Question about 'Crossover' stories.

[OddLove]

Have you ever had two ongoing series collide in a crossover story? And I don't mean like a cameo or easter egg, I'm talking about a full (and in my case, third person) story featuring the main characters from both series coming together.

Did you give the story it's own unique title? Or did you just make it another entry to one of the two ongoing series?

It's not so obvious to me how to handle it. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Bazzle]

I am trying to write a crossover...its blinking hard!

But yes, you can do it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Have you ever had two ongoing series collide in a crossover story? And I don't mean like a cameo or easter egg, I'm talking about a full (and in my case, third person) story featuring the main characters from both series coming together.

Did you give the story it's own unique title? Or did you just make it another entry to one of the two ongoing series?

It's not so obvious to me how to handle it. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Write it as a standalone story but don't stress about the cross-over elements.

Casual readers won't know, but fans will immediately identify the characters, and you won't need an explanation. Put it in the series that suits the story best - I'm sure it would sway to one or the other.

I'm writing such a story right now - where my The Floating World and Emma and Bobbie worlds collide.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I have several stand-alone stories where the characters cross over from others. It's common with stories within the same "universe":

"His Daddy's Car" -> "Change" -> "Elements" -> "Searching"

Then there are what I call "satellite" stories that exist on the periphery of the "universe":

"1990" -> "Betting on the Aces" -> "Little Differences"

As you can see, they all have unique titles. Each is its own self-contained tale with cross over elements to other stories.

 

[iwatchus]

I think there is a range of relationships between stories in a universe. I have two stand alone stories that have significant cross over elements and characters from my main series. They are clearly not part of that series, they just live nearby in the same universe. I could imagine creating a second series in that universe and then writing stand alone stores that draw upon characters from both, but do not belong in either series. I am also working on spin off stories, which are much more part of the direct world in the original series, but I consider series adjacent rather than part of the series.

 

[THBGato]

Have you ever had two ongoing series collide in a crossover story? And I don't mean like a cameo or easter egg, I'm talking about a full (and in my case, third person) story featuring the main characters from both series coming together.

Yes. This is why I have a "suggested reading order" on my author biography.

Eventually, I will "cap" all of my stories with one called Happiness, will feature the major characters from "Forty" and "The Third Date/Desire & Duende" interacting in a very significant way. I'm hoping I'll be ready to write it in the autumn. I've basically been planning it for over a year now, which meant I was able to write stories since in a way that will feed into it.

 

[Voboy]

All my stories are crossovers. It's very rewarding. By this time, I've got a dozen viable MCs and a score of side characters, all fully developed and available for me to write. I loosely group them into about four different sub-universes, but there are any number of connections and crossovers.

When I get an idea, I just figure out which character to "assign" it to based on their personalities.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

All my stories branch out from one original, "Coffee With Blushes". I have three current works in progress. Two of them star characters from that story, and the third has a main character who is a neighbor of one of them. My other subseries stars the third character from CWB.

Is that the sort of thing you meant?

--Annie

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Correction: one of my stories, "Benefactor: Being a Blessing", is not related to the CWB "universe".

--Universe, I mean, Annie

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Yes. This is why I have a "suggested reading order" on my author biography.

Eventually, I will "cap" all of my stories with one called Happiness, will feature the major characters from "Forty" and "The Third Date/Desire & Duende" interacting in a very significant way. I'm hoping I'll be ready to write it in the autumn. I've basically been planning it for over a year now, which meant I was able to write stories since in a way that will feed into it.

Sounds exciting! I hope your dedicated readers note all the little connections.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I crossed over the plots and characters of two of my series. My Mother Owns Me and Gotta Pay the Piper. There were a few problems because I had not originally intended to do that. I had a cameo in MMOM, but when the time of the events told in that story coincided, I simply told the events from another person's perspective. Events were similar but different. My main problem was/is the epilogue at the end of MMOM.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I have plans to. I'll do it as a stand alone but let readers know in the author's notes.

 

[Writer61]

Have you ever had two ongoing series collide in a crossover story? And I don't mean like a cameo or easter egg, I'm talking about a full (and in my case, third person) story featuring the main characters from both series coming together.

Yes, the MMC and a couple of secondary characters from my Adam series appear in The Fall of Laura, and will do again in the follow-up, The Rise of Laura, when it is finished. I have other crossovers planned.

I haven't made a big deal out of it. If somebody recognises that there are crossover characters, that's great, but it's not necessary to have read the other stories.

The same story cannot exist in two series, so I plan to write the same scene from different perspectives.

 

[Voboy]

I haven't made a big deal out of it. If somebody recognises that there are crossover characters, that's great, but it's not necessary to have read the other stories.

This is key.

I like it when followers see the connections, but it’s mostly just an Easter egg for myself. It feels sorta like how the real world works.

 

[MrPixel]

For over a year I've had a possible crossover in mind between my two major series. Problem? They're basically the same story or at least very similar, 400 miles apart, and the primary couple are the same people, names and all. A crossover episode simply wouldn't work, at least not with the MCs. Supporting characters, however... hmm... now there's an excuse idea.

EDIT: Ohgawd. Plot bunny just landed on my keyboard.

 

[TiberiusPrime]

Thankfully, in my mind, all my stories, even the multi-part ones, have definitive endings. So I have no interest in revisiting the characters. So doing any kind of crossover just wouldn't happen for me.

 

[MrPixel]

FWIW, I'm 4K words along in my crossover chapter for Story B. My problem now is it's full of spoilers for unpublished chapters of Story A, including more or less revealing the ending of Story A.

What to do, what to do...

 

[Writer61]

FWIW, I'm 4K words along in my crossover chapter for Story B. My problem now is it's full of spoilers for unpublished chapters of Story A, including more or less revealing the ending of Story A.

What to do, what to do...

I have a similar problem, but with links between multiple stories/series. Ended up with a flow chart showing them so that I could work out which order to write them in.

The thing to remember is that only you know they are spoilers.