(04-13-2024, 11:55 AM)Bob Schroeck Wrote: I have my own thoughts on the topic, which have been a part of my Fanfic Writer's Guide for many years:That's essentially the issue I was looking at, yes.
But, well, I'm more thinking of the creative process. There's some tipping point -- sort of vague and ambiguous -- when you're writing what starts out as a fanfic where it starts becoming something original, and you have to decide whether you're going to go with the fanfic you'd originally planned or to break it off.
Otherwise, you're just chasing two rabbits... or adding more unicorns to your "worldbuilding" to salvage how canon could still have happened despite all of it.
A lot of Manipulative!Dumbledore fics fall prey to that, now that I think of it. I mean, with House Potter being a noble house with a seat on the Wizengamot that's ready for Harry to claim if only he knew about it and helpful goblins ready to give him his family's magical signet ring if only he asked...