Just a little Snape musing...

[valis2]

rickfan37 did her own build-a-snape here and mentioned this really excellent point:

Here’s the Urbane!Snape myth again. I don’t know, and we’re given no clue in canon. I simply don’t believe he’s a closet opera buff and spends his spare time humming along to great arias, or that he can quote Dante or Shakespeare at will.

It really made me think of something new. I've always been a bit apprehensive about fics where Snape quotes Byron and listens to Bach.

I think what really is happening is that giving Snape these "pretentious" hobbies is a way for an inexperienced writer to "shorthand" their characterization of him, because in just a sentence of quoting/playing classical music, they set him up (in their minds) as a certain sort of character, aloof, mysterious, educated, etc. It's a short-cut.

The thing is, the sort of character they're trying to develop is not canon. Snape is a pure-blood, and would most likely know very little, if anything, about the Muggle world (his matchbox comment notwithstanding). And I'm certain that most pure-bloods wouldn't want to involve themselves in any sort of Muggle-world scrutiny.

So authors who attempt this short-cut are really doing canon a disservice, when what they really need to do is discover what would make him an aloof, mysterious, and educated character in Rowling's world.

Just my little musing for the moment.

Comments

Newbie fic writers

[bell-witch.livejournal.com]

On a slightly unrelated note, I recently came across your advice to newbie fic writers ... if only you had written that 10 months ago when I started writing! :-) It's a great post.

As a fairly new writer, I'd be interested in seeing this post.

Granted, I do not recognise your name as a writer. That doesn't mean I haven't read your stories, though. I'd be interested in reading your advice anyway. Agree or disagree...

I'm new enough at this to be open to a lot of different possibilities. I'd like to think that fanfiction is all about possibilities. I know all of my stories won't be in the 'same universe' as one another, because I'm exploring my own different views of the characters. If I have Snape (as he's the character discussed in this thread) coming from a poor, abusive home at one point and a wealthy one in a different story, then that's poetic/artistic license. As long as one is consistent throughout a story/story arc/series, then you can do almost anything. If you do it well and back it up convincingly, then I'll be there with you.

But I do want to know what drives people mad, so that I can avoid doing it. Common sense isn't so common, and my brain doesn't work like yours does. Unless I'm writing a badfic...I've read some of those (not this fandom) that made me laugh so hard I fell out of my chair. And yes, these were deliberately written to be bad. The ones that are just that pathetic make me hit my 'back' button and swear at the author's stupidity.

Re: Newbie fic writers

[valis2.livejournal.com]

You can find the Fanfiction Writing Guide here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/valis2/57471.html).

There is definitely something to say for having artistic license, as long as it doesn't warp canon in unbelievable ways.

Though the best writers can accomplish quite a bit, honestly. I've read some pretty farfetched fanfics, but some of them were well-written and the author pulled it off.

Let me know what you think of the advice entry.