I found this a very interesting read and I think that anyone here that's writing a crossover should read this first.
In addition, though, ALL fanfiction authors should read and understand this:
JerseyCaptain (bold added by me, side note removed) wrote:
A selfish person would answer "why not?" to that question. "Hey", they'd contend, "it's my story. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it". That doesn't negate the possible flaw of combining two or more things which, to a rational mind, might not be plausibly combined. A good writer writes not just for him or herself, but to reach an audience. This implies that the writer cares about what his or her readers think and feel. Not just what matters to him or her. Here's a harsh lesson many of you need to learn: it's not supposed to be all about you. If you really don't care about what your readers (or potential readers) might think, and are not trying to reach them, or even touch them emotionally, then you really have no business whatsoever posting your material online for others to see, because the only person you are trying to please is yourself (and, perhaps, anyone who thinks and feels exactly like you do).
I find it critical that when doing anything like this, from writing fan fiction to creating a presentation, you have to ask yourself what you want your audience to see and feel. Of course, one can't expect every story to have a deep emotional impact, as many stories (especially shorter ones) are based on lighter subjects. I always see it best to ask myself these questions (amongst others) when reaching an audience:
Does it make sense?
Is there enough?
Is there too much? (NB: This is especially important when creating presentations)
Is it engaging?
Is it doing what I want it to do?
But most importantly: How will my audience respond?
Of course, this is assuming I've already established who my audience are (or who I WANT my audience to be).
JerseyCaptain wrote:
THE FOUNDATIONS OF A GOOD CROSSOVER- the characters from either setting must come from settings which could be combined without breaking the "suspension of belief" (as described by Robert Reed). Example: Balto could not visit New York City and the gang from Oliver & Company. The latter exist in the modern day, and Balto lived in the 1920s. He'd be long deceased by the setting of "Oliver & Company". It would violate the suspension of belief to combine the two just because the writer thought it'd be fun...or because he likes the two settings and the characters in them and therefore has some implied "right" to write whatever he wants.
While I agree in principle with this point, I would like to add that sometimes the characters are mixed together for a specific reason
beyond what could ever possibly be achieved realistically. Back in 2011, DT was kind enough to write a Sourcecast Christmas Special which involved most of the lead characters from all the different Sources. While the plot was mostly unrealistic, it provided a basis of entertainment that people, including myself, could enjoy. I'll see if he won't mind me linking the story to this topic, as it was taken down when we transitioned to the WordPress site.
