Fun...

Just a silly question... by Khaosity on 2013-03-06 20:33:00 UTC Reply

If I want to have characters from one continuum read a book about another (e.g. Harry Potter characters read LotR, which would work with the HP timeline), does that count as a crossover? There will be no interaction between characters from the canons in question, they're just reading a book.

Technically no, but keep this in mind... by World-Jumper on 2013-03-06 20:52:00 UTC Reply

As with all fiction, everything you do has to make sense, somehow. If, using your example continuums, the main world is LotR and the characters are reading Harry Potter, that would probably not be a good idea, and would have to be a crossover to work at all. If it is the inverse on the other hand, as you said, then it should be fine, and could be interesting. It all depends on setting. But no, to answer your question, it is not a crossover.

Then again, if it is going to be posted somewhere like fanfiction.net, you might want to call it a crossover, or have the two continuum listed in the tags, so that people trying to read a fic purely about the main world are not confused. Just an idea.

Thanks muchly! by Khaosity on 2013-03-06 21:02:00 UTC Reply

As one of my pet peeves is people not getting the timelines right (e.g. HP characters listening to Lady Gaga), there's nothing to worry about here. LotR is supposed to be pre-pre-history anyway, not to mention the different languages, so those characters reading modern books would not make any sense. But as HP takes place in the 90s, there's a whole plethora of books they could plausibly read.
Thanks again for the advice!

Fun... by DawnFire on 2013-03-07 08:51:00 UTC Reply

Sounds like an interesting fic! Let me know when it's up, if it isn't already?

I actually did something vaguely like this with a Marauder-era fic, but it was more that Remus was reading the Fellowship of the Ring and had taught the Fat Lady a phrase in Sindarin that she used as the password (although it could have been someone else who taught her). I wrote him being interested in getting the Hobbit, so as to compare and contrast real dragons with fictional dragons. It was a fairly minor point, though.

And all of that is a side-point...

~DawnFire

It isn't up yet... by Khaosity on 2013-03-07 20:58:00 UTC Reply

...but should go up on Easter, which is the next time I am likely to have access to an actual computer. Handwriting stuff is no fun, but necessary.
Having a Sindarin password is cool! Poor, poor other Gryffindors...
Note: I just used LotR as an example. I'm actually having them read Wizard's First Rule. Yes, I know that book isn't that good, and the rest of the Sword of Truth series is worse (oooh, the worseness...), but the Rule in question makes me think of HP a lot.
Wizard's First Rule: The first step to believing something is hoping or fearing it may be true. (often shortened to People Are Stupid)
Now, Harry falls victim to this rule quite often, especially in OotP. He is afraid of something happening to Sirius --> Voldemort sends Harry a vision of him torturing Sirius --> Harry believes the vision immediately.
Wizard's First Rule was published in 1994, which makes the Golden Trio reading it fit in with the HP timeline. I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Re: It isn't up yet... by Myrddin on 2013-03-08 15:24:00 UTC Reply

I concur it sounds interesting. :)

I've not read the Sword of Truth books. (I've been told maybe I shouldn't just because I don't do well with graphic descriptions.) But I really liked the Legend of the Seeker TV series that is based off those books.

Re: Legend of the Seeker by Khaosity on 2013-03-10 01:41:00 UTC Reply

I watched a few episodes of that a couple of years ago. What bothered me about the series was that the plot was radically different from that of the book. For example, the bit where Richard was held captive by the Mord-Sith was reduced to a single episode near the middle (I think), whereas in the book it was much longer and near the end. Descriptive writing...yeah, there's a lot of that. "Her eyebrows had the graceful arch of a raptor's wings in flight" and other such stuff. In a situation where they're running for their lives. Bleargh. Quite a few things were utterly predictable, such as the identity of the wizard, but what made it bearable was stuff like the fact that Rahl wasn't acting just for the sake of TEH EBILNESS, but because he genuinely believed the world would be a better place under his rule. At least, that's how I understood it.