Alternate Friday Five

It's been ages since I did a Friday Five. And now I'm doing ethrosdemon's, because the questions are better--who cares about toothpaste, anyway? And because its name is Romulus.

( Romulus )

Writing OCs: rant ahoy!

I like OCs. I like OC romances. Mary Sue doesn't scare me. But bad fanfic makes me and Baby Jesus cry, OK? So here are a few simple rules for writing an OC romance that people other than yourself will actually want to read.

1. Don't introduce your OC in the first sentence of the story. You have to be very good or very lucky to get away with this, and in any new endeavor, it is best to assume that one is neither good nor lucky. Some of my favorite authors have managed to do it and it's worked for them, but it's an extra hurdle to overcome. The fact is, this is fanfic, and people read it looking for something they recognize. If you're planning a canon character/original character romance, start out the first scene with the canon character. People who have seen you handle a canon character with authority will be more likely to trust you when you introduce your OC.



2. Don't have your canon character and your OC fall in love at first sight. Not because I'm an unromantic bitch and I find that kind of thing tedious, although I am and I do. Rather, because your job, as author, is to make your readers care about the OC too. One of the easiest ways to do this is to bring the audience along with the canon character: if you can give the canon character reasons to fall in love with the OC, you're also giving the audience reasons to care about him or her.



3. Fit the character into the universe. The character needs to have a reason to be in the story in the first place, and he or she needs to be on the same scale as the canon characters. Many readers who say they don't like OC fic say that they don't like the sense that the OC overwhelms the story and the universe, so try not to let your OC shift the center of gravity of the fictional universe. Your OC shouldn't be more powerful or knowledgeable or skilled than the canon characters (again, this can be done, but it's hard). Don't be too afraid to give your OC something special, though: after all, if you're inserting an OC into the X-Men movieverse, say, he or she is probably going to be a mutant and might as well have a cool mutation rather than a duff one. There needs to be something about the OC that draws the eye of the canon character (and through him or her, the audience).



4. Fit the original character to the canon character. Canon characters have busy, complicated lives. They also may have romantic entanglements with other canon characters. If you're going to disturb a canon pairing, make it believable: don't make the other member of the canon romance an irrational bitch just to get rid of him or her. Figure out why the canon character would prefer your OC to the other member of the canon pairing. Even if the canon character is single, spend a little time thinking about why that character would prefer your OC to the other four billion people on this planet.

There are other tips, but these are the ones which spring to mind. Go forth, little dumplings, and bring me fic!