OC equals ME? · 10:56am Aug 3rd, 2012
Okay everypony, wondering if my carefully constructed OC is in fact a self insert or "Author avatar"
Here's his bio:
Name: Stormbolt Strike or just Stormbolt
Type: Pegasus Pony
Cutie Mark: Interrobang with a lightning bolt as the exclamation mark
Bad qualities: Boastful, opinionated, stubborn and over hasty at times.
Good qualities:Brave, loyal, insightful and defends others tooth and hoof against bullies.
Age: same age as mane six
Siblings: One older sister, Sun Shower (same age as Big Mac) and younger twin brother (Cloudburst)& sister (Misty) who are the same age as CMCs
Parents: Mother, Gale & Father, Sunny Blaze
He considers himself the most agile flier in Equestria, able to do incredible feats of aerial acrobatics. And many ponies agree he is very agile, but some beg to differ. Most notably, his one time friend Gearforth. He has a tendency to be a little self-aggrandising about it. Often works nights organising night-time weather - especially storms. He is proud of his agility and often teases Rainbow Dash for being clumsy. At school he was initially one of those who dubbed her "Rainbow Crash".In turn she always made fun of him, calling him slow. Though he is no where near as fast as her, he did reach the sound barrier on one occasion - resulting in injury to his wing muscles and a crash landing, grounding him for a month. This led to a reconciliation between the two. He is very caring, having a close friendship with Derpy after having come to her defence when other foals were bullying her. He is quite introspective and thoughtful when not boasting of his abilities. In group situations he will remain quiet and then ask an insightful question that strikes to the heart of the matter being discussed.
So if you're looking for a staunch ally with a whole load of guts, Stormbolt's your colt! If you don'tmind the boasting that is!
And here's a bit about myself.
Hey, I'm Andrew, I'm kind of an old fashioned gentleman. I'm pretty funny,especially with self depreciating humour.
I'm sometimes an insufferable know-it-all and I do have some pretty un- popular opinions. But I'm never pushy about it unless someone insults what I believe.
Honour,valour, duty and pride are what drives me.
I sort of fit many stereotypes, even though I try not to. For example, I'm English and love Tea.
In my opinion a self insert is not ipso facto a bad story. Hell, H.G Wells did it in The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds and is regarded as the father of Science fiction! What say you? (be gentle!)
To give my take on this issue: whether an author avatar is acceptable depends, really, on the author, the avatar and the story they appear in.
As you rightly point out, author insertion has a precedent among writers who have stood the test of time so there's nothing wrong with it per se. The author as participating narrator or protagonist can be utilised very well. I think it's more that it can come across as self-serving: a chance for the author to play out some personal fantasy at the expense of the reader (or good story-telling) or as a voicebox to hammer home some personal opinion on a matter with nothing within the story to counter him/her or prove him wrong.
On the other hoof, if it's well written: either in a self aware fashion or a subtle way or one that gives greater depth to the story (and isn't an obvious way for the author insert to make out with (insert best pony here) then it can be acceptable or even well received.
Whether an OC = the author is, really, up to the author and the reader. If the author identifies enough with the character and uses them to mirror their opinions and actions then it really is just an author insert in all but name. Not neccesarily a bad thing but see above for self serving fanwank that leaves the reader distanced. I think the only critique I could level at Stormbolt would be that he kinda feels like a bit of an RD proxy, but downplaying the parts that can be easily compared to her in favour of the parts where he contrasts will help make him stand out in any fanfic (I suppose. Will have to give yours a read :P) As long as you don't give him any special treatment or automatically approve of his opinions it shouldn't appear obvious that he's you in hooves. Readers don't like to be preached at. If your OC author insert has opinions of merit they should shine out even if you don't draw attention to them.
OC's encompass a very broad range of character types, from abysmal super-alicorn neon power fantasies to simply being an original character. My own work on the site is set to be entirely populated with OC's apart from the odd famous namedrop, cameo or background player. And my own author avatar happily has the benefit of being peripheral to the entire proceedings while having the excuse of being characterised as an opinionated journalist: perfect for being able to get away with any amount of preaching while still leaving himself open to be taken down a peg or several. In fact, I actively encourage it :P
Anyways, that's just my long winded opinion on the issue. Thanks for the watch.
OC's are awsome and there just a ponification of ourselves or what we would like to see of ourselves or even how we view ourselves.
And thanks for the watch i don't really get whole lot of faves.
