DPP: Going AU
Aug. 22nd, 2011 03:01 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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no_takebacksOk, this is it - the week in which the person in charge of the DPP bus doesn’t have a driving license. so, because of that and the fact that I had a plan and then I changed it and then sort of changed it again, and so on… I’ll take one advice from another show and “I’ll fake it until I make it”. I do hope that you all are going to bare with me and not throw assorted vegetables my way.
After last week’s lovely discussion about what we don’t like in fiction I ended up with the idea of speaking about AUs this week (or at least for a while).
Today’s topic is not really a topic but a Q&A about AUs in fanfiction. In a perfect world the goal would be to try and classify them but some thoughts, opinions, ideas, even some recommendations would be great.
After last week’s lovely discussion about what we don’t like in fiction I ended up with the idea of speaking about AUs this week (or at least for a while).
Today’s topic is not really a topic but a Q&A about AUs in fanfiction. In a perfect world the goal would be to try and classify them but some thoughts, opinions, ideas, even some recommendations would be great.
1. do you like them?
2. what do you like/dislike about them?
3. what works and what doesn’t?
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
6. how do you feel about crossovers?
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
8. what about original characters?
And the list can go on and on but I promised myself to keep it sort of short and to go by my own 8 question rule. So, let’s have it people...
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no subject
Date: 2011-08-22 12:41 pm (UTC)I love them now. When I was new to the show, not so much. I couldn't figure out why folks would take our pilots out of such a wonderful and rich world.
2. what do you like/dislike about them?
I love that they give our pilots new places to play and new kinds of challenges to overcome. I enjoy seeing how writers imagine a different kind of world and how pilots do or do not fit into it. There are no AU settings that I've disliked. If the characterization is off, however, it's difficult to enjoy bc that aspect of the fic MUST be spot on or the AU is just another story with vaguely familiar characters.
3. what works and what doesn’t?
See #2
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?
AU is the point at which the fic diverges from canon significantly. When the outcome of the entire show might change, I'd consider that AU. When only minor changes occur, it seems more like canon-lite, if that makes any sense! It's a hard line to draw bc the majority of fic is AU to some extent.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
I love both, but lately I've been craving non-BSG AUs, although I have yet to write one.
6. how do you feel about crossovers?
I also didn't really get crossovers before, but again, if the characterization is there, I'm all in. Sometimes, I get frustrated bc I want to read one but don't know the other fandom. Things get lost that way.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
BSG is really my only fandom.
8. what about original characters?
I am okay with OCs in general, but prefer them to have a relatively minor role. I want LOTS AND LOTS of pilots. ;)
no subject
Date: 2011-08-22 01:33 pm (UTC)AU is the point at which the fic diverges from canon significantly. When the outcome of the entire show might change, I'd consider that AU. When only minor changes occur, it seems more like canon-lite, if that makes any sense! It's a hard line to draw bc the majority of fic is AU to some extent.
This, what you are saying here is the reason that i asked that question. i tend to make the same distinction but i was curious if other people do the same thing.
I want LOTS AND LOTS of pilots
SSWA
Butterfly Effect exception?
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Date: 2011-08-22 12:56 pm (UTC)I didn't, but I'm slowly being convinced that they can be pretty good.
2. what do you like/dislike about them?
What I've always disliked about them is that it's so easy for them to be done badly. Characters that feel like paper cut-outs in worlds that aren't real, sometimes with characters that have been mangled so badly that they don't feel like the people they were in the show before.
What I'm learning to like about them is when it's done well the characters continue to feel real and seeing them in different situations is incredibly interesting - like the character with a twist. In a well built world they feel as real as the characters we knew, in a situation that's believable.
Generally I find I hate badly written AU fic much more than badly written in-canon fic.
3. what works and what doesn’t?
Not wanting to sound like a broken record, but it tends to work when the writer is good and the world they've constructed is well built - also when the writer seems to have a good understanding of who the character is. The poor AU fics seem to come from writers who either weren't that great to begin with (and so needed the structure of canon to keep their fics readable) or who have a poor understanding of the characters before they started.
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?
As was mentioned last week (I think by
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
In the past I've preferred the ones that go AU sometime during the series, but I'm starting to be convinced on ones that go AU before the established events too.
6. how do you feel about crossovers?
