Writing meta: Writing OCs, part one

I'm working on my novel, can you tell? *g* Ah, procrastination.

It seems like I've written something like this before, but I can't remember when or where. Maybe it was just in comments and I never really made it into a coherent essay.

Anyway, I write a lot of OCs in my fanfic, and I like reading well-written OCs, but there are an awful lot that aren't well-written. So, here is:

Friendshipper's Guide to Writing Compelling Original Characters in Fanfic (part one)

(All strictly my humble opinions, of course, and based in my own experience and personal reading tastes. All my examples are drawn from SGA because that's mainly what I've been reading and writing lately, but these principles apply cross-fandom, I think.)

( The Dos, Don'ts, and How-Tos of Writing OCs, part one )

Okay, I really MUST work on my novel now, or at least go take the clothes out of the dryer and make myself another cup of tea while I pretend to work, so I'll resume this in a later post. Let me leave you with a link to what I believe is one of the best, if not THE best OC-centered stories in SGA fandom, kodiak_bear's The Last Survivor. It's ... research!

Very belated ETA: If you're expecting a "part two" to this ... I think, from the reaction that this got, that I screwed up somewhere either in my concept or delivery -- so I need to figure out what I screwed up and fix it before I write more of this, if that makes any sense.

Writing meta: Writing OCs, part one

I'm working on my novel, can you tell? *g* Ah, procrastination.

It seems like I've written something like this before, but I can't remember when or where. Maybe it was just in comments and I never really made it into a coherent essay.

Anyway, I write a lot of OCs in my fanfic, and I like reading well-written OCs, but there are an awful lot that aren't well-written. So, here is:

Friendshipper's Guide to Writing Compelling Original Characters in Fanfic (part one)

(All strictly my humble opinions, of course, and based in my own experience and personal reading tastes. All my examples are drawn from SGA because that's mainly what I've been reading and writing lately, but these principles apply cross-fandom, I think.)

( The Dos, Don'ts, and How-Tos of Writing OCs, part one )

Okay, I really MUST work on my novel now, or at least go take the clothes out of the dryer and make myself another cup of tea while I pretend to work, so I'll resume this in a later post. Let me leave you with a link to what I believe is one of the best, if not THE best OC-centered stories in SGA fandom, kodiak_bear's The Last Survivor. It's ... research!

Very belated ETA: If you're expecting a "part two" to this ... I think, from the reaction that this got, that I screwed up somewhere either in my concept or delivery -- so I need to figure out what I screwed up and fix it before I write more of this, if that makes any sense.