I love writing Alternate Universe for one reason: it's a whole new sandbox to play in. Taking established characters from a show/book/movie/video game/you name it and dressing them up in new clothes is better than playing with dolls. Change the time period, change their names, change their genders if it's your thing... whatever you want, an Alternate Universe can provide.
Whenever I sit down to write a story in an AU, however, I am constantly presented with a dilemma: how much of the Main Universe do I allow in? Perhaps the plot of the story only involves two or three of the Main Characters and simply needs a small supporting cast of Original Characters with bit pieces; fine. The story gets written, the ending has a small 'Happily Ever After' sign planted next to it, end of the whole thing.
Ah, but that's what you'd like to believe. In fact, you already have several plot bunnies dealing with the 'Not So Happily Now' story that would come after the first. Those two or three MCs are now venturing forth into the previously unexplored branches of your AU, and you have an opportunity to introduce a MC or substitute another OC. What do you do?
Personally, I have trouble deciding if I want my AU to draw strongly from the MU or not. I find myself reminded that, while the basic premises of Characters X and Y have remained essentially the same, Character A had a particularly important influence on X later in the MU. Do I now include A to achieve that same effect, or do I ignore him/her and give X his/her new outlook without explaining how they arrived at it?
What if I don't like the fact that Character Z has a boyfriend? If I want to kill him off, I have to bring him into the story and spend time making sure he fits into the AU, that he has a place to come from and a place that he would be going... all to have him kick the bucket so Z is free to hook up with Y. Oh, but it's so much easier to erase him from existence, to never mention him! The reader will go along with it, of course, because it's an AU and therefore doesn't have to follow the rules of the MU.
Yes, it is, but you have to remember that, like A and X, the interactions Z had with her boyfriend changed her. Without a reasonable explanation- one that you yourself know, even if you don't tell the reader- it can be hard to keep Z In Character... one of the most important things any writer has to remember. It's what makes a story believable, it's what keeps the reader interested (fantastic epic plot and hot sex scenes aside) and it is sometimes impossible to hold onto in an AU.
Just because Y now rides a white horse instead of a sports car or you've dyed X's hair a brilliant, beautiful blond does not give you the right to change their character. Who they are has to remain close enough to the MU's version that the reader can follow along without wondering where the hell Y's decision to pillage and plunder the neighboring town came from. Yes, who they have been and who they will be is dependent on the AU, but if Character Q now likes kittens and sunshine and has renounced his EBiiiIL PLoooT!!! and declared that he's a changed man, there is something fundamentally wrong with you- er, your AU.
Now that that's clear, let's go back to the original problem. The first reason that comes to mind for making an AU is that you want to mold, shape and wantonly destroy the MU to your heart's desire, which is completely fine. But when that single story expands and multiplies like your plot bunnies, you have to walk a fine line between your own creation and the universe created by the PTB. I have never felt the urgent need to bring other MU characters/races/ideas into my AU after the first story, but I wonder: how long will this hold my reader's attention? Are my OCs being viewed as Mary Sues? And if I mention Character R, do I have to include her father, her lover, and her arch-nemesis Q too?
In the end, I see it as a snowball effect: bring in one, bring in most/all of those who affect him/her. Don't bring him/her in, and possibly struggle with your OCs or your IC rating (how In Character your MCs are, on a scale of WIN to FAIL MISERABLY, GO TO JAIL). Not to mention the fact that merging the MU with your AU can drastically reduce how much fun you have creating your own universe, which is why I write my AUs in the first place.
And, when all is said and done, I write the stories anyway.
Whenever I sit down to write a story in an AU, however, I am constantly presented with a dilemma: how much of the Main Universe do I allow in? Perhaps the plot of the story only involves two or three of the Main Characters and simply needs a small supporting cast of Original Characters with bit pieces; fine. The story gets written, the ending has a small 'Happily Ever After' sign planted next to it, end of the whole thing.
Ah, but that's what you'd like to believe. In fact, you already have several plot bunnies dealing with the 'Not So Happily Now' story that would come after the first. Those two or three MCs are now venturing forth into the previously unexplored branches of your AU, and you have an opportunity to introduce a MC or substitute another OC. What do you do?
Personally, I have trouble deciding if I want my AU to draw strongly from the MU or not. I find myself reminded that, while the basic premises of Characters X and Y have remained essentially the same, Character A had a particularly important influence on X later in the MU. Do I now include A to achieve that same effect, or do I ignore him/her and give X his/her new outlook without explaining how they arrived at it?
What if I don't like the fact that Character Z has a boyfriend? If I want to kill him off, I have to bring him into the story and spend time making sure he fits into the AU, that he has a place to come from and a place that he would be going... all to have him kick the bucket so Z is free to hook up with Y. Oh, but it's so much easier to erase him from existence, to never mention him! The reader will go along with it, of course, because it's an AU and therefore doesn't have to follow the rules of the MU.
Yes, it is, but you have to remember that, like A and X, the interactions Z had with her boyfriend changed her. Without a reasonable explanation- one that you yourself know, even if you don't tell the reader- it can be hard to keep Z In Character... one of the most important things any writer has to remember. It's what makes a story believable, it's what keeps the reader interested (fantastic epic plot and hot sex scenes aside) and it is sometimes impossible to hold onto in an AU.
Just because Y now rides a white horse instead of a sports car or you've dyed X's hair a brilliant, beautiful blond does not give you the right to change their character. Who they are has to remain close enough to the MU's version that the reader can follow along without wondering where the hell Y's decision to pillage and plunder the neighboring town came from. Yes, who they have been and who they will be is dependent on the AU, but if Character Q now likes kittens and sunshine and has renounced his EBiiiIL PLoooT!!! and declared that he's a changed man, there is something fundamentally wrong with you- er, your AU.
Now that that's clear, let's go back to the original problem. The first reason that comes to mind for making an AU is that you want to mold, shape and wantonly destroy the MU to your heart's desire, which is completely fine. But when that single story expands and multiplies like your plot bunnies, you have to walk a fine line between your own creation and the universe created by the PTB. I have never felt the urgent need to bring other MU characters/races/ideas into my AU after the first story, but I wonder: how long will this hold my reader's attention? Are my OCs being viewed as Mary Sues? And if I mention Character R, do I have to include her father, her lover, and her arch-nemesis Q too?
In the end, I see it as a snowball effect: bring in one, bring in most/all of those who affect him/her. Don't bring him/her in, and possibly struggle with your OCs or your IC rating (how In Character your MCs are, on a scale of WIN to FAIL MISERABLY, GO TO JAIL). Not to mention the fact that merging the MU with your AU can drastically reduce how much fun you have creating your own universe, which is why I write my AUs in the first place.
And, when all is said and done, I write the stories anyway.
Leave a comment