Ambivalent, even when I know the show in question. I have a lot of the same problems with crossovers as I do with AU fic. Having said that, there has been a couple of good crossover fics which have almost changed my mind about crossover fic in general.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
I don't know about this actually, because BSG is the first fandom I've been in when I've properly read AU fic. With other fandoms I tended to open up the fic, read half a page to a page, realised it's dreadful and closed it (at best, usually I just avoid it like the plague). With BSG I've actually stuck with it and grown to like some AU fic.
8. what about original characters?
As with most things in AU, my experience of them is mostly when they've been badly done - bad inserts of an OC who is mainly an idealised version of the writer (Mary Sue/Gary Stu) and they wind me up like very little else in fanfic. When an OC is well done I have no objection at all. They can be really interesting, especially as their approach to our characters can be fresh.
Have I ever mentioned that I have a most unpraiseworthy tendency to bear a grudge? :/ Sorry AU/Crossover fic writers :/
no subject
Date: 2011-08-22 01:10 pm (UTC)Agreed. Completely.
OC's
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Date: 2011-08-22 01:37 pm (UTC)those can be all sorts of bad. i hated them even before knowing what a Mary Sue is.
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Date: 2011-08-22 01:09 pm (UTC)2. what do you like/dislike about them? I like how open the possibilities are. AU's allow fic authors to literally do anything they choose with the characters we so love, and that is just nothing but good stuff.
3. what works and what doesn't? As long as the pilots are their badass, screwed up, emo at times, drunk at others selves, I'm happy ♥
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line? I don't consider non-canon ships to make something AU, I tend to do with grander definitions - if the setting/timeline/finale are different, then it's a whole other kettle of fish.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type? I like them all!
6. how do you feel about crossovers? I love the idea that Ron Moore stuck a Firefly vessel into the miniseries. I think a Firefly crossover would work pretty seamlessly, but other than that I've never never considered it. I'd love to read some, though.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms? Not really, though I have a hard time reading AU's in more 'fantasy' related fandoms because so many AU's make the stories all human and then it's like "what's the point, then?"
8. what about original characters? As a main character I tend to be against them. I don't see the point of writing fanfiction if you're going to focus on an OC, because you really could just write your own story in that case (unless it's like a story about things going on over on Pegasus in the same timeline as BSG or something like that - in that case an OC would be frakking awesome) but I definitely prefer my MCs to be characters from the fandom (and written in character! With lots of pilot!sexy times!).
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Date: 2011-08-22 02:02 pm (UTC)2. what do you like/dislike about them?: - So much to explore!
3. what works and what doesn’t?: - See#1
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?: - Any piece that changes canon is AU to me. Fics that fill in missing scenes/blocks of time and yet do not substantially change the canon going forward is not AU to me.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?: - Either works. Just has to be well done and make sense.
6. how do you feel about crossovers?: - I'm not fond of them where I have no knowledge of the other fandom's characters. It can also feel jarring if the two universes don't properly mesh. But, I've read some that I never thought would work & 'ta-da', it was great! *shrug*
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?: - Not hardly read other fandom fanfic. Of what I have, BSG fanfic quality is so much better!
8. what about original characters?: - I like them if they are a minor part of the story. I don't care to have them the focus since my BSG obsession is with the characters and not the BSG universe at large.
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Date: 2011-08-22 02:03 pm (UTC)1. Do you like them?
Yes, if they're done well. I, too, used to be much more canon-focused and not really interested in pilots in other settings.
2. What do you like/dislike about them? Sometimes the joy in reading (and writing) them is just seeing how the pilots fit into these other universes
3. What works and what doesn’t? It always comes back to characterization. Do I believe these people being called Kara and Lee who are in this completely alternate universe are the same Kara and Lee that I love? And, personally, I like a lot of canon dialogue callbacks and twists/hints of canonical events in AU stories.
4. When do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line? See my disclaimer above. Butterfly Effect and all--every fic is AU to some extent. But I consider AU to be wildly different from what we saw in canon mostly. In fact, I don't often even consider academy-fic or post-poof fic AU if it seems plausible to their environs?
5. Do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
I can go with either if it's well written.
6. How do you feel about crossovers? I adore them if they marry the two universes really well. For my money, no one writes better crossovers than
7. Are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
I don't have many other fandoms but I'd bet ours are much better written for the most part. ;)
8. What about original characters? Not really interested in those at all. Especially when they threaten to take over a story, or become a major focus of scenes where there's no or little pilots interaction. I read novels for original characters; I read fanfic for MORE PILOTS PLEASE. ;)
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Date: 2011-08-22 04:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-08-22 06:43 pm (UTC)Yes, this is often my greatest source of enjoyment when reading an AU fic.
