FUTURE GIRL:
This is a weird topic-ish, IMO, but one that's nagged me a little bit whenever I write vignettes, as I'm doing now.

For me, when it comes to BTTF and what is (or not) canon, the order of things being canonical has gone something like films, novelizations, script drafts. What's not mentioned in the films, but is mentioned in the books or the scripts, I use where it's convienent and coherent. (And not contradictory.)

Anyway, when it comes to vignettes, this can occasionally be a problem. There's a lot of scenes that are in scripts or the novelizations that aren't in the final films. Most of the time, the vignette ideas I have are not shown in any of the above forms, but sometimes there are slight overlaps with the timing of the scene. Then I'm faced with the dilemma of making up what I want, or parroting the novel/script verbatum.

Is there a right or wrong way about this, or should I do whatever I want? Thoughts? (And sorry if this makes little sense; it's late and my brain is starting to shut down.)

-Kristen

CHRISTINA:
I'm no expert on this, by any means. That said, I don't think there really is a right or wrong way about these things when it comes to fan fiction. Ultimately, what we see in the movies is canon, and everything else is a thought that occured to the writers at some point or another. One thing that might be helpful is to determine the draft of a script. In other words, is it an early draft, or a much more developed, near-final draft?

For instance, in one of your vignettes, you use the character of Jill Wooster (former gf of Doc's in 1955 in part 3 drafts). It was completely plausible, and a nic nod to the older drafts of Part 3. Would it have been "cheating" if she weren't there? Not really (although I personally like to think that she existed, hehe).

If we're talking about stuff in older script drafts, like Marty being a movie bootlegger in Part 1, then I think that gets a bit less plausible in BTTF fandom, since that's clearly not something the Marty we see in the movies would ever do.

Heh, this probably didn't help much. I guess just go with your instinct.

HOVERBOARD KID:
I think it just depends on the author, whatever he/she wants to do. There isn't any 'rules' or 'guidelines' about it, so I'd say you're pretty safe doing whatever seems right. Just do whatever works for the story, and doesn't actually contradict the films.

VIKKI CUTTER:
This is an iffy one, I've seen you "Between-the-Lines" vignettes, and they are entertaining. In regards to how they overlap with the books or the scrips (or even cut sequences) well... my view is that if they are not in the movie as presented, they can be cannon, but only when a convince to the writer.

If you want to do something that overlaps with something that is in the scripts, but not in the movie (I.E. Old Biff when he get's back to 2015) I say tell the story as you feel it should be as long as it doesn't conflict with the rest of your universe.

BLIND SPOT:
Forgot to respond to this earlier. I think pretty much what everyone has said is true.

I sometimes use ideas that may have been in the novelizations in gap-fillers (since I do alot of those). The earlier scripts are less likely to be canon. For instance, in the first script, though the storyline was basically the same, many of the details and characters' lives were different (Marty being a video pirate, etc).

I recently used the name D*ck Wilson in one of my upcoming fics, and loosely based him on the guy who worked in the cafe in 1982 in that script. However, I made sure he was my own creation as well (so he didn't work in the same place or have the same history as the Bobs' early incarnation of him).

Or, for instance, if anyone uses the name Gerald, for Mr. Strickland's first name, that would be the same general idea IMHO.

EDIT: Whoa, I posted this at 6:38 PM. Coolness!

Basically, what you see in the films are the only things that are 100% canon. Things like the novels, The Animated Series, The Ride, and the script drafts are pretty much a case of pick-and-choose. Flaming Trails and Mike Mahoney bumped the Jill Wooster incident up to 1957 - while I had it happen back in 1946, and I changed the car dealership.

I'm apparently one of the very few fic writers who have incorporated certain aspects of the Number Two script (where Marty and Doc go back to 1967 instead of 1955) into my universe, especially with regards to Doc Brown's character.

I think most of us accept things like the names of George's parents (Arthur and Sylvia) from the novel, but not necessarily the background. Apparently, Arthur was older in the novel - and he enlisted in WWI, though he was sent home before he got a chance to fire his first shot. In my universe, though, I had him be 17 in 1925 - which would make him only about 11 by the time WWI ended.

I did decide to include the deleted scenes into my BTTF Universe, including the one with Buford shooting Marshall Strickland. I'm starting to have second thoughts on that, now - especially since Marshall James Strickland will have a prominent role in Back to the Beginning, but I think it's too lae to go back and change that.

I also decided that, in my BTTF Universe, Hell Valley Lorraine shot Biff not long after our heroes showed up in Part II - instead of waiting until 1996. I never really understood why the Bobs specifically mentioned that year, when it could really be any year between 1986 and 2015 - but someone brought up the fact that Griff Tannen would be born in that year.

