In
fiction,
canon is the material accepted as officially part of the story in an individual universe of that story. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of
fan fiction. The alternative terms
mythology,
timeline, and
continuity are often used, with the former being especially to refer to a richly detailed fictional canon requiring a large degree of
suspension of disbelief (e.g. an entire imaginary world and history), while the latter two typically refer to a single arc where all events are directly connected chronologically.