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From:Crossovers
Date: 2011-08-22 02:22 pm (UTC)But in many cases, they seem a bit self-indulgent. Like when I used to have my GI Joe and my He-Man action figures team up to solve crimes. (And since they frequently met at the Barbie mansion, I suppose that would count as a three-way crossover.)
But at the end of the day, I'm a slave to the story. So when I read crossovers, I always find myself asking: is the reason for writing this a compelling story that the author wants to tell, or is it just an excuse to have his/her favorite dolls-- erm, I mean characters-- talk to each other?
((That being said, for the past two years I've had this completely gratuitous scene playing in my head when Josh Lyman and Lee Adama shoot some basketball and discuss democracy. Because yeah, it'd be pretty and fun. *g*))
Re: Crossovers
Date: 2011-08-22 04:36 pm (UTC)Re: Crossovers
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Date: 2011-08-22 05:02 pm (UTC)Never thought about this. but that is sort of a crossover. i not only like this idea but i should probably break that news to my nephew cause his sort of creating a very strange geometrical form of i go by this theory and he'll be delighted to know.
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Date: 2011-08-22 02:58 pm (UTC)2) AUs put familiar characters in different situations/settings than what we've seen on the show. Or they might make changes to canon/twist the storyline in a way that is more pleasing (or sometimes not) to the reader than the original (fix-it AUs).
3) The key, for me, to making an AU work is the characters. Even if Lee and Kara are in a situation that is nothing like BSG, they should still feel like the Lee and Kara we know from BSG, not two characters whose names are the same, but bear little to no resemblance to pilots. The storyline/situation that pilots are dealing with should also be realistic, not so far-fetched that it makes the fic hard to read.
4) I think a fic becomes AU when it changes part of the canon established in the show.
5) All of them-- I don't have a favorite! As long as the universe and the characters are written well and it is believable, then I'm generally happy.
6) Our fandom has some very well-written crossovers, and I think that has influenced my opinion of crossovers. Maybe I wouldn't like them as much if I was in a different fandom or if so many great BSG crossovers had not been written.
7) I was never this involved in any other fandoms, so I can't really answer this question.
8) OCs are okay, some are very well done, some not so much. I tend to like a BSG OC if they are a supporting character, even if they
are an important part of the plot. I definitely don't want an OC who will get in the way of pilots (we already have enough established/canon characters who do that). Overall, it really depends on how well the character is written.
Recs
The Irreplaceability of Things Lost (http://kag523.livejournal.com/65327.html) by
The Officers' Club (http://kag523.livejournal.com/10821.html) by
----Sequel: Crossing the Styx (http://kag523.livejournal.com/38983.html)
The Cutting Edge (http://taragel.livejournal.com/132069.html) by
The Reality and Immortality of Things Lost (http://users.livejournal.com/wisteria_/921546.html) by
----Chapter 2 (http://users.livejournal.com/wisteria_/923242.html)
----Chapter 3a (http://users.livejournal.com/wisteria_/925652.html)
----Chapter 3b (http://users.livejournal.com/wisteria_/925866.html)
First Impressions (http://kag523.livejournal.com/64511.html) by
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Date: 2011-08-22 04:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-08-22 06:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-08-22 03:34 pm (UTC)2. what do you like/dislike about them? I like the new perspective and fresh twists on characters, how a change of setting makes the characters different or the same. I dislike when characters seem OOC, but also when they seem forced to be the same despite changes in circumstance that would make them different characters.
3. what works and what doesn’t? I think anything can work so long as it's justified and well thougth out.
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line? Ultimitely any change to canon is AU, but the more major the changes the more satisfying the experience. I consider major changes to canon just as AU as something totally non-canon.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type? I answered this above.
6. how do you feel about crossovers? I haven't read very many, but I have read some that are very well thought out and well done.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms? I don't know enough about other fandoms.
8. what about original characters? Original characters are fine if they're as fleshed out as the other characters and support the AU in a logical and necessary way.
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Date: 2011-08-22 04:20 pm (UTC)2. what do you like/dislike about them? They present my characters in a totally new light; I get to meet and fall in love with them all over again. I get tiny, unexpected shocks of recognition when I see a familiar fragment of storyline, dialogue, or behavior in a new setting. AUs draw out what stays constant in our characters even when everything else around them changes; that helps us focus on the essence of who these people are and always will be.
3. what works and what doesn’t? They NEED verisimilitude -- if the setting is not convincing, you're sunk. And also I think they can't go so far off into their own world that I lose my sense of familiarity with the themes/stories of the original.
