The OC Revolution Returns

An original character, or OC, is a character created by a fanfic author or roleplayer for an established canon storyline.
- Wikipedia


For a reader, discovering a good OC can be akin to a surprise visit from a chatty Papa George who wants to explain the mysteries of GFFA, including how some of the Empire's best troops could be defeated by tribal teddy bears, why stormtrooper armor didn't work as effectively as clonetrooper armor or why Jedi Padawans wore mullets (business up front/party in the back). Sadly, a bad OC experience is comparable to being trapped in an elevator with Jar-Jar Binks and no available weapons of mass destruction.

Undoubtedly, we've all had our share of bad OC experiences. Every one of us has stumbled across or has written (time to fess up kiddos) one of those OCs who makes you want to stab your eyes out and renounce your literacy. However, we also have read or have written the ones who put a lump in your throat, make you snarf carbonated beverages, see the humanity in the bad guys or think about the GFFA in a totally new light.

OC writers are a tough and often under-appreciated lot, yet we keep trudging back for more--we either like the abuse or have something important to say. This thread is an attempt to provide a forum for OC writers (I know there have been others in the distant past, but MODS this will be unique, I promise) to pull together, like our very own leper colony, and talk about what makes us tick as writers and why we tell the stories we do.
- oqidaun (former Fanfic Moderator, founder of the OC Revolution, and quite the Original Character in her own right)

Welcome back, everyone, to the thread all of our OCs call home! It has been nearly nine months since we last convened, but all the more reason to get this rocking again. With the new boards, we will have some changes to the old system. A new day brings new excitements.

The database, as it was, fell apart, as few people were submitting their stories or characters any more, so we will no longer be continuing with the database. The old database thread still exists here (though still in a truncated form). We will, however continue our fine tradition of OC discussions and challenges, reviving the OC dueling circle once again.

Note (1-8-2015): You are welcome to discuss your other fandom and original fiction OCs as well as Star Wars ones.

Note (1-25-2015): Linking to fics is currently allowed in this thread when they are relevant to an ongoing discussion (please don't just drop your story link into the conversation.) See the new policy for details before linking anything: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/new-policy-regarding-linking-to-fics-in-resource.50026587/ The post may still be edited if it's deemed to be pimping/promoting, so exercise your best judgment.

The thread to list your OC characters is the OC Index Thread:

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/oc-index-thread-index-updated-08-oct-2015.50026711/

Current thread host: earlybird-obi-wan
NB: From April 24 through December 31, 2018, the thread will be hosted by @Findswoman, who will also be controlling this sock during that time.

 

Current Challenge (Spring 2018):
The new spring challenge provided by Ewok Poet:

An event from your OC's childhood that influenced them and change them, whether it was for better or worse.

Challenge deadline: May 31, 23.59 Pacific time

Current Noncompetitive Challenge:
Provided by brodiew—introduce a brand new OC in 500–1500 words! See this post for details.

Recurring Challenge Rules
Just so we're all clear how all of these challenges are going to work:

1. For your response to be accepted for voting, it must be OC-driven. This means that it features only OCs or any canon characters that appear only play a minor role.

2. You may write your responses in any era (Before/Saga/Beyond). Stories may be from either the Star Wars or the Non Star Wars Fan Fiction section.

3. Do not post your challenge responses or links to them in this thread. Instead, PM them to the OCDatabaseSock. When time for voting comes the thread hosts will post a list of links to stories that were entered into the challenge.

4. Each challenge will have a deadline. In order to be qualified for voting, your story link must be PMed to the sock by that deadline. If you are late, we will still share it with the thread, but it is ineligible for voting.

5. The voting period will usually be about a week long. Each challenge will specify this length. Votes should be PMed to the sock within that period to count.

6. You cannot vote for yourself. Also, please don't just vote for your friends. Read everyone's responses and chose the winner after you have read through them all. Let's be fair to everyone.

7. You can vote for the person who provided the previous challenge.

8. The winner of each challenge gets to set the theme for the next challenge. The winner should PM the sock with their challenge idea after each challenge finishes.

