I just got this link from another fandom and found it very intriguing.

your thoughts?

How to construct Alternate Universes that work as fanfic

James

Wow, deep. But interesting.

It also gives me something to think about regarding a story I'm currently wrestling with. I think I have been hestitating to go in certain directions because I thought it was "too far" from canon but maybe that was the point after all.

Hmmm. I shall have to think about this some more.

The author makes some interesting points. The AUs I have enjoyed were because the quality of writing was good. The AUs I didn't like was because the quality of writing was not so good, for example, it was an AU simply to introduce the author's Mary Sue.

I like crossovers also when they are well done, but a badly written crossover can really stink. If the author is making up really far-fetched excuses as to how the various characters got into the universe, chances are the writing isn't very good. But if it's well thought-out and the characters do work together, a crossover can be interesting.