What If? Peridot was part of the Crystal Gems from the start and wasn't the antagonist who made a Hazy-Feel Turn?
What if Doctor Who had a series of stories set in cities such as Oxford, Manchester, and Glasgow, ignoring Britain Is Only London?
Well, this is a guide.
Don't confuse Alternate Continuity with Alternate History. The term Alternate History refers to Real Life history if it had gone another way - an Alternate Continuity is a Continuity mutually exclusive of the main one.
An Alternate Continuity is when a continuity has details that are irreconcilable in terms of timeline and plot from the main continuity, and the events don't match up with the main one. However, there can be a fair amount of overlap between an Alternate Continuity and an Alternate Universe.
There is the related page Write a Fanfic, but here, this article specifically focuses on one element; Continuity, the events which happen within the work.
Necessary Tropes
First of all, you have to have an existing continuity to use as a starting point.
Choices, Choices
There's a wide selection of choices; do you use a Live-Action TV continuity like Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Better Call Saul, Orphan Black, The Catch (Police Procedural and medical drama), or do you go with Anime, or even Western Animation such as Steven Universe or BoJack Horseman?
You could even use comic-books as a starting point; DC Comics and Marvel are good choices. Pick any character, any one. The Flash (2014) or Batman are good DC Comics examples. Or how about an Alternate Continuity involving Quake (Daisy Johnson)?
But it's not just fiction that can have an Alternate Continuity. Alternate History is this to the real world.
Pitfalls
Problems include deciding how far differently to go, but keeping within the canon itself, and how your Original Character will fit into the new continuity.
Other problems include working out the minor details
Potential Subversions
Writers' Lounge
Suggested Themes and Aesops
In general, you could go Darker and Edgier or Lighter and Softer. Equally, what about, for those who write about My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, a Crapsaccharine World plotline?
Potential Motifs
Suggested Plots
Departments
Set Designer / Location Scout
Props Department
Costume Designer
Casting Director
Stunt Department
Extra Credit
The Greats
- One example might be the Transformers but the pitfalls of this are Continuity Snarl and too many characters.
- Another is Marvel's What If, presenting continuities that result if canon events occurred differently. It's animated adaption covers universes that result from events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe being played different.
