Thirty Days of Fanfiction: Day Eight
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 don't write OCs often, being a canon girl at heart, but sometimes they're simply necessary for the story to work. And then there are the characters who are original characters in all but name, i.e. canon tells us of their existence and sometimes provides a name, but doesn't give us anything further, so you have to make up the personality if you want to use them. Again, usually I need a bit more from canon to intrigue me, but not always.
Going through my work, here are the original characters I found, counting only OCs that take up a sizable portion of the story and have a more important role than to say "ready to order, ma'am?":
Highlander:
Andrew Lanart in the Covenants series, specifically the stories Incubus and Transferences; the later also has an important OC named Mireille Lejeune. Andrew Lanart is Cassandra's Watcher and a minor (but important) character in Incubus and a major supporting character in Transferences, a story that uses the events of Incubus as background but is about Amy Thomas (Joe's daughter) finding her way after the episode Indiscretions and figuring out for herself what it means to be a Watcher. Mireille Lejeune is her supervisor. The Mary Sue question never even presented itself due to Lanart's function in both stories, and if Lejeune can be accused of anything, then of fulfilling the wise mentor stereotype.
Heroes:
The unnamed campaign worker from the Petrelli campaigin in my crack story Campaign Secrets from whose perspective the story is told. This was a story written for comedy effect and the narrator's constant misinterpretations (or are they, she asks sinisterly) of the first season events she observes are the very point of the tale.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine:
My childhood story about Kai Winn, Chosen, has two important OCs, a childhood friend of hers named Lerin and a Vedek who has to choose between them both. Considering we know nothing of Winn Adami's childhood, it was necessary to make up both characters in order to show young Adami in development. Again, the Mary Sue question didn't pose itself due to what happens in the story.
Technically not original characters because canon tells us of their existence but doesn't do more than that which I wrote about were:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Everyone in Five in One, my story about five of Spike's victims. These people existed (I quote the relevant dialogue from the show at the end of each part), but with the exception of Nikki Wood and her son Robin, we don't see them on screen (and the Nikki section is told by her Watcher who later adopted Robin, a character mentioned but not seen on screen). And the crux of the story, the big challenge, was to make each of them real and complex, with their own story, hopes and dreams, that come to an abrupt end when each of them encounters Spike.
Babylon 5:
The four Centauri telepaths from White Lies. We see these women in the episode Coming of Shadows (where they never speak a word), but never again, and one of the reasons why I wrote the story was that I wondered what had become of them and why they weren't around in Cartagia's time anymore. It allowed me some world building while pondering what it would mean for them to be raised the way they were, and how they would cope after Turhan's death. It also allowed me a glimpse on post-show Londo. But I don't imagine any reader would like to be them, and I certainly would not, so - no danger of Sueing.
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?
2 - Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
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?
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?
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
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?
11 - Genre - do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 - Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
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?
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?
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?
16 - Summaries - Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
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?
18 - Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 - When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 - Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
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?
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?
23 - When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
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?
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?
26 - What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 - Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 - Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 - What is your current project or projects?
30 - Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/690998.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
I don't write OCs often, being a canon girl at heart, but sometimes they're simply necessary for the story to work. And then there are the characters who are original characters in all but name, i.e. canon tells us of their existence and sometimes provides a name, but doesn't give us anything further, so you have to make up the personality if you want to use them. Again, usually I need a bit more from canon to intrigue me, but not always.
Going through my work, here are the original characters I found, counting only OCs that take up a sizable portion of the story and have a more important role than to say "ready to order, ma'am?":
Highlander:
Andrew Lanart in the Covenants series, specifically the stories Incubus and Transferences; the later also has an important OC named Mireille Lejeune. Andrew Lanart is Cassandra's Watcher and a minor (but important) character in Incubus and a major supporting character in Transferences, a story that uses the events of Incubus as background but is about Amy Thomas (Joe's daughter) finding her way after the episode Indiscretions and figuring out for herself what it means to be a Watcher. Mireille Lejeune is her supervisor. The Mary Sue question never even presented itself due to Lanart's function in both stories, and if Lejeune can be accused of anything, then of fulfilling the wise mentor stereotype.
Heroes:
The unnamed campaign worker from the Petrelli campaigin in my crack story Campaign Secrets from whose perspective the story is told. This was a story written for comedy effect and the narrator's constant misinterpretations (or are they, she asks sinisterly) of the first season events she observes are the very point of the tale.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine:
My childhood story about Kai Winn, Chosen, has two important OCs, a childhood friend of hers named Lerin and a Vedek who has to choose between them both. Considering we know nothing of Winn Adami's childhood, it was necessary to make up both characters in order to show young Adami in development. Again, the Mary Sue question didn't pose itself due to what happens in the story.
Technically not original characters because canon tells us of their existence but doesn't do more than that which I wrote about were:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Everyone in Five in One, my story about five of Spike's victims. These people existed (I quote the relevant dialogue from the show at the end of each part), but with the exception of Nikki Wood and her son Robin, we don't see them on screen (and the Nikki section is told by her Watcher who later adopted Robin, a character mentioned but not seen on screen). And the crux of the story, the big challenge, was to make each of them real and complex, with their own story, hopes and dreams, that come to an abrupt end when each of them encounters Spike.
Babylon 5:
The four Centauri telepaths from White Lies. We see these women in the episode Coming of Shadows (where they never speak a word), but never again, and one of the reasons why I wrote the story was that I wondered what had become of them and why they weren't around in Cartagia's time anymore. It allowed me some world building while pondering what it would mean for them to be raised the way they were, and how they would cope after Turhan's death. It also allowed me a glimpse on post-show Londo. But I don't imagine any reader would like to be them, and I certainly would not, so - no danger of Sueing.
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?
2 - Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
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?
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?
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
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?
11 - Genre - do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 - Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
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?
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?
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?
16 - Summaries - Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
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?
18 - Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 - When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 - Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
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?
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?
23 - When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
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?
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?
26 - What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 - Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 - Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 - What is your current project or projects?
30 - Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/690998.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.