Being a Better Writer: The Hard Road of OCs · 9:19pm Apr 28th, 2014
Welcome back everyone! It's another glorious week, which means it's time for another piece on writing! This week, I'm picking a topic that's been suggested by one of the readers, which if I remember correctly was "OCs are hard, how do I go about creating one?"
Well, the first thing I had to do was consider how to separate this post from my earlier piece on how I design characters, although there will probably be some overlap due to subject matter. After all, no one wants to read a rewrite of the character creation process I spoke about already. Which means that this post needed to go a different direction. So today, we're going to look at something that is a little closer to the fanfiction side of things than usual: the choice that goes into choosing, creating, and using an OC.
So, we'll start with the basics. What is an OC?
OC is a popular abbreviation among fanfiction creators that stands for "Original Character," meant to identify a character that is not a product of the series or world that the fanwork is based on, but of the author's own creative mind. So, for example, if someone creates a Star Wars fan comic starring a Jedi that they came up with, that character is "an OC" because the fan created it, not the creator of the original universe.
It also has a very large negative connotation. This because a lot of times, as many fansites and even popular culture sites like Know Your Meme will tell you, "original character" is a very broad term. According to most, if it's not part of the original canon, then it's an OC. Most of you might recognize the meme "Original the character, do not steal," but even if you haven't heard of it, the connotation is pretty clear. Most people hear OC and immediately think of art-traced recolors of series characters, Mary-Sue self-inserts, and flat, one-dimensional "romances," all of which are fairly cringe inducing.
Boxer Hockey isn't shy about pointing this out either.
As a result, a large amount of many fandoms, MLP:FiM included, vocally decry OCs on principle, There are people here on FimFic who admit to automatically downvoting any story they find with an OC tag because "OCs suck." The term has become synonymous with low-quality, craptastic work.
And you know what? That isn't right.
The problem is, what everyone thinks of when they hear the term "OC" is incorrect. Everything I just posted for the last few paragraphs? It's just flat out wrong. It's a misconception created by groups of people who don't realize what they're claiming.
So, let's ask again: What is an OC? An original character. A fleshed out, thought out, character, created by a creative mind. Given life, history, and personality. Twilight Sparkle? Harry Potter? Gandalf?
All original characters. When people lash out against "OCs," what they're really lashing out against is flat characters. Shameless recolors (or character copies). Mary-Sue or Gary-Stu fiction. And would you like to know the truth? These show up just as often in original works as they do in fan-creations. It's not hard at all to go to a local library and find a book that is clearly a near cut-and-paste retelling of The Lord of the Rings, full of characters that are only different from the obvious inspiration in name and a few minor tweaks. These are not "original characters." They are recolors. Self-insert fiction is not limited to fanfiction. It happens all over in "original" fiction as well.
An OC is nothing more than what it says: an "original character." A character created with their own likes, personality, history, and detail. Luke Skywalker is an original character created by George Lucas. Even if he is a bit of a trope character (tropes exist for a reason).
For those who want to create their own "original characters," this may be the first step to doing so: realizing that they are something that is completely created by you. Be they characters for the new novel series you're writing or an MLP fanfic about a shopkeeper in Baltimare, your creation process should be the one and the same. I don't view Steel Song as being any different from some of the other characters I've created for my other works. He's a creation of my mind, pure and simple. He and the rest of "Rise" stand enough on their own that if I wanted to, I could rewrite the entire Dusk Guard series so far as its own, marketable world. I could strip out all the elements of it that are MLP and make it its own fantasy world, and sell it. But you know what? The characters would still act and talk the same. Because they aren't defined by the world I choose to place them in as much as who they are. There would be minor differences, but the characters would still be themselves.
An original character is a character that you create. They can be rich or poor, a hero or a coward. They can be a fit, active, individual, or a lazy but brilliant inventor.
Where we go wrong is when we set out to create a character that is "like this character, but just a little different." This is why we get so many recolors of characters that everyone knows. The Sonic fandom is infamous for creating characters that are quite literally recolors of title characters with backstories that are cut-and-paste from the series lore with a few words changed. This, no matter how much a user might call it an "original character," is a recolor. Nothing more.