 

PAST CHALLENGES
Here we will list past challenges, entries, and winners. (Last updated 24 April 2018)

October 2012 Challenge: OC Deathcoaster 2012!
It's that time again! Kill your OC (or many OCs!) in a clever and unexpected way. Extra points for blunt trauma. I know you are attached to your OCs and their story lines, but I encourage you to take an AU turn from your personal universe and give your OC a sudden and untimely death that, for this challenge, has nothing to do with the end you originally planned for them.

Let's keep this short: 2000 word limit.

Entries:
Sacrifice by MasterGhandalf
Crash Landing by SoA (ineligible for voting)

Winner:
Sacrifice by MasterGhandalf

March 2013 Challenge: "Close Your Eyes"
This is a two-part challenge. It's your choice if you want to do only one part (either one) or both in the same story.

In many of our stories we rely heavily on the use of visuals and the sense of sight. In this challenge we're going to engage another of our senses…

Part A
Write a story in which at least one scene is dominated by a sense (or senses) other than sight. Have us experience the scene through the character's hearing, smell, touch, taste, or even the Force.

Part B
Music can evoke powerful feelings and can influence our writing in many ways. Write a story in which at least one scene has been somehow directly influenced by a song, and let us know what song it is. This is very open to interpretation. Did a powerful classical piece put you in the right frame of mind to write that big battle? Did a single line of lyrics from that soft love song give you an idea for a character's relationship?

Entries:
The SONIM Threat (Chapter 23, first scene) by earlybird-obi-wan
Stargirl by leiamoody

Winner:
Stargirl by leiamoody

May 2013 Challenge: "The Worst Day of Your Life"
Challenge provided by leiamoody:

Write about the worst day of a character's life. If the character has experienced more than one "worst day", pick the one that has impacted their life the most. The "worst day" doesn't have to be the standard tragic fare. It could be something that is really silly but awful to the character.

Entries:
Complications by earlybird-obi-wan
Nothing Good in Goodbye by Thumper09 (ineligible for voting)

Winner:
Complications by earlybird-obi-wan

August 2014 Challenge:The OCs Want a Vacation!
Write about your overworked original characters on a vacation. Alternately, send your peacefully-living, relaxed OCs on a vacation. It’ll make things interesting for them.

Entry and winner:
Respite by Mando-Man

Fall Challenge 2014
Challenge provided by Mando-Man:
Your original character(s) help someone through a difficult time. This does not have to mean a death or major tragedy, but also applies to any situation in which the other character could use their support.

Entries:
Shattered by Mando-Man
Reintegration by Ink.Knight
Raissa Baiard Solves Them All by Raissa Baiard
The Commander's Holo-com by Viridian-Maiden
A tree-dweller in Imperial City by Chyntuck

Winner:
Raissa Baiard Solves Them All by Raissa Baiard

Winter Challenge 2014
Challenge provided by Raissa Baiard:

My idea was that your OC receives (or gives) an unexpected gift. (I don't know if it matters, but writers can interpret "gift" however they want to, e.g. a Force ability, or a bounty)

Entries:
Festival of the Long Night by Ink.Knight
All I Have to Give by divapilot
If You Give Me the Chance by SabyneAmberle
Not Exactly an Old-Fashioned Life Day by Raissa Baiard
Unexpected Parenthood by Chyntuck

Winner:
Unexpected Parenthood by Chyntuck

Spring Challenge 2015
Challenge provided by Chyntuck:

Your OC grapples with the concept of family (which can mean having or not having a family, becoming part of a new family either literally or metaphorically, struggling to find one's place in a family, or basically whatever interpretation you want to give to the prompt as long as it involves family.

Entries:
Ashes to Ashes by Ink.Knight
Recovering Home by whiskers
The Crib by Chyntuck
”Strength of Will” by JadeLotus
About a Boy by Ewok Poet
Travelling with Children by MsLanna

Winner:
About a Boy by Ewok Poet

Summer Challenge 2015
Challenge provided by Ewok Poet:

Your character experiences walking in somebody else's shoes. You may interpret that in any way you like: they can fill in for somebody at work, read somebody's mind...or pretty much anything in between!