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line? I tend to think of AU as pulling out the big guns when it comes to departing from canon, but I usually label even my smaller deviations "AU"s if the point of the story is to show how one small change might have been important. So I've written what I think of as big, proper AUs, like Lee-is-the-Greek-god-of-the-Underworld or Kara-is-a-vampire-slayer-in-the-Victorian-era, but I've also written small AUs where the point is to make a small but significant change, like Lee-gets-the-chance-to-talk-to-Kara-on-New-Caprica-the-morning-after.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type? The totally different setting type is my favorite. But on the other hand, I also think
6. how do you feel about crossovers? I love them when they're well done, but I more often read/write fics where characters from one fandom are transposed into another fandom's universe but don't necessarily meet up with the other fandom's main characters. Crossovers with 2 casts can get a bit crowded, because you're trying to follow so many beloved people and write so many new relationships. In a crossover about Kara meeting Han Solo, the Kara/Lee relationship is unlikely to be the center of the story. It's almost got to be centered on Kara and Han, and while that's fun it's not the relationship that fuels my fandom loves :)
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms? There are some fabulous AUs in the BSG fandom -- when it's done it's done great -- but I would say here it's quality over quantity; there are just fewer AUs here than in some of my other fandoms. The BSG fandom has very few historical AUs, for example. Also, the BBC Sherlock fandom is the most vibrantly AU fandom I've ever seen. I've read completely goregous and convincing fics about Sherlock and John as everything from magical creatures (vampires, ghosts, the ancient fae, psychics, dragons, the Horsemen of the apocolypse, androids, Goblin kings) to film stars, Wimbledon tennis players, ice cream makers and sous-chefs, 19th-century carnivale workers, 21st-century storm-chasers and meteorologists, child-care workers, homicidal co-dependent cats. That fandom is also full of very interesting genderswapped stories, which make Holmes or Watson or both into women. I'm telling you, the whole thing is an amazing ride.
8. what about original characters? Original characters can be really great when they're used as point-of-view narrators who give us a fresh perspective on our favorite characters. When they're done well you can fall a bit in love with them, too, while still rejoicing that both they and the story are staying focused on the marvel that is the original canon character they're interacting with. I think the Man from UNCLE fandom is the king of this kind of original-character-POV story. In BSG there aren't too many, but they are great when you find them, like Calliope by Rheanna (http://www.goldenmaze.com/calliope.htm).
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Date: 2011-08-22 06:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-08-22 04:23 pm (UTC)Re: screened comment
Date: 2011-08-22 04:29 pm (UTC)Re: screened comment
From:10 minute break means...
Date: 2011-08-22 06:31 pm (UTC)Here's my
totally inflamatorystatement. If the original character doesn't work, I say that it's the fault of the author, not because of some ingrained problem with original characters within fanfiction. And I'm not saying just using OC's for little bit parts to tell me MORE about our main characters. I'm declaring that they CAN be just as big as the main characters. If you don't buy into them, then they HAVEN'T BEEN WRITTEN WELL ENOUGH. But fanfic or not, those characters are just as worthy as any other characters of your attention.Don't believe me?
Still don't believe me? How about these...?
Rylla Bremner
Liam McNally
Rhys "Chance" Mayek
Isla Seraphina
Arwed
Haaken noch Laird
Admiral Vasily Zakhar
Theresa "Badger" Gordon
(gif time)
*sighs* And now my break is over.
(Sorry to trappermcintyre for spamming her post. Oops!)
Re: 10 minute break means...
Date: 2011-08-22 06:47 pm (UTC)**runs and hides**
Seriously, I think it boils down to a preference thing. How much pilots do you want in your pilot fic? At what point does a story push out of the realm of fic and into more original territory? How broad do you want your universe?
I dunno. For me it's a moving target. Soemtimes I lose patience in reading about an OC when I want to be focused on pilots. But other times a Big Grand Narrative will take me along for a good ride and I'll just go for it. I think for me it comes back to storytelling prowess (I'm totally a broken record, but it's my thing-- fic, orig, or mainstream: just give me a well-told story).
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Date: 2011-08-22 06:37 pm (UTC)I am always on the fence about AU fics. It really depends on the author and the situation, etc. I always feel like my enjoyment of the characters is linked to their place within their fictional world, and AU obviously does away with that in many ways. So it really depends on the story.
2. what do you like/dislike about them?
See above LOL. I am jumping ahead of myself.
3. what works and what doesn’t?
