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I'm getting all philosophical again.
In her reply to my post about being a canon whore,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shellmidwife mentioned something about how the events of the series, even if they're later than the time period in which she's writing about, affect her view of the characters.
And I thought that this was a fascinating insight, because I know that I have the same feeling when I'm writing. I call it, in my own mind, foreshadowing. To me it's more about characterisation than it is about canon, because although the 'canon' thing hasn't happened yet (for example Daniel leaving in Meridian), the knowledge that something like that to my mind has to influence a writer to a certain extent. And some of that knowledge can be used to have a wonderful impact on both the way that a writer handles her scenario, and the subjects that she chooses to tackle, but can also have an impact on the reader. For example, I loveddestina's Bone Deep (and I suck because I'm not sure if I've ever told her that directly). There was an air of sadness about it, and a lot of angst as it dealt with events post Menace but what made it worse was that I, as the reader, knew that they were never going to get a chance to make everything all right between them. Even if the characters in the story didn't know they'd run out of time, they still had that feeling - foreshadowing in its true sense rather than my wittering on about it.
The most obvious example of this kind of knowledge, to me in my own writing is how I write Daniel. I simply can't write Season 1 or 2 Daniel. He's too optimistic, too naive, too unbowed by the events yet to come. Whenever I try he simply comes across to me as wrong. The events of the later seasons, and the character development he goes through as a result of those events, are simply too strongly ingrained into my memory for this person to make sense to me. I start reading it back and wanting to make him snappier, more snarky, show the effect that Jack has had on him, an effect that even Daniel acknowledges in Watergate. Give him that world weary edge to his compassion that makes him fascinating to me.
In other words, I can't go back to earlier seasons Daniel because I've had that glimpse into the future and it's coloured my view of him. I'd love to, for example, explore the effect of Hathor on him, both in Hathor (season 1) and Out of Mind/Into the Fire (Season 2/3 two parter) but I've only been able to tackle it obliquely, using later season Daniel looking back.
And this can't be the only fandom that this happens in, and I can't be the only writer who finds it affecting them. In Smallville, for example, there's the knowledge that sooner or later Lex and Clark will end up on opposing sides. Buffy and Angel writers have to deal with the deaths of some of their favourite characters, the despair and weight that others deal with as they grow up or deal with events. Is anyone still writing perky Season 1 Buffy? Or are they dealing with canon as it's happening now? And if so, is it because of the same reasons - the fact that since you know what's going to happen, you cannot ignore it.
How do other writers deal with it? I just find the whole thing fascinating.
In her reply to my post about being a canon whore,
shellmidwife mentioned something about how the events of the series, even if they're later than the time period in which she's writing about, affect her view of the characters.And I thought that this was a fascinating insight, because I know that I have the same feeling when I'm writing. I call it, in my own mind, foreshadowing. To me it's more about characterisation than it is about canon, because although the 'canon' thing hasn't happened yet (for example Daniel leaving in Meridian), the knowledge that something like that to my mind has to influence a writer to a certain extent. And some of that knowledge can be used to have a wonderful impact on both the way that a writer handles her scenario, and the subjects that she chooses to tackle, but can also have an impact on the reader. For example, I loved
destina's Bone Deep (and I suck because I'm not sure if I've ever told her that directly). There was an air of sadness about it, and a lot of angst as it dealt with events post Menace but what made it worse was that I, as the reader, knew that they were never going to get a chance to make everything all right between them. Even if the characters in the story didn't know they'd run out of time, they still had that feeling - foreshadowing in its true sense rather than my wittering on about it.The most obvious example of this kind of knowledge, to me in my own writing is how I write Daniel. I simply can't write Season 1 or 2 Daniel. He's too optimistic, too naive, too unbowed by the events yet to come. Whenever I try he simply comes across to me as wrong. The events of the later seasons, and the character development he goes through as a result of those events, are simply too strongly ingrained into my memory for this person to make sense to me. I start reading it back and wanting to make him snappier, more snarky, show the effect that Jack has had on him, an effect that even Daniel acknowledges in Watergate. Give him that world weary edge to his compassion that makes him fascinating to me.
In other words, I can't go back to earlier seasons Daniel because I've had that glimpse into the future and it's coloured my view of him. I'd love to, for example, explore the effect of Hathor on him, both in Hathor (season 1) and Out of Mind/Into the Fire (Season 2/3 two parter) but I've only been able to tackle it obliquely, using later season Daniel looking back.
And this can't be the only fandom that this happens in, and I can't be the only writer who finds it affecting them. In Smallville, for example, there's the knowledge that sooner or later Lex and Clark will end up on opposing sides. Buffy and Angel writers have to deal with the deaths of some of their favourite characters, the despair and weight that others deal with as they grow up or deal with events. Is anyone still writing perky Season 1 Buffy? Or are they dealing with canon as it's happening now? And if so, is it because of the same reasons - the fact that since you know what's going to happen, you cannot ignore it.
How do other writers deal with it? I just find the whole thing fascinating.
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