I don't really write stories that fast and i really would like to be a proofreader for you to,so if you want just uh.... tell me.
PS. I proofread for plenty of other people and I ask for no credit for it either.
272578
That can be good and bad, since we tend to look at ourselves with rose tinted glasses. I think there ought to be a differance between genuine OCs' and author avatar OCs'. I think I may create another OC who is made of the worst parts of myself (imagine Trixie but 10X worse). That might show the difference.
Thanks for the offer of proofreading, but I already have someone who does that for me- sorry.
P.S I saw that you gave my story a thumbs up, so I returned the favour.
Thank you!!!
But i don't have any stories yet but you'll be the first to know when i get it up.
268328 I agree with your comment completely. A well made self-insert can be passed as an OC with unique qualities.
272594 I was wandering around the OC creation thread on All OC Stories Group and I came across your comment, so I decided to help you address the issue of self insert vs good or bad OC.
There are some things you have to address in your story. Better formatting for an example (you're not that bad but it can be better), but right now I shall only address your OC.
When I was reading your profile I applauded. You have organization. You tried to create and OC with flaws and strengths. It's the sign of a good author that you at least are trying to create a framework of your character, which is oh so useful when you need to be reminded of who your character is.
However, I was slightly worried when I saw insightful on the good and hasty, opinionated on the bad. Insightful people (ponies) are GENERALLY not opinionated and hasty. WELL... I don't know if I can really say that because I have relatives who fall into the same category, but the thing is, TRY not to give the character contrasting personality elements. Not that you can't, but you have to give the character a flaw that doesn't directly contrast the strength or a flaw that is a strength in a different context. I'll use an example from my own currently published story.
I have a pegasus whose strengths are her headstrong attitude, her pride and her belief in her own abilities. This leads her to express her beliefs honestly. Which is a good thing. HOWEVER, in a different context, her strengths can be her downfall for if she says the wrong thing, she would doom herself and anybody else.
I have a brilliant artist with great ideas, is a good pony and has great skill. However, tragically his flaw is that he has a speaking defect and therefore he has problems expressing his ideas. He also can be very panicky which is a shortcoming that interferes with his strength at occasions when he has to express himself, deal with stress and get to know other ponies.
Flaws should underplay character's strengths in a way that makes the audience sympathize with the character, want to see the character overcome their flaws. Storm's flaws... do impede him, but not so greatly that some people would think that he is a sue.
I then read your story and was surprised. I do see Stormbolt being stubborn, over hasty and prone to occasional acts of insight. You've expressed him according to your chart. Maybe you could have written it better, by NOT making Derpy fall in love with him so easily (working his flaws into the romance) but that's a plot problem and a writing issue.Thus I believe your OC is not a self-insert.
Unfortunately the mark of a self insert is that everything is too easy for it. Stormbolt... unfortunately in the story, when it comes to Derpy he has no flaws to overcome when trying to approach her besides his initial obliviousness. THAT's the problem with the story. Stormbolt and Derpy get together TOO easily. Yes he defended her from bullies, but the time skip was unnecessary. You needed to have developed the two's relationships through close showing of the events that brought them closer and the events that possibly could have torn their relationships apart. You have an interesting OC not self insert that with some work could create awesomeness. The main reason why people think your OC is a self insert stems more from the plot of the story...
I hope this helps and I was being kind enough. Good luck with the OC and do keep trying.
288349
I can see that issue with the romance seeming too easy. There will be other stories featuring Stormbolt, so the blossoming of their relationship will be seen.Depending on the length I write they may be seperate stories, or episodes, or be included in this story. I'll try to show how Stormbolt boasts, for pretty much the same reason BigMacIntosh mostly keeps to "yep" and "enope". He feels awkward sometimes, and it gives him something to talk about.
Cheers for the advice and encouragement!
288390 No problem and ooh i'm interested
(this is sort of self-promotion so you can ignore it) If you want to actually see my OCs in action you can read my story Canterlot: Her Creation and Her Architects I am trying to submit to EQD so I need all the eyes I can get
288392
Of course, I'll give it a good reading.
p.S: thanks for the interest. I don't know when I will be able to start on the next story, which is set before this one. and look out for some pictures that an artist friend is doing on comission for me. key scenes will be shown. I have yet to see illustrated stories, so could help.
288411 illustrated stories are interesting. The Edge Chronicles is an example and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series is also a good example. I recommend you and your artist take a look at those two if you both havne't already
Will do, and cheers for the comment on my story too!dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Colgate_beam.png