thinking about crossovers

The crossover meme got me started thinking abut crossovers, how they work, and why I like writing them. It occurred to me that although I write a lot of the things, I've never tried to talk about the process in a coherent fashion. Not that this is necessarily coherent. I'm using a few scenes from that meme as illustrations, even though they're not really full-fledged stories and thus may not always work as stories.

And first of all, I should say that part of the reason that I write crossovers is that I just happen to see them easily. You know those writers who say that they were slashers before they knew such a thing existence? I was a crossover-writer before I knew what it was. I've been playing with the things since at least my early teens. There is text to prove it, alas. All I can say is, thank god the internet wasn't part of anyone's life back then.

( why write crossovers? )

( selling the crossover )

( crossovers and canon )

( And finally, who is this Vanzetti person, anyway? )

So mostly, I like crossovers, and I like the challenge of making them work. Which I think we all knew, going in.