Crossovers
Nov. 17th, 2007 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lyoreI've been thinking a bit about crossovers recently - writing them and reading them. Lucky you, I feel like sharing :)
I've seen crossovers get a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I really like them* - I think it really gives the characters (and the author!) a chance to stretch their wings.
Consider when you have the observation of canon characters by characters of a difference canon. It gives the 'new eyes, new appreciation, new perspective' of an 'outsider POV' fic, but in this case it comes with an added bonus - because the observer isn't a cypher, their observations can shed just as much light on their characterisation as the characters they are observing.
And the same goes for character interactions - the way they respond to one another can through light on both characters, especially when you have a pair/group with strong similarities as well as distinct differences. Such interactions can make the differences and similarities in very apparent to the reader, without the author having to draw direct attention to it in the fic.
Plus, there's the fact that I love seeing the characters tossed out of their comfort zone, and I love seeing one set of characters I love meeting another set. Not to mention the technical challenges of getting the canon together in the first place - while it's easy(ish) in some cases (SG-1 get an alert about possible Goa'uld activity in a small town in California), it can be a lot harder to sell when one canon is set in, say, 21st Century earth and the other is in a galaxy far, far away (of course, sometimes this doesn't matter, depending on the fic).
*Done well - all of this applies to well done crossovers, of course. Done badly? I hate watching people mangle two sets of canon even more than I hate watching it done to one.
But that's just what I think - What about you?
[Poll #1090050]
I've seen crossovers get a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I really like them* - I think it really gives the characters (and the author!) a chance to stretch their wings.
Consider when you have the observation of canon characters by characters of a difference canon. It gives the 'new eyes, new appreciation, new perspective' of an 'outsider POV' fic, but in this case it comes with an added bonus - because the observer isn't a cypher, their observations can shed just as much light on their characterisation as the characters they are observing.
And the same goes for character interactions - the way they respond to one another can through light on both characters, especially when you have a pair/group with strong similarities as well as distinct differences. Such interactions can make the differences and similarities in very apparent to the reader, without the author having to draw direct attention to it in the fic.
Plus, there's the fact that I love seeing the characters tossed out of their comfort zone, and I love seeing one set of characters I love meeting another set. Not to mention the technical challenges of getting the canon together in the first place - while it's easy(ish) in some cases (SG-1 get an alert about possible Goa'uld activity in a small town in California), it can be a lot harder to sell when one canon is set in, say, 21st Century earth and the other is in a galaxy far, far away (of course, sometimes this doesn't matter, depending on the fic).
*Done well - all of this applies to well done crossovers, of course. Done badly? I hate watching people mangle two sets of canon even more than I hate watching it done to one.
But that's just what I think - What about you?
[Poll #1090050]
no subject
Date: 2007-11-18 04:19 pm (UTC)I think it's hard to generalize about the audience for crossovers; I know that there are a lot of people who don't really care for them, but there are also people who seek them out -- and in my experience of these readers, they only need to know one of the canons in play to enjoy the story. So one tends to draw people in from two fandoms, and of course it's a wonderful way to pimp people into your shiny new (or old!) fandom.
Obviously, everyone prefers their stories to be well-written -- but this is as true of one-shot, single-fandom stories involving our OTPs as it is for crossovers! It goes without saying.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 06:47 am (UTC)I've always wondered whether you widen or narrow your potential reader pool with crossovers - it's one of the reasons I finally got around to creating this poll.
I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who indicated they would read with only a vague idea of the second canon, or on knowledge of one.
of course it's a wonderful way to pimp people into your shiny new (or old!) fandom.
Ahh, ulterior motives *g*
Obviously, everyone prefers their stories to be well-written -- but this is as true of one-shot, single-fandom stories involving our OTPs as it is for crossovers!
Well-written is obviously the goal, but I've found anecdotally that people tend to be more picky with crossovers. This may be because there are now two sets of canon the author needs to be aware of, and the extra suspension of disbelief required for crossovers (um... that would be suspension of disbelief in the canon universes rules and workings).