OMCs and OFCs

[kanshu]

Original characters are plot devices that carry part of the story and give regular cast characters a way to interact.
However, it's difficult to create an original character who is credible and neither over the top nor flat.

• How do you approach OC creation?
  
• Where do your OC names come from?
  
• How do you avoid driving your original character into the Mary/Marty Sue or 'near self insertion' corner?
  
• What do you think are the minimum requirements of an OC?
  
• Are there different kinds of OCs?
  
• Do you have a special attachment to your OCs?
  
• How many OCs do you create for your average story?
  
• Are your OCs similar to each other in background, characterization, goals, or other things?
  
• ...or what else is important in OC creation?
  

Please share your experiences!

As a reader, how do you experience OCs? What do you like about them, what annoys you?

[KarotsaMused]

Heh. I so guilty of bad things concerning OC's, but I'll be brave and open up.

To approach OC creation I first decide how they are to move the plot along, and how the other characters are to react to him/her. If there should be any important parallels that cause frustration it affects the character's appearance.
A good example of this would be in the case of Keiji, from "Cornerstone", because the differences between the lifestyles he and Gojyo lead are a cause of friction between the two of them, and the way Keiji was treated in his youth affects his reactions toward Sanzo's acidity. Because he is hanyou, it also played into his eventual demise.

All of my names, because I'm romantic like that, come from the way their meanings suit the characters. I'll search baby name sites or surname websites and make inside jokes with myself on some of the names.
IE: Makoto Toshii ("Shining Armor") means "Mirror Image" and "Honesty" ...which makes it an ironic choice for a pseudonym. Ah hahaha.

The point of an OC, to me, is to be either the pizza guy or the driving force of some part of the plot. He/she is to be the catalyst for interaction within the canon characters, and have the dynamic to change things. But, of course, 'change things' is a really broad term ^^;;

I have an extremely close bond with my OC's, because they are sole products of my brain. They's my babies! But that does not give me any sort of favoritism, though it pains me. Again, reference "Cornerstone" and give me a minute to go sob. ><

Depending on the story, I'll have maybe two or three 'big' OC's, just because the complexity and newness of these characters must be completely explained to the audience, and having too many OC's can be confusing and it's too easy to let a character or twelve fall flat. And then of course there are your basic background extras, otherwise known as the Pizza Guys ^^

Normally I'm really tolerant of OC's and I think more often than not, if utilised correctly, they can really enhance a story by putting the canon characters into a situation they haven't experienced. There are whole new horizons for interaction, frustration, anger, perhaps friendship or comradeship, and in extremely well-done cases, lust/love. But in that slowly-developing way, and not the "you're gorgeous and my soul-mate" scenario. You know the drill
However, I stolidly refuse to read any story with "a mysterious/magical/long-lost girl" in the summary. Or anything along those lines ^^;

To me, OC's = a good thing. They're the next step up toward writing completely original work, and so long as the canon is respected a lot of good can come from their insertion.

[kellen]

KarotsaMused said:

Normally I'm really tolerant of OC's and I think more often than not, if utilised correctly, they can really enhance a story by putting the canon characters into a situation they haven't experienced. There are whole new horizons for interaction, frustration, anger, perhaps friendship or comradeship, and in extremely well-done cases, lust/love. But in that slowly-developing way, and not the "you're gorgeous and my soul-mate" scenario. You know the drill
However, I stolidly refuse to read any story with "a mysterious/magical/long-lost girl" in the summary. Or anything along those lines ^^;

To me, OC's = a good thing. They're the next step up toward writing completely original work, and so long as the canon is respected a lot of good can come from their insertion.

AMEN

I'm a staunch supporter of good OCs.

But I've written some bad ones who have now found their place in the bottom of the "circular file".

When I create an OC, it's to give the canon characters someone different to interact with. It's always a plot device. IE, I created (in Lord of the Rings fandom) a family for Legolas so they could experience family tragedy. I killed my very first OC in the prologue of the fic. *sniffs* I was so attached to him, I'm writing a prequel of sorts...

So, yes, I get attached to my characters. They are more my own than anything. My creation, my babies. I had one person ask to borrow one of my OCs and I naively said yes and then, when I read the story, cringed horribly upon finding her out of character and bordering on Mary Sue-ish.

I've had stories where I've had one OC who played a couple minor plot driven parts. Another story had four big OCs (two of which died... *sniff*) and I'm working on one that will have two major players, along with a myriad of smaller "Pizza Guys".

I work hard on my OCs to keep them out of the MS/SI corner. I sometimes spend more time on their characterization than on the canon characters to keep them believable, because fanfic readers are very picky, on the whole, about OCs.

cheers,Kellen (who is rambling way too much...)

