Wanderer D 5,502 followers · 65 stories

Patreon | Ko-fi are available for subscriptions/donations! Helping pay my bills helps me write more!

News Archive

  • 21 weeks
    The Day of the Dead Anthology

    The Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is a now-famous tradition from ancient times that has been a huge part of Mexican Culture through the centuries. Like so many things in Mexico, it's influenced strongly by certain aspects of the Aztec people.

    It has shaped the way those of us with that heritage look at life and death in many ways, and most importantly on the remembrance of, and honoring the deceased. We traditionally decorate little altars dedicated to the memories of those that passed away… but it's not a somber occasion.

    Read More

    22 comments · 4,510 views
  • 21 weeks
    Jinglemas 2023!

    Jinglemas is the annual tradition on Fimfiction to exchange stories around the holidays with users on the site. This single event allows all Fimfiction users to come together and celebrate the reason for the season. Ponies!

    Enroll in this Secret-Santa-style gift exchange to request a holiday themed story, to be written secretly by another participant during the month of December. And in turn, you will be tasked with writing someone else's request. Then all the stories will be exchanged at Christmas! Simplicity itself! Thanks to the hard work of the Breezies, everyone will be ensured to get their gift!

    You only have until November 24th to Sign up!

    Read More

    30 comments · 5,700 views
  • 45 weeks
    PSA: Using AIs to Write and Publish Stories in Fimfiction

    Hello everyone, this is a PSA (Public Service Announcement, for those of ESL) to put to rest consistent questions about using AI to 'write' stories and publish them here. This is not intended as a poll or a request for feedback. It is exclusively a clarification on an already-existing rule.

    People ask: "Can I, oh great and powerful D, post a story or chapter that I got ChatGPT to write for me?!"

    And the answer, my friend, is... No.

    Absolutely not. Not in a thousand years!

    Because you didn't write it.

    It is not your creation. You are NOT the author. In fact, you are the opposite.

    There seems to be some confusion when interpreting the following rule:

    Don’t Post (Content)

    [...]

    Read More

    698 comments · 23,709 views
  • 73 weeks
    Jinglemas 2022!

    Jinglemas is the annual tradition on Fimfiction to exchange stories around the holidays with users on the site. This single event allows all Fimfiction users to come together and celebrate the reason for the season. Ponies!

    Enroll in this Secret-Santa-style gift exchange to request a holiday themed story, to be written secretly by another participant during the month of December. And in turn, you will be tasked with writing someone else's request. Then all the stories will be exchanged at Christmas! Simplicity itself! Thanks to the hard work of the Breezies, everyone will be ensured to get their gift!

    Read More

    62 comments · 12,406 views
  • 100 weeks
    Phishing Awareness

    Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this?



    And then you magically find yourself in a suspiciously familiar site, except that you're not logged in, and it requires you to do so?

    Well. Don't log in. This is a scam, and a cheap one at that. 

    There've been recent attempts to obtain Fimfiction users’ personal data, like passwords and/or emails through links like the one I'm making fun of above. And a distressing amount of people don't seem to know what phishing attempts are.

    If you HAVE entered a site like this and put in your data, make sure to follow these basic steps at least.

    Read More

    167 comments · 15,382 views
  • 112 weeks
    All Our Best [Royal Canterlot Library]

    As should be obvious from 15 months without a feature, life has taken the Royal Canterlot Library curators in different directions. While there’s still plenty of awesome stories being written in the My Little Pony fandom, we’re no longer actively working to spotlight them, and it’s time to officially draw the project to a close.

    Thank you for all of your support, suggestions, and comments over the years. We’re grateful to have been able to share seven years of exemplary stories with you, and give more insight into the minds behind them. In the spirit of the project, please keep reading and recommending fantastic fics to friends—the community is enriched when we all share what we love.

    Read More

    115 comments · 18,166 views
  • 116 weeks
    Jinglemas 2021 has come to a close!

    Jinglemas had 114 stories written and exchanged this year!
    You can read them all here, in the Jinglemas 2021 folder!

    Jhoira wrote The Hearths Warming Eve Guest for EngageBook
    GaPJaxie wrote Twilight and Spike Hide a Body for Telly Vision
    SnowOriole wrote The Armor Hypothesis for BaeroRemedy
    snappleu wrote Words Said So Often That They Lack Any Meaning for Trick Question
    NeirdaE wrote Starlight and Trixie Direct a Play for Moosetasm
    Ninjadeadbeard wrote Garland Graveyard Shift for NeirdaE
    Roundabout Recluse wrote Apples to Apples for Ninjadeadbeard
    MistyShadowz wrote The Times We Shared for NaiadSagaIotaOar
    Petrichord wrote A Gentle Nudge for Angel Midnight
    Jade Ring wrote Past, Future, and Present for Frazzle2Dazzle
    Jake The Army Guy wrote The Big Talk for Dreadnought
    The Red Parade wrote Heart Strings for Franso
    Greatazuredragon wrote A Hearth’s Warming Question for GaPJaxie

    Read More

    20 comments · 9,859 views
  • 147 weeks
    Reunions: A Swapped Roles Contest!

    Okay guys here's something fun presented by Nitro Indigo.

    Presented by me, I guess, but I digress.

    Last year, I (Nitro Indigo) noticed that there was a surprising lack of roleswap fanfics on this site. To fix that, I decided to run a roleswap contest over the summer themed around secrets. While it didn’t get many entries, it nevertheless attracted the attention of some big authors and was the origin of two of my favourite fics. Overall, I think it was a success, so I’ve decided to run another one!

    Read More

    57 comments · 16,324 views
  • 220 weeks
    Minor Rules and Reporting Update

    Hope everyone is enjoying the new year.

    Some small changes have been made to our rules as well as to the reporting process.

    Rules

    "No attacks directed at individuals or groups due to race, gender, gender identity, religion or sexual identity."

    This better clarifies our previously ill-defined hate speech rule and includes groups as well as individual attacks.

