30 Day Fanfic Writing Meme – Day 8
Jul. 4th, 2011 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_rose8 – 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.
Sometimes I do. The outright hatred of OCs some people display puzzles me, because so many shows have need of guest characters – the canon equivalent of OCs – every episode; victims, suspects, patients, witnesses, people in distress, villains, opposing counsel, space aliens, clients.
So if it's case fic/episode fic, chances are there will be OCs required. Sometimes it's a chance to show how other characters behave towards strangers/particular types of people. Sometimes an OCs POV of a characters can be insightful – we know the hero/antihero isn't really a misogynistic ass who didn't complete high school, but a female OC meeting him for the first time might have a distinctly different first impression.
Also pre-series fics and character backstory creation will usually require more characters than exist in canon.
I've heard various ideas for ensuring your [esp female] character isn't a 'Mary Sue' including 'give her flaws' and 'not everyone should love her'. So I try to give them flaws if I'm writing them in-depth – or at least things society thinks are flaws, not always the same thing. And I pick one major canon character who outright doesn't like or trust her. Then again I don't always share my OC stories online.
And, while I'm talking about it, there are plenty of Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters in canon but it's seemingly ok when 'professional' writers do it. And new canon characters are often welcomed with open arms – and often a new female character will end up as part of a UST triangle.
Also, some really poor fic is so OOC that the canon characters are Mary Sues in disguise anyway – no attempt at true characterisation at all – so 'outlawing' Mary Sues doesn't actually help with the underlying issue of 'quality', which is what I think the main issue is with OCs.
Filled questions available via the fanfic writing meme tag.
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!
Sometimes I do. The outright hatred of OCs some people display puzzles me, because so many shows have need of guest characters – the canon equivalent of OCs – every episode; victims, suspects, patients, witnesses, people in distress, villains, opposing counsel, space aliens, clients.
So if it's case fic/episode fic, chances are there will be OCs required. Sometimes it's a chance to show how other characters behave towards strangers/particular types of people. Sometimes an OCs POV of a characters can be insightful – we know the hero/antihero isn't really a misogynistic ass who didn't complete high school, but a female OC meeting him for the first time might have a distinctly different first impression.
Also pre-series fics and character backstory creation will usually require more characters than exist in canon.
I've heard various ideas for ensuring your [esp female] character isn't a 'Mary Sue' including 'give her flaws' and 'not everyone should love her'. So I try to give them flaws if I'm writing them in-depth – or at least things society thinks are flaws, not always the same thing. And I pick one major canon character who outright doesn't like or trust her. Then again I don't always share my OC stories online.
And, while I'm talking about it, there are plenty of Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters in canon but it's seemingly ok when 'professional' writers do it. And new canon characters are often welcomed with open arms – and often a new female character will end up as part of a UST triangle.
Also, some really poor fic is so OOC that the canon characters are Mary Sues in disguise anyway – no attempt at true characterisation at all – so 'outlawing' Mary Sues doesn't actually help with the underlying issue of 'quality', which is what I think the main issue is with OCs.
Filled questions available via the fanfic writing meme tag.
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!
no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 05:35 pm (UTC)I agree it's hard to write fic with no OCs at all - it can feel really insular, and unrealistic. There's always extras, right?
And when someone is the, or a, main focus, I work pretty hard to make sure they're flawed. And there's avoiding names like Ebony Glorianhallana Sunshine Cleopatra Rosabellina von Hendrickerson (what I consider a good litmus test for Mary Sues).
It's always depressing to come across fic that makes the canon characters into Mary Sues - sometimes everyone except one character is well written, but that one has been completely watered down/erased/vilified, often in order for the author's OTP to get together. I like non canon pairings, of course, but I think people should put in the work to get there.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 06:33 pm (UTC)LOL, the name thing :D I always try to include it when there's a 'badfic' challenge at a landcomm; Ravven Elorina Diamonte Maddison and the like - actually it's sort of fun to come up the worst names you could give an OC. I love Glorianhallana :D
Yes, people should put in the work to get there, unless it's made clear that this is some sort of AU where the rules have changed :D
I really try to address issues, even just a mention of the sort of obstacles a non-canon ship has to negotiate. My V OT3 contains a male mercenary/terrorist, a female FBI agent, and a Catholic priest, and I made damn sure the first time I wrote the threesome that there was some doubt, some guilt, some negotiating, some initial rejection, and that each pairing was addressed before the threesome aspect came up. It made it more real to me that people would think about things; to me, people don't just leap into bed with their friends/colleagues, esp when they're canonically straight or celibate or whatever.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 09:32 pm (UTC)I like your Mary Sue name :D I may actually have to use Glorianhallana for something now ;)
It made it more real to me that people would think about things; to me, people don't just leap into bed with their friends/colleagues, esp when they're canonically straight or celibate or whatever. This exactly :D Or, if they do just leap into bed together, there must be issues/problems/consequences, not 'oh, everything's perfect now.'
no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-05 03:03 pm (UTC)You express it much better than I can - but I agree with all of this.
I like well-written OC's in fanfiction because it's interesting and fun to see new characters react to the canon characters, and to imagine how the canon characters might appear to someone from the "outside" so to speak.
I attribute a lot of the Mary Sues in fanfiction to the fact that the vast majority of fanfic writers are female and many are still quite young. I know in my first fandom fantasies I always inserted myself into the story and I was always prettier, stronger and smarter than anyone else. Thankfully I didn't subject anyone else to them.
One of the worst Gary Stu's in published fiction IMO - Terry Goodkind's Richard Cypher/Rahl. Smarter, stronger and braver than anyone else and he is ALWAYS right - and watch out, he'll kill you if you disagree with him! I always appreciated the fact that LoTS made Richard flawed and easier to relate to.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-05 03:41 pm (UTC)But some are ticking the other badfic boxes like in-text author notes, a refusal to learn basic grammar, and demanding reviews before they continue the fic; they will never improve because they can't understand why they should or need to.
I've heard that at the Palace quite often, that Richard can do no wrong, just another reason I'm not keen to actually read the books. I don't even think characters have to make mistakes, so long as they worry that they might, that they realise their actions have consequences.
Don't worry about late comments; I love comments whenever they arrive :D And I'm feeling overwhelmed myself today - so much to read and I'm still not writing. I think I'm going to do the next day of this meme [handily pre-prepared for my convenience, lol] and then post about it. I'll feel better once I've ranted a bit :D