main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

George Doesn't Recognize My Greatness: OC Story Database/OC Story of the Month

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by OriginalYesIAM, Jun 2, 2006.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. correllian_ale

    correllian_ale Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2005
    Keep in mind that OC writers enjoy Star Wars just as much as those who write about the canon or EU characters, and actually for the most part enjoy the same characters. But sometimes you may want to tell a story without using those characters. Maybe the story wouldn't fit anyone you recognize, or it would mean canibilazing that favorite character. That's where the Oc writer says, o.k. "Denva Merimack" would be a great vessel to tell that story through.

    Sometimes the author wants a story that doesn't mess with the recognized continuity of the Star Wars universe, or they just want to write someone new and different than the fourteenth different version of one of the skywlaker/solo clan. It happens, its a ploy to shake things up, that is generally felt to be ignored.

    To many OC story authors, the feeling of being over-looked in fan fiction in favor of the more popular characters like Anakin/Vader, Padme, and Jacen or Jaina Solo is a personal one. It's a feeling of their characters and their stories that they worked very hard on as being dismissed as "Not Good Enough" for the GFFA.

    And I think that there is a general frustration when a piece they've worked just as hard on as those participating in Character Challenges have almost ten different fics, getting heavy responses on the first board of an Era, while their own OC fic falls to page 2 or three in less than a day.

    As far as there being multiple OC threads on the resource boards, keep in mind its generally a collection of like-minded writers all competing with each other to have their OC fic noticed, while competing with all the canon/EU driven stories as well.

    Almost every character in the GFFA seems to have a thread, from Mara, to Vader, to Obi-Wan, to Ghent. Remember, each one of our characters don't have their own thread. There's OC Anonymous, a thread designed to expand writing original characters through various writing excersises. The OC Dueling Circle is a thread where OC writers compete in challenges, a thinly veiled ploy to gain more readers, while supporting each other's stories. Then there's the recently opened OC stories Index(self explainitory), and this thread...which I would compare to a character thread for Obi-Wan(or insert other character here), but with more involved because of all the different characters that authors have to start with from the ground up.

    The general concensus of oc writers is that some of peoples favorite SW personalities were ALL at one time or another an OC; and although we don't have the backing of a Hollywood motion picture, or a top selling EU novel to tell our stories, maybe those who skip over fics because they see OCs in the desrciption, should think about giving the OCs a chance.

    I suggest some people to name their favorite EU character to themselves, and think about how many great stories they would have missed had they not given that story a chance.









     
  2. poor yorick

    poor yorick Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jun 25, 2002
    The shady borderline isn't really at "starring" but at "co-starring." Exeter's An Unlikely Correspondence, which is labeled, "Vader, OC" is an example of a fic that is split straight down the middle between a canon character and an OC. (One would have to be a babe lost in the world of advertising not to put Vader's name first in the story header, however.) I'd argue that the OC is primarily driving the plot, and so therefore the story is an "OC-driven hybrid," despite the fact that there's an awful lot of Vader in there, and most people are probably checking the story out to see what happens to Vader when he allows himself to be influenced by this OC.

    Absolute 50/50 stories like Exeter's are fairly rare, *except* when you're dealing with canon/OC romance. Those stories have all the categorization challenges of "An Unlikely Correspondence," with the added difficulty of sorting out who's driving the plot, since the focus is on the couple functioning as a unit. (Barring couples with especially conflicted or power-imbalanced relationships, anyway.)

    Such a hair-shaving "border condition case" wouldn't be worth bothering about, except for the fact that canon/OC romance is one of the most common types of hybrid fic out there. I have a canon/OC pairing that don't have their own fic at this point, but if they did, the conflict would definitely be between them as a couple and the rest of the galaxy, which wouldn't approve of their relationship. Therefore, the question of who drives the plot could have two answers: the star-crossed lovers, or the disapproving society. Trying to split the OC off from the canon character and determine who's "in charge" wouldn't work very well--particularly since this particular couple would each point at the other and say "s/he is." :p

    So when you flip the coin and it lands edge-up, you need to make an arbitrary decision. I was thinking that canon/OC romance fit more logically within the category of "OC-driven" stories because A) that label is at least 50% accurate, and B) canon/OC romance generally doesn't enjoy the same "protection" of familiarity that other hybrid fic genres do. People like having canon characters to draw them into a story--but not necessarily if they're kissing strangers. So even though the "who's the *real* main character" question may be unanswerable in the case of canon/OC romance, I felt that reader resistance tipped the balance of the sub-genre toward OC-dom. (After all, very few people look at a canon/OC romance and think, "Man, I might read that if only the pairing didn't involve Obi-Wan." They're more likely to think, "Man, I might read that if only the pairing didn't involve an OC.")

    This "benefit of the doubt" would only apply to stories in which a "ruling" on a canon/OC pairing is the sole determining factor of whether a story is OC-driven or not. Just my .02.
     