Depends on the situation, how the author transplants the characters, etc. Like in Harry Potter fic, if the characters aren't magical in some way then I don't even both, but in Twilight fic (which I used to read LOL), I could have cared less if they were vampires. I like my pilots best as pilots, but I have def read some very well done AU pilot fics.
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?
For me AU is a completely different universe than the original 'verse that the characters exist in. If you play with the characters/roles/situations within the original 'verse (i.e. Kara is Bill's daugher, and Lee is in Kara's role), then I consider it to be more of a parallel universe. Or something like that. I don't know. Either way, I generally like it better.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
Slightly different.
6. how do you feel about crossovers?
I don't read them. I just...I think I'm kind of a 'verse purist LOL.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
I don't know.
8. what about original characters?
Don't need them at all. I much prefer to see the characters we already know and love in completely new roles.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-22 07:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-22 06:58 pm (UTC)Yes!
2. what do you like/dislike about them?
There's something very fun about placing favorite characters into settings that we have kind of a set idea about, for example, high school AUs or detective AUs are pretty standard AU premises that get used a lot but for people who enjoy that genre can never get old. It's like going to see a chick flick or an action movie where you pretty much know going in how it's probably going to end, but you have fun along the way and it's nice to have along characters you couldn't normally see in that setting.
The one thing I dislike about them is that it's challenging to figure out the characterization - You may end up with a Kara or Lee who are based on genre cliches rather than the way we know them, but at the same time, they should be a product of their circumstances and Kara shouldn't be exactly the same if she, say, had a much more ideal family life.
3. what works and what doesn’t?
I think in the hands of a good author almost anything could work...When I'm the one writing I need an AU to really grab me and feel like it somehow speaks to the original canon, so that the result, while it isn't canon, manages to say something about the canon simply by contemplating the what-if's. As a reader though I'm sometimes willing to try anything because when somebody writes an AU you'd think would feel ridiculous but actually doesn't, it's a great read.
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?
I use it pretty broadly to apply to anything that intentionally departs from canon events or backgrounds.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
I'm as much a fan of ones where you place characters in a completely different world as the ones that are made up on a smaller but important event that could have gone differently (What if she turned left instead of right? LOL).
6. how do you feel about crossovers?
YES. Though as an author, it's the same as with AUs; I have to feel like they are two universes that have a real potential to "talk" to each other.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
I feel like we get a ton of fusion AUs in this fandom. I'm almost surprised we've never had an event similar to
8. what about original characters?
I'm just fine with them if they're needed. It seems like people are very hesitant to use them, though. Fandom can be very down on OCs.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-22 07:12 pm (UTC)OOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Naturally this is very appealing to me! Hee. Maybe we should do this... hmmm.
For those who didn't click it (seems to be?) a WHOLE COMM where people take popular movies and write them as fic starring our beloved BSG characters.
I think I have a new comm to start....
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Date: 2011-08-22 11:39 pm (UTC)YESSSSSSSSSSSS! I find this conversation pretty funny actually, because I've come from pretty AU heavy fandoms and when I first got here my love of and craving for AUs was met with shifty eyes and amusement. Much has changed in six months!
2. what do you like/dislike about them?
I love the opportunities and possibility AUs open up. Not that you can't tell plenty of stories within a canon framework, but AU gives you so much room to play.
3. what works and what doesn’t?
Of course it's going to boil down to smart writing and smart subject choice. If you've never read the Twilight series, setting your AU there and find + replacing the names "Bella" and "Kara" and "Edward" and "Lee" isn't going to create a brilliant masterpiece. (Although that sounds HILARIOUS and I kind of want to read it now.)
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?
I actually have a couple of lines.
* Canon-compliant fic is, I guess, non-AU is the easiest description.
* Extra-canon, is Academy and post-poof fic (in BSG's case, for other fandoms obviously the rules are different or this category doesn't exist).
* Canon-AUs are major diversions from canon including babyfic, Kara and/or Lee as cylons, Kara not marrying Sam and the repercussions thereof, etc.
* True AUs, are fairytales (unless they're also canon-AUs), high school stories (not to be mistaken for Academy fic), barista AUs, adaptions of books/tv shows/movies, etc.
* Crackfic is generally canon-compliant but involves characters growing wings/developing super powers/turning into animals or inanimate objects etc.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
I like them both, provided they're done well, but True AUs where the setting is totally different are my favorite.
6. how do you feel about crossovers?
