I've read a number of fics over the years that used the first chapter as what amounts to an in-depth summary of the Harry Potter Universe, resulting in a waste of the reader and the writer's time. I see no need to explain the general aspects of Harry Potter and the world in which he lives to someone who is reading a Harry Potter fanfic. Now, if the storyline has been changed in some way, I think it should be addressed, but I grow tired of hearing the story of Harry's arrival at the Dursley's, his subsequent mistreatment at the Dursley's hands and, in general, anything that is already brought up in canon.

I'm sure many of you will disagree, especially in the case of crossovers, but it seems to me that much of canon can be glossed over in order to get to the bulk of what applies to your story.

Hopefully this is a topic worthy of consideration, and one that has not been brought up before. If it is (or is not) I apologize in advance.

Just tell them I was high.

 

Hm. So would it still be considered a waste of time for the beginning of an AU Sorting fic? The only real importance of repeating canon here is for the readers to know that, hey, Dumbledore still placed Harry with the Dursleys, but most similarities to what you know about Harry Potter end here...but would that be considered significant enough to keep the same starting point? Maybe not with Vernon seeing Mackie G on his way to work...but say, Dumbledore's arrival, conversation with Mackie G, and Hagrid's abrupt drop in? Especially if the Dursleys themselves are left out entirely...

But yeah, just wondering if that would be a worthy recap in the mind of critical readers.

 

Canon recaps suck. If nothing is different, anything more than a sentence is unneeded. AU fics that barely deviate from the plot of canon suck as well (which is why most First Year AU's are auto-failure).

 

...Did you just say Mackie G?

 

Err, yeah. This time I'm guilty, but I also have the same excuse you have. I was high.

I was, however, serious about the question. If you're somewhat warping the character of HP, and/or minor characters, would the slight recap of Harry's placement be worth including? I know it's acceptable, and common, but is it at all worth reciting, or will the large majority of readers skip this and move on?

 

I think that, if you're deviating from canon, it should be addressed in the context of your story, but not as a summary explaining the differences between canon and your story. We already know what happened in canon, so there's no reason to explain to us what happened before while simultaneously changing it.

 

I agree with Averis. I usually just skim/skip over the recap and continue on with the story. I see no reason for a recap of HP. Unless its actually needed; personality changes, different sorting, etc etc.

 

"Boring as shit" would be the most favourable comment I could give them. If I'm reading fanfiction, you can be assured that I have already read the books.

What I really detest is stories that start like this:

In a normal, average quarter of England, in a normal, average house, a small boy with green eyes and raven hair stared out at the stars, tears running down his cheeks. It had been three weeks since he had lost his grandfather, and he had not stopped crying like a pussy, while lusting over Ginny/Hermione/Draco.

... I now have to refer to McGonagall as Mackie G whenever I write her name. Gangsta bitch.

 

It's usually very boring... very painfully boring.

If the recap is in the form of a character, namely Harry, explaining the past so that we can see the specific reactions of a character that didn't know the stuff already, then it can work... but it had better be damned interesting.

If it's, word for word, just him telling what happened in the books while the other characters simply sit and listen, it will be as dull as mud. Always.

I wrote a scene with Harry talking to Frank and Alice Longbottom about what had happened since they were tortured by the Lestranges. It had them going back and forth giving their reactions and making comments that their characters would likely make, (theoretically) giving an insight into their personalities and their perspective (as people whose world is that of 15 years ago, and who were aurors, and who knew the Potters and also had a child of prophecy to protect.

It ended up being a rather long (though hopefully interesting scene) and I thought to myself, 'If anyone ever read this, there's a 50% chance they'd want to shoot me for recapping.'

 

Usually, you're right. Except in the case of crossovers. Usually, these canon recaps, in crossovers at least, aren't there for the benefit of the HP fans; they're there for the benefit of the fans of whatever it's been crossed with. When reading recaps, I tend to look for the changes to what-has-come-before, because there are almost always differences. At least, there are differences to good stories...

 

I suspect it happens because authors like to feel like they are actually writing a book, and as such needs the sort of intro they give.

