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30 Days of Fanfiction: Day 8
Nov. 6th, 2015 12:53 pm8: 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.
Well yes, but to a certain extent, don't we all? Unless you're writing in a closed world then there must be additional characters who play a part in the story. Most of my case fics require a dead body (or two ...) who quite often have relatives or friends. And then there's the perpetrator. All of whom have to come from somewhere and really can't be the same as before, or we end up with the old joke "Shoot at will", "Will's getting very tired of being shot at."
These characters may have only a small part in the story and yet to an extent need to have some development, even if it's only "why he was killed" and "what made him a killer". There are other characters who are important for a story and I suppose I show only what is necessary for that particular story. In the Lucas/Adam story I'm currently writing Lucas has two members of staff working with him, Jason and Gary, who I suppose could be deemed partially Mary Sues, in that they are good at their jobs and are there to help Lucas. On the other hand I show little else about them, they are no doubt complex characters (as we all are) but that has no bearing on the story.
I have one major OC, DI John Garrett, who appears in a number of my Lewis stories. I wanted a second competent inspector in Oxford CID (yes, competency is a kink of mine) and so brought in (literally, he had recently arrived from Manchester the first time he appeared) someone suitable. Again though, he is only developed as far as necessary for the plot.
My major OCs are ACD Holmes characters brought into BBC Sherlock fics: Victor Trevor and Stanley Hopkins. Both are written because there are things I wish to explore in that 'verse where the canon characters don't provide sufficient scope.
One of the tropes I dislike most is that of the senior officer not being sympathetic to the junior officer/independent detective (or similar) and said junior having to achieve everything by working around them. I prefer my seniors to be understanding of the intentions of the juniors, they may be restrictive in order to prevent further illegalities or through budget liabilities, but not downright obstructive. They may also have good ideas of their own. So I will create them if necessary. And they won't need to have a terrible home life to compensate either. This may be a Mary Sue, or it may just reflect what most of us are like; not brilliant at everything, not awful at everything, but somewhere in the middle.
And of course I couldn't finish a blog post on OCs without mentioning both The Ocelot and Mouselet. Both of whom seem to have acquired lives of their own.
Well yes, but to a certain extent, don't we all? Unless you're writing in a closed world then there must be additional characters who play a part in the story. Most of my case fics require a dead body (or two ...) who quite often have relatives or friends. And then there's the perpetrator. All of whom have to come from somewhere and really can't be the same as before, or we end up with the old joke "Shoot at will", "Will's getting very tired of being shot at."
These characters may have only a small part in the story and yet to an extent need to have some development, even if it's only "why he was killed" and "what made him a killer". There are other characters who are important for a story and I suppose I show only what is necessary for that particular story. In the Lucas/Adam story I'm currently writing Lucas has two members of staff working with him, Jason and Gary, who I suppose could be deemed partially Mary Sues, in that they are good at their jobs and are there to help Lucas. On the other hand I show little else about them, they are no doubt complex characters (as we all are) but that has no bearing on the story.
I have one major OC, DI John Garrett, who appears in a number of my Lewis stories. I wanted a second competent inspector in Oxford CID (yes, competency is a kink of mine) and so brought in (literally, he had recently arrived from Manchester the first time he appeared) someone suitable. Again though, he is only developed as far as necessary for the plot.
My major OCs are ACD Holmes characters brought into BBC Sherlock fics: Victor Trevor and Stanley Hopkins. Both are written because there are things I wish to explore in that 'verse where the canon characters don't provide sufficient scope.
One of the tropes I dislike most is that of the senior officer not being sympathetic to the junior officer/independent detective (or similar) and said junior having to achieve everything by working around them. I prefer my seniors to be understanding of the intentions of the juniors, they may be restrictive in order to prevent further illegalities or through budget liabilities, but not downright obstructive. They may also have good ideas of their own. So I will create them if necessary. And they won't need to have a terrible home life to compensate either. This may be a Mary Sue, or it may just reflect what most of us are like; not brilliant at everything, not awful at everything, but somewhere in the middle.
And of course I couldn't finish a blog post on OCs without mentioning both The Ocelot and Mouselet. Both of whom seem to have acquired lives of their own.
