Originally Posted by
J. D. Guy
I don't think that "shared universes are the devil", like the vibe I'm getting from the last few posts. It is a narrative tool, like any other. And it is fun. It can even be (and has been) genuinely frustrating when the aspects of a shared universe and continuity are not used to their full potential, if not outright ignored.
Really, like any tool, it can be misapplied, mishandled, or misused. And that can be (and has been, and sometimes is) limiting and stifling, depending on the story, the creative team, and general circumstance. There's also the reality that one person's shared universe and continuity adherence is another person's "fan-wank" and yet another person's character/story derailment. This reality applies to creative teams just as much it does to fans and readers in general.