I am way overthinking this... (Kaleidoscope manifesto)

[shimotsuki]

...but it's so ironic that the Remus biography was released just as I've been making a push to seriously finish Kaleidoscope. As much fun as it was to get more background information, it has shut down my fanfic brain just as effectively as DH did until I decided to write them a new ending. ;)

Seriously, what's hard about this is I've always prided myself on being strictly canon-compliant (except for that pesky death thing), and now by definition Kaleidoscope can't be -- I've got too many specific details in there that we now know aren't what JKR imagined for them.

So I think to get over the writer's block problem, I just need to make myself some new ground rules for finishing Kaleidoscope. Here goes: For anything that happened before Remus makes his first appearance in canon, I will hew to the new information from the bio. So this includes Remus's childhood, parents' names and histories, and so on. (I do have to assume that Lyall dies prior to OotP, but I don't think the bio explicitly contradicts this.) But from the time-frame of PoA onward, Kaleidoscope is compliant with book-canon only.

I think I can work with this. And venting about it here has already made me feel better. ;)
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Comments

[jesspallas.livejournal.com]

I know exactly how you feel. I am giving serious consideration to tweaking A Little More Time again (as I did with the Weasley descendant reveal) because it was kind of my goodbye to playing in Potterverse - I fixed what I felt was a great wrong of the series but once I'd done it (and the couple of little sequels) and I knew it was sound and canon safe, I felt I didn't want to play any more. They were happy and settled and I could leave them all be, content in my mind all was well. And yes, I know it's fictional and that's silly, but that's how I felt. ;p But knowing there are details in it that could be used to contradict that happy ending, however tiny, does bug me. It also occurred to me today that as a none-Pottermore person (as far as I can gather, the site takes much time and computer speed and I lack both!) there's probably a load of other stuff on there that also contradicts me but I haven't time to look into it! I think I may just settle for a bit more tweaking based on this bio and pray I never find out anything from there that blows ALMT out of the water forever!

I can understand JKR has a world and she wants to share what she couldn't share in the books. But it does to a certain extent ruin the fun of speculating...

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

And yes, I know it's fictional and that's silly, but that's how I felt. ;p

I can completely relate! They may be fictional, but we've spent a lot of time thinking about them and understanding them and wishing them well.

There's a difference, though, in that ALMT was finished and posted before all this new information came out, so it counts as completely canon-compliant at the time if was written. Sadly, seven(!) years from when I started it, Kaleidoscope is still a WIP. If it were already finished, I think I would have left it entirely alone and simply labeled it as canon-compliant as of the publication of DH.

I can understand JKR has a world and she wants to share what she couldn't share in the books.

I can even say that if it is for characters that I have no particular (fanfic) stake in, say the Weasley family for example, I would be delighted to read more backstory.

But it does to a certain extent ruin the fun of speculating...

And there's the rub, because speculating really is so much fun.

as far as I can gather, the site takes much time and computer speed and I lack both!

I lack both, as well! So I may not really return to Pottermore, despite having created an account. I did recently learn about this site (http://pottermorespoilers.tumblr.com/), though, which might be useful or fun. As long as JKR keeps away from the characters we'd rather keep speculating about. ;)

[jesspallas.livejournal.com]

I think just making yourself a rule and sticking to it is a good idea. :)

I kind of wish you hadn't shown me that link though! In just a couple of minutes poking I found the identity of Tonks' patronus, old and new, and a couple of other relavant titbits hidden in other entries. Darn it, now I'll have to find time to read all of it to satisfy my urge to check...;p