#6: Fanon

First some definitions to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Canon

means “the authentic works of a writer” or “a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works.” For fanfiction writers, this means the movie, television show, or book providing the source material for the universe the fanfiction is set in.

AU

stands for “Alternate Universe.” While all fanfiction is an alternative suggestions, “AU” usually means the fanfiction changes a basic concept of the canon to see how the what if plays out. For example, “DG hadn’t heard the witch and never went into the cave” is a valid AU starting point in the Tin Man fandom. Other examples of AU are taking the characters and putting them into a completely different world like this was where they were born instead of what we know is true.

Fanon

is canon a fan has created and uses for their fanfictions. Yeah, there is a term for that stuff you’ve been doing to expand the characters and the setting.

So What Qualifies as Fanon?

Anything you decide is true for the characters and universe but that another writer can decide not to use in considered fanon. Most items fall under fixing plot holes or developing characters.

Fixing Plot Holes

Plot hole is when the internal logic of the story fails, usually not bad enough to stop you from being a fan, but does make your forehead furrow as you ask “what?” Trying to analyze the Queen’s plan in Tin Man caused that reaction for me. My fanon explanation is there wasn’t really a plan, just two panicked parents thinking their oldest daughter turned into a homicidal monster and killed their youngest. They got the resurrected, youngest daughter away, set up things to support her claim to the throne when she returned because the oldest couldn’t be trusted with it now, and then found out much later just how wrong about the whole situation they were. True, it hasn’t been needed for any story specifically yet, but having it has made the miniseries better for me.

Some writers use this for creating missing scene stories, something that should have been in the script but was cut out and not filmed.

Character Development

This is where fanon has an awesome chance to shine. The character has no background given in the canon material. What was his childhood like? Favorite color, music, movie; as long as you refer back to it over and over again in your fanfiction, it is fanon. I think I have the strongest fanon for Biker Mice From Mars in terms of character development, so the following examples are from it.

Modo quotes a line from a Jimi Hendrix song “Purple Haze” in the episode “A Mouse and His Motorcycle” so from that canon moment; it’s easy to say Modo is a Hendrix fan. My fanon development was to make him a fan of Meat Loaf as well.

Throttle is the character I’ve done the most fanon development to his background. In the canon of the show, Modo’s nephew and his mother are seen, Vinnie mentions his mother, but Throttle says nothing! Meeting his girlfriend is not the same thing.

My jumping off point was his adult character: a capable leader; has such a strong sense of integrity he keeps his word to the bad guys; and loyalty beyond belief to Modo, Vinnie, and his motorcycle. Then ideas started popping into my head to explain how he developed this way. The ones that made my jaw drop and expanded into stories are the ones I added to my fanon for Throttle.

It’s been so long since I’ve built the foundation of this fanon; it’s hard to remember what developed first. I think the first thing I settled on was Throttle’s family situation and how it connected to the murky past of Mars. I decided he was an orphan raised by his father’s twin brother, his alien aunt, and with his half-mouse cousin who became more like a little sister. Both Throttle and Roddie have survived the Plutarkian War so far, and have risen to leadership because of abilities thanks to being descended from ancient mouse kings of Mars. But this heritage was also what killed Throttle’s parents. How this happened developed into the character Turbo, and the story in Turbo in the Wars Are Won By Those Who Dare series.

That settled a lot of my questions on loyalty and why Throttle would put his job ahead of getting home to Mars. As I was working on Let Us Give Thanks, the reason why his motorcycle is so important sprang to mind.

You get the idea of how to develop fanon. The important thing to remember is that it is still background material. It makes your fanfiction so much richer, but it is not the whole fanfic.