However, I do agree that on canon orientated fics it is highly annoying, and that is mainly because it is always the sames clichés of Harry being physically abused etc.

 

Yeah, recap intros are rather dull, but also in a way necessary. The way I see it, there are 2 ways of approaching fan fiction.

Firstly, you can take the amateur approach and write it with the fact that it's fan fiction in mind, taking various facts and so forth for granted.

The second approach is a more professional one, wherein authors write their fan fiction as if it were the real thing.

If an author takes the second avenue - which is usually the better of the two - then a recap may be inevitable, in much the same way as a recap in canon was inevitable for the first 5 books or so.

However, JKR did her recaps quite well, mixing them in with the narrative, and never went into too much detail.

I think fanfic writers could learn a few things from JKR when it comes to recaps.

 

A few sentences here and there to add perspective to the story is not a problem, in fact, it should be encouraged. But, as with Sixth Year: The Steps Towards the End, I think it's overkill to dedicate an entire chapter to it. If Harry really has to explain his life story to someone, or a group of people, the author can just let us know that he explained it--there's no need to tell us over again.

 

Recaps = crutch/filler. I like stories that hint at canon rather than regurgitating it. Even worse than that is when an author uses a passage directly from the series, and puts it in bold/italics, with the author's note at the end of said passage citing where they got it from (usually done with the Sorting songs)

 

I agree that recaps can be annoying, but to omit them entirly can be detrimental to the plot.

A read a story a while ago which is an AU version of canon. Sort of interesting in places, but annoying in most. The writer decided to not repeat canon, and the parts of the story which were close to canon were glossed over. It made for a very gappy story which was lacking those vital parts. It's like, yes we all know what happened there, but to just gloss over it gave it all a rushed feeling that interfeared with the story.

I guess so long as it is done properly or originally canon recaps aren't awful.

J.K.Rowling's recaps actually annoyed me, but her books were written for children, so I think they were done that way to remind children what the story was about, and what had happened.

 

Yeah, this really pisses me off. I generally don't mind recaps if done well, but abusive!Dursley's really piss me off. Canon!Harry is not physically abused by his Aunt or Uncle. I hate it when authors make the Dursley's abusive for no apparent reason. I do not want to read about Harry getting the shit kicked out of him by Vernon. They almost always use the same cliches. Either Harry's magic heals his broken bones and other serious injuries in less than a day day, which almost always causes Vernon to beat on him more for not being injured, or Harry is so ashamed of his wounds that he creates an unconscious glamour with his magic to hide them from anyone who might see them. Inevitably either Snape or Pomfrey finds out about his wounds/scars and shit goes down. This is the same basic plot for dozens of PS rewrites where Harry is abused (and most often sorted into Slytherin). They don't even try to make their story original in this sense. It's the same recycled plot and infuriating cliches.

People really need to calm down with the abusive!Dursley fics. It got old a long fucking time ago, and no one wants to read it.

 

Recaps in Canon tend to get annoying, its true, but they are somehow necessary to establish divergences. The way I would handle it is include a sort of Star Wars like intro, with perhaps two or three paragraphs detailing what is different from canon and what has remained like canon for your story.

Speaking of abusive Dursleys, it is truly getting old. I would like to see a story where Harry decides to kill and maim the Dursleys out of pure spite and for the fact that they have not given him the best clothes and money. That is more in line with a Dark Harry, since if I want to read an evil Harry, I prefer him cold, calculating and spiteful, not righteous avenger.

 

Hmm. I'd like to see a fic where the Dursley's abuse of Harry turns him into a complete nutjob, unfit for the war. What does the Light do then?

Or, alternately, one where Harry was sexually abused by Vernon/Dudley/Petunia. But the fangirls would probably use that as a set-up for Harry/Draco.uke:

 

Haven't they done that already?

 

The first sounds like a Harry/Luna story.

And uh, Dudley is around the same age as Harry. It's bad enough to have Vernon and Petunia raping him, but baby Dursley dick is just gruesome.