The Heretic Loremaster » fan writing

From Canon to AU: Defining Canon on a Continuum

My last post on whether or not Maedhros threatening to kill Elrond and Elros was canonical has generated a lot of wonderfully thought-provoking comments. Not surprisingly, many of these have been about canon: what it is, how it is defined, and at what point to we pass from “canon” to “AU.” This is a matter [...]

Too Smart for Fandom?

There has been a recent spate of posts on Metafandom and elsewhere about whether or not academia–and academically inclined fans–should have a role in fandom. So far, it hasn’t even been a matter of how much of a role, or when academic analysis is appropriate, but a black-and-white, YES-or-NO debate such as is rarely seen [...]

Fandom: A Reader’s World?

The other day on the Middle Earth Fanfiction Awards mailing list, there was a rather frustrated reply to an administration post about labeling reviews that contain spoilers. The writer put forth the usual arguments: A degree of “spoilage” is common when reading book reviews, so why would readers of MEFA reviews assume any differently? It’s [...]