    "No celebration, glorification or encouragement of real life criminal activity."

    This includes past, present and potential future crimes.

    Read More

    747 comments · 15,868 views
  • 222 weeks
    Jinglemas 2019

    There's truly no time like the holidays. What's better than copious amounts of food, quality time with family and friends, hearing the sweet sound of Trans-Siberian Orchestra on repeat, and unmanagble financial stress from our capitalist overlords?

    Gift exchanges of course!


    Our Own Little Way of bringing Hearth's Warming to Fimfiction

    Read More

    28 comments · 8,372 views
Sep
15th
2012

Site Post » How to Write Original Characters (And a quick refresher of the rules) · 4:38am Sep 15th, 2012

Wanderer D! Wanderer D!

What is it, CU? Did you discover that you cannot watch yourself anymore on fimfic?

Wait, I can’t?

Don’t you ever read the news feed? There’s actually interesting stuff in it. And updates on rules and such.

Oh... well... uh, that’s not what I wanted to ask you about!

What is it then?

I am confused by OC and Other tags!

But Xaquseg already explained it quite thoroughly!

Oh... I- hadn’t seen that and–

Hay guys! Check out my new OC! It’s a half-griffon, half-minotaur adopted by a pegasus that owns her own Pear Farm and granted magic by Princess Luna and Princess Celestia so that he could marry them both, so I tagged it OC and Other at the same time! Isn’t it awesome?

:rainbowkiss:How To Write Original Characters:rainbowlaugh:
(:trollestia: that don’t suck And a quick Refresher of the Rules :facehoof:)

Okay, first let’s go over the basic rules of tagging that Xaquseg already explained. This is important for your writing/posting so make sure you at least read it:

1) The OC tag is for characters that you have invented/created/chewed out of your mind.
2) The ‘Other’ tag is for characters that appear in the show but don’t have a tag of their own, like the individual dragons.
3) The exception to the rule (which is more of a clarification) is that crossover characters don’t need a tag.

Furthermore, if you have several OCs, you do not use the ‘OC’ tag and the ‘Other’ tag to indicate more than one... much less use both tags for one character.

Okay, I read Xaquseg’s post, it’s pretty straight forward.

Tell me about it. It even has a half-decent OC-fail example in it. It’s almost as badass-fail as Raven Metalclaw Bloodscar.

Okay, okay, so I take off the stupid “OC” tag. Now my story is perfect, right?

No, OW, you need more help than you think.

What? Why?

CU, tell OW why.

Um... I- uh... b-because you–

Yes? On with it, miscreant! I have words to write! People to impress! Followers to gather! I want to get this done with so I can bathe in the adoration of the masses as they drool, whimper and fantasize about my character: Mortarus Oth Griffinfang!

Okay, first, that thing about the drool? Disgusting. Second? Your character sucks. It sucks so hard I could use it to drain the ocean of water in 15 seconds.

Wait, what? My character is awesome! It’s not even a Mary-Sue! He has flaws! Like... you know, he didn’t know he was adopted until he reached puberty! And- and he only has one eye!

Yar

Shut up! Not only that, but he can destroy all his enemies in cool battles where he gets slightly hurt! And because he only has one eye he can only release a single tear for his fallen enemies and friends! He will reign unsurpassed and unchallenged with Celestia and Luna always at his side, ready to plea–

OW, really... you don’t see the problem with this?

No! There is no problem! My character is perfect!

Well, since you’re going to be like this and like so many out there will not take my word for it, let me direct you to other individuals who are well known and accomplished authors...

You mean...

Yes. I will summon masters of the craft to shed light on you and those like you, OW! I can only hope that with the words of power and wisdom that are imparted on you, you will learn something!

Bring it on! I am as good as- no, I am better than anyone you can summon!

Geez dude, and I thought I was overly dramatic at times... anyway...  PK! I choose you!

So, you want to write a story about an OC of your very own, do you? Well, you've come to the write place! Ha! Aren't I- what? That wasn't funny? Well, fine. If that's how you want to do it.

OCs are a useful and versatile writing tool for adding that touch of originality to your story. Maybe you want to set your story in another city or land in Equestria. Maybe you want to explore the past or the future. Maybe you're just sick and tired of writing Twixie. Whatever it is, OCs are your answer.

For the uninitiated, "OC" stands for original character and it can refer to any character that is not present in the show. Basically, any character you make up yourself. OCs have a bit of unfortunate stigma in the fanfiction community for being, um, terrible. Well, I'm here to tell you that they don't need to be! I've been writing an OC story for the better part of a year, and I'm here to help you craft your characters to perfection.

In no particular order:

Don't make yourself. I know how tempting it can be- who do you know better than yourself? But the problem with writing yourself is that it's practically impossible to do without bias. It's really tempting to be altogether too kind to your character, and it's not fun to read about a character that doesn't go through challenges. Additionally, it can be tempting to overcompensate and make your character too pathetic- which isn't fun to read about, either. This segues nicely into my second item:

Don't make Mary Sues. A mary sue is a character that is too perfect, powerful, or extraordinary to make sense in the context of your story. Let's take a hypothetical mary sue and pick out all the elements that make her sueish.

Prettywings McBeautifulMagic is the most beautiful alicorn in Equestria. Her cutie mark is herself, because her special talent is being so beautiful. She is currently in a relationship with the entire mane six concurrently, and is living with Twilight Sparkle. Her main problem is that she is just too beautiful and tends to burn the eyes out of any pony that looks at her.

I'm kind of cheating here, because I'm going to wrap a lot of tenants of OC creation into this one point, but here we go: Don't make your character have powers that are unusual in the context of the world they come from- unless you can justify it satisfactorily.

You can have characters that have special or extraordinary talents- but it has to make sense in the context of your story. You can't have a character that can blow up people he doesn't like with his mind, for example, without extreme justification. Maybe he can only do it at 2:13 PM on Tuesday, and only when it's raining. Try and examine your stories tone and established mechanics- and the show's!

