Index Browncoats, Hufflepuffs, and Red Shirts? The NSWFF OC Index! *New Challenge!*

It's an interesting question, and I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer it, but I'll give it a go.

For me I find it to be reasonably easy to write OCs. The difficulties I have are more to do with my familiarity of the 'verse I'm writing in. I can write Star Wars really easily, and I could tackle Mass Effect fairly confidently too. I always try and go for the bigger picture and pick out bits of the 'verse that aren't well known, so fitting into canon is less of an issue. Writing an OC in the Discworld 'verse would be another matter completely as it's such a well established 'verse with maps and things. There's no real freedom to explore so I'd find it confining creatively and I'd really struggle there.

So if you imagine the 'verse to be like a sandbox, what I'm really trying to say is that the bigger the sandbox the more fun I can have with it and the easier it is to have that fun.

NEW CHALLENGE:

Exeter actually sent this one to me in Decemeber, but I haven't remembered to check the OC Sock on a regular basis.


"Time"

Your OC discovers a time capsule of sorts left behind by a canon character(s). Maybe it's a journal or a love letter, a container of their favorite things, or even a place they once lived. What form it takes or how much time has passed isn't important?all that matters is that it ?travels through time? to tell your OC a story about the canon character(s).

Due Date: March 19th, 11:59 PM

Just over a week to go and wondering if anyone would like some extra time for the current challenge?





Regardless, let's move on shall we? Speaking of challenges, especially since the diary one is all the rage lately, it seemed only natural to select a diary as the next OCSOTM...

And even though it's almost mid-March, I'd still like to post our current OC Story of the Month:


[Harry Potter]Dear Diary by moosemousse

Please make time to check it out!

I haven't forgotten about it, but between everything, it almost slipped my mind. I am sitting down Tuesday to write and probably Mon, Wed and Thurs also.

Maybe one I write this portion of On The Edge, I'll write this to coinicide with it.

Creating OC's are fun, but the challenging part is creating their characteristics, especially the villains.

Of all the OC's I have written, I think my favorite would have to be Ivar the Fearsome from my HTTYD fiction. I mean, he is a guy you love to hate. He is arrogant, stuck-up, insulting, and a 'in-your-face' kinda guy. I can't tell you how many reviews I have been getting that says that they wish they could get their hands around his neck and strangle him. He is, by far, the most colorful characteristic character I have ever created.

For those folks still working on their submissions, I'll extend the deadline until this saturday. If there are no entries, I'm going to declare the challenge dead.




Discussion:

Why do you choose to write OCs in the fandom (other than George's) that you do? Do you create original characters for more than one fandom? If so, which fandom do you find it more challenging/more fun to create OCs?

I used to do it so there was a little part of me in the story, but that's no longer the case. Other than creating awesome villains, I am starting to get away from creating OC unless it enriches the story. I am considering making one of my villains in my HTTYD a recurring character for my next story. I really think it will add a great element to bring him back.

I write OCs if the story calls for them; in my big Star Trek fic that I started during NaNo this year, I created a Ferengi operative because I needed someone who could work for the rebels on Betazed without having his mind read. Basically, my OCs start off filling plot holes and then develop personalities, and sometimes take over the whole story.

Every fandom I work on ends up with OCs sooner or later. Even when I have more canon characters than I know what to do with, sometimes it's just easier to make someone up to fill that spot than to try to shoehorn an existing character in there.

The best worlds to play in are the ones that are big enough to fit in more than the cannon characters. The SW Galaxy, for example, is enormous, with soooo much scope for expansion and soo many corners to explore that it makes no sense to me to huddle in the same corner with all the other writers, trying not to get an elbow in my eye.

I've got a few characters that have slid from one fandom to another, but for the most part, I create new OCs for each fandom, so that they fit and are a proper part of their worlds.

I'm not sure that it's all that much a 'challenge' to come up with new OCs. The world/fandom itself creates spaces for characters and all I have to do is pick one and fill the space. The Firefly and Dark Angel fandoms are dead easy to come up with new OCs for. Supernatural's another one where there's lots of scope for OCs.