So, what is an original character? It's a character that you create. You build them off of their history, craft their personality, give them life. They'll have bits and pieces that are similar to other characters out there (sort of like how Captain American and Superman share the same "boy scout" idealism), but they are a character you've created on your own. Be they flat or three-dimensional, you created them.
Ok, so with that cleared up, why write an Original Character? In the context of what I've written above, they certainly might seem more appealing now that you realize that every stick-figure you've ever sketched is technically an OC. But why write them? Why create them?
First and foremost, because of the creative freedom that comes with it. You see, characters can be very freeing, but they can also be constraining. How often have you seen an episode of a TV show where one of the series characters is forced into a position that has them acting completely different than their normal self? We call theses "out-of-character moments," and they happen from time to time. The reasons is that once we understand a character, we're limited by what they can and can't "realistically" do. Had I tried to write "Rise" starring the mane six, or even including a single member of the mane six as a member of the team (something initial alpha readers kept expecting to happen), it would have been a far weaker story. Those characters are not going to act/react in the same manner as the Dusk Guard when faced with the same plot-line. In order to achieve even a semblance of the story I wanted to write, I would have had to change the characters ... had them acting unlike themselves, or out of character.
Creating a new character gives you an enormous amount of freedom. It's been said that your story is only as strong as the characters that support it, and there's truth to that. If you want your story to have impact, you need a character to travel through it that can work with the story, not against it. When you create a character from scratch, you're effectively starting with a blank slate. You can go in any direction. You can create a character that is headstrong and adventurous, or timid and shy. You don't have that freedom with characters that are already defined. There are expectations. If JK Rowling writes another Harry Potter book about Harry himself, there are expectations and limitations to what she can do.
Additionally, hand-in-hand with the creative freedom comes the thrill of the new. How many of you have read or watched a series for a while but actually gotten tired of it. For example, I love Redwall and it's sibling books, but after a while, the stories began to grow very tiring to me, because the author was stuck. He'd established certain characters as having specific traits which lent themselves to certain stories, but the problem was in going back to those character types, you got the same story. Even though the later stories were just as well-written (in some cases even better), they never held the same impact as the first few did, because they lacked the thrill of the new. Setting out with new characters (and possibly a new scenario) is a way to once again experience the thrill of new content.
So, if you're going to set out and create your own character, what are you going to do? Well, first, realize that there is no "magic bullet." Everyone creates and forms their own characters in different ways. You might want to think about what you're looking for. Are you going to create a character and then find a story to pair them with? Or are you going to create a story and then figure out what characters would best fit the plot you've laid out for yourself?
In either case, there are two things that I would urge. First, don't be afraid of letting the creative process take time. Sometimes characters take a while to crystallize. It's been pointed out by many a creative thinker that sometimes we do other things that don't look like work when in fact we are working (immortalized in a particular comic strip I can think of). Don't be too afraid if you spend some time figuring your characters out.
Second, I find that one thing that really helps me narrow down what a character is like is asking myself what that character would do in a given situation from my day-to-day life. What would Jacob Rocke buy when he goes to the grocery store? What would Nova be saying if forced to run my mountain bike route? This might seem odd, but knowing what a character of yours will do in an ordinary, day-to-day event is all part of what makes them who they are. The more time you spend answering little questions like this about your character, the less time you'll spend trying to figure out the big decisions they'll make over the course of the story.
So, is it more difficult to come up with your own, original characters? Of course. It totally, completely is. It's also, totally, completely worth it. It's a hard road to sit down (or lie down) and think up a completely different person with different likes and dislikes. But the freedom that comes with that new character, the thrill that comes with doing something new? That's a the payoff, for you and for your readers. New material, new horizons, and new stories unlike those we've seen before.
To look back, every character we create is, in some way, original. The task lies in moving past recolors or self-inserts to create characters that are unique and projects of our own imagination. To realize that any character we create, flat or full, is an "original character," and to see that for the freedom it can bring. We must be willing to put in the time, the experience, and the effort to craft characters that stand on their own.
It's certainly not an easy road, especially in this fandom. But it's one that brings with it the rewards or hard work well done.
