fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #1290 ]

[ SECRET POST #1290 ]

⌈ Secret Post #1290 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 108 secrets from Secret Submission Post #184.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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157. http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/81/fanfic.png

Lose the OC.

*eyeroll*

oh shut up.

An OC/Canon can be done well if it's done carefully. There's a bunch of stuff one could read on making an OC good.

OC=/=Mary Sue.

(no subject)

xenafox.livejournal.com - 2010-07-19 17:47 (UTC) - Expand

look, post it but don't expect a lot of people to read it. what most people want from fanfic is the familiar in terms of characters that they already know and love.

Post it if you want but don't expect much positive feedback?

I'd say post it, but I'd get a pen name on a separate account to stay anonymous better. Though I'd stop talking about the OC for a while before doing so, lest someone connect it to you.

Unfortunately, OCs are basically the target of fandom hate and have been as long as I've been in fandom (middle school at least? I think? idefk). I know there are some good ones out there, but the knee-jerk reaction is hard to break because of the sheer amount of true Mary Sues out there. Just make sure the character really is developed and I think you'll get some good feedback eventually. :3

Even if your OC is well-written and non-Mary Sue, the thing is that most people want to read fics about the characters they know. That's why they're reading fanfiction.

This.

Exactly. When I read fanfiction I want to read the adventures of characters I already know and love, not some original character I know nothing about.

Post it on FF.net under a different name.

Dear OP,
I'm writing an OFC in a slash-heavy fandom who seems to hate female canon characters as well.
I have been working on it for some time now - researching, word-building, organizing, you know how it is... I'm not even sure there *is* going to be

But the bottom line is? I'm going to write it anyway.
I can't not write it.

So what if I'll get few reviews? So what if I'll get accused of self-insert, Mary Sueism, homophobia and possibly racism?
So what if the only person to read it will be my beta?

I know when the flames come, I won't be as calm as I am now - I'll probably laugh them off or get annoyed, depending on what they write and how they write it.
But I'm enjoying the journey too much to let that worry me.

Perhaps I'm even a little curious to see what they'll say. But not scared.

Don't be afraid, OP. It's going to be alright.
Keep writing. Don't let anyone put you in a corner.

(I don't even know in which fandom you are, but if you need help or encouragement, you can PM at any time)

Post it. There are just as many people who will read it as there are who won't.

Write it. Post it. Don't worry about it. Might not get as many comments, might get a few idiots being snarky. Point is, if the story wants to be told, you should tell it. There are some truly marvelous OC's out there. And don't forget that every canon character ever started out as *someone's* OC.

Is there no minor relatively nameless one-scene character that you could pretend she is?

Ngl. I've done it.

>_>

And it worked brilliantly. People get turned off by major character/OC, but plenty love major character/minor character, especially if the major character pairings aren't all that palatable, and you write it well.

Edited 2010-07-15 23:40 (UTC)

I do enjoy when fanfic writers expand on minor characters. It just fun thinking of what they might be like, giving a personality to the face.

With an OC, you're just pulling a person out of nowhere, and I guess as a reader it feels disconnected from the story of the show/book/movie/etc. which is what you love in the first place.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2010-07-16 01:30 (UTC) - Expand

What's your favorite type of setting for a story? Set it there. Change everything about the canon character that you need to change to make them fit into your new setting. Change their name. Change their background, occupation. Their appearance will probably shift a bit naturally after a while.

Your OC is completely yours, you just need to change them as necessary to fit the setting. The setting is yours. The storyline is all yours.

Voila. You now have the beginnings of an original story. If you sit on the idea for a while, it will become more original as you continue thinking about it and changing things. This article explains it pretty well:
http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc3-3.html

Consider your aim. If you just want to post it on the internet for a few friends, go for it, have fun. :D

If you think you're good enough to think about getting published formally, read up on plot structure, writing style (active voice, getting rid of purple prose, this sort of stuff: http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/writerisms-and-other-sins-a-writers-shortcut-to-stronger-writing/), and we can almost always brush up on grammar and punctuation, even if we do think we're great writers. Then you write the thing. You leave it for a few weeks, then start the editing process, which is where a mediocre book can turn into a decent one, or a decent one can become a really good one. You may have to totally rewrite it. Then there's getting an agent, finding a publisher etc.

... it depends on what you want. :)

I forgot to add, but I think it's already been covered ... nearly no-one wants to read about OCs in fandom these days. Sad, but true. You will be derided for publishing canon character/OC.

Better to turn it into an original story and get accolades, than go through that for your hard work.

Bah, I hate the idea that OC's have no place in fandom. I wrote an OC once, made him a major character in a plot fic, and you know, by the end of the fic people loved the guy. They were disappointed I wasn't going to use him again. How did I do it? I gave him a job and I sold him as an interesting character. No one accused me of writing a Stu. And I wasn't a seasoned writer at that point, I was a n00b writing on ff.net.

Not saying that writing original fic doesn't have a place, but this whole rediculous Sue hatred has past the point of being reasonable and has gotten to the point where it's a fandom meme. One that needs to get old.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2010-07-16 02:48 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

velvet-mace.livejournal.com - 2010-07-16 04:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2010-07-16 04:59 (UTC) - Expand

Who is viciously saying it's a mary sue?

I say write your story and sell your idea. There's a lot of people who won't read it because it has an OC in it. They are Mary Sue phobic, but whatever. You don't need them as an audience. If you truly made a character worth reading about, people will like it, it will get recced and word of mouth will get you reviews. But if you have nothing to show but your word, well people do tend to assume the worst.

I'm just gonna step in here and say write it anyway. There are people out here who will read OCs; there are even people (*raises hand*) who actively like OCs. And if it means something to you, write it!

And then post it here:

r_oc_kout! [/shameless plug]

Get new friends. Really, ragging on someone's writing like that before it's even finished is just jerk behavior.

I'm in a similar predicament. In one of my favorite fandoms, my two favorite characters are both male and do not have canon love interests. I usually slash them, as is popular to do. However, I decided I wanted to write a canon/OC fic for the hell of it. I have been working on it forever, trying my damnedest to make sure the OC is in no way a Mary Sue. She's definitely not a self-insert. But I know hardly anyone will read it because OCs are almost universally hated. It's just a fact of fandom. Post it, but don't expect a lot of responses.

Haters gonna hate, post your fic under your pen name and be proud of it. Don't succumb to the OC paranoia. If it's good, some people will like it. And you can mostly guess which negative reviews are honest and which not to pay attention to.

I'm late to the party, but I just wanted to add that I love a good OC, and wish more people would write them. Go on OP!

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