Another thing to be weary of- interactions with the mane six. Now, I personally can't speak from experience here, but I know it's very touchy. Don't insert your character in a meaningful way in with the mane six lightly- think about why you want to do it. It's very easy for it to read like a self-insert. Especially try and avoid having your character form a relationship with one of the mane six unless you're absolutely certain that you can pull it off.

Give your character believable flaws! Nobody, nobody wants to read about a character whose biggest flaw is that she's just so much better than everyone that nobody likes her. Pretty much the only advice I can give here is read books- see what problems those characters have. Perhaps they trust too quickly and put their faith in unscrupulous people. Maybe they're prone to short-sighted recklessness or perhaps a tendency towards greed or cowardice or something. Some kind of interesting inner demon that they have to face- something that makes your pony human.

You know, I never thought much about my character meeting the Mane 6... most of the time I think it would be cool to do so.

Well, like PK said, it's a touchy subject. It can be done well, but simply throwing the character in to meet them is a cliched and unimaginative strategy. I find that the most interesting stories with OCs usually keep the Mane 6 as 'background' ponies. But, that's JIMNSHO.

Eh. I possess the skill to do it. And what does JIMNSHO mean?

"Just in my not so humble opinion." But okay, let's say you do have the skill to pull a meeting like that off credibly, even if it is unlikely. Have you thought of the risks and such of OCs vs background ponies and mane characters? Let's see what our next friend has to say: Ciro! I choose you!

Original Characters are given a very bad reputation among fanfiction writers. This has been the case since the very first works of fan fiction emerged, both on the internet and in times of old when writers would steal away to their room and type their fantasies in secret, their works ne’er reaching the light of day. Of course, with the anonymity of the internet and its widespread use due to the Information Age, fanworks are gaining more of the spotlight than ever before.

But why are Original Characters given such a bad rap? The answer is actually quite simple. A lot of people have no idea how to give characters proper balance, and hence they tend to feel bland, one-dimensional and cheap. They are the bane of fiction and the scourge of competent writers everywhere. Their exploits have sheared years off of people’s lives for the stress, and general obscenity of their existence. They are the Mary-Sues!

I do not mean to wax poetic, or take up any more time than is necessary to get my point across. All I ask is your patience and willingness to read a bit of friendly advice. Any notions of a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude henceforth are purely unintentional and I apologize in advance if I come off as arrogant or conceited, or what have you.

As I said earlier, all characters, not just ones in fanfiction, need a balance in order to become believable people rather than actors or self-insert vessels. Allow me to demonstrate.
Character A is the most pretty and popular girl at her school. However, the mean girls are jealous of her and try to make a fool of her, but they always get their comeuppance in the end! She can sing as beautifully as an angel and is really, really kind to animals who seem to be empathetic to her. She is also very smart and able to learn things very, very quickly despite only being sixteen years old! If she has a single weakness it is that she is so generous she impoverishes herself and has to rely on others for food and shelter.
Does the above sound familiar? That is because this is the typical characterization of a Mary-Sue: all positives and no drawbacks. “But Ciro!” I hear you shout, “She does have a negative trait: she is far too generous!”

It might be a weakness, but it is an extremely weak one. Generosity unto poverty can be a problem, but look at the rest of it and answer me this with a straight face: “Does that balance all of her good traits?”
I thought not.

Character B can be described as fairly attractive: 6’2” with a slim figure and silvery white hair. She tends to stand out in a crowd due to her height and hair, but she generally ignored them unless they insult her. If they do, she tends to get violent rather quickly and will assault them physically and/or verbally. Although some might call it unrefined for a lady, she enjoys working with cars and plays the guitar with a measure of skill honed from years of practice. Her major weakness is her short temper which tends to cloud her judgement and push others away, making her isolated and, ultimately, lonely.
As you can see, this character is far more balanced than Character A. If you do not see it, kindly refer to the table below.

As you can see, Character A has five strengths and one weakness in her brief one-paragraph summary. Meanwhile, Character B has an even number of three strengths and weaknesses and one that can count as both. Her height and hair count for both because she is easy to identify and is eye-catching in a romantic sort of way. There are not very many girls with white hair, slim build and that height running around unless this is a fantasy setting and she is an elf.
Now riddle me this: which character sounds more like someone you will meet on the street? I thought so. However, this is just one aspect of a character that can create a dreaded Mary-Sue. While personality is the foremost important thing, we’re talking about a world of magical ponies here. As such, powers and abilities need to be kept in check too. However, keeping balance in mind, this part of character creation is easier than creating their personality.

Ciroton’s Tips to OC Powers and Abilities!

1)           Make sure each power and ability has a realistic limitation. Also keep in mind factors like physical and mental endurance if there is going to be fighting. No unicorn except Twilight can lift an Ursa in the show, so no other should be able to as well.
2)           Ponies and people both get tired when running, but Earth Ponies generally don’t get as tired as fast. Likewise, it can be argued that Pegasus Ponies are the most agile and Unicorns the most mentally stable. (Twilight as an obvious exception)
3)           Think of how your character’s special talent or abilities impact their lives and their personality.
4)           If only one character in the series canon can do something, do not give your OC that ability. As an example, Rainbow Dash is the only pony who can perform a Sonic Rainboom. No alicorn or other pegasus should be able to do that, or anything similar, without a damned good reason for it other than ‘it’s cool!’
5)           How can another character take advantage of your OCs limitations and use them to their advantage?
6)           If your characters abilities or powers change over time, how does it affect their other existing powers and abilities? Does it change their character significantly as well?
Finally, the third most defining feature of a character is arguably the most influential of them all. A character’s life and history up until the point in which the story takes place dictates almost everything about them! How did they get their powers or abilities? How did they become the pony they are today? All of these questions, and more, must have an answer! Even if they do not come up, it never hurts to develop a character through their history and figure out how x lead to y and so forth!
In closing, let me just restate that a fairly large part of character creation is in the balance, be it of strengths and weaknesses, personality, or their back story. By doing these things, your characters will be almost like other people with independent hopes and dreams, fears and virtues and so forth! You can have an epic, harrowing tale of love and loss, but if the characters, the most important aspect of the story, do not feel real, than everything else crumbles into a heap of smoking ruins.