Entries:
The Pixelpuff Girls – Rescue of Lara Croft by Sith-I-5
Mary Formal attends SMERSH interview by Sith-I-5
Half the Battle by Thumper09
Out From the Shadows by whiskers
The Chronomaker and the Findsman by Findswoman
Ain’t Me by Rau_Fang
Destination:Anywhere (The Black Star, Chapter 4) by Ewok Poet

Winners (2):
Half the Battle by Thumper09
The Chronomaker and the Findsman by Findswoman

Autumn Challenge 2015
Challenge provided by Findswoman:

Write a story in which your character's feelings, choices, and/or actions are influenced by the experience of either hearing or making music (e.g., singing, playing, etc.). Please note the following:
- This is distinct from a songfic in that the music has to be taking place in-universe.
- The influence has to come from the music itself, not just the words of a song, though lyrics and melody can work in tandem.
- Descriptions of specific characteristics of the music (things like volume, instrumentation, tempo, etc.) are highly encouraged but not absolutely required.

Entries:
Evensong by leiamoody
The Spacer’s Song (non-competition) by Findswoman
Radiophonic Heart (non-competition) by Ewok Poet

Winner:
Evensong by leiamoody

Spring Challenge 2016
Challenge provided by leiamoody:

Write about a character who is normally always busy doing nothing (i.e. something that is essential for daily survival but not life-altering; ex. Doing laundry). This can be a brief moment of downtime during an otherwise busy day, or someone who is undergoing a long period of inactivity. The writer can decide if their character is happy/unhappy with this state.

Entries:
Part 1 andPart 2 of Australian Adventure - Day Three (2-chapter entry) by Sith-I-5
Champion by Chyntuck
The Long Road to Recovery by whiskers
Hard Time by Thumper09
Between the Porch and the Altar by Findswoman
After the Climb by Ewok Poet

Winners (2):
Between the Porch and the Altar by Findswoman
The Long Road to Recovery by whiskers

Summer/Autumn/Winter Challenge 2016
There were two challenge prompts because the last challenge had two winning entries:

1, from Findswoman:
Write a story featuring an OC who is never physically present in the story but still manages to influence the events and outcome in a pivotal way. The character can be absent from the scene for any reason the author chooses, including death. (NB: it's OK for the character to be perceived in some other way—e.g., heard over a comm call, heard through a nearby doorway, sensed in the Force, etc.—as long as the character is never actually seen in person "onstage.")

2, from whiskers:
One of the things I remember most about a favorite autobiography of mine was that the athlete recalling another person that trained with him. He had mostly nice things to say, but his main criticism has always stuck out: "he has burned bridges that he should have just looked back at."

My challenge is this: your character burns the proverbial with someone and there is no turning back from it. They may regret it, or they may not, the choice is up to you.

Entries:
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark by divapilot
Life, Death and Other Goals by Ewok Poet
The Lost Artist by Chyntuck

Winner:
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark by divapilot

Spring Challenge 2017
Provided by divapilot:

Write a story in which your OC forgets or remembers something important at a critical time.

Entries:
Quite a Handful (links to Part II and Part III here) by Ewok Poet
Mary Formal and E-Branch chapters by Sith-I-5: Australian Adventure - Day Three (1pm...ish), (later in the afternoon), and (afternoon, at the fishing boat)

Winner:
Quite a Handful (links to Part II and Part III here) by Ewok Poet

Summer Challenge 2017
Provided by Ewok Poet:

Your character has lost something or somebody and needs to get it back. The story can be comical or serious.

Entries:
Prophesy: The Rogues: a Star Wars Kingdom Hearts Crossover by Theodore Hawkwood
Families by DARTH_MU
The Dancer and the Thief by Chyntuck
Keeping up with the Calrissians: Back Again by Mistress_Renata

Winner:
The Dancer and the Thief by Chyntuck

Autumn/Winter Challenge 2017
Provided by Chyntuck:

Write a story or a chapter of an on-going story in which the reader is introduced to an OC protagonist entirely through the point of view of another, secondary character. To clarify:
1) Your OC is the main character of the story/chapter, i.e. the story/chapter is primarily about this OC.
2) Your OC is not the POV character, i.e. we never get inside your OC's head.
3) The POV character may be another OC or an established character.
4) The narrative POV in the story/chapter must be either first-person or third-person limited.

Entries:
My Worst Student, the Young Comradette Vorr by Ewok Poet
The Kyberkerk of Kedha by Chyntuck

Winner:
My Worst Student, the Young Comradette Vorr by Ewok Poet

PAST NONCOMPETITIVE CHALLENGES

Just-for-Fun Challenge: Festivities
This is a non-competition challenge. It can be done separate from or in addition to the Winter Challenge. Write a story that includes the word "festivities" and use 500 words or less.

