Writer's Block: Sheldon and Penny 4ever! (And a request for help)

[annafugazzi]

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Dude, that totally depends on who's writing it.

Also, who are Sheldon and Penny? ::is clueless::

OK, so, I posted last night that frayach had done a really cool survey, Who Is Canon!Harry. And I linked to it. I also wanted to link to her new story, Inevitable, despite not having read it, because I'd heard it's awesome. Then I decided linking to something I'd never read (and never would) was really not on, and dropped that idea.

...and ended up linking to it anyway, thinking I was linking to Canon!Harry. ::facepalm::

There is (as far as I know) absolutely nothing wrong with her story, btw. I would totally read it, but frayach was wise enough to put warnings in, and a bunch of my squicks were among them. I've ignored squicks for her sake a few times and never been disappointed, but this time there were too many. Doh :(

So, mea culpa, and I'm pretty sure the links above are good. Please let me know if they're not.

Anyway, back to Canon!Harry. I was hoping to do the same thing for Draco that frayach did for Harry: ask a bunch of questions re. what you believe is canon about Draco, then post the results. Eg, would Draco be "reformed" after the war? Would he marry for love, or political advantage? Would he get a job, or live off his family's wealth? Would he be a good father? Is he brave?

Here's where I ask for help:

• If this is already being done by someone else, could you point me in their direction? 'Cause there no sense reinventing the canon wheel ;)
  
  
• If it's not being done anywhere else to your knowledge, what questions do you think I should include in the survey?

Comments

[annafugazzi.livejournal.com]

Ah! Thank you!

Hm... hadn't thought of the survey having much to do with H/D - any more than it would be about Draco/Ginny, Draco/Ron, or Draco/AnybodyButAsteria. The Harry one had some questions that went in the H/D direction, or at least in a slashy direction, but that wasn't the main point of it, IMHO. It's more about what kind of person were we shown in canon, and how might that influence his future choices/actions/likes & dislikes. It was an effort to see how others viewed canon!Harry, and try to see what people see as IC/OOC.

Eg, stories where he becomes a Muggle rock star, gets a tattoo of Miss Piggy on his chest, and calls himself Moonbeam Muffin. From canon, do you think he would ever go Muggle? Would he ever jump into the spotlight again? Would he rename himself, or would he be too attached to the Malfoy name? That kind of thing.

::re-reading:: Damned if I'm not tempted to write Moonbeam Muffin now, just for the cracktasm of it. ::slaps down demented plotbunny::

[annafugazzi.livejournal.com]

the only question I would suggest is "Draco: Top or Bottom?" just because the answers to that could be amusing. Possibly unintentionally so.
::snicker:: Yes. It's almost certainly bound to spark heated debate, because to many H/D slashers, there is really only one possible answer to that question. And woe betide you if you get it wrong.

[kestrelsparhawk.livejournal.com]

I didn't know, and I watch the Big Bang sometimes!

You're reminding me I owe my f-list a character study of D like the one I did for Harry months ago... so there's guilt attached to the questions here. But maybe I can just link (I'm doing a series on writing character.)

So here's what I want to know, or you to ask anyway:

-- What kind of person is Draco fundamentally?
-- Were his parents abusive? (the fact they love him is canon; but abusive parents often love their kids)
-- What did he want from Harry?
--How did he pick out people to bully? -- Did he not recognize Harry -- and sort of finger Ron & Hermione -- because he was afraid of Voldemort's wrath if it wasn't, or because he didn't want to get him killed?
-- Did he actually get sent to Azkaban, or was otherwise punished for awhile?

Besides your good questions, these are all that come to mind.

btw, I'm re-reading Volunteers for like the fourth time, and loving it as always. I do so like the child characters; they are real and cute at the same time, as children are.

I'm also trying to download the songs this time, but my Mac refuses to recognize the file they're on. Oh well; I WANT to hear you et al singing "Hallelujah", so I am going to persevere.
--

[annafugazzi.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the questions! I especially like the one about his parents being abusive or not. I'm putting them together, and hope to post in the next few days, if I can get permission from frayach to cut and paste use her questions as a resource.

btw, I'm re-reading Volunteers for like the fourth time, and loving it as always. I do so like the child characters; they are real and cute at the same time, as children are.
Yay! I have a soft spot for Volunteers; the kids were very (very) loosely based on my own :)

I'm also trying to download the songs this time, but my Mac refuses to recognize the file they're on. Oh well; I WANT to hear you et al singing "Hallelujah", so I am going to persevere.
Hm... how did it go? Because I got an e-mail from someone else who said a link had expired, but it worked for me...

[melusinahp.livejournal.com]

The questions you've listed about Draco don't strike me as questions that can be answered by book canon. They are personal canon/fanon questions. I don't think the book gives enough information about him to answer them conclusively. I've read fics including variables off all those things in which Draco felt like he was in character (or out of character, depending on the fic).

'Is he brave?' would work, because we can look to the books for evidence. Maybe 'Is he strong?' 'Is he actively trying to help Harry in the Malfoy Manor chatper?'

And then those are hard too, because unlike Harry we don't get to see inside his head. I think canon!Draco is much harder to pin down, although there are certain things I need to see in his characterisation to find him believable. I wonder if a different format would work better, i.e., having people list or describe how they perceive canon!Draco.

It will be interesting any way you do it, though. :)

[shygryf.livejournal.com]

BBT is a really awesome show with jokes that sometimes go over my head which is amazingly refreshing.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

My question for canon Draco would be:

Does canon!Draco have a moral compass? Who does he look to most for guidance?

[vasiliki.livejournal.com]

-- How did Crabbe's death affect the dynamic of his friendship with Goyle?
-- Among his Slyterin mates, whom did he keep in touch with? (Goyle? Pansy? Blaise?) / Who is included in his and Asteria's social circle?
-- Where does he live after his wedding? Where do his parents live?
-- What is his relationship with Lucius immediately after the war? What about at the time of the Epilogue?
-- In what ways is he affected by what he witnessed / was forced to do during the war?


I'll be looking forward to that survey! That would be a lot more interesting than Canon!Harry, as JKR has already told us everything about Harry in excruciating detail in the books - and on top of that, she's kept his character consistent from the beginning to the end. But Draco wasn't treated the same way, so he has a lot more potential to be interpreted differently by the readers.