True AU
To start off, let’s look at my definition of AU:
In a given fandom, a story that falls into the
Alternate Universe category is one that contains characters, themes, settings, or elements of the original canon story but strays from canon in a notable fashion.
Now, onto the issue here. On the one hand, AU is a gift from God. It allows writers to do their own thing and improve upon the brilliant story of ______. After all, if your story were not slightly, AU, wouldn’t it be the story that was already created by the writer(s)? Yes, except for the fact that AU has a broader sense. Usually, an AU fic will entail the characters from a given fandom but a completely different setting/plot/scenario/etc. This is all well and good. Still, this is where we come upon the problem.
In my opinion, a story that is completely and blatantly AU should be considered original fiction with the names of the characters. For example, take the TV show Alias, in which the characters about to be mentioned are adults working at the CIA who did not all know each other at a young age:
Sydney and Nadia are sisters in college, where they meet two charming boys, Michael and Eric. Sydney and Michael fall in love (as do Nadia and Eric). Sydney is the intelligent one, and Nadia is the sassy younger sibling. The only things that stand in the way of young love are Mommy and Daddy Bristow, both of whom disapprove of college boys. What will the girls do?!?!?!?! Now, what’s okay here is the fact that the romantic relationships are parallel to those of Alias. The setting is changed, which is fine. What is not okay is several things:
a) Sydney and Nadia could not have attended college at the same time (6 years apart? Yes.) This one, of course, is stretchable, but sill merits attention.
b) Nadia has never been excessively sassy. Ever, unless her mission called for it, or if you count that brief flashback from her earlier years, which was arguable one short phase of her life. But, hello! If you're using Adult!Nadia in any shape or form, she's far outgrown that borderline rebellious attitude. She is always calm with a far-off, mature look in her eyes. Even her smile is almost sad. Why is it that fic after fic I read Sassy!Nadia? Where did it come from? It’s a trend that I’ve never understood.
c) Irina and Jack are in a relationship that is by no means a blissfully married one. And when are they ever on the same page?
These are the issues I want to address to bring the world of fan fiction back to its rightful place. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and just call your work original fiction.
The most important thing to preserve (if you’re doing a story about the characters, just not the CIA, etc.) is the personalities and relationships of the characters. The setting is what makes AU interesting; the backdrop adds new color. I recently read a fic called “Peaceful” by Janet (check her out! She’s under my affiliates as Overactive-Imagination.net), in which Michael was an American soldier MIA in Iraq. That’s interesting setting. If you have something like that and you add new personalities and relationships on top of that, you have too many variables and your story will probably veer away from fan fiction. I’m under the impression that most of you want to avoid that at all costs. What you need to focus on is maintaining select details of the show. AU is all about switching some details and keeping the rest. If you’ve already removed the original setting, what’s left? The qualities that make Sydney strong or that make Darth Vader evil, and so on. Hold on to those, and nourish them. If you redo the relationship between Jack and Irina, you’ve lost a central conflict. It’s a key to the story. If you remove it, you’re straying even further from the original work.
So that’s my advice: preserve the true personalities of the characters and their relationships as best you can. Oh, and if you have to sacrifice one or the other, keep the personalities and tweak the relationships. I’m going to allow you that much room to breathe.
PLEASE NOTE that this was written by Scarlet in 2006.
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