Entries:
"Dearest Delphine!" by Findswoman
Festival of the Long Night by Ink.Knight (challenge entry but incorporated the just-for-fun challenge as well)

February 2015: "Oh my darling Valentine"
Provided by earlybird-obi-wan. Write a story based on this quote: Oh my darling Valentine

Entries:
Nuv by Ewok Poet

2018: Moving
Write a story about your OC and moving.

 

Let's get this discussion rolling! As we gather a critical mass, let's start with something small. I have a little interview for your OCs:

1. Please do introduce yourself.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?



SoA here, sad to say, my fantastic co-host Corellian_Ale has not made it back after the board shift. In the midst of the shift, I started grad school. As you can imagine, my spare time is much less than it was before. If anyone is interested in helping to co-host this thread do let me know. If I'm not running out of steam all the time, this will be way more exciting.

 

OC Revolutionaries unite!

1. Please do introduce yourself.

Hey everyone, I'm Leiraya, resident barefoot Jedi.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

Let's see. I believe the crew and I were getting ourselves off Korriban.

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

With all due respect to my author, she had a habit of leaving me hanging a lot before the board closure, so I barely noticed the difference. I know, she has a busy schedule, and something about having a grown up job. I'm just saying, she found time for me during her worst semesters of college- heck, she started writing me when she wasn't even allowed to type.

But, you know, she's been writing more lately, so that's good. She's just on notice.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

I mean, when you all left us, we were on a ship. It's not hard to be on a ship, so I'm sure she'd manage. Though she may have trouble keeping herself entertained that long... unless perhaps those three months were spent writing our continuing adventures? Is that what we have to do to get her to finish this story? Can we test the theory?

 

W00t!

1. Please do introduce yourself.
Hi, everyone, I'm Quiver Yanilr, X-wing Starfighter Pilot Extraordinaire. My writer would probably say that my wingman Darin should be writing this instead, but trust me, you don't want that. He's way too quiet and would probably type all of two words before he runs out of things to say. I never quite figured out why my writer uses his callsign to post here. Why not mine? Better yet, why don't I have an account of my own? I should make one; it'd be a lot more fun than commandeering this one.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?
Luckily she didn't leave me hanging personally. She was messing with some groundpounders on these boards before they closed down. She continued to antagonize me during the downtime like she normally does, though not quite as often as before since she was concentrating on a story about Darin before I met him, so I was nowhere in it. At all. I was shoved off into a dark corner... all alone...

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?
At first I liked the little vacation. Hey, who doesn't, right? I could sleep in, not get beat on, it was awesome. But by the second day I started to get really bored. I tried being a nuisance to get some attention, and she'd just mutter something about how she really wanted to finish this other story and she didn't want to be distracted by me until it was done. Can you believe that? How rude. Plus she'd never let me borrow the car to go to the beach, so I went a little stir-crazy.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?
Pfft, there's no way to know. I can't figure her out any more than I can figure Darin out. Like, for example, when my writer is in writing mode then she thinks and talks about us going to other planets like it's the most natural thing in the galaxy, but then when she's out of writing mode it's like there's some switch that gets flipped and suddenly making a short little flight to Earth's moon to pick up a few dirty ol' rocks is some huge accomplishment to aspire to. How do I deal with that? I never know which mindset she's in, and it drives me crazy!
*
Oh, on a completely different topic though, when I was messing around on my writer's computer and rifling through things (don't tell her I did that), I noticed she has pre-move threads saved, so if anything from the old OC thread is needed in its non-truncated form, I'm sure she'll be happy to supply it. Hey, she volunteers me for things all the time. Payback is sweet.

 

YES!!!!

1. Please do introduce yourself.

I am Jehna Er-San, surgeon and anaesthetist at Noranan General hospital on Moniron. I have recently joined the hospital after saving former Jedi healer Aaqu Maerhin. My writer had a story outlined for me (it had to be on the boards at the same time as the summer Olympics with the theme of running a marathon) and my colleagues Aaqu Maerhin and Marhin Adin - both recovering from an accident are writing a diary that would have them commenting on me and my adventures.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

At the first unpublished part that reads like this



‘I hate you!’
Flames – burning flames – were dancing on the black and red surface.
‘You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you!’
A hand was outstretched.
A burning man tried to crawl away.
He was trapped.
Why?
Why was no one coming?
He tried to kick away the rubble with his legs.
Arms were flailing.
He was getting free.
But…
He was falling towards….
“Oh nooh … someone help me…. darkness … I am trapped.”