[JeiC]

Hm...I work with OCs a lot for my longer stuff. I start off with a basic personality and the such and then play them as RP characters in an OC Chat. I find that this helps develop and strengthen their personalities since I'm forced to have them interact with a variety of different personalities. Usually I'll have anywhere from 2 to 6 or more of them going at a time so that I become familiar with how each of them thinks and would react.

As for my names, I try to choose something that has significance...even if that means spending hours sifting through name sites.

I guess I do have a special attachment to some of them, but what can I say - they're special to me.

[Me-Nuriko]

My OCs are almost always villains. That makes it easier to find new ways to torture the poor canon characters. ^^;;

[KarotsaMused]

Yes! Torture = good! ...in that sick, sick, fanfic writer way

Kellen: Yeah, I get way too attached to my OC's too But sometimes killing them off is a -good- thing. *runs off to mourn*

[Ganheim]

Original characters can be a good thing, and I think that fan fiction authors should realize that they can be a powerful addition to the writer's arsenal. Just think how boring a story would be if it involved nothing but the same exact 6 or so characters over and over again. Just look at the Inuyasha series: while Naraku may be the "evil overlord", he keeps on vanishing and other bad guys surface so the interactions don't become stale.

Kellen said:

I work hard on my OCs to keep them out of the MS/SI corner. I sometimes spend more time on their characterization than on the canon characters to keep them believable, because fanfic readers are very picky, on the whole, about OCs.

I'd agree with that. In general, I find that the fanfiction readers have been pretty attentive to the characterization of canon characters, so if you're going to write "character-building" scenes, it's usually best to involve the original characters in them.

Crossovers can become interesting, as I began learning when I started writing Crossing the Rubicon. You've got to try to keep everybody's personality straight, while also remembering that the surroundings and therefore what the characters have to react to/from is different.

Then when you work with "minor" characters, you often don't have a lot of material to work from when trying to keep them in character, which is why I worry about the possible interactions between Cadmus and Hojo in the sequal of Crossing the Rubicon.

[Salmastryon]

I've got nothing against OC and I often like them in fan fiction. Even if they start to wander into MS/SI land. As long as the character is good and the canon characters are grossly out of character. (Of course in an AU all bets are off)

In fact often I like canon characters in relationships with new original characters. With a few exceptions, most series are set in a large universe with lots of people inhabiting them while their actual span of the series on covers a brief slice of time and cross ection of characters. In real life people grow apart make new friends and generally don't all have only one small group of friends. So, OC characters make sense to me and often enrich the story.

As a writer, I create an insert OC as needed for the story. The role they play in the story is necessitated by the plot. It can be as little as a friend mentioned in passing conversation to a character who drives the plot along. As for how attached I get, it depends on the character.

More on this later...

[slizziechan]

Yes, I have OCs, so far I've made no Mary Sues. And I've killed all my other ones off. Sept one.

See my user name? Well, I came up with a OC and named her Sarah Samwe Eerandgel (the name has a hidden meaning, I'll let you know when I find out what it is) and I'm kinda upset that I gave her that name! I love the name!

But alas, I'd gone wayyyy to deep into her "history" and couldn't change the name. So I borrow it. But that would make me a self insert of an OC.
*sign* confused? I'm not even started.

I'm like Kellen, the oc I've made have been killed off (even S.S.E, but she has this annoying trick of being re-born all the time. she just won't DIE!!), in my fic Somewhat True Tale of Helms Deep, I made OCs of the Lothlorien elves.

And then killed them off.

So. I really can't help with OC, I just like to ramble.

But I do have one snippit of advice, Don't make them them the main people ex's, or siblings. It just never seems to work out.

[swallowtail]

I stare at the plotbunny and demand first why it wants a OC and not a canon character. After that is settled, I try to pick a name. The name ususally is the first one that comes to mind, or I will go to naming sites like www.behindthename.com and search for a particular name I want.

For example, I will take Jasmine from The-Boy-Next-Door.

The name came to me, because Jasmine was the name a cousin I hadn't met since five years ago. As compared to Mary from Possessed - there is no real chosen meaning behind her name. Then again, it might be a tribute to a character I created long ago

Firstly, The-Boy-Next-Door is based from her perception, and she does not know of the Wizarding World.

Check one for not having uber powers.

There is NOT one mention of looks inside the entire story. Nobody falls for her. Harry does treat her like a younger sister though.

Check two for not disrupting canon. [She does, a bit, but just a bit.]

Check three for not sharing my name.

Jasmine angsts a bit, and I estimate her to be about 11 years old, though she can be younger or more mature whenever she wants. Angsting -> She comes from a broken family, though she still loves her mother, she doesn't like moving to a new area.

Check four for not being too overly-angsty, and for not changing too much of a character.

...well. I'm not attached to her. Only the fact that she's still a sweet character I will never forget, and mostly because my average story has no OCs.

