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View Full Version : Does this count as an interstitial story?


LordMoogi
04-16-2010, 08:06 PM
I've got a story I'm working on that seems to completely defy genre boundaries. So, I thought I'd ask if this would be the appropriate subforum to write about it on.

First off, we have the setting. The setting is an alternate history where fiction is fact, much like Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics. So, the gods and goddesses of the ancient once walked the earth, all of Shakespeare's plays were Histories (I know of a novel where this idea was also used, anachronisms and all, but I'm not going quite that far), the heroes of the old pulp adventures were all active in the past, magic exists as a sort of underground subculture, and archaeologists have recently begun salvaging from the underwater ruins of Atlantis. Despite this, most of the main cast are completely original characters, albeit ones that are related to existing characters (for example, the protagonist is a descendant of Sherlock Holmes' enemy Professor Moriarty). There are only two borrowed characters in leading roles at the moment- one is my interpretation of what Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes would be like as an adult, and the other is Jenny Everywhere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Everywhere).

Because of this setting, we have elements of alternate history (for example, Josiah Bartlett (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Bartlet) served as President of the United States from 1999-2006, and the immortal demon Koshchei the Deathless (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshchei) took control of Russia after the death of Peter the Great and ruled for several decades), fantasy (the aforementioned magic and gods), and science fiction (mad science and aliens are very much a reality in this 'verse). The plot itself has thriller elements to it, as it deals mainly with espionage and conspiracy theories (one line suggests that the events of the conspiracy stories of Dan Brown and other writers were set up with fake evidence by the real conspiracy, to throw off the public).

As far as the writing itself goes, I'll probably write it in a very tongue-in-cheek way, piling on ridiculously cool situations while discussing just how bizarre they actually are. But the story itself isn't exactly a comedy, either- the plot is dead serious. It's just that the characters (who also serve as narrators, since I plan to write this in the form of letters, diary entries, memos, and other documents, rather than outright prose) don't take their situation all that seriously unless they really have to.

So, interstice? If not, what would it qualify as?

Kitty Pryde
04-16-2010, 11:26 PM
Well, I think of LXG as being straightforward fantasy/SF. And I don't think humor or spies make your story not fantasy/SF. Just my $0.02 :)

LordMoogi
04-16-2010, 11:41 PM
Well, I think of LXG as being straightforward fantasy/SF. And I don't think humor or spies make your story not fantasy/SF. Just my $0.02 :)

Well, I welcome your input. I was sort of thinking the same thing, myself, but I saw this board, and thought I'd run it by to see if the story would be better suited here than on the SF board.

Manuel Royal
04-23-2010, 08:53 PM
I'd call it a fantasy pastiche. And much as I enjoyed Farmer's Wold Newton Family, and Anderson's novel A Midsummer Tempest (which you mentioned), and Kim Newman's Dracula-related pastiches, and the same deal with the LXG stuff, it kinda feels like it's been done to death. Unless -- you can bring a real sense of fun to it.

LordMoogi
05-06-2010, 12:34 AM
I'd call it a fantasy pastiche. And much as I enjoyed Farmer's Wold Newton Family, and Anderson's novel A Midsummer Tempest (which you mentioned), and Kim Newman's Dracula-related pastiches, and the same deal with the LXG stuff, it kinda feels like it's been done to death. Unless -- you can bring a real sense of fun to it.

Well, as I said, the crossover material is mostly in the background- only two important characters are borrowed from earlier works. Frankly, I don't trust my writing skills enough to use other people's characters too much- I would like to be as respectful as possible to the originals (unless they are works that I actively detest), and as an inexperienced writer, I just don't think I'm ready for that. Hopefully, I'll be able to make this as fun to read as it is to brainstorm.

The reason I decided on this crossover shtick in the first place is because I have developed a bizarre hobby of trying to fit as many works as possible into the same universe. I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep myself from adding this story into that 'verse eventually, so I decided to go whole hog. I think it makes for an unusual setting, and I'd like my readers to have some fun trying to figure out what the throwaway lines and gags are alluding to. The story won't be unreadable for those unfamiliar with the source material, but well-read (or at least pop-culturally sensitive) readers should hopefully have more fun with it.