Pretty scary I think and I recall something from years back when I was a kid having the same dream. I felt two Jedi fighting on Mustafar and had a nightmare (or vision) about that. My teacher Tarmenel Eled-Hir could comfort me and tell me that Anakin had some good in him.

That saved him and I had a nice dream when he returned to the light and the eternity that is the Force and was united with his wife Padmé



3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

Scary. What will the writer do with me? She called the story Inferno.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

She would be scared too. But maybe with a difference. I have midi-chlorians and some outlines of that story will have me loosing all of them.


http://boards.theforce.net/threads/inferno.50003173/




[link=http://boards.theforce.net/threads/inferno.50003173/]inferno[/link]

 

1. Please do introduce yourself.

My name is Sevastra Strange. Strange by name *and* by nature, or so I'm told.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

I was about to go to Hogwarts, a school of magic, though I doubt a muggle like you would understand. I'm not a muggle and I don't think I do, to be honest.

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

Weird, I guess. I'm not sure I like the idea of starting at a new school, and so far from home. Then again, it's exciting. The book on Hogwarts is fascinating and I can't wait to actually get there.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

I think she'd be more excited than me. She obviously knows more about Hogwarts than she lets on. That said, she'd have to deal with my parents, and they're not the most amazing people at the best of times. She'd cope though, I hope.

 

*chooses txt file at random*

1. Please do introduce yourself.

I'm Utu Rundess, head tech of the Yamay Rangers, an Outer Rim mercenary group. I hate sand, mud, rain, and anything else that doesn't belong in the controlled climate of a spacefaring vessel.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

I'm presently on Tatooine. With Jabba dead, there's no reason to stick around and I'm waiting for the captain and first mate to return so they can tell us where we're headed.

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

I've had these . . . premonitions, I guess, about what's going to happen when he starts writing again. I don't want it to happen, but it will. So to be quite honest, I'm enjoying this quiet interlude while it lasts and, frankly, kind of hoping his attention turns to the dozen or so other half-written stories he has.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

He'd fret for the first couple of days, then realize there's nothing he can do about the situation and ignore it until he can't. Probably.

 

Look at all these OCs! Huzzah! I guess I should let one of mine in as well too.


1. Please do introduce yourself.
My name is Kionee Rinnh and I'm a produce freighter pilot for Rinnh Imports.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?
Where she usually does when she leaves me alone for other more interesting characters. I just kept freighting all that fruit across the galaxy like I've always done, seeing interesting sites, meeting interesting people, watching lots of chick flicks on my holoprojector while I'm in hyperspace, you know.

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?
It's just as well. Ev and the rest of them were off doing way more interesting things.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?
I'm pretty sure she'd get bored. She doesn't like chick flicks that much, and that's all I've got saved on my ship computer here. Plus, she has no idea how to fly, and I bet she'd get the munchies and go for some of my stock in the hold, and that is bad business.


While I'm here, I want to welcome Thumper as our new thread Co-host! Thanks so much for stepping up! The first real challenge of the thread will go up sometime soon this week.

 

1. Please do introduce yourself.

My name is Mark Tantiss. If my last name sounds familiar, it’s because I am named after Mount Tantiss on Wayland where I was discovered. I am a clone created by Joruus C’baoth. What most people don’t know is there were two Luuke Skywalker clones created by C’baoth. One was to be his apprentice and the other was mutated to become an Imperial Sentinel (that's me)—a chemically lobotomized 2.1 meter giant that would be an extension of C’baoth’s will. I was lucky enough to be saved by Han Solo and Luke Skywalker before the lobotomy was performed on me. Along with being much taller and muscular than Luke Skywalker, I have changed my looks by dying my hair, changing my eye color and growing a beard to look as different from Luke as possible. I am currently studying to be a Jedi. Here's a photo of me in my battle armor. I hate Jedi robes.


2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

I just lost my virginity. That is a pretty good place to be left hanging.

