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Fandom History & Inspiration Meme - Day 8
Day 8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
I have written a couple of original characters in my time, but I don't make it a general rule. I've never created a character and inserted it into a canon universe, simply for the reason of having a fresh face in familiar territory. I create characters out of purpose, and I try not to ever have a purpose to need them, especially if I'm writing in-verse fic.
Interestingly enough, I'm not sure I've ever written an OC into a short piece of fic - at least, not to the point of naming the character and/or giving them any significant background. All of my OCs are in my longer, multichapter works - Snegura in Every Heart, Akiko in Fragments, Stubbs McKinsey & pals in Stacy in Bloom. Aside from Snegura, I wouldn't even consider any of these creations to be main characters - they are side players, there with a purpose, to move the plot further along. Even Snegura didn't play that large of a role in Every Heart, but she is the character I paired Sesshoumaru with, so I think that automatically counts, LOL.
I try my best to avoid Mary Sue territory with my OCs, and I think I do okay. Snegura was based on the Russian folktale storytellings of Snegoritchka, the snow maiden who is the helper of Dyed Moroz ~ sort of the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus. I took the general description of her appearance from that of Elena Dementieva, a professional Russian tennis player. I tried to give her some interesting backstory and motivation, to make her an equal to Sesshoumaru in that regard. She was no simpering, shrinking violet who quivered at the sight of him. She hated him as much as he hated her, LOL, but political intrigue and a mutual enemy forced their hands, basically. I was hoping to write a sequel to Every Heart that further explored her character and her relationship with Sesshoumaru (and Rin, and his mother), but it never materialized.
Akiko in Fragments came about because I want that to be a purely Mir/San story. I didn't want to bring in Inuyasha or Kagome or other canon characters, but I needed someone who could help push the plot forward. She became much more important in the second half of the story, and I liked that I had someone I could 'completely' control. She said things and did things that would've been out of character if it had been Kagome instead, and that, I think, is the real power of having an original character. They aren't there to overwhelm the story, the characters, or the universe. People don't read fanfic for original characters, so why should they be the center of attention?
Stubbs McKinsey and his bottle-brained baseball cronies have been an absolute hoot to write, and they will resurface again in the second portion of Stacy in Bloom, but as of yet? They've had two scenes in 90K+ words of fic. They are original characters, but not created out of whole cloth necessarily, since it is mentioned in Season 5 that Ryan joined the school baseball team. I just gave his theoretical teammates names and a bit of personality, LOL. They, too, are helping to push a strand of plot forward in that sprawling universe. They always serve a purpose, but never, usually, to tell a story of their own.
Previous....
Day 1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
Day 2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Day 3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Day 4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Day 5 – If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
Day 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Day 7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Upcoming....
Day 9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Day 10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
Day 11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
Day 12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
Day 13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
Day 14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
Day 15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
Day 16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
Day 17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Day 18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
Day 19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
Day 20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
Day 21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
Day 22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
Day 23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
Day 24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
Day 25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
Day 26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Day 27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Day 28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Day 29 – What is your current project or projects?
Day 30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
I have written a couple of original characters in my time, but I don't make it a general rule. I've never created a character and inserted it into a canon universe, simply for the reason of having a fresh face in familiar territory. I create characters out of purpose, and I try not to ever have a purpose to need them, especially if I'm writing in-verse fic.
Interestingly enough, I'm not sure I've ever written an OC into a short piece of fic - at least, not to the point of naming the character and/or giving them any significant background. All of my OCs are in my longer, multichapter works - Snegura in Every Heart, Akiko in Fragments, Stubbs McKinsey & pals in Stacy in Bloom. Aside from Snegura, I wouldn't even consider any of these creations to be main characters - they are side players, there with a purpose, to move the plot further along. Even Snegura didn't play that large of a role in Every Heart, but she is the character I paired Sesshoumaru with, so I think that automatically counts, LOL.
I try my best to avoid Mary Sue territory with my OCs, and I think I do okay. Snegura was based on the Russian folktale storytellings of Snegoritchka, the snow maiden who is the helper of Dyed Moroz ~ sort of the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus. I took the general description of her appearance from that of Elena Dementieva, a professional Russian tennis player. I tried to give her some interesting backstory and motivation, to make her an equal to Sesshoumaru in that regard. She was no simpering, shrinking violet who quivered at the sight of him. She hated him as much as he hated her, LOL, but political intrigue and a mutual enemy forced their hands, basically. I was hoping to write a sequel to Every Heart that further explored her character and her relationship with Sesshoumaru (and Rin, and his mother), but it never materialized.
Akiko in Fragments came about because I want that to be a purely Mir/San story. I didn't want to bring in Inuyasha or Kagome or other canon characters, but I needed someone who could help push the plot forward. She became much more important in the second half of the story, and I liked that I had someone I could 'completely' control. She said things and did things that would've been out of character if it had been Kagome instead, and that, I think, is the real power of having an original character. They aren't there to overwhelm the story, the characters, or the universe. People don't read fanfic for original characters, so why should they be the center of attention?
Stubbs McKinsey and his bottle-brained baseball cronies have been an absolute hoot to write, and they will resurface again in the second portion of Stacy in Bloom, but as of yet? They've had two scenes in 90K+ words of fic. They are original characters, but not created out of whole cloth necessarily, since it is mentioned in Season 5 that Ryan joined the school baseball team. I just gave his theoretical teammates names and a bit of personality, LOL. They, too, are helping to push a strand of plot forward in that sprawling universe. They always serve a purpose, but never, usually, to tell a story of their own.
Previous....
Day 1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
Day 2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Day 3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Day 4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Day 5 – If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
Day 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Day 7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Upcoming....
Day 9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Day 10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
Day 11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
Day 12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
Day 13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
Day 14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
Day 15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
Day 16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
Day 17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Day 18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
Day 19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
Day 20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
Day 21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
Day 22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
Day 23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
Day 24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
Day 25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
Day 26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Day 27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Day 28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Day 29 – What is your current project or projects?
Day 30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!