Shared universe

A Shared universe is a literary technique in which several different authors share settings and characters which appear in their respective works of fiction, often referring to events taking place in the other writers' stories. It can also be called a "shared setting." It can be a metafictional device. Shared fictional universes tend to appear more frequently in fantasy and science fiction than in other genres.

Amateur examples

The Internet boom in the 1990's made it possible for amateur authors with similar interests to write stories in the same shared universes. Since these authors mostly came from the role-playing game, furry, and fanfiction geek subcultures, the resulting shared universes tend toward those themes and genres most prevalent in those subcultures.

Related Topics:
Internet - Role-playing game - Furry - Fanfiction - Geek - Subculture

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While professional/corporate shared universes usually attempt to maintain overall continuity, the sheer number of amateur writers working in any given shared universe make for less stringent continuity between writers. This is particularly true in fanfiction; because fanfiction stories draw heavily on canonical characters and events, such elements will inevitably be written about by many different authors, making some contradictions inevitable. A subgroup of writers may strive for continuity with one another, while disregarding others working within the same setting.

Related Topics:
Continuity - Canonical

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There is no clear dividing line between authors who use online methods to coordinate shared universe stories, and roleplayers who rely on player consensus in preference to gamemaster or dice to determine the course of events. The use of online chat and forums for roleplaying purposes has given rise to a great deal of collaborative story-writing, of varying literary merits. Some newsgroups play host to long-running shared-universe stories created in this way.

Related Topics:
Gamemaster - Dice - Chat - Forums - Newsgroups

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