Thank you very much for taking time out to read my (hopefully informative) rant.

~Ciroton

That seems like good advice!

What? A table? Comparing good traits and bad? I am beyond that, UC! Wanderer D should know- I am doing this on an instinctual level that transcends the need for that! My character’s flaws are already intrinsically connected to the plot of the story, where they are revealed as strengths! My character is just like me! So real it makes you weep!

What I do know is that you are one moronic author. Here, let’s see you ignore this one! Somber! I choose you!

Good original characters really aren't all that different from good characters in general.  Whether they're written for the context of fan fiction or simply created fresh for another work, the traits of good characters always carries through.  So here are a few notes that I always keep in mind.

Characters are not people.  A person is born, goes through a childhood, has countless mostly boring experiences, and continues for the span of their lives.  If you were to try and write a person in a book, there would be a billion pages filled mostly with tedium.

Characters are not people.  A character is a plot device to a story. They're the engine and the wheels that keeps the whole story working. They were created from nothing, pulled together by the author, constructed in the mind of the reader, and go forth to do whatever the story needs to do.  Even biographies are characters of the people they're written about.  You simply can't put every bowel movement, itchy butt, and half hour commute to work in a text.  Yet that largely is what a person's 24 day is.  Most folks don't want to read about that.

A good character isn't a person, but they are like a person.  Bear with me here.  When I'm talking about like a person, what I mean is the author has gone through and made an effort for them to be relatable to the reader.  All readers have some kind of childhood.

Thus, the author should have some idea what childhood their character went through.  All readers have had basic struggles to overcome.  So should the character.  Readers have doubts and worries and little personal ticks.  So should characters.  Remember that just like a car, characters are assembled, and just as you wouldn't like a car with 3 or 34 wheels, so too will readers be turned off by a poorly put together character.  Too little characterization, the character won't do anything and the reader won't engage.  Too much and the reader either dismisses half of it or disengages till they can figure things out.

A good character is consistent, not random.  Sometimes you'll come across a character with something completely thrown in to make it special.  It doesn't really have much to do with the plot.  It's just there because the author needed something thrown on the character to engage the reader a little more.  Using the car analogy, sometimes it's a flashy paint job that works well for the character.  Sometimes it's putting an elephant trunk on the roof.  Interesting, yes, but definitely out of place.  When putting together a character, remember that you're creating a person who has to do something in the story or advance the plot or serve some purpose.  Why do they only speak in rhymes?  If there's a reason, okay!  The reader will probably accept that.  But if the character is weird for the sake of weirdness... no. A lot of bad characters are the result of either too much or too little characterization.

A good character is someone the reader cares about.  Now this is the tricky part.  The challenge is that every reader is different and so what appeals to me might not appeal to the next person.  There are a few decent guidelines though.  

First, a character is impeded by dilemmas in the story.  If the character strolls through the story without difficulty then there's no worries; we know that whatever the main plot point is the character will probably be able to handle it. Note that this doesn't mean the character is incompetent or incapable! That just makes the reader give up on the character.  This is why you often see rising challenges for characters to overcome; as things
become progressively harder the risks increase.  

Secondly, a character has emotional responses.  People care about people, and while a
character isn't a person, readers will engage with it if they can perceive the character as having feelings.  This isn't a license for an angst fest!  But when things happen to the character, they need to matter so they can matter to the reader.  

Thirdly, a character needs both internal and external character.  We need to see the character
and the world around them and we need to know what is going on in their heads.  Often, we'll either have a perfect picture of the character without any clue as to the thoughts and feelings in their heads or else they'll be a cloud of thoughts doing things.

Not finally, but the last I can say, Good characters fulfill their role in the story.  Whatever the final destination of the story is, the characters are what take the reader there.  Heroes are heroic. Villains are challenging.  Supporting characters matter.  Whatever their role, they get the reader a little closer to the end with every place.  This doesn't mean characters are just plug and play.  There is no successful formula where you take a hero, their four friends, and throw them against a villain.  That comes down to the quality of the writer and the story itself.  But hitting all these points can't hurt.

Anyway, that's probably enough from me.  Remember, good characters are like art.  Some are a struggle.  Some just come easily.  And some just work great... and you have no idea how it happened!

Wow, OW, you just got advice from Somber!

I did? Huh. I think I will just do what I do best and ignore all advice given to me. Because I am, without argument, the best. I am so good that I don’t have a single negative comment in my stories!

I thought you deleted them?

That is nothing more than a rumor, started by my enemies.

Seriously? OW, you have to realize, making a character ‘cool’ by your standards doesn’t mean it’s a good character. Read what Somber said! There’s a lot more to it than making it ‘unique’!

Wanderer, you fail to see, a single other writer is not going to convince me. I have seen characters like mine achieve greatness!

Very well then, let’s see you ignore... Blueshift! I choose you!

You’ve got your wonderful new OC, Marmite Showers. They’re all you’ve ever dreamed of! Smart (like you), sexy (like you) and popular (like you). All you need to do now is to write a story about them to show the world what a wonderful character they are. Perhaps Marmite Showers will come to Ponyville and meet all the ponies and fall in love with Fluttershy. What a wonderful story that will be!

If the above sounds a bit like what you are doing, stop. Pick up a rare earth magnet and wipe it across your hard drive several times. Throw your computer out of the window. Finally, get a friend (or parent/guardian) to crush your hands with a steamroller.

I’m not saying that such stories are bad (I’m of the belief that there are no bad ideas, just badly executed ideas), it’s just that it’s really really easy to make a story like that terrible, and really really difficult to make it great. The old ‘write a story all about how great your character is’ can be a challenge for an amazing writer, but chances are you (and me!) aren’t of that calibre.

