Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Writing dilemma - suggestions?

So I've recently started writing my first L&C fanfic...actually, that was one of the main reasons I joined this forum. Anyway, I started writing this fic, having only watched the series through once, and that was several months ago. So now I've been re-watching the episodes, and I just finished watching The Prankster, in season 2, which is where I started my story. The problem is that I'm wanting to keep it as close to canon as possible, but I discovered upon watching the final scene (which is where the story actually starts) that the mood of that scene and the mood of my opening section are totally incompatible; for instance, I wrote Lois being really angry, while in the episode she's more just annoyed but laughing about it. So now I have to decide whether to keep it as is, or rewrite it to fit the episode better. I guess I should have waited to start writing until I knew the episodes better, lol What would you guys do?

Change it, but describe Lois' feelings in detail, maybe give some inner monologue and such. Just so people are clear on the changes and the reasoning behind them.

Thanks for the quick reply, Lara! Yeah, that's what I was thinking I'd probably do...because I really don't want to scrap everything and start over! I'm actually fairly happy with what I've written so far, which is kind of rare for me, especially this early in a fic haha. I tend to write a lot of inner monologue stuff anyway (maybe too much :p ), so hopefully it'll be pretty clear. I'm fairly sure that Lois is at least still in character, even if it's not quite the way it happened in the episode, so I think it should be okay. (Now all that's left is to get more written so I can start posting, lol)

Lois has a talent for being mad so you'll probably be fine.

Although, personally, I don't see the appeal of writing stuff in canon. I like to re-arrange, fix, and shake things up.

PJ

LOL! You do have a point there...they don't call her Mad Dog Lane for nothing, after all! :p That's probably why I wrote it that way to begin with.

As for keeping things canon, my philosophy is generally the more I like a show, the more in canon I try and write...because I liked it the way it was originally done, so why change it? Now, that being said, that doesn't mean I have anything against AUs or that sort of thing...those are definitely fun too! I mean, for L&C specifically, I love alternate first meetings, and especially alternate revelations! Although I'm also apparently in the minority (from what I've read on here so far) who actually liked the way the revelation was done on the show, lol. As long as the characters are kept in-character, that's more important to me than the actual events...I don't think I'd like reading about a timid, sweet Lois, for instance, or a Clark who was a womanizer, or anything like that. (Or a Perry who didn't like Elvis...the horror!! )

Pam wrote:

I'm going both to agree and disagree with Pam on this

I like some of the key characters to be 'canon' with respect to character. Nothing throws me out of a story more than a 'Lois' or 'Clark' who have had personality transplants. Now I'm talking about what I would call major character traits - they define the character. So, for an example a Lois Lane who isn't committed to justice and seeking truth is just not Lois.

So the characters I like to be 'in canon' - Lois, Clark, Perry, Cat,
Jimmy, Martha , Jonathan, and of course Henderson.

oh and Luthor

Everyone else - go ahead mess with canon - 'fix' them or, more interestingly, explain 'why' they are the way we saw in the show. (like Ellen Lane , for instance)

Where I completely agree with Pam is on sequence of episodes, and even some of the events within each episode, especially the ones that made absolutely no sense. Also, goes without saying, whole new plots are always interesting.

c.

Good point, Carol -- I want the *characters* to stay the same (at a deep level; some changes are okay if properly explained) -- it's the characters that I fell in love with. But I love having the freedom to mess with the plots

PJ