  3. Layren

    Layren Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2003
    The way I see it on the subject, (and I'm very passionate about it) is if we start excluding fics because they're hybrid stories, we might discourage people who might otherwise attempt to write OC's and come up with good ones. Some of the best OC's I've ever read come from hybrid fics and an author might feel encouraged to write about an OC's background and a pure OC fic, if they were encouraged rather than excluded because it happened to include a canon character also.

     
  4. Lane_Winree

    Lane_Winree Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2006
    You know, for too long I've been silent here at the fan fiction resource, but this topic got my attention.

    I'm the author of a fic that centers around an OC, Darvix "Dap" Zorvan. At other places, the fic has been recieved rather well, but it seems a little harder to get readers here at JC. I often feel that OCs don't quite get the attention they deserve, despite the fact that they may appear in very well-written fics. Part of my problem is that my fic isn't in the NJO era, but I'm further hurt by using an OC as a starring character.

    I enjoy writing OC centric fics, just as much as I enjoy reading OC centric fics. One of the first fics I read when I came to JC about a year ago was "Nameless by Ice," which was a sparkling example of a true OC centric fic. Talkingbananna does have a fair amount of readers, but her fic is so well written I'm shocked she doesn't have more.

    Overall, I think it's a fair statement that OC driven fics don't get enough love. So, I suppose you could say I like this thread. Yay for OCs.

    ~Lane
     
  5. dianethx

    dianethx Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2002
    I haven't been reading the OC threads because it seemed that it was strictly OC driven. I do tend to write hybrid stories. But I would like to work on my OCs but felt that I wasn't particularly welcome on the OC threads. If you are going to do workshops and discussions where hybrid stories are welcome, that would be great.
     
  6. Commander-DWH

    Commander-DWH Manager Emeritus star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2003
    I think hybrids are a perfectly valid form of OC expression. That's how my main OC got her start, and she really just kinda took off. And now, even though she's one of a cast of many in Blue Side, she tends to dominate. Blue Side is most definitely on the more canon-driven end of OC, but I can't seem to extricate my OC from it, even if I really wanted to. And her backstory is completely OC-driven, and I'm looking forward to having time to flesh it out more fully.
     
  7. Luna_Nightshade

    Luna_Nightshade Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2006
    I'm also in favor of hybrids, because many people (myself included) like to "test out the waters" of OC writing prior to diving completely into an OC-driven story. It is somewhat safer to have a concrete story and cast to immerse a major OC into instead of building the entire thing from the ground up. I consider myself an OC writer, though all of my stories with OC's are hybrids as of now. I'm currently "practicing" with these OCs and trying to give them a concrete story before giving them their own separate plot line.
     
  8. correllian_ale

    correllian_ale Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2005
    OC lubber here, and I have nothing against hybrid fics...but how much spotlight sharing is going on? At what point does someone say, hey this is about Jaina, with an OC or two thrown in?

    Hybrids tend to run the Mary Sue risk, which as ALL of us know is another bane to OC writers...
     
  9. KrystalBlaze

    KrystalBlaze Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 3, 2002
    Not allowing hybrids is just silly, IMHO. I understand that OCs do have more trouble standing alone without any help whatsoever from canon characters and throwing one in is a way of ensuring readers, but there are lots of hyrbrid fics that are evenly split that deserve recognition. Perhaps I'm just repeating what lots of people have already said, but hybrids are often what authors use as a clutch to introduce a character that will later go onto have a fic all their own.

    -Krystal
     
  10. Luna_Nightshade

    Luna_Nightshade Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2006
    Ah, yes, the dreaded Mary Sue risk!

    Well... my OCs have a rigorous application process before being allowed into a fic, so hopefully they all avoid that problem...

    But I do see your point about the spotlight shifting away from OC's to canon characters. However, my question for that would be--are we trying to be accomodating to everyone who attempts to write an OC, or only those that write OCs primarily? Could we do a rating system as to the level of participation the OCs have in the fic? As in low, medium, high? Random idea.
     
  11. KrystalBlaze

    KrystalBlaze Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 3, 2002
    I like Luna's idea because it makes sense. I think, though, at the risk of being labeled an idiot, it does say something about the caliber of these boards that we can probably use our common sense in deciding what warrants the difference between allowed and not allowed.

    But on the flip side, I see the need for a system, too. :p

    -Krystal
     
  12. Kudzu

    Kudzu Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 18, 2005
    Another OC writer who plays with canon characters some too.

    Right now, my collaborative epic with Antilles2001, "All in a Day's Work", has an ensemble cast of OCs and canon characters. The lead character is probably Alpha-51, who is an original character, supported in the cast by the pre-existing General Grievous, Bant Eerin, Kit Fisto, Treun Lorn, and Omega and Delta Squads, along with other original characters like the clone gunner Chron, King Eicig, Queen Viktot, the Necrosis Unit, Captain Vernon Admirison, Saregro, Wortho Darr, Gure, Theokro, Clone Commander Toy, Clone Captains Dij, Ekoj, and Elite, Petty Officer Novan, and General Valdell. It's an interesting mix.