Like others have said, I don't mind them if I know what BSG is being crossed with, but I often find them frustrating.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
I come from sort of a weird fannish background in which I read/wrote a lot of Real Person Fiction (RPF) where because the canon is fairly tame, there are a lot of AUs including really really cracky stories about animal transformation and the like.
8. what about original characters?
There's a value to original characters, especially in big ensembles like BSG, but I think writers need to be reeeeeeeeeeeally careful with them. No one clicked on your fic to read about Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones having wacky adventures. We're here for Pilots. Deliver on PILOTS.
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Date: 2011-08-23 01:18 am (UTC)... you may just be in luck b/c innibis and I have been kicking around a pilots/Twilight satire for months now. (And she's determined that one of these days we'll actually get around to writing it.) : )
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Date: 2011-08-23 01:01 am (UTC)2. what do you like/dislike about them? They're so much fun? Honestly, the possibilities are endless with AUs. Eventually, in any fandom, you start to feel like you've maybe exhausted the canon. Like you've read (or written) fic about every episode, every what-if scenario (though I consider those to be AU as well, but for the purposes of this discussion I'm talking about total AUs), every moment that was missing...and now you just want to read a story wherein your favorite characters are lumberjacks or world famous soccer players or whatever the frak you feel like.
3. what works and what doesn’t? For me, this is the same as any fic--if it's well-written and in character, then it could work.
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line? Traditionally, I'd say anything that deviates from canon is an AU. I got started in my first fandom by writing what-ifs, and that was how people used the term there. So you'd say "this fic is AU from episode XYZ" and it would just mean a departure point from canon. But there's also the really AU stories...the ones where canon never happened and never will, and it's about, you know, lumberjacks. A lot of people might also class crossovers as AUs, but I think they deserve their own genre.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type? I love all of them.
6. how do you feel about crossovers? I love them to pieces.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms? Yes. Before BSG, I was heavily involved in the BTVS fandom. The name of the game there was all-human high school AUs. And they were terrible. There are many differences between BSG and BTVS, but I feel like the sort of high school/Earth/all human AUs are so much farther from the respective canon that somehow they are better? I mean, I can only think of a handful of high school fics here, and they're pretty much awesome. And as a writer, you don't just sort of stumble onto those AUs because they're the 'it' thing, so I think there's more thought and effort involved.
8. what about original characters? As a rule, no, not interested.
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Date: 2011-08-23 06:55 am (UTC)1. do you like them?
i used to not like them. or at least to avoid them. i read a very good one with the pilots in it by accident and that was it for me.
2. what do you like/dislike about them?
i like the new perspective, the different setting and if they are well written the moments when the canon just jumps out of the page.
3. what works and what doesn’t?
as with everything else - bad writing is a nig no-no. i'm so against bad characterization and badly managed plots that i tend not to write myself because i'm afraid that i'll do that.
and also when some parts are just caricatures of the real character. we know that Lee over-things stuff but please don't make him over-thinking about going to eat his lunch and in the same time we know that Kara's relation/ship with the Colonel was bad for a long time but i really don't think that they'll fight just because they are on the same room at a random time.
4. when do you consider a fic to be an AU and when not or if you want: where are you drawing the line?
well, going beyond the discussion about the fact that practically all of the stories are AU (well, maybe except the missing scenes) i sort of draw the line at big events/different setting. especially if that big event happened at the beginning of the story. like the story when Lee jumps to Caprica during the mini. he never makes it to Galactica during that time frame. practically for me that story is on the border.
5. do you prefer the ones where we have just something slightly different, the ones where everything is different or even the totally different setting type?
depending on mood, time, etc. all of them if the story is compeling and at least decently told.
6. how do you feel about crossovers?
so-so. i read a number of good crosses but i sort of prefer the ones when the main characters (the pilots in this case) are put in the setting of something else, rather than the ones when everybody is put together.
7. are BSG related AUs different from the ones that you wrote/read in other fandoms?
well, i'll not come back to the issue of quality. but since i tended to watch and sort of ship more procedurals than sci-fi for a long time, the stories tend to be different in a very natural way. i mean, yes, we can imagine even enjoy thinking/reading about Lee and Kara in our times, doing stuff but is hard to imagine let's say Sam and Andy (it's summer so a lot of things are Rookie Blue for me) on a distant planet fighting aliens.
8. what about original characters?
some of them are really-really ok. to give an example i liked Jitterbug from Dark Days of Apollo. it's original, serves a specific purpose in that story and for me she's likeable even when the story sort of changes on us.
and another good example can be Kara's dad in Siren's Kiss.
and then, for me Zak is always sort of an OC.