Advice:

1. Never make them a long-lost sibling.
2. Don't use overly long descriptions on eyes, hair. Flowing hair is usually marked down.
3. If the role is suitable for a canon character, for heaven's sake, use that canon character!
4. Never say "This fic does not contain Mary Sues" in the summary. 75% of the time, it is, and 50% of the time a hunter comes across it and ends up reporting it.

[goose]

A well written OC can be a real blessing to a story. Of course we read fanfiction because we love the canon characters, but tossing in someone new can be a refreshing change. Even a truly awful OC/MS/SI can be a favorite, just for the amusement factor.

The best OCs are fully developed characters without dominating every scene. I try to know every possible thing about my OCs (I don't write nearly as many as I think of). One of my favorite questions to ask myself is what the character's favorite sandwich is. It's simple and silly, but leads the way to other small detail questions that really help believability.

One of the trickiest parts of writing a fic with an OC is whether or not it's really necessary. If the story can go just as well without one, scrap the OC. If the OC takes up more time than canon characters, scrap the story. Try using that character in an original work.

I like a name with a meaning, so I look in baby name books. (My love of names runs so deep that I bought a couple.) However, my favorite actually-written OC (from "Somewhere Down the Crazy River") does not have a name, not even in my mind. And there's a reason it has to be that way.

One thing that kind of irks me is using an OC to disguise a self-insertion. I don't really have a problem with SI fics. In fact, they are my weakness. But if you make it obvious and realistic, everyone has more fun with it. But that is perhaps a different topic.

[Ganheim]

optimoose said:

[/li][li]How do you approach OC creation?[/quote]
Making an original character I try to start the same way as I might introduce a non-original character. I give some brief physical descriptors, and then I expand on physical and historical descriptions that we leave out on non-original characters because most people already know the core cast.

optimoose said:

[/li][li]Where do your OC names come from?[/quote]
I pull mine from a variety of sources, but since I do original writing this might not be as much an issue for me as it would be for a first-time FanAuthor. What I do is I pick a short word or phrase that either describes the character's personality or is exactly the opposite. For example, in Life of the Silver Tear, Reiko I found while looking through a Japanese Kanji dictionary for something else. The core kanji in it means "obedient", but Reiko is a rebellious brat.

optimoose said:

[/li][li]How do you avoid driving your original character into the Mary/Marty Sue or 'near self insertion' corner?[/quote]
I avoid the "self insertion" by remembering to use my experiences to keep the events true to reality (relatively speaking), but I make the physical parameters different from mine and this is one way of helping me keep that person different.

I also don't use my own life as a template, when I create a character I do a lot of back and forth between the stages of "what do I need this character to be right now" and "what in the past has made him who he is right now".

I'm not positive what a Mary/Marty Sue is, which I suppose is a good thing (meaning I don't write them). Mainly, I remember that a "perfect" character isn't very interesting, everybody needs to have at least somewhat of a balance. I did a lot of game design, so one way I do it is I assign each character a number of "points", and every attribute either adds points or subtracts points, with the goal to keep the sum total as close to zero as possible.

I'll use a major character in my latest story, Raidon from The Warrior Prince. He is strong (+3), but not very fast (-3). He can use various combat magic (+5), but isn't proficient in many weapons and is stubborn (-5). The total comes out to an even 0, so at this point he is what I'd call a "good, balanced character".

"Godmodding" (or making super, unbeatable, perfect-at-everything character) is bad, but making a whiny, weakling, knows-nothing-useful character can be just as bad. You don't have to use a point system, but try to keep balance in mind.

optimoose said:

[/li][li]What do you think are the minimum requirements of an OC?[/quote]
The minimum requirements is that they are believable, they have a reason to be there, and their physical/mental patterns shouldn't be too extreme.

optimoose said:

[/li][li]Are there different kinds of OCs?[/quote]
Are there different kinds of characters?

optimoose said:

[/li][li]Do you have a special attachment to your OCs?[/quote]
I think we all have a special attachment to our OCs. After all, we made them, that character is unique to us and our story. The thing we have to keep in mind is that they've got a job to do and nepotism doesn't work any better in the literary world than it does in government administration.

optimoose said:

[/li][li]How many OCs do you create for your average story?[/quote]
That depends on the need. I've written a few stories that only included ~ 3 OCs (not including the "pizza delivery guy" OCs), or I've done things like creating an entirely new galaxy and dozen characters for the story like I did in Wormhole.

optimoose said:

[/li][li]Are your OCs similar to each other in background, characterization, goals, or other things?[/quote]
Nope. Each one has a different background, a different reason for being there. If they all did the same thing, there'd only need to be one.

optimoose said:

As a reader, how do you experience OCs? What do you like about them, what annoys you?

I think OCs are an important (but not necessarily absolutely vital) part of writing a story. Things about them that annoys me is really more about how they're written. If it's a bad character, I don't care who wrote it or what the story is, I won't like the character and because of that I'll probably like the story less.