I do accept the newspaper articles from 2015 as canon, including the names and ages of Griff's gang. I wish I could find out what was written on the newspapers from 1985, about Doc being committed/commended and George being murdered/honoured.

I did take on the suggestion the Bobs came up with about Hell Valley Linda possibly being a hooker - but the whole Doc going to university outside of Hill Valley, I decided not to go by. I guess I wanted to keep Doc in Hill Valley his whole life. He was there in 1925, 1938, 1946, 1955, 1968, and 1975.

I just realized the only decades I haven't covered from the 1900s are the '10s and the '90s - well, unless you count the one about Marty and Jennifer marrying in 1990. Marty probably isn't going to doing a whole lotta time travelling during the 1990s, as his music career will probably take off not long after his marriage to Jennifer - and I'm probably not going to have anyone time travel to the '90s. That could always change, though.

Wasn't Doc still in College when he broke up with Jill Wooster? She was the dean's daughter.

I noticed that some people aren't too crazy about the whole Biff Jr. idea. Some don't like the name. Most of them didn't like his age in TAS which took place in 1991. In 1985, Biff Jr's age could range anywhere from 8 to 28. Being 8 in 1991 would be too young to father Griff in 1996. It might not even be Biff Jr that father's Griff. In the first draft for the first movie, Biff mentioned a daughter. But then she changed from being Biff's daughter to being a neighbor's daughter. And Girl Scout Cookies became Peanut brittle.

Actually, the script has Doc as a professor in college - but, in my take on the whole Jill Wooster situation taking place in 1946. Doc has just gotten his degree and doctorate and opted to teach third-graders - and Dean Wooster consider Doc to be one of his best students.

Anyway, I opted for Cliff as being Griff's father - and Jennifer McFly was the one to suggest Miff as the younger son.

I wonder how many fans accept Ellen Baines as canon.

I'm the only fanfic writer I know who does include Ellen Baines as canon. Flaming Trails has replaced Ellen with Sandra Katherine, and I don't think most of the other fanfic writer really elaborate too much on the Baines family. I also seem to be one of the very few fanfic writers to have Doc as a hippie in the '60s.

Do you think Marty has ever experimented with drugs? I can see him trying weed and not liking it. But I can't really see him doing anything else.

I don't think so, even though I did give him some of the same problems as Michael J Fox had. Michael J Fox really didn't have it as bad as many other celebrities did - and it really wasn't until after finding out that he had PD that his alcoholism became a real problem. I don't think Michael J Fox even did marijuana, though - let alone the harder drugs. It was just tobacco and alcohol, and he has spoken out against drugs during the '80s.

While Marty was turned off of alcohol after seeing what it did to his mother in the original timeline, I can see him partying a little too hard during his concert tours. With being married to Jennifer - I think he would remain loyal to his wife, and not go off and shag groupies. In fact, Jennifer may even join him on the road.

I remember being very bothered by some of the things I would hear about Led Zeppelin. As much as hate to say it, Michael J Fox probably would make the members of Led Zeppelin look like wild party animals by comparison. I also remember being very bothered by the idea of Robert Plant divorcing Maureen, and I didn't want to believe it would happen - as I saw Robert as being a sweet, sensitive, and caring guy.

Apparently, the members of Led Zeppelin themselves weren't directly part of the infamous "shark incident" - even though Bonzo was in the room with Richard Cole - but that had always bothered me. One version of the story even says that the members of Vanilla Fudge had filmed the whole thing, and then lost the film. How convenient! Also, I hope Bonzo never really used one of Jimmy's groupie's purses for a toilet.

BTW, I wonder if Michael J Fox likes Led Zeppelin.

I wonder if Biff was still married in 1985.

I really haven't thought too much about the Tannen wives, to be honest. D J Scales had asked me about that, too - and I guess it's not something I really liking thinking about. Even though I did have Griff end up marrying Spike, but I know some would disagree with that.

Both the idea of Doc moving his family back to the late 20th Century and creating a new DeLorean time machine are semi-canon, as both happen in The Animated Series.

As Jules and Verne don't have any lines in the movie trilogy, and nothing is really known about them, some people just use the personalities of them that were developed in The Animated Series - as well as their middle names. Others decide to completely disregard The Animated Series, though, and come up with their own characterizations of Jules and Verne. The middle names of Doc and Marty, though, are almost universally accepted as canon to the BTTF Universe.

Doc's middle name is his mother's maiden name.

In the first two drafts of Back to the Future Part 2, Marty Jr and Marlene were twins. Some people don't consider that canon. I do, mostly because that's what I thought when I first saw that they were played by MJF.

Yeah, Sarah Lathrop is often believed to be Doc's mother - so that is the case with my BTTF fanfic universe. I guess I'm of the school who thinks Marlene would be a little older. I don't know of anyone who think Marlene is actually younger. Most either say that they're twins, or that Marlene is a little older.