For some reason, the moment they decide to write a story about an OC, most people tend to throw everything they know about writing out of the window and just write something about their character coming to Ponyville and meeting all the characters one by one yadda yadda. Maybe there’s some sort of villain they then have to fight or some mysterious dark secret, or they have to marry Fluttershy, but they all follow the same standard formula. A story that functions primarily as a showcase for their amazing character. And well, that’s not really a story, is it?

1 – What is your story about?
Showcasing a character is not a story in itself. If your sole reason for writing your tale is to show off your character, then you really are doing it wrong; the only person who cares about your character is you, telling everyone that Marmite Showers is the ‘new pony in town, what will he do?’ is not going to draw in an audience.

Stories need to be about something, there has to be a solid, core idea behind what you are writing and why. There needs to be a reason that you are writing besides the fact that you like the pretty shapes words make on a page. The best stories have a really key, core idea behind them, a ‘unique selling point’ that intrigues the reader and draws them in. There’s often themes that are portrayed in events and character arcs, even if you don’t consciously notice them. Personally, I find that repeating the “why, why, why?” question to myself in examining everything I do with a story helps in its construction.

A piece of writing about Marmite Showers coming to Ponyville and meeting Twilight then meeting Applejack then having a party with Pinkie Pie and then marrying Fluttershy isn’t a story, it’s just stuff that happens. You could stop writing at any point and it would be just as complete if it went on for 1,000 words or 10,000 words. Something about a pony called Marmite Showers who opens a Marmite store and is shunned by the populace who do not understand the deliciousness of Marmite, until they are finally convinced after trying some that it is in fact amazing, is a story. I call this story “My Mate, Marmite”.

2 – Casting your characters

Having an OC is a bit like being a Hollywood director who is sleeping with an actor and wants to put them in everything they make. A script lands on their desk and blam, the actor is in the starring role whether they deserve it or not.

The story is the key, and as such, the characters need to fit the story, rather than the story be mashed out of shape to star the character. The less you try to shoehorn a character into a place they don’t belong, the better. People can tell, trust me.

There are two types of OC: the ones that develop naturally out of plot necessity (if you compare this to MLP, these would be the Trixies and June Bugs and Flim-Flams) and those that the author has already designed and wants to put into a plot (those would be the Princess-sell-this-toy-Cadances of MLP). The former is by far the better because they are more natural, but there is nothing wrong with the latter, as long as you are careful in developing a story around that character.

When writing your story, think about the characters you need, and why. If you need a character that is intelligent and good with magic and bookish, then you should probably use Twilight Sparkle and not her mysterious older sister who is better at magic than her and has wings and a broken horn and laser-eyes. Put the square block in the square hole. On the flip-side, if your story has a scene where someone breaks a horseshoe and needs it fixed, it is more appropriate to invent (say) Fulcrum the bearded blacksmith who has a big hammer and dreams of the day when Ponyville will be ruled by Communism then to suddenly give Fluttershy a hammer and anvil and make her the Ponyville blacksmith. The best OCs fill a natural gap in the narrative, this helps in giving them a strong reason for existing and a ‘unique selling point’ as opposed to a generic pony who is good at everything but happens to be the writer’s own OC.

If I was to want to cast Marmite Showers in “My Mate, Marmite” I need to make sure that he’s an integral part of the narrative besides just being in it. As this imaginary story revolves around a Marmite shop it seems like this box is ticked, but the key is that the character’s effect on the story is unique: if any other character was the protagonist, the story would take a different route. They need to have a strong enough personality to carry a story. This brings me nicely to the next point:

3 – They need to have a strong enough personality to carry a story.
I said earlier that the story should come first, and then the characters. This is true. However the opposite is also true at the same time: a story should be character led, not plot led. The events of the story should naturally arise from the actions of the characters in a logical and coherent manner. A story where Applejack lies to Twilight that Granny Smith is dead, because the plot requires that Twilight thinks Granny Smith is dead, is a poor story as it requires Applejack to act out of character. The story and characters need to complement each other, hand in hand.

Again, I think this is why most stories with OCs tend to fail, because the writers don’t give their OCs a strong enough personality. A lot of OCs are very wishy-washy generic ‘nice’ characters because the writers project their own personality on to them. A character who is ‘nice’ and ‘kind’ and ‘friendly’ isn’t really a character, or at least not a main character.

This is also why villainous OCs tend to be more accepted. They fit a clearer gap in the narrative and have generally villainous personalities. You know where they stand.

MLP has some pretty great characterisation when all is said and done. The main six ponies are very unique, with strong character traits. You could put all six in the same situation and each of them would handle it different, and the important thing is that you could probably work out how each of them would tackle a situation because their characters are so clear and well-defined. The stories change because of their presence in them; they are not just swept along by whatever the plot demands.

Here’s a great exercise to try: describe a character without reference to what they look like, their relationship to anyone else, or their job. The more detailed you can get it, the better the character.

For characters like Twilight, this is easy (off the top of my head: nerdy, bookish, prone to anxiety and worry, can get carried away, slightly socially awkward, genius). For characters like Princess Tenhorn Sparkle when I can’t describe that she has ten horns or is Twilight Sparkle’s magic sister, it is harder (she is uh, kind and uh, nice?). That’s an extreme example, but you get the picture. If a character doesn’t have a strong personality when everything else has been stripped away, then you probably shouldn’t be using them as your protagonist.

4 - Transience vs Permanence

One of the most important aspects of a story is character development. Your protagonist should ideally finish the story a different person to how they started it. Using an OC can make this a much more powerful event than using a canon character for the simple reason than an OC is your character.

When you use a canon character, you are effectively borrowing them – at the end of the story they are passed back to the fandom at large. If your story is about Scootaloo finally learning to fly, then her victory is fleeting; the very next story by another writer that the reader looks at will have her unable to fly again. It might be sad that Fluttershy dies at the end of your tale, but she’ll also appear in at least fifty new stories a day and pop up every week on television. Leaps and bounds made by canon characters in your story will by definition only last until the reader starts to read something else.

