Thread: Cross-overs between a fictional world and our world

I've been told in the past, that unless it's absolutely crucial to the plot you should avoid Narnia-type portals in books. Your book should either take place in a fictional universe or in a realistic universe. Having a kid who suddenly discovers a portal to a secret world, then the rest of the story takes place in the secret world, is supposed to be a bad idea. Is this one of those never-ever things though? Or is it a rule with exceptions?

One of the projects I'm working on is a series of books where the first book will take place in our world, and only be slightly linked to the rest of the series, the first book is a criminal novel about a murder that took place 60 years ago and a serial killer in present time. Then the fantasy-series will be an expanded story on the side following one of the less important characters in the first book to another world, and ultimately in the last book the two worlds will sort of intertwine, but it will not be a central part of the overall plot. Is this a bad idea? Should I break it up and keep the two worlds apart? Or is it ok to mix it up a little?

I think you should try to forget what you've been told and write according to your vision. By the time you get it all written out, it's not going to resemble your original idea much, anyway.

People who tell you not to use this or that device which has garnered success for a particular writer are just jealous they didn't think of that device first.

I hope this was helpful.

I think that some of the best literature out there breaks rules. In my own life I have often found that the decisions I am the most proud of are the one's that a lot of people advised against because they seemed risky. Take a chance and see how it pans out, it's the world you are creating so you can always backtrack or tweak it if you find that it is not working.

The important thing is that the story must conclude in the real world, not the fictional one. The classical hero's journey has three stages: the departure, the initiation, and the return. Without the return aspect, you're essentially saying, "the fictional world is really the better place" when you should simply be using it as a tool to help your characters grow and do better in the world they came from.

Originally Posted by SixPence

I've been told in the past, that unless it's absolutely crucial to the plot you should avoid Narnia-type portals in books. Your book should either take place in a fictional universe or in a realistic universe. Having a kid who suddenly discovers a portal to a secret world, then the rest of the story takes place in the secret world, is supposed to be a bad idea. Is this one of those never-ever things though? Or is it a rule with exceptions?

One of the projects I'm working on is a series of books where the first book will take place in our world, and only be slightly linked to the rest of the series, the first book is a criminal novel about a murder that took place 60 years ago and a serial killer in present time. Then the fantasy-series will be an expanded story on the side following one of the less important characters in the first book to another world, and ultimately in the last book the two worlds will sort of intertwine, but it will not be a central part of the overall plot. Is this a bad idea? Should I break it up and keep the two worlds apart? Or is it ok to mix it up a little?

Even though it is aimed at kids digimon (I watched it is a kid) did this and it is still making quite alot of money. Terra nova is not exactly the same, but simmilar in concept not sure how successful it will be though. Alice in Wonderland and Fringe are also about a simmilar topic.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

The important thing is that the story must conclude in the real world, not the fictional one. The classical hero's journey has three stages: the departure, the initiation, and the return. Without the return aspect, you're essentially saying, "the fictional world is really the better place" when you should simply be using it as a tool to help your characters grow and do better in the world they came from.

That might not work though, as an essential part of the plot is that the hero must die in our world to reach the fictional world. It might be possible, but on the other hand I'm not really sure if the hero wants to go back either.

Sounds like a nonsense rule. Plenty of stories involve other worlds, many are classics. (Wizard of Oz, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Narnia, Secret Garden, Harry Potter)

why cross over when you can mix and match , meaning create a new world/dimension where fiction and reality become one.

Rules in writing are just warnings in disguise. They tell us that any given technique, however effective, can become a cliche and turn readers off. You can find many instances of published writers breaking all the rules, but the rules are there to tell neophytes to be very careful. If you want to break a rule, go ahead, hell, it's your story, but know that the rule you are breaking can be very hard to break well.

Hum. If it's not central, I'd say that you might want to keep it somewhat seperate. Feel free to write it up, but as a sequel rather than as part of the original, primary story. Otherwise you'd just be introducing a whole lot of information probably not necessary....

As for crossovers in general, though, I think other people have given better answers than I ever could. To summarize, however: There is only one rule in writing, and that is that there are not rules. Everything can be done, and be done well. Simply ask yourself if it should.