Comments | grandma_kate: I have a question about what I am writing

grandma_kate

I have a question about what I am writing

Feb 14, 2009 03:55

As most of you know, I have been learning to write fiction by using the plots and characters of JK Rowlings (along with some that belong to St Margarets, Moonette, Dogstar, and Gabriella duSult). With lots of help and advice I have managed to write a number of Molly-centric stories. So far, so good, as I allude to what is happening in the Harry ( Read more... )

Comments 11

rosathome February 14 2009, 13:12:58 UTC

To be honest, I don't think anyone cares that much anymore.

I do care that Victoire's name is not Victorie.

Also, my understanding of the epilogue is that Teddy is just one year older than Victoire, which would mean that she needs to be born sometime between September 1998 and August 1999. So I would think it odd to give Bill and Fleur a different child in that same time period. I'd care slightly more about that because the epilogue is actual canon, so it seems weird to discount it for no obvious reason. You could still have Fleur pregnant during the battle, just pregnant with Victoire.

grandma_kate February 14 2009, 14:53:17 UTC

Thank you for your input. I quite agree that not very many people will care one way or the other. I may be a bit gun-shy from a reviewer who assume a different timeline than I do for parts of Deathly Hallows.

Sigh! Spelling or copying accurately is obviously a failing of mine.

Victoire was born on May 2 of either 2000 or 2001 and thus would be either a seventh or sixth year student at Hogwarts on September 1, 2017. Teddy Lupin is born in early April of 1998 so would have finished Hogwarts in June, 2015. So he is a month short of either two or three years older.

rosathome February 14 2009, 14:55:00 UTC

That depends on how you interpret 19 years later.

I'd say that Victoire is a seventh year student in September 2016 and thus born in 1999, making her just about a year younger than Teddy.

rosathome February 14 2009, 15:02:08 UTC

Oh, and, isn't Victoire's actual birth date interview 'canon' rather than real canon? I'd feel more comfortable playing with that, if you want to.

mollywheezy February 14 2009, 16:09:37 UTC

I don't think there would be a storm of controversy if you changed something from canon. I love your stories and would certainly not stop reading them if Philippe were born before Victoire. He just wasn't mentioned in the Epilogue since he would no longer be at Hogwarts. ;) I'm not as tied to sticking to interview canon as book canon, although I do love Audrey. I have been having so much fun with my Percy/Audrey story! Since we know nothing about Audrey, I can practice characterization but have a ready-made world for her to play in.

grandma_kate February 14 2009, 17:24:57 UTC

I don't have a great many readers so it probably doesn't matter much but I do tend to try to stick to canon.

I'm just happy that I get to write something besides technical reports.

crumplehornedki February 14 2009, 23:21:24 UTC

I say write what you feel is right, there are enough holes between book canon and interviews and films that nothing is going to be glaringly 'wrong' and if it fits your vision and your plot then go for it.

grandma_kate February 15 2009, 00:20:08 UTC

As you may remember, Philippe was born before Victoire in St Margarets' New Zealand Chronicles and in the Secret Santa story I wrote for you. All the sites refer to her as the first daughter of Bill and Fleur but disagree about whether she was born May 2, 2000 or 2001.

Heck, Bill and Fleur may not even be in the movie of Deathly Hallows, Part 1 or Part 2. I wonder where Dobby will be buried and where they will stay? Maybe there won't even be a Malfoy Manor for him to rescue them from.

anonymous February 16 2009, 01:11:21 UTC

Okay, I haven't read any of the other comments, so this is strictly my uninfluenced opinion :)

Given that you're already writing from the perspective of a character that JKR never openly shared, I think you're good to go with whatever division from canon that you like. What I mean is that we never really got to look inside her head, hear her thoughts, or see her on her own. We only know her through the eyes of everyone else. Since you've already created her own world from what we know about her, you now have the opportunity to really open up that world.

At the same time, JKR hasn't given us much to work with for the seventh year. That means that you have incredible options open to you. Take advantage of it! I think if you stay true to your story, throw in the bit we have from JKR, and let the characters have their say, you'll come out well in the end!

felixfelicis1 February 16 2009, 01:14:12 UTC

Sorry, the above comment was made by me. I didn't realize I wasn't signed in!

grandma_kate February 16 2009, 03:22:51 UTC

I'm glad I read all three comments before I responded "Dear unknown, but sensible, friend". Now I can say, "Thank you for your wise counsel, Ryan." Since I had not done any fiction writing since college English classes nearly sixty years ago, I decided to write with a given set of characters already involved in a plot. As many other Harry Potter fans have noted, 'It's all over with Deathly Hallows." I wrote a Secret Santa story with my best guess about what would be happening five and a half years after the Battle of Hogwarts, which included some of Molly and Arthur's other grandchildren not mentioned in the Epilogue. Then JKE began revealing what she would write if she hadn't decided to stop after seven years worth.

Ginny's Seventh Year can't be canon, nor can Molly's road to grief recovery; so I guess that I will try to avoid making large waves and try for only little ripples beyond canon.