Use an original character though, and any change is permanent. It’s far more exciting when Clippy Wings learns to fly, because once he’s learnt it, that’s it. He’s your character, you’re writing about him, and he can fly now, dammit! It’s sadder when Marmite Showers dies because he drowns in a vat of his own marmite because that’s it, he’s dead forever. He’s not going to pop up on television; you, the author, have made this final statement. With an OC, you have the power of permanence.

Until someone steals your characters and uses them in clop.

OW, what is your story about?

My story? My story is about the greatness of my character. The sheer presence of his greatness and the human quality of his (very) few flaws will draw the reader into a poignant and thought-provoking scenes that can ever be written!

So... you don’t know yet?

I do know! I- I just–

Okay, let’s get one last piece of advice and then you tell me if you learned anything okay?

You have more Pokeballs?

I’m Wanderer D.

What does that even mean?

Pen Stroke! I choose you! Please teach these two how to create an OC!

We bring you this interruption from Wanderer D’s usual writing guides to bring you the new, somewhat mild, and undoubtedly short lived Fimfiction game show, “Now That’s an OC!” The game show where aspiring authors compete to build OC’s and compete for nothing more than pride and minor recognition!

And now, welcome your host who was not blackmailed into doing this gig, Pen Stroke!

Hello Everyone, and welcome to the show. Going to have a lot of fun here tonight, but first, let’s meet our contestants. One you know as the pony who writes in green text, the other as the one who writes in purple. Please welcome Clueless User and Obnoxious Writer.

Oh my gosh! I’m so exicted! Thanks for letting me on the show!

This is going to be so easy.

Glad to have you both here. Now, for those at home who don’t know how this works –which is likely everyone– our contestants will be challenged to develop an OC to fill a situation. The one who fits the bill best gets the point. One with the most point at the end wins. Now, let’s get right into it. Here is your first situation:

One time character named Overnight who just needs to deliver a package to Twilight Sparkle. .

Oh, I got this:

Overnight was a tough luck mailstallion. He started off as a police officer, but when a drug bust went bad, he found himself running packages in Ponyville. He’s always on the look out to for the criminal who got away, the one that ended his career and killed his wife. Maybe today he’d find her, maybe she’d was right behind the front door of the Golden Oaks Library.

... Interesting. Clueless User, what about your OC?

Well...

Overnight was a dark brown stallion who worked for the Ponyville Post Office. He’s nice and talks with a irish accent.

And congratulations, Clueless, you get the first point.

WHAT!? But my OC had character. He had a backstory. He was an ex-gritty cop that—

He’s also a character that we are going to see once and only once. When you need a character to fill a one-time or very minor role, a very simple original character will work. You see them all the time in literature. Nameless soldiers, barkeeps, store owners, and civilians exist in stories and serve no greater purpose than extras do in movies. The most your reader needs to really know is the character’s name and appearance. All you, as the author, need to know beyond that is a basic sense of how the character acts.

Still, let’s keep the game rolling. Here is your second OC situation:

Minor Character named Trident who owns the sailing ship the main characters of the story use as their primary means of travel.

Oh! Oh! Can I go first?!

Go ahead.

Trident is a blue pony with a white mane and a bushy beard. He smokes a pipe, has an eye patch, and wears a sailor's cap. He has a pet parrot named Squawkers.

Okay, and Obnoxious Writer, how about your OC?

This round is mine.

Trident is an ex-navy sailor. He lost his wife to another stallion while he was on tour aboard a naval battleship. He now avoids staying in port longer than necessary, fearing he’ll fall in love with another mare who will leave him again when he’s out on the ocean for months on end.

Wonderful, Obnoxious Writer. You take this round.

B-but... but what about mine. I thought that’s what you wanted? I got the first point, didn’t i.

The OC you described would have fit for another one-time character, but this is one that we’re going to see multiple times. This is a character that the stars of the story will likely interact with on multiple occasions. The story isn’t about him, but he’s an important part of the plot. He’s needs more depth, even if this depth doesn’t get fully explored in the story.

To use Obnoxious’s character as an example, the reader may never find out what happened to Trident’s wife. In truth, what happened to her may not be important to the plot. It does, however, define how Trident will react to more complex social situations. If the main cast is talking about love, he could be cold and sour. If he sees a main character kissing another pony, he may try to lecture the main character about the futility of love.

Again, the reader may never find out about Trident's wife and whether or not she’s alive, but knowing that little detail lets you, as an author, give Trident more depth in more complex situations.

Now, with the score tied up, we’ll head into our final situation.

Main Character of an adventure story.

That’s it?

Yep, that’s it.

Well, you're going down Useless, cause I’ve got the perfect character for this. He’s from my latest work.

Dark Roast, an average joe pony who sells coffee at a corner cafe. He’s an earth pony whose only talent is in making coffee. He’s from an average family of average wealth with an average number of children.

Okay then. Uselses, what about you?

Oh, I’ve got just the character.

Winter Breeze is the alicorn ruler of the frozen north. She is the princess of the Windegos, and has a bitter enemy in an alicorn from the desserts, Burning Sands. She holds power over all ice, but is known to warm hearted ruler.

Hmmm... interesting, so we have an average joe and a powerful princess. Both of these aren’t bad characters for an adventure story, but each has their own pitfalls.

What do you mean? My character is perfect! He’s an everypony. The reader can put themselves in his shoes.

Yes, and some readers do enjoy being taken on the classic arch of an adventure story of a normal person saving the day. Still, having a purely average joe OC can make it difficult to hook the reader's attention, especially when that OC is the main character. That and everyone is special in some way. After all, all ponies have cutie marks, don’t they.

Well then I’ll make an average joe pony who doesn’t have a cutie mark.

Then that makes him all the more unique, since he’d be a grown up stallion with no cutie mark.

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻)

Ha! Ha! Obnoxious, my character won!

Now wait a moment, Clueless, there’s a pitfall that needs to be avoided with your character as well. You’ve described an alicorn, a powerful one at that.

