This has been bugging me.

[bktheirregular]

A while back, someone sent feedback on "Scarab", asking if I was planning a sequel. Actually, it was more like "please say you're doing a sequel please please please please!"

I wrote back, saying that I certainly wasn't going to write more of that any time soon, especially because I didn't know how the season finales of Buffy and Stargate would turn out.

So I got an IM out of the blue from this person, saying: "the beauty of fanfiction is that you can make your own endings."

I replied that it mattered to me, as I was a slave of canon, and doing a crossover story already was asking for lots of suspension of disbelief even if you didn't veer away from the canon.

The response?

"Nonsense. As soon as you write a Crossover it [is] AUTOMATICALLY A/U."

I don't know. Isn't that one of the challenges of fanfiction? Write a story that could be a part of the larger story, sometimes?

I can understand A/U, but still ... to say that something is AUTOMATICALLY A/U?

Maybe I just don't get it.

Close entry.

Comments

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

I'm so with you, there. For me, part of the challenge of fanfic has always been writing something that could fit seemlessly into canon--that works *with* the show, and feels like it belongs there. if I'm writing something that I *know* is gonna be canon fodder, that's different. I'm doing that now (tho, granted, Firefly is semi- closed-canon right now, so that kinda helps). But still. I like seeing if I can slip a story in that both stands on its own two feet, AND blends in with its surroundings.

[weirdweb.livejournal.com]

Meh... I did write a Buffy crossover a few years back which, despite the fact that it threw in a new character, was intended to more or less fit in with canon - that is, it didn't disrupt the overall plot arc of the season.

I think it depends on what your definition of A/U is - if you equate it with any changes from canon whatsoever, well, then ALL fanfic is A/U to a degree. I use "A/U" to refer to fanfic that pretty much deviates from the overall plot arc, not just the little things.

I think the problem here is that the person has a much more stringent definition than you and I do. Crossovers aren't "automatically" A/U - two characters from different series meeting briefly in a bar without revealing any startling revelations isn't gonna disrupt the timelines of their respective series, for example. (In fact, you could throw it back at them by pointing out that all fanfic, from that perspective, is somewhat A/U. You're just trying to minimize it on your end.)

Not to mention that this person seems determined to con you into starting up a sequel to a story that you didn't intend to make a series out of. To wit, I suspect they'd say anything to shove you in that direction - even making an absolute statement like that. I'm thinking this is more of a case of someone desperately trying to get you to write what they want than it is someone trying to defend an opinion.

I should know. I've done it myself. :)