Fanfiction and Original Characters aka OCs

I'm kidding of course everyone. It's easier of course to write an original character, which we will dub the OC through out this hub, in an original story. Why? Because for one, you are creating the character, the land, the planet, the story, etc... However, in a fanfiction you have a story, characters, etc... created and it is a bit harder to get an OC in the story. Some may think it is the reverse, but to me it isn't. However, creating an OC isn't impossible in a fanfiction. The important thing to remember when creating an OC is to make that character believable, but we will get to that later. Even though there are some that are strictly no OC, I think having an original character (alright I interchange OC and original character, give me a break) can be good. The OC can add to your story, plus you may need to add OCs to your story. So lets get started.

The Mary Sue is the worst kind of OC write. She or he has a perfect life, and we all know that no one has a perfect life. Also the character is perfect in every way. We as humans (or whatever your character is) have flaws. When you are creating your OCs, you need to create a flaw or two for your character. You never want to create a Mary Sue. It just simply makes your story unbelievable.

To begin, a strong OC is one that has a few components to it:

• flaws
• a life that emulates ours in the sense that it isn't perfect
• sense of self
• history

Flaws

As I mentioned before, your character will need flaws. These can be emotional, physical, or psycological flaws or they can be combined. If the character does not have any then that character will be considered a Mary Sue. You need to consider the flaws that your character will have. Your character may not be perfect on the outside, however she may be beautiful on the inside...or the opposite. Just consider it.

The Life

The life that we have is not perfect! You know it and I know it. So why do our characters have to have a perfect life? They shouldn't. If they do, that will be considered a Mary Sue. Our lives are like a road, they are smooth at some points, but have plenty of bumps along the way. These bumps can be deaths, divorces, break-ups, and other such things. You get the idea.

Sense of Self

Your character should have a sense of self. This means ethics, morals, and such. We don't want a character who is purely evil or purely good. Our characters need to have challenges in their lives that will make it challenging to them. Such as a character who has good morals, but has difficulty over deciding whether to kill an intruder who has hurt a family member.

History

It is important to make a history for a character. If you don't have a history for the character, you won't be able to look in the past or future. Sometimes you need to think about the character and how she or he is thinking. They could be thinking about the past and that way you can insert their history.

Just remember, the OC is easy as long as you remember that OCs are similar to us in many ways. If you remember that, then you will have a great character. Avoid the Mary Sue! You don't want to create a perfect character...unless you have a perfect life. :) I have faith in you all. I know you all can create great original characters! Good luck and if you need any help, let me know!