Yeah! You made a mary-sue! That means mine’s better and I win!

Wait, alicorn OC’s aren’t inherently bad. They, like any character, can be mishandled, and when they are misused it does tend to have a larger effect on the story. Still, having an inherently powerful character doesn’t automatically make that character bad.

Yes it does! They’re overpowerd! They can crush the world with their hooves! That makes them bad!

That would be true if the story focused on that, but a story doesn’t have to focus on a character’s power. All a story needs is some conflict, and conflict isn’t just two character’s trading blows. In fact, a character’s power can become a temptation or hinderance. To use Clueless’s Winter Breeze, she may be very powerful, but what are the consequences of using her power. This can become a interesting character struggle for Winter Breeze. She has to remain civil to keep her kingdom from going to war, even though she’d rather turn half the ponies that step into her throne room into icicles.

She can also become a foil to examine how other powerful character’s deal with a similar situation, like the Burning Sands that was mentioned, or even Princesses Celestia and Luna. After all, they are arguably quite powerful, but that doesn’t inherently make them bad.

So... who won?

Well it would depend how these ideas are explored. Both character’s have the potential to be good, but at the same time they could succumb to their pitfalls. OC main character’s are difficult develop, especially since most readers want to read stories about the ponies we already know like Twilight, Applejack, and etc.

In the end, when it comes to OC’s of any type, it’s a balancing act. You don’t want to overdevelop OC’s and drown your reader and yourself  with information that doesn’t affect the plot. At the same time knowing some of these details yourself can help you understand your characters better, even if the reader never finds out the character’s whole life story.

And when it comes to main character OC’s, the most important thing is to keep them balanced in relation to the struggle they are going to face. If they are powerful/smart/swift/beautiful/etc then the challenge they first must be adequately difficult or not something their power/intelligence/speed/beauty/etc can help them overcome.

Yeah, but who won?!

Well, let’s leave that up to the commenters because we’re out of time. Thanks for reading “Now That’s an OC!”, a game show you’ll likely never, ever see again!

Likely :)

Bah, it was clear I won. Stupid game. It was rigged.

I think I did okay...

You didn’t, Pen Stroke is just a softie that wanted you to feel better.

Did you learn anything at all, OW?

Yeah! I learned that you all are morons that don’t deserve my characters and stories! I’m leaving!

I thought it was good advice. I never thought about making a list to compare good and bad points, or the difference between a real person and a character... or how even weird characters can be effective if used smartly... or pony abilities... or even just thinking about the story before I get ahead of myself and make the OC all powerful like.

I used to think that the only thing you should worry about with OCs was to make sure they did not end up being Mary Sues... but there is a lot more to making good characters than that, isn’t there?

CU, I just hope that others have taken as much as you and I did from this. You’ll be a far better writer than OW, I promise.

Thanks D! Wow, and to think that I only wanted to know about the tags!

Yeah... well, we tend to get a bit off-track sometimes.

Report Wanderer D · 17,064 views ·
Comments ( 240 )

Your blog posts are amazing.

... this is awesome, win, and needs to be stickied on the main page.

*also snickers at the thought of Blueshift stuck in a pokeball*

Psssh. Kids and their OC's these days...

Fuck 'em.

Obviously, we now need a story where Fluttershy meets Fulcrum at a Marmite convention and ends up marrying him.

i.imgur.com/k0449.png Wanderer D! Wanderer D! Why are your blogposts so hilarious and informative!

341925 We shall rue the day Blueshift is released from his pokeball.

lol
i love these
they make me laugh
and learn

Sigh... I get the feeling Obnoxious Writer would still get more followers and story likes than me.:ajbemused:

*clap* *clap*

I love these tutorials!

Well, all can learn something about this. I in my case, have a OC that maybe will arise the character as a whole

Thank you for putting this post together. I've been trying (and failing) to pick up one of my story ideas for a while. The main character is an OC, but I've been stressing on his limits.

The most I have ever learned about writing I have learned from joining a website where grown men write stories with ponies.
:ajsmug:

Hrm... On the subject of permanence, one can only wonder if Clueless User is in danger of becoming Clued User? :derpytongue2:

Enlightening and entertaining as ever. Three cheers for another well-done how-to (and props to the guest pokemon commentators)!

Wando, you are best writing teacher.

341934
I bet you say that to everypony. :fluttercry:

I was so sad when I found out I couldn't track myself anymore..... I was my very first tracker... dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Vinyl_sad.png

That's all I'm taking out of this....

I wish I had this around when I started writing a story that used a ton of OCs. :fluttercry:

But seriously, designing a good OC is actually a lot of fun. You're given a lot more freedom with them than you would with any of the actual cast, they can be molded to more situations, and at the end of the day, if you did a good job, they can be as memorable as any of the show's actual characters.

I actually wrote an OC guide early in the year, and it's good to see that every point I tried to make back then was covered here (and better conveyed as well).

Regarding alicorn OC's, my opinion is that a writer shouldn't even attempt one until they can create respectable earth/unicorn/pegasus OC's Even then, if flight and magic power isn't integral to the story, then it's better for the writer to remove one of the two. For example, with Princess Cadence, she really didn't need the wings other than for one scene.

I love these blog posts, but I'm terrified that one of them will be directed at me one day...:trixieshiftleft::trixieshiftright:

Huh. I just had Missingno's pokeball around here somewhere. . . where did it. . . oh frak! Wait, Wanderer! Not that Pokeball! MISSINGNO IS IN THE- [DATA CORRUPTED]

I like that CU is actually learning stuff from this. I guess that's why OW exists, because eventually CU won't be so clueless, but WandererD still needs somebody to lambast for idiotic statements if these blog posts are going to do their job.

