Original Characters (OCs) Discussion

Given that I VASTLY prefer original works to fanfiction, I would say that OCs can be good in my mind unless they ruin the world already built. (AKA Mine~) However, I usually enjoy reading people's interpretations on preexisting characters over OCs in the rare times I read fanfiction.

Writing wise, I prefer to create my own world and characters that pretty much stays VERY FAR away from the original work. (Hence why I prefer to write SO MANY original works) I feel that I shouldn't hold myself down the the restraint of having to accurately portray a character I did not originally write because I would most certainly fail at it. (Which is why I respect those that can)

 

The benefit to an OC in fanfiction is that it gives you more freedom to explore. This can result in terrible characters as often as not, but they have the freedom. Pokémon is probably one of the most common fandoms to use these, since the world encourages you to take the shoes of the protaganist. Nuzlocke comics are many and varied and they use these to their benefit.

 

THIS! IS! MY! THREAD!

I LOVE OCS OKAY. I have about 30-50+ OCs and all but 1 are original world ones. I like to read about OCs mostly in fanfic, I really like to see how the author can blend them into the canon world. But I prefer canon characters to OCs in fanfics most of them time, as it seems like 99% of all OCs were created to fulfill the author's fangirl fantasies. Eugh.

I've always wanted to write about my OCs but nobody would care. Nobody wants to hear about my probably 50+ OCs spanning across 6 entirely different worlds. Nope.

please talk to me about my ocs im begging you

 

My OCs are like my precious children that I enjoy making suffer and then feel like a terrible person for doing so.
...Trust me it's relatable I'm not crazy.

Anyway, it honestly depends on the story and how the OC is written in fanfiction. In Pokémon, I'm not too interested in Trainer Fics, mostly because... I'm just not into it. I'm more of a Mystery Dungeon person. Obviously there's a point where OCs ruin everything, but I do find it as a nice way to make something more of your own, rather than just novelizing something (or failing at writing actual characters (aka me)).

 

I really think it depends on the fandom. In the Pokémon universe it is easier to write about an OC living their live in the various stories than it might be with HP or PJ. I have to say I prefer writing OC as opposed to Canon because I feel like I can do more and make better stories because they have little initial connection to the plot.

 

I have a bunch of OCs but not as many as some.
You can see mine here. Some of them have their backstory typed out but I haven't gotten round to doing it for them all yet. http://sta.sh/21hnbxb52iwe?edit=1
My ocs all exist in one universe and are all from the same story (with the exception of like 4 of them who are in the same universe but not the same story.) and I hope to actually start to illustrate their comic in the next 2-3 years. I need more practice before I commit!

I don't really have any fancharacters but I do like to think of alternate universes including my characters in existing universes such as the Pokémon universe, Hogwarts, etc. It's fun to think what they'd be in such universes. I've actually considered 3 different versions of the Pokémon AUs. One for normal trainers but from different regions, one where they're gym leaders and one that's based on PMD where they're Pokémon.

 

I love OCs. Maybe that's because the only three fanfictions I've ever read, heavily contain OCs. I like reading OCs because I'm a perfectionist when it comes to characters. If I see existing characters then go and read a fanfiction about them, I will nit pick everything that I think that character wouldn't do and it completely ruins the story for me. It's not the writers fault, its my own perfectionist attitude. Reading about a character I've never seen before, is the best way to combat this. I also enjoy reading about new characters. I'm more interested in the journey than the destination and if that journey is taken by someone I've seen already, there is no surprise there.

I like writing OCs because of the freedom you can have with them. You can make whatever you want. You want a character to be a drunker? Have fun. You want a native American to be the main protagonist? Go right ahead. You want said native American to have an enhanced spinal cord with a huge sword tail that can rip enemies apart? Make it essential to the plot. There is so much creativity in a character that you can make up as oppose to one you cannot. However, such creativity can also lead to poor performances. Not everyone can write a good OC but I would encourage everyone to try.

 

I feel like all original works of fanfiction benefit from original characters, if and only if they are done well. To make an original character well, the writer must understand the fan-based world he is writing in. Does the character fit into this world? If it doesn't, is there a good reason why? Original characters suffer from being too alien to the world in which they are born.

That said, a story solely about the characters of a fandom that we know and love also suffers from influence of the writer in the form of out of character writing. Since so many fictions suffer from this, I genuinely believe that it is better to write with OC's than not to. This allows the writer a certain degree of freedom with his own writing style.

 

I love OCs! I think that they work wonderful with original stories: the story is original so the characters should be as well.

I think OCs work great in certain types of fanfiction by adding a diverse speck to the expansive world of fanfiction. My fanfic ​SHAMELESS ADVERTISEMENT GOES HERE has TONS of OCs, and a lot of my reviewers on ff.net like how original it is because of the OCs.

 

I really like making OCs, it gives a lot of freedom for creating his or her personality and traits and able to mold them however you like. With pre-created characters, you have to conform to their specifications otherwise, it will look questionable when they're all of a sudden different in some way without a valid explanation.

My OCs vary from brief appearances, recurring to main members of the cast.

To me, if an OC is written really well with a setting that befits them, then I love reading about them. Not just Pokémon, but other fandoms, I find that writers often go on other forums/websites/wikis that pertain to a fan-made article and make biographies that compliment their OCs. I can't help but appreciate all the effort and time those people put into fleshing their creations out.

 

Pokémon is probably the easiest fandom to put an OC into, but by no means is it a cakewalk. I find that OCs with zero backstory and personality seem to plague the fanfiction world, but sometimes you will come across that rare gem of an OC that, even though you've never seen them before, clicks with you and the story SO FREAKING WELL that you get even deeper into the story than if it had just original characters.

Personally, I like making OCs that are based off canon characters. For example, Trainer Classes work especially well. The 'forgotten' characters of a game, interacting with new faces? yes please. Another thing I have done (only once, though) is based an OC on a canon(ish) character, but one that never appears.
#MissingNo

 

I do have to say that it seems like the FF world is plagued with the OC Mary Sue characters. They are so flat as characters and achieve so little growth that they are just awful. Even if the story is written well, these types of OC are bad for it.

 

I enjoy stories with OCs more than canonical characters. I highly value character development in a story, and as such, stories with OCs have much more to work with than stories with canonical characters since OCs' personalities and development are not predetermined and thus subject to developing however the author wants to develop them. Stories with canon characters seem to develop them less, and any development made to them is personally unsatisfying. I'm not saying that all fanfiction with canon characters is terrible; a rare few manage to develop them quite well. However, there is no denying the pleasure of seeing completely fresh characters interact with others and grow in ways that you might or might not expect.

Also, I write with OCs (mostly), hence a part of the reason why I enjoy them so much.

 

I have some OCs, and for some of them I really mess them up.

then there is ben who claims that Satix is his OC.

 

I actually have very few OCs compared to everyone else in here, as I am not that good at creating them. Although sometimes they just pop in my head while I'm doing something something completely random.