For Every Work, There Is "Secret Canon"

My friend and I came up with this because we were discussing a character of mine named Chris, and she said that every time she went to type it, she put 'Christ,' even when she physically tried to stop herself. I jokingly said, 'Maybe he's reincarnated Jesus, trying to communicate with you. This has to be canon!' But of course we couldn't just go around saying that, now could we? So we decided upon the idea of "secret canon"—things only the author/creator knows that isn't revealed to the general public, on the basis that it would create needless criticisms/etc. Of course, this opens up the possibility for ANYTHING to be canon...and how do we know it's not?

Consider that every work of fiction is only a shadow of what its creator sees. Lacking telepathy, there is no way to communicate to someone else exactly what the creator saw. So there will always and forever be some portion of the work that remains secret. QED

Except for Cave Story, whose creator has gone on record to state that he hasn't come up with any story beyond what's in the game, and that everything else is left up to the players' imagination.

edited 12th Aug '11 1:41:15 PM by MetaFour

Could a "series bible" be considered a "secret-until-needed canon"?

Would this include from Writer-Induced Fanon or are you strictly talking about stuff that's not even hinted at?

edited 8th Dec '11 7:39:19 PM by JackalopeChris

Secret canon obviously exists. When it's revealed to the general public, it's Word of God.