[ SECRET POST #3468 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3468 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 51 secrets from Secret Submission Post #496.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Again, I don't think that's true in all cases. A lot of cases, maybe even the majority (Sturgeon's Law), but an OC protagonist is not necessarily a Sue. Saying that's always true is a bit extreme.

It's a very easy mistake to make and I wouldn't recommend using an OC as a protagonist to a beginning fic writer, but it can be avoided. You just have to balance your OC with the canon cast and treat your OC like any other character - realistic character flaws and mistakes that impact the story, they are not immediately buddy-buddy with the canon cast, they have to work toward their goals rather than being handed them on a silver platter.

Basically, the OC has to feel like part of the story's universe. Sues/Stus stick out because of blatant author favoritism and warping the universe to suit them.

[(Anonymous)]

They are nearly always American High School girls who are secret sweethearts or secret sisters of the canon characters though. It is just so damn obvious all the damn time. Either that or secret mentors who are now in trouble and will have the canon characters instantly switching allegiance to their old badass mentor over their existing team who are now traitors and wusses who only got where they are now by cheating.

[(Anonymous)]

That is true.

However, the existence of bad characters and overused fanfic tropes doesn't mean that OCs can't be done well. It does mean there are character "types" and narratives to avoid - I prefer OCs who have no connection to the canon characters at all.

The second scenario involves character derailment of the old team in favor of the mentor OC, which is just bad writing.

[(Anonymous)]

How about the foreign exchange student with the "cool" name who has just moved from some nowhere town in flyover country but who is now the coolest boy/girl in the new school but is also an angsty rebel?

[(Anonymous)]

OCs can break from these stereotypes, too. I think it would be more useful to talk about how to write an original OC and be constructive than acting as if OCs are inherently bad characters.

[(Anonymous)]

Here is how to do it. Keep them to the background as just color, or put them in roles that canon uses for transient non-main cast members. Any OC not in that role is going to suck. If there is a canon character that can do the job better, use them instead; example in M*A*S*H fanfic do you need an OC psychiatrist to come in and tell the cast they are crazy and how to get it together? Don't use an OC, used Freedman. Want an interfering busy body who is not Frank Burns? Don't use an OC, use Flagg. The works that are being fanficced pretty much always have a pre-existing character that can fill the roll a fanficcer wants better with a canon cast member.

[(Anonymous)]

Here's how to do it.

Use filter. filter out OCs and search. Scroll by any who didn't tag.

[(Anonymous)]

And scroll, and scroll, and scroll, and scroll, and scroll, and scroll, and scroll, and scroll, because the fuckers that write OC fics do not like to tag. They hate the idea that someone might be able to skip out on their shitty characters.

[(Anonymous)]

What are your fandoms? Tell me and I'll check FF.net and A03. I'm already checking prevalant fandoms I know.

DA

[(Anonymous)]

Cry me a river bitch.

I'm a fan of a police procedural show. I really like gen and case fic. Especially case fic that follows characters and cases from particular episodes.

There isn't any. It's swamped with shipfic between the detectives. The amount of genfic on every page can be counted on one damned hand. Or there's none. (and most of the shipfic is between canons, fyi.).

And yet I haven't come at the writers of these flufftastic slice of life fics berating them and telling them the proper way to write.