Thoughts on writing good crossovers
Earlier this week, I recced Syndicated Sc-Fi Show, by claudiapriscus. It's a long, plotty, gen SPN/SG-1 crossover, and I noted that while I don't follow Supernatural, the fic is well-written enough that I had no trouble following the storylines and the characters. In the comments, lycannoir wondered how a crossover author should best approach the question of making two fandoms accessible to readers who might be familiar with one, both, or neither. How much can you assume, and how much do you need to explain?
It seems to me that it's worth a good discussion, so... :)
I think that the author needs to begin with how much is assumed for an ordinary, non-crossover story. Do you introduce the team with rank and position in the first paragraphs of every story, or do you assume that the reader knows that "Daniel" is "Doctor Daniel Jackson" and that "Sam" is "Captain/Major/Colonel Samantha Carter"? (Personally, if season placement matters, I try to get Sam addressed by Jack or Hammond at least once so that her rank is clear.) Do you feel the need to give Teal'c's backstory, or Sha're's, or Jacob's? Are you writing for someone who is completely familiar with the fandom, or do you write for readers who are being coaxed into trying some fic about that show with the big stone doughnut in NORAD's basement?
I know that I prefer to read and write stories that assume at least a basic working knowledge of the fandom. It's not the storyline we love; it's the characters that populate the SG-1 universe. If an author breathes sufficient life into the team and the other SGC personnel, most readers will simply enjoy the story and pick up the background elements along the way.
(I am not denigrating those that do prefer to fill in the background story in each fic. I'm just explaining my own preferences here, and I welcome dissenting opinions.)
So can the same style of writing work with a crossover? If you expect your reader to be familiar with one of the fandoms involved but not necessarily with the other, do you have an obligation to introduce characters and backgrounds to cover all the bases?
My own feeling is that no, you don't -- because the characters you know from your fandom should be slowly meeting the characters of the other fandom at the same time, and you can learn along with them. This is where infodumps don't work (they rarely do, actually), and where a character's inexplicable familiarity with something he or she shouldn't know can ruin the story. It's much more fun to fumble along with Sam as she converses with the quirky English fellow who seems to have an uncanny understanding of time travel than it would be for the writer to explain the origins and background of Doctor Who.
Please bear in mind that I have an unusually low exposure to most fandoms out there (to certain people's ongoing amusement). Yet I've managed, over the course of four years as a regular reccer, to rec 23 crossovers. Of those, only four are crossed with fandoms with which I had a previous familiarity (two Discworld, one Quantum Leap, the DC Universe). Yet every one of those fics proved to be entertaining and enjoyable to me as a person who was only familiar with a single fandom involved in the story.
This doesn't mean that an author can't add layers and depths out of fear that something will be missed by a newbie. Subtleties might be picked up by those familiar with the fandom without detracting from the enjoyment of those who are less familiar with the crossover fandom. For example, in the story linked above, Dean Winchester is incredulous that Jacob is willing to be a "meat suit" for Selmac. It seems pretty obvious to me that this is a common term from SPN, but my ignorance of the reference doesn't take away from the interaction between Jacob and Dean at all. As another example, tallulah_rasa crossed twenty-six different shows and books in Twenty Six by Eleven. I know I missed many of these, but that didn't detract from the sheer glee of the story!
Bottom line: for me, a good crossover concentrates on getting the characters right and letting the reader enjoy having two fandoms meet and interact, in either bemusing or catastrophic fashion. I'd love to hear what works for all of you, and what suggestions you might offer to those who want to write a good, accessible crossover fic that everyone can enjoy.
Edit: scrollgirl had the excellent idea of posting links to crossovers that work well. Please feel free to add your own favorites!
It seems to me that it's worth a good discussion, so... :)
I think that the author needs to begin with how much is assumed for an ordinary, non-crossover story. Do you introduce the team with rank and position in the first paragraphs of every story, or do you assume that the reader knows that "Daniel" is "Doctor Daniel Jackson" and that "Sam" is "Captain/Major/Colonel Samantha Carter"? (Personally, if season placement matters, I try to get Sam addressed by Jack or Hammond at least once so that her rank is clear.) Do you feel the need to give Teal'c's backstory, or Sha're's, or Jacob's? Are you writing for someone who is completely familiar with the fandom, or do you write for readers who are being coaxed into trying some fic about that show with the big stone doughnut in NORAD's basement?
I know that I prefer to read and write stories that assume at least a basic working knowledge of the fandom. It's not the storyline we love; it's the characters that populate the SG-1 universe. If an author breathes sufficient life into the team and the other SGC personnel, most readers will simply enjoy the story and pick up the background elements along the way.
(I am not denigrating those that do prefer to fill in the background story in each fic. I'm just explaining my own preferences here, and I welcome dissenting opinions.)
So can the same style of writing work with a crossover? If you expect your reader to be familiar with one of the fandoms involved but not necessarily with the other, do you have an obligation to introduce characters and backgrounds to cover all the bases?
My own feeling is that no, you don't -- because the characters you know from your fandom should be slowly meeting the characters of the other fandom at the same time, and you can learn along with them. This is where infodumps don't work (they rarely do, actually), and where a character's inexplicable familiarity with something he or she shouldn't know can ruin the story. It's much more fun to fumble along with Sam as she converses with the quirky English fellow who seems to have an uncanny understanding of time travel than it would be for the writer to explain the origins and background of Doctor Who.
Please bear in mind that I have an unusually low exposure to most fandoms out there (to certain people's ongoing amusement). Yet I've managed, over the course of four years as a regular reccer, to rec 23 crossovers. Of those, only four are crossed with fandoms with which I had a previous familiarity (two Discworld, one Quantum Leap, the DC Universe). Yet every one of those fics proved to be entertaining and enjoyable to me as a person who was only familiar with a single fandom involved in the story.
This doesn't mean that an author can't add layers and depths out of fear that something will be missed by a newbie. Subtleties might be picked up by those familiar with the fandom without detracting from the enjoyment of those who are less familiar with the crossover fandom. For example, in the story linked above, Dean Winchester is incredulous that Jacob is willing to be a "meat suit" for Selmac. It seems pretty obvious to me that this is a common term from SPN, but my ignorance of the reference doesn't take away from the interaction between Jacob and Dean at all. As another example, tallulah_rasa crossed twenty-six different shows and books in Twenty Six by Eleven. I know I missed many of these, but that didn't detract from the sheer glee of the story!
Bottom line: for me, a good crossover concentrates on getting the characters right and letting the reader enjoy having two fandoms meet and interact, in either bemusing or catastrophic fashion. I'd love to hear what works for all of you, and what suggestions you might offer to those who want to write a good, accessible crossover fic that everyone can enjoy.
Edit: scrollgirl had the excellent idea of posting links to crossovers that work well. Please feel free to add your own favorites!