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

I was in bed with a beautiful woman…so I didn’t mind.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

I don’t think she would like it. She would much prefer lying around in bed with a certain blue-eyed farmboy.

 

1. Please do introduce yourself.

Dr. Nivi Abrixin, Jal Shey, formerly of the Republic Bioterrorism Countermeasures Center. I am versed in a number of fields, but specialize in epidemiology, genetics, and pathology.


2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

Oh, I was nothing more than a phantom fragment of quantum possibility at that point, concrete imagery has only emerged very recently. My author is a fickle one sometimes, he spent the move blowing up starships with Imperials and playing with sharks.


3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

Hard to be abandoned when you don't yet exist, but in some ways, it sounds nice, right about now. I would be happy if time stopped and I could put everything aside and spend a few...years...reading. I think then I might feel ready to take on the present.


4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

That is a deep and philosophical question that is entirely too meta for my taste. You should probably refer it to a Jedi instead.

 

1. Please do introduce yourself.
Keyo Soren, former Jedi, now Shadow Jedi.
2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?
In a dark place with water and sand all alone.

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?
I was waiting for my story to continue, he left me in such a cliffhanger.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

He wouldn't really like the place for to long, being along isn't to much fun.

 

Good to see all of these OCs back and that none of you abused them too badly over the break. Now we have our first challenge back on the new boards.

OC Deathcoaster 2012!

It's that time again! Kill your OC (or many OCs!) in a clever and unexpected way. Extra points for blunt trauma. I know you are attached to your OCs and their story lines, but I encourage you to take an AU turn from your personal universe and give your OC a sudden and untimely death that, for this challenge, has nothing to do with the end you originally planned for them.

Let's keep this short: 2000 word limit.

Deadline: October 31, 2012

PM links of your responses to the sock.

 

1. Please do introduce yourself.
My name is Jane Mago. I'm a Corellian-born Jedi currently training on Coruscant under my godfather, Qui-Gon Jinn, alongside his other apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'm not going to beat around the bush with saying this: I'm a genius. My head just stores and comprehends information better than others. I'm also a decent fighter, artist and mechanic, but my real love is music and singing. Even though I'm just a kid, I've got a lot of dark secrets hidden behind my hazel eyes. If I feel like I trust you enough, I may just tell you them. And if I particularly like you, I may just tell you my real name.

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?
I was sitting beside my new best friend, Jace Solo, and he was playing piano and we were both singing. (Note from Writer: At this point, Jane was six standard years old and Jace was eight standard years old, the year being 37 BBY. Both get older as the story progresses)

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

I'm okay with it, because I was with friends. Jace is the best, and the only friend I have that's my age.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?

I think she'd be happy. I mean, who wouldn't want to be surrounded by good friends?

 

To get the creative juices flowing for the Deathcoaster challenge, let's look at character deaths for a moment.

Has the death of one of your OCs been particularly memorable for you? Whether it was due to the emotions involved (your own or your other characters'), the way you wrote it, the reactions from readers, or something else?

Do you have an OC whose death you've regretted writing? Would you change the outcome if you could do it all over again?

Do you have an OC (maybe a villain, maybe not!) whom you would like to kill off but can't yet? Maybe they're needed for something in the story down the road, maybe you've tried and they just won't stay dead.

When one of your characters has completed his/her role in your story, how do you decide whether to kill the character off or to send them away alive?

 

I had to write the death of a character I really liked. It was kind of hard and I didn't want to do it, but it was important to the plot. The story was a three part thing that I wrote ages ago. The last part, which I still haven't written, involves a lot of death. I guess that's why I haven't written it yet.

 

Has the death of one of your OCs been particularly memorable for you? Whether it was due to the emotions involved (your own or your other characters'), the way you wrote it, the reactions from readers, or something else?

The death of Lynne, in my Claymore fic Silver Gray, remains my most memorable, because it involved a character who was innocent of any real wrongdoing sacrificing herself to preserve the lives of others who didn't know her and in fact actively despised her. It was incredibly challenging to do, but it worked out to be everything I hoped for, and reader reaction was very positive.

Do you have an OC whose death you've regretted writing? Would you change the outcome if you could do it all over again?

I was obligated to kill a character in The People's Armor for reasons of plot necessity. I was not entirely happy with how I did it, overall.