    What I enjoy about OCs is the freedom to explore personalities and characters and individual histories in the world of the Star Wars universe. You can really do some cool things with OCs, especially when they're interacting with canon characters.
     
  13. poor yorick

    poor yorick Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jun 25, 2002
    bi0nic wrote: Maybe it's just me being an ignorant newbie, but I don't see all this OC persecution everybody seems to be on about. Is it a left-over mentality from the formative time of fan fiction?

    Well, "formative" as in pre-February, yes. :p Oqidaun's "Burn! Burn! Burn!" was really the breakthrough story, and its success in the Winter FFA startled a lot of people awake.

    I wouldn't call the problem "persecution" as much as I'd call it a thunderous clap of apathy. People just didn't (and don't) like to read about OC's as much as they do about canon characters. If they liked OC's so much better, they'd read original fiction instead of fanfic.

    That's not to say that the situation hasn't improved, however. Up in one of my posts above, I gave some reasons for why I thought the OC's star had risen dramatically lately. You're seeing a lot of new OC-related threads right now because the old ones were pretty much all locked due to disuse a year or more ago, and now suddenly people want OC threads again. I was so bored the other week that I actually went through the Resource Fanfic Index and found every defunct link. (Take off every link--FOR GREAT JUSTICE!!) 8-} I believe there were only one or two still-functioning OC-related threads on the entire list. (Couldn't get the Index to open for a while--I've been able to go look since, though, and found these: "Coming Up With Your OC's Names" and "The OC Database" are still in use, although "Names" had to be unlocked back in April, and the Database has apparently been abandoned by its former archivist. It seems to have been replaced by "Whaddya Mean I'm Not Canon?" "Original Characters: Your Opinion" is still technically open, but due to auto-lock on 6/12. "Why let OC stories get buried?" was locked, got unlocked, and is now locked again. The rest of the links are DEAD! EVERY. SINGLE. ONE OF THEM!! :_| This is the OC link graveyard list I sent the mods:
      Expanding Our Universe: Writing OCs and Not Mary Sue (last post 7/16/04) Locked. Purpose probably fulfilled by "OC Writers Anonymous" thread

      Interviews with Original Characters (Last post 8/18/04) Locked. Purpose probably fulfilled by "From the Shadows: OC Interviews" (Note: "From the Shadows" is due to auto-lock today, 6/3/06.)

      Mary Sue Litmus Test -- (Last post 10/6/05) Locked.

      The Original Character Alliance (Last post 5/24/05) Locked. Purpose probably fulfilled by "OC Writers Anonymous."

      Original character story fan club (Last post 6/10/03) Locked. Purpose probably fulfilled by "OC Writers Anonymous."

      Why let OC stories get buried? (last post 7/9/04) Locked. (Note: was unlocked and upped on 5/30, and is now re-locked with discussion transferred to this thread.)

      Original Romance ? Index and Discussion (last post 7/31/05) Locked (There is also a nearly-unfindable "OC Romance 2.0" thread with 12 posts in it, last posted to in 8/3/05. Locked. URL: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=20968582&brd=10304&start=21000137)
    About 2/3 of the Index's links on all topics were dead, but the OC section had a hideous, D-Day-like fatality rate. People kept trying and trying and trying to stimulate interest in stories that revolved original characters--and it kept not happening. This is why we have separate "Best OC" categories in the fanfic awards. The assumption has been that no OC or OC-driven story could ever possibly compete with material using canon characters, so OC fics needed areas where they only competed against each other. (Since "Burn! Burn! Burn!" won "Best Canon" back in February, that may change, however.)

    Check out some of the posts in the old threads if you want, and look at the gaps in between post dates in some of them. The first 19 posts in the "Why Let OC Stories Get Buried" thread are from back in 2004. That will give you a snapshot of what OC'dom looked like at the time.

    Layren: You have a good point about testing the waters with a hybrid fic before sending an OC out on his or her own.
     
  14. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    Aww, poor babies. If readers want to label every OC as a Mary Sue, then big frigging whoopty doo. They only want to read what's been spoon-fed to them in the pro fic, and they aren't willing to expand their horizons. More's the pity and the loss of reading something different to them. In the process, they tend to chase away writers who want to do something different. Or perhaps the writer caves in and starts doing more canon, less OC. But then, who wins and who loses in that equation? The readers are getting the stuff they want, but the writers are doing stuff they don't want. And if the writers can't feel a connection with some of the "canon" characters they're trying to write, then the characters are written OOC. And guess what? They get criticized for writing the character wrong! But they caved in, just because they wