lupin is a very approachable kind of person. In any case, I don't like it when people make him too good-looking because it misses the point of why people like him - for his warm and dignified personality (well, I do). JKR adores him, yet she's never told us what he looks like, so she can't love him for his looks. She might just be teaching us a lesson about superficiality here...
Oh, I totally agree -- we haven't been given the slightest reason to think he's anything other than shabby, pale, and vaguely ordinary-looking (and I prefer to think of him that way). I was just pointing out that reading books and making tea can be extremely attractive qualities in a man, on occasion :)

Another fanfiction thing that drives me batty: writers who treat Peter Pettigrew as if he didn't exist, wasn't friends with the others, and / or acted in a way that would set off any reasonable person's alarm bells. They were close to him, they liked him, they trusted him. That's the whole point.

[Rowlingfan1]

Maybe it's just that I find overt sexiness a bit scary, and Lupin is a very approachable kind of person. In any case, I don't like it when people make him too good-looking because it misses the point of why people like him - for his warm and dignified personality (well, I do). JKR adores him, yet she's never told us what he looks like, so she can't love him for his looks. She might just be teaching us a lesson about superficiality here...

Here's another common fanfic thing - Sirius's middle name was Orion.


Ugh! Sirius "Orion" Black! Eww. Honestly, for all we know, Sirius' middle name might be Arnold!


Another fanfiction thing that drives me batty: writers who treat Peter Pettigrew as if he didn't exist, wasn't friends with the others, and / or acted in a way that would set off any reasonable person's alarm bells. They were close to him, they liked him, they trusted him. That's the whole point.


Peter Pettigrew was the man! *Dodges rotten tomatoes* Really! I like him! He was and is a crucial character in HP, and shall not be ignored!

I also hate it when they make him stupid, I mean he must have had some intelligence to be able to lure Bertha Jorkins (Hmm, it was her right?) out of that pub.

[Azura's_Heir]

My ideas for fan-fics come from my crazy "what if" senarios. With any book I find good I will rewrite parts or make up scenes that never happened or could happen in the future. Just things I would find amusing even if there is a fairly low probability of anything like them happening in the books. If I get enough of these senarios I will string them together in a reasonable fashion and add addtitional characters, background, events, ect to turn them into a story that makes sense. But that is just me.

[ChoChanger]

hmm i actually have no idea where my ideas come from, i just see something and think - OMG! i have just had the greatest idea for a fanfiction. As for my current fic Nothing Left (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=19895), i have no idea as to what the inspiration for that is - when i planned it the story was very different...i suppose its just the way the storys taken me...

Luv Cho xxx

[Dedalus]

Maybe it's just that I find overt sexiness a bit scary, and Lupin is a very approachable kind of person. In any case, I don't like it when people make him too good-looking because it misses the point of why people like him - for his warm and dignified personality (well, I do). JKR adores him, yet she's never told us what he looks like, so she can't love him for his looks. She might just be teaching us a lesson about superficiality here...
Definitely.

I'd rather people like him for the reasons that they should, rather than make up reasons and ignore the reasons why they probably liked him in the first place (him being a very nice bloke might be one of them). I like him for who he is, it doesn't matter what he looks like. Why should it, when who he is is fantastic enough on it's own?

But I also think it goes against his real character, that in fanfictions he's good looking. And not just in fanfictions, I was disturbed reading some of the posts on the mugglenet news comments about things like that. I'd have thought it's more of an achievement to be a really nice and friendly man when he's worn, damaged and sickly and when people don't like him. It'd be so easy to be bitter and withdrawn, but he isn't. He just seems to feel a weird sort of shame, or did in the Prisoner of Azkaban ending, that's quite painful to read, because you feel like he shouldn't feel that way. But that's where he starts to shine, not in these imaginary good looks.

[Cat]

The fact that Lupin is quite plain looking also emphasises the fact that he is a werewolf. He is supposed to be fairly ordinary - he's definitely one of the most subtle characters in the series - and this counterbalances the vicious, deadly wolf aspect.

I also don't think he's quite so wrapped up in interestingly dark and mysterious anguish as he is in fan fiction. More angst does not equal more realism. Real people tend to do things like have a cup of tea in the morning, go to work and get on with life. Heart-wrenching misery is not half as effective or as interesting as the mere world-weariness that J. K. Rowling describes (without pages and pages of tedious thought processes - hooray!) with Professor Lupin.

People do strange things with Professor Lupin. I suppose it is because he is such a subtle character that people want to force him into these little moulds to suit their own ideas of what he should be, rather than trying to capture what he is and then, if necessary, building on it.

Ugh! Sirius "Orion" Black!

I've never heard that used as a middle name (I agree it just doesn't work) but now I'm wondering if it's a subtle insult by people who don't like the character very much - the 'Orion' makes him S. O. B :p.


Peter Pettigrew was the man! *Dodges rotten tomatoes* Really! I like him! He was and is a crucial character in HP, and shall not be ignored!

I also hate it when they make him stupid, I mean he must have had some intelligence to be able to lure Bertha Jorkins (Hmm, it was her right?) out of that pub.

Perhaps he's just a smooth talker.

Anyway, I agree that people leave out Peter Pettigrew in a pointless attempt to sweep him under the carpet. I like Peter too, though I'm thinking in terms of character and not personality, and his character is essential. There were four of them - Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs - not just the three everybody likes. People really should practise writing characters they don't like.

I think people have a tendency to kill off Hagrid as well. If he's still alive, he's there to be seen and not heard, and frankly, I think Hagrid is in the habit of making himself both seen and heard. One written piece about fan fiction cleverly suggested that it was because people have difficulty in writing the accent.

I've also noticed that in fan fiction where Harry and Hermione are enjoying a happy life as a couple, Ron is either a) almost nonexistant or b) a git. Ron's a crucial character! He shouldn't be left out whether Harry and Hermione get together or not!

If this isn't a thread in which to talk about bad fan fiction, then there should be one!

[la_ginny]

I've always wondered where (or why) people come up with ideas for the romance-based fanfics. There only so many ways that characters can get together, and every romance story has been told in literature time and time again. Personally, I think playing in the action and comedy of JKR's world is much more fun. Many of the romance fics masquerade as action stories, but are in fact pages and pages of any two main characters gushing over each other. In these cases, the action plots tend to suffer for the sake of the romance. Just my opinion... sorry if I offended any writers :upset:

I've only written one fic, and my idea came more from a setting and a character I wanted to write about, instead of a plot element or event. In my case, I love Ron as a character and I love the Burrow as a setting. Voila! (is that how you spell that?) There's my premise. It's got plot, no doubt, but I found the setting to be so much fun. Of course, it's still not finished... :blush:

[thethirdman]

I always wonder why people try to write the next installment of the series. A story like that's only going to get readers until the real next installment comes out. Then no one's going to care. I like writers that write outside or parrallel to the series. It's much easier to set something in the past and then go back and edit the assumptions you made that have turned out to be wrong.

That's why when I wrote [advertisement]Bird of Prey[/advertisment] I set it in the furture. I can go back and rework what doesn't fit.

The origins of that fic and the sequal to it that I'm working on came from a role-play session I had with a friend.

[Alastor D]

I don't think that Draco a good person and Lucius an abusive father quailfy as facts.

I agree with not qualifying as facts. But in CoS ch.4 at Borgin and Burkes Lucius doesn't seem to treat Draco too kindly. Might qualify as a clue.

In the CoS DVD there are some interviews with actors. The Lucius actor said something like he wanted to make Lucius a bullying father to create some symphaty for Draco. This is of course not canon, it's the actors view.

But were the idea that Draco is a good boy comes from escapes me completely.

[Doggy]

But were the idea that Draco is a good boy comes from escapes me completely.
I think it has to do with Movie-Draco. Movie-Draco is (apparently) good-looking, and people who think so try to give him these other qualities/reasons to make him more popular. Things like abused or misunderstood.

Malfoy (Jr.) and Harry becoming friends is the one thing I can't see happening. They have absolutely nothing in common, nothing to agree on and base a friendship on.

[SnorkackCatcher]

If this isn't a thread in which to talk about bad fan fiction, then there should be one!
Yes indeed. :)

[Puffskein]

People do strange things with Professor Lupin. I suppose it is because he is such a subtle character that people want to force him into these little moulds to suit their own ideas of what he should be, rather than trying to capture what he is and then, if necessary, building on it.


Having just re-read POA, I can see how some people might interpret Lupin's mannerisms as stylish (dealing with Peeves and Snape, his wit when confronting Peter), but right from the start I read his character as having a rather subdued and geeky aura which is part of why I like him so much, so I can't see him any other way now. And considering that Hermione didn't outline his lessons in hearts even after he proved himself a good teacher, it seems quite likely that the characters view him that way too.

I think it makes a lot of sense for Lupin to look and act ordinary. His shabbiness and premature aging seem to be his only remarkable physical features; he wants to have a normal life; and his normality contrasts not only with his wolf side, but also with both Lockhart and Moody.

[Cat]

I agree that Professor Lupins' got style, though. I don't think he's geeky as such. But his coolness has nothing to do with the way he looks. It's not that I imagine him ugly, I just don't think it's realistic to imagine that he would be supermodel material even if he scrubbed up well. Lupin is the embodiment of everybody's favourite teachers. I don't think that any of my favourite teachers in high school looked like Hollywood heart-throbs. They looked like ordinary people, made extraordinary from the inside out.

Then again, I suppose that what real people look and act like has no effect on most fan fiction :p

I agree with not qualifying as facts. But in CoS ch.4 at Borgin and Burkes Lucius doesn't seem to treat Draco too kindly. Might qualify as a clue.


He acts coldly towards Draco and, although he buys expensive gifts, he's never shown a sign of emotional affection. This is a terrible thing and has probably gently warped Draco all his life, but it doesn't make Lucius Malfoy abusive.

I think people like to make black a little blacker sometimes.

People also like to make white whiter. I'm referring to Professor Snape. He might be a good guy, under his cold exterior, but that doesn't mean he will ever be particularly nice. You don't have be pleasant to be decent. He also - and I say this emphatically - is not a handsome man. I adore Snape, I think he's a fantastic character, but I'd prefer to read about him being Snape. Maybe he has the potential to be slightly less horrible, but not much.

[Puffskein]

Lupin is the embodiment of everybody's favourite teachers. I don't think that any of my favourite teachers in high school looked like Hollywood heart-throbs. They looked like ordinary people, made extraordinary from the inside out.

I think you've hit the nail on the head again, Cat. I think Lupin looks very ordinary, but kind. You wouldn't look at him twice in the street, except to throw him a bit of small change, but he could make you feel warm inside just by saying hello. He does that to me in the books, and that's just words on a page.

I got the geekiness from his affinity with his creatures. Look at the way he talks about the Boggart: "There's a cupboard under my desk he'll like." This is a creature with no fixed shape, that takes the form of everyone's worst fear, but Lupin calls it "he" and talks about what it likes! Of course there's a sad reason for that affinity, but I still find it highly endearing - maybe just because I'm a biologist and I'm geeky about creatures too.

[Nys]

I agree that Lupin is the ideal teacher, I wish I'd had one like him.

I think a lot of the fan fictions I've seen have mostly come from different theories (I know mine does). They also tend to come from what people want to happen in teh next books. This happens a lot in Harry 6th year threads when they have Harry falling deeply in love with either Ginny, Hermione or some Mary-Sue charactor that is based on the author.

[TheMagicHat]

I always wonder why people try to write the next installment of the series. A story like that's only going to get readers until the real next installment comes out. Then no one's going to care. I like writers that write outside or parrallel to the series. It's much easier to set something in the past and then go back and edit the assumptions you made that have turned out to be wrong.

I agree and that's what I generally do with stories that I'm a fan of. Make up a cast of new characters, new locations, new adventures, etc. I'm not very confident in my ability to accurately depict canon characters and personalities too well, so I feel it's safer that way.

I'm actually working on an original fanfiction based in the HP world, except I'm planning on the story taking place in America. As I'm from the US and I know very little about England, much less Europe, to depict it accurately. Plus, I'd think that the Wizard World in the HP books would extend beyond Europe, even if we don't read anything about it in canon.

Is that wrong? Are there any threads, sites, or publications that I can look up that describe the world, magic, and such stuff in detail. I want to be accurate to the HP world at least, so any help would be nice.

[harripottrfreek]

I like finding "trends" in fanfiction and I think of it in these two categories:

Imagination
Some people write without the knowledge of the movies coming into play...they make the world the one they have imagined from the books and make it their own...I so this because it's the only way I know how to write...I also add my own characters that represent myself and my cousins and friends... then for the characters JKR has already created I add stuff to them (stuff we don't know about them) that make them how I see them when I am reading

Influence
People will read other people's work and really enjoy it and use the smae characteristics that some characters may have from reading other fan fics...they also take in consideration the movies and other things like that...I have done the first when reading my cousins stories...she made up a character for one of her stories and now she shows up everywhere in my own stories...I also find that other people have very interesting imaginations and people like to borrow from each other to make their own ideas and worlds come to life.

[Violet Tonks]

I was wondering about where people get these ideas. Lupin is almost always French, Sirius always likes heavy metal, James never messes up his hair, Hermione never has to attack her hair for about an hour every day to keep it perfect and straight, Grawp doesn't exist, Molly doesn't act overprotective, Dobby doesn't exist, no one feeds Buckbeak, Kreacher is nowhere to be found in Grimmauld Place, Cho and Harry are still dating, Myrtle is never in her bathroom when someone else is using it to do something illegal, no one ever actually checks their books out from Madam Pince, Ron is nowhere to be found, Ginny or Hermione (depending on who gets the guy) always has a perfect body and tan, Ferret Boy is good looking, Hagrid is a dingbat, Fang doesn't exist, never a decent original character, Snape acts human, the Creeveys are never a two-person paparazzi, someone is always brave enough to touch Snape, etc.

[Dedalus Diggle]

I was wondering about where people get these ideas. Lupin is almost always French, Sirius always likes heavy metal, James never messes up his hair, Hermione never has to attack her hair for about an hour every day to keep it perfect and straight, Grawp doesn't exist, Molly doesn't act overprotective, Dobby doesn't exist, no one feeds Buckbeak, Kreacher is nowhere to be found in Grimmauld Place, Cho and Harry are still dating, Myrtle is never in her bathroom when someone else is using it to do something illegal, no one ever actually checks their books out from Madam Pince, Ron is nowhere to be found, Ginny or Hermione (depending on who gets the guy) always has a perfect body and tan, Ferret Boy is good looking, Hagrid is a dingbat, Fang doesn't exist, never a decent original character, Snape acts human, the Creeveys are never a two-person paparazzi, someone is always brave enough to touch Snape, etc.

Woo-hoo - my fanfics avoided every one of these cliches, except I don't deal wiith the young James (so the hair thing isn't relevant) and Hermione's hair is simply bushy as it is in the books. (Well, I let Snape be caught shedding a tear when McGonagall is about to die, but they have a close friendship in canon, so I don't think that was too much of a stretch).


I always wonder why people try to write the next installment of the series. A story like that's only going to get readers until the real next installment comes out. Then no one's going to care. I like writers that write outside or parrallel to the series. It's much easier to set something in the past and then go back and edit the assumptions you made that have turned out to be wrong.

I'll plead guilty to this. Here's why - both of my stories came out of theoretical speculations about the clues in the first five books. HP and the Goblin's Tomb Bug came out of a possible solution to a deeper meaning to the gumwrappers Neville's mother gives him (read the thread, 'Neville, Voldemort, etc.' particularly the post at the end of the third page). I was able to weave in a lot of what we've learned about goblins, Egypt, the DA, unification among the houses, etc. The War Within came from thinking about how love could be used as a power to 'vanquish the Dark Lord.' In many ways, they could have been placed in the Divination forum, but they draw on too many different observations and, well, they are stories, not commentaries. Sure, the stories may be passe' once Book 6 comes out, but that's not for quite a while and they were both fun and educational to write, and seem to have been fairly well received. If I wanted to write a wholly new set of characters, I wouldn't even place it in HP-world - then I could send it to a commercial publisher and make some gold off of it. If you don't care for that sort of a story, that's fine. There are types I don't like as well - there are plenty of fanfics out there. But for those of you who don't care for x-year fanfics, at least maybe now you can see why they can appeal to some of us.

[Mundungus Fletc]

I'm over 18 and am certain that some of the fanfics are the products of diseased brains (I'm still looking for Hermione and the pizza boy even though I'm sure it will be dreadful.

And since people are using this thread to discuss aspects of fanfics they hate I add them being littered with Americanisms. It can't be that difficult to get a British beta reader. Some of things described in fanfic London are pretty hilarious Mind that's true of Hollywood films that, even though they are filmed in London, have no regard to the city's actual layout.

[SnorkackCatcher]

I'd agree that writing your own version of the next book is something that should have a short shelf life, but I suppose the point is that right now we don't have Book 6, and won't for a while. So there's a lot of interest in a continuation - any continuation - of the HP story. Call it literary methadone. :)

That being said, a lot of the Book 6/7 fics I've read are interesting for the other characters in the story, whether canon or new. This sort of story will probably still work as an AU once the next book appears (indeed some have already fallen foul of information from JKR's interviews or website, but are still readable and enjoyable). After all, even the films seem to be heading the AU route simply because of screen time constraints. If the basic story being told is actually any good, it can overcome a number of such handicaps.

I would like to see more fics that expand upon different characters, though, or just take the wizarding world as a general background and fill in some detail, etc. Then again, maybe it's just that I haven't read that many other than on CoS.