Every time a discussion about OCs comes up, I can't help but look back at my Order-naries stories and noting with some measure of pride how Ashen Blaze and company have developed between the first story and SS,DC. From the perspective of Blueshift's advice - particularly item number 1 - the plotlines have definitely improved. The plot of the original Order-naries, and to nearly the same extent Order-naries: Z'Nai, was almost entirely designed to show off Ash, Soul Mage, Gold Heart, and Gale to the readers, whereas Summer Sun, Dawning Chaos has those four as just some of the central figures in a conflict spanning several weeks and multiple events that have significant impact on every type of character to appear, with the Order-naries only occasionally able to handle things with their typical skills. At the same time. the Order-naries themselves have developed in terms of backstory, behavior towards each other and other major characters, and the extent of their talents.

I say this not to brag, but to testify that writing with an open mind to one's flaws and with the intent to constantly improve does exactly that: it gets better. :raritywink:

341953
I don't know what's real anymore. :fluttershyouch:

At this rate, Clueless User is going to have to change their name to Clued-In User. :twilightsmile:

Also, fuck the "OCs? Fuck 'em." attitude. Judging - and dismissing! - original characters simply on the basis of them being original characters is shortsighted, foolish and annoying. It's the quality of the characters that ultimately matters.

I think I have to give the edge to Winter Breeze. If she's princess of the Windigoes, that makes her an evil princess, and those are the best kind.

341979

Oh my god I love that smiley

341925

They are very cramped :twilightoops:

Thank you very much Wanderer D. The aspect of what makes up a good OC has plagued me but I feel more confident knowing my OCs are very close to what was discussed here tonight. Once again thank you for this wonderful enlightenment.

341993

At some point, everyone is an original character!

Someone was telling me that their story was criticised because an OC was hogging the limelight.

"Oh no," they said. "It's actually a background pony who was briefly seen in one episode."

"That's okay then," said the other person.

:facehoof:

Wanderer D, being nice to Clueless? Do I see character development here?

Seems he's learning, and that's a good thing. Much obliged for yet another how-to blog to throw on the growing pile behind you, Wanderer. Must be quite the molehill you have now.

Y1

The interesting thing about these "How to Write" blog posts is there's actually a narrative here. It seems to me that CU actually seems to be developing as a character, Wanderer D seems to have a relationship with him, that relationship is actually developing. However I may be over thinking things.
Anyway, funny and informative as always.

Somber wrote/is writing an OC that I enjoy enough that she regularly breaches onto my best pony list despite being an OC, so advice from that origin should be heeded. (Rampage, for anyone who cares :twistnerd:. Also, that sentence was horribly and awkwardly worded.)

Wow I learned some new stuff today and I already knew about some of these things, but when I read this and looked back at my stories, well I have this to say, I'm lucky that I am already doing a revision on my story.:twilightsmile::twilightsmile:.
So thank you for posting these interesting (and sometimes wake-up face slappings) blogs.:raritywink::raritywink:

Advice posted in Blog above is also useful for RPG NPCs. Hint hint... person who knows who I am talking about.

Looooooong Post is loooooooong.

Wanderer D, you inspire me to make myself better with indirect insults. Thank you.

The irony....... OCs learning about OCs

Hard for me to say on who won Pen Stroke's little game...
I say leave it as a tie and give them a lollipop for their efforts.

When it comes to one-time OCs, I do tend to get a bit carried away if a good (or bad) idea comes up for 'em, but I don't usually go as far as a back story for them from a narration stand point. I think it usually works fine in dialog. But that's just me.

"The reader will probably accept that. But if the character is weird for the sake of weirdness... no. A lot of bad characters are the result of either too much or too little characterization."
Cool and people like Pinkie Pie and Zebocca because...?
Also, Wanderer... do you like... keep these popular authors in a pokeball or something...oh no...I don't want to think about it.
If only this isn't restricted to complete pony fanfiction and I can write fanfictions about the staff....oh... just imagine wnaderer D torturing these authors psychologically until they get Stockholm and obey his ever whelm and than the most badass, flawless user beats him up... because...

342052

Dunno about Zebocca (never heard of 'em), but a lot of people were getting sick of Pinkie Pie during the first season, when it seemed that she was just a "weird for the sake of weirdness" comic-relief character.

Then we got "Cutie Mark Chronicles" ( :pinkiesad2: ) and later "Party of One" ( :pinkiecrazy: ), and people realized that she may be comic relief, but she's also a character with a background and depth and issues.

342056 Yea, I was kidding around plus I am too lazy to look up correct spellings.

So, Wanderer, when are you going to do Cave Johnson style blog posts again?

Interesting blog, you know WD there is one type of Mary Sue that can actually turn into a great story.
I know of an episode of "Recess" where a "Mary Sue" (or Gary Stu) came to the school, everybody hated him because he did everything better then everyone else, as a result he was orchestrated by the entire school until T.J. Detweiler as usual saved the day.

Another example was Kevin Blok's Ensign Sue Must Die that drove the entire cast of the Enterprise crazy in a desperate attempt to find a way to kill her, until Spock got the idea of promoting her to a "redshirt" thereby exposing her to a force even more powerful then herself.

I think I've even seen this form used here. This one was about a Mary Sue coming to Ponyville that drove Twilight even more crazy then in "Lesson Zero"

Of course in all of these examples the "Sue" isn't actually the main character, as much as the obstacle the main characters have to overcome. But I think we can actually relate to this.

Who can't say they haven't been or been afraid of being outshined by someone better, and if that someone is both compassionate and kind, then that just makes it all ten times worse.

Didn't device heretic write that OC/other post? Geez, he's gone for a week and he's already forgotten.

I actually want to see someone write that Mary Sue story - a beautiful, otherworldly,'seemingly perfect girl who has some kind of extreme societal dysmorphia and actually cannot stop giving. She constantly gets taken advantage of and dies alone in the gutter/falls in love with Commie Blacksmith Pony.

*Sniff* Oh Clueless User, you're growing up.

I love these blog posts. I started reading these blog posts to learn about writing and how to use the site, but I stayed to watch Clueless User develop as a character. He's a great OC.

>creator of Nyx telling people how to write OCs

I don't want to say it, so I won't.

Login or register to comment