Writing Prompt: Create a character who you would normally never write. Male/female, a thought process you don't agree with, a personality you've never tried before, and then write a short little piece on how they would tackle trying to do an ordinary, day-to-day household chore that isn't going well.
Thanks for reading!
EDIT: You might notice some typos. Sorry, I'm tired...
Yes, I'm saving this to my favorites. Nice blog. :3
I was just thinking about this. Good timing!
Preachin' to the choir, my friend!
I would also hazard to say that one of the downsides regarding the Redwall stuff is that the author has also stereotyped his critter species, to some extent, and that there are only so many quests to be had, but I absolutely agree with your assessment overall.
Incidentally, if you loved Redwall, you should read Mouseguard. It's graphic novels, with less species, but every bit as awesome. I've only read the first two books, but I loved them.
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A really nice blog, thats for sure.
Thank you for that. It reminds me a little bit of simple NPC and character creation for RPGs like Engel.
An artist I frequently watch with various streams, has a saying on this, "When you can answer what toothpaste they use, they are ready" and its pretty apt, when you can look to how each is, and find an answer to any nuanced question, they stand so clearly out as someone that can draw good and bad from, respectively. But I like hearing more on the nature of an oc.
In wondering, if it wouldnt be too much, to offer how to breathe fresh life onto established characters?
Yay, a fellow reader of Schlock Mercenary!
Great blog post, by the way. I'll have to keep in mind the thing about having your characters respond to parts of your daily life, in particular.
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Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
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Yeah, I should have been more specific there, but you nailed it. If there was a badger ... then he/she was a badger. A stoat? A rabbit? The species were as much an archetype as anything.
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New scenarios, new things. Present them with problems or situations they wouldn't otherwise face. You can pull them out of their element, have something new happen .,. The trick though is doing this in a way that doesn't make it obvious you're just looking for new directions to take things.
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Schlock is great. Howard Taylor's journey to self-sufficiency with Schlock was actually one of my own inspirations to try to make it on my own.
If there was a way of favoriting blog posts, please tell me. Otherwise, have an internet cookie +1.
There are a lot of elements in this post that I use to create characters, but even more so I hadn't thought about. I'm guilty of doing the "Like X but slightly different" thing when trying out drawing new characters. I'm currently participating in a FO:E RP, and made a character that's endearing to me. But at the same time I haven't actually fully fleshed her out. Would you be interested in critiquing if I posted what I have of her?
Now about the actual post. The reason I dislike so many of the fics I read, especially HiE, is that they try to take established characters and shove them into molds that fit their story, most of the time, a love interest (blegh). Like for example, most Humans apparently arive in Equestria somewhere in the Everfree. They then proceed to rescue the CMC from timberwolves, who then give credibility for the character in Ponyville. Very bland. Sometimes you can work with it and make it actually good, like in Misunderstandings. But then there are stories like The Tale of Lord Barleycorn that take place in an area completely new, with only glimpses at the Mane Cast so far. This story gets to experiment with entirely different cast that isn't restricted by our headcanon of characters in the show. Helps that the two protagonists in these stories aren't some kind of overpowered self-inserts.
Ah I remember reading Redwall. Lots of fun stories, but then I got bored later in the series as I got older when it became apparent that charactes will fit racial archetypes. Yes, badgers will be the giant BAMFs and rabbits will talk with a funny phrases, and rats are evil. Still, great children series to get them reading. 'course then there's all the writing about the food. *drools*
Not sure where to put this, but there's another story I both love and hate at the same time. Machine and Might. It has a really great original universe of humanity among the stars, but I feel like the author tries to force that world he's created into Equestria. For the most part, the ponies are more or less outmatched by the humans in both technological advancement and sheer number, even with magic. It's the kind of story I want to like, but I can't think of a way to make the premise work that doesn't shove ponies off to the side.
Viking is a Schlock fan?
*Squee*
And yeah, a lot of this one I agree with. I've had some story ideas in my head for years, but never seem to write anything down, as the character and world concepts seem to keep morphing around in my head.
This, all of my yes, QFT, etc.
For some reason lots of people have this idea that somehow "original" literature is inherently better than fanfic. What you've pointed out here is one reason I think they are quite wrong.