Do you have an OC (maybe a villain, maybe not!) whom you would like to kill off but can't yet? Maybe they're needed for something in the story down the road, maybe you've tried and they just won't stay dead.

I don't really maintain a personal continuity in the way some fanficcers do, so this isn't really an issue. I take this sort of thing story by story, and generally figure out who will die well in advance.

When one of your characters has completed his/her role in your story, how do you decide whether to kill the character off or to send them away alive?

Would it be believable for the character to just leave? At that present time? Will whatever they go off to do prevent them from coming back later? Would that be a problem, or can that be worked with? This is particularly important in a high-tech reality like Star Wars, where a character cannot simply wander off into the wilderness and get lost for a decade or so in the way fantasy settings can often pull. I try not to kill a character frivolously, as I recall a sequence where I set a character away and the plot them moved in such a fashion that he was able to come back and play a significant role later without needing to create another random character.

 

There was a really long time where I didn't want to kill anyone, and then I set up a minor OC at the end of "Under the Shadow of the Builders" just so that you would love him for three chapters before I'd kill him, making the whole war a bit more 'real.' Trouble is, I loved him by the time I killed him. It really makes me want to go back and insert him into some earlier stories.

I had to write through the first Jedi purge to get to where I'm going with my bigger story arc, and it was really hard to start killing off some of my more prominent OCs. It stressed me out really badly. But now that I made it through the death of almost the entire order (I killed something like 300 Jedi in one chapter ), I am kind of excited to kill off other characters. I had originally only planned to kill one or two characters before the end of my main epic, but now I'm coming up with more and more reasons to kill off other characters. Bring on the drama!

Really, I kill off characters when canon demands it, and then some. We do write in Star Wars, and people die in war. Having a cast of invincible characters, untouched by death sometimes can feel a bit contrived. I also kill of characters, sometimes, to set up a certain mind-set for the other characters that survive them. If there isn't a particular reason for a character to die, I generally let them walk out of the story alive.

 

Has the death of one of your OCs been particularly memorable for you? Whether it was due to the emotions involved (your own or your other characters'), the way you wrote it, the reactions from readers, or something else?
I've killed off one OC. At first the readers wanted me to kill her because this OC was married to Luke Skywalker. In my story Mara turned Luke down when he proposed marriage, but later regretted it. So the readers wanted my OC DEAD! This would allow Luke (after grieving) to hook up with Mara. But her death saved the life of Luke and then everybody was all, "Oh I'm so sad you OC is dead." I think they wanted me to make her unlikeable before her demise.

Do you have an OC whose death you've regretted writing? Would you change the outcome if you could do it all over again?
If I didn't kill off the above OC, Luke wouldn't be with Mara...so no I don't regret it. She died a hero.

Do you have an OC (maybe a villain, maybe not!) whom you would like to kill off but can't yet? Maybe they're needed for something in the story down the road, maybe you've tried and they just won't stay dead.
No, I don't have one I want to kill.

When one of your characters has completed his/her role in your story, how do you decide whether to kill the character off or to send them away alive?
I really don't want to kill off my character. I want him alive when the story is done. My OC story was originally planned to be an angst filled plot where the OC dies tragically, but then I decided to go the opposite direction and he is very happy now.

 

I know this isn't what you had in mind, but:

In one AU where the Empire won the Battle of Yavin, I killed everyone who wasn't airborne when the Death Star fired, and probably most of the pilots as well. I don't regret having killed them, but I do regret not having written their deaths except as a line or two of exposition. If I could do it over again, I'd kill them - alas, the premise of the AU demands it - but I think I'd put in a scene or two just so I can remember that they were living until I decided otherwise.

 

Has the death of one of your OCs been particularly memorable for you? Whether it was due to the emotions involved (your own or your other characters'), the way you wrote it, the reactions from readers, or something else?

Hmm... from a Star Wars fic, probably the Master, aka the Yuuzhan Vong-created clone of Anakin Solo, from I, Warrior, though this is more from writing Tahiri's own thoughts on emotions on having to kill someone who looked just like Anakin rather than anything about the Master himself (dude deserved it, honestly). From a non- Star Wars fic, I think the death of Wei Ming, a tragic villain from an Avatar: Last Airbender story, is probably the best OC death I've written.

Do you have an OC whose death you've regretted writing? Would you change the outcome if you could do it all over again?

Not really; I generally don't kill a major character unless I feel like it's the best way to resolve the story, or at least their part of it. I've written deaths I've felt sad about, but never that I regretted writing.

Do you have an OC (maybe a villain, maybe not!) whom you would like to kill off but can't yet? Maybe they're needed for something in the story down the road, maybe you've tried and they just won't stay dead.

Not currently, but Jadek Hunner and Akhi Lian (both from I, Warrior as well) were bad guys who certainly had their fates coming to them. Hunner, never more than a side villain, I got to kill off quickly, but Akhi Lian stubbornly stuck around until he finally caught a fatal case of Jaina's lightsaber-to-the-neck.

When one of your characters has completed his/her role in your story, how do you decide whether to kill the character off or to send them away alive?

I mostly go with my gut for what feels right for the character and the story- and this can change as the story and characters develop. To use another I, Warrior example, Captain Hassk, a Trandoshan mercenary working for the real villains, was originally slated to die, but I ended up liking the character enough that he got arrested instead. Maybe he'll show up again someday...

EDIT: And here's the first round of questions, too:

1. Please do introduce yourself.

My name is Keenah, Yuuzhan Vong priestess of the goddess Yun-Ne'shel and, so far as I am aware, the only member of my race to possess the power of the Force. Does this satisfy you?

2. Where did your writer leave you hanging during the board closure?

He left me just as I had realized that my Master, who I had trusted to teach me to use my abilities, was perhaps not the true servant of the gods I had believed him to be following a confrontation with a specter that called itself Darth Sidious. I would prefer not to speak of this further.

3. How did you feel being abandoned like that right there?

Extremely uncomfortable.

4. How do you think your writer would do, put in the same position?
My writer is an infidel. I cannot imagine how he could have ended up in my position. Are we done here?

 

Haha. Well, we won't be bothering Keenah any more now.

Let's extend the deadline for the current OC challenge through this Sunday night, in case there are some OC writers without power now in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. I hope everyone is doing alright!

 

To get the creative juices flowing for the Deathcoaster challenge, let's look at character deaths for a moment.

Has the death of one of your OCs been particularly memorable for you? Whether it was due to the emotions involved (your own or your other characters'), the way you wrote it, the reactions from readers, or something else?

I would think that the most memorable would be my first OC and my first kill: Jorec Merridon. He was a Jedi who somehow managed to survive the Purge, so he was always slated to die. Thing is, as I kept getting closer and closer to the end, I began to really doubt that I could actually go through with it. Thing is, the death wasn't that much of a downer: he saved his family and got to go all blue ghosty, but I won't forget it.

Do you have an OC whose death you've regretted writing? Would you change the outcome if you could do it all over again?

I haven't really racked up that large of a body count of original characters, but I certainly regret killing off the OC wife of another one of my OCs. At the very least, I probably should have given her a bit more characterization before offing her. I guess that was a side-effect of having that group of OCs being in a "limited series" if you will.

Do you have an OC (maybe a villain, maybe not!) whom you would like to kill off but can't yet? Maybe they're needed for something in the story down the road, maybe you've tried and they just won't stay dead.

I would love to write the final fate of Ardon'iloet, a fallen Twi'lek Jedi that I played in an RPG game a couple of years back. The last anyone saw of him was fleeing into the Almas wilderness after the mission that saw him kill a fellow party member and nearly killing another. I imagine that he could be a major thorn in the side of some pre-Alliance rebel cells as an Inquisitor.

When one of your characters has completed his/her role in your story, how do you decide whether to kill the character off or to send them away alive?

I generally look at the character and say: what would be the best way to write him or her off? Put them on a bus or relegate them to mere background cameos? Or I can kill them. What would either option do to the other characters in the story. How would they react to either scenario and what would come across as best in the narrative?

 

And the entries for the Deathcoaster challenge are in!


Sacrifice by MasterGhandalf

Crash Landing by SoA (ineligible for voting)


MasterGhandalf is the winner of this challenge! Congratulations!

Everyone, pop on over to those stories and enjoy some good old-fashioned character death!

MasterGhandalf, as the winner you get to come up with the next challenge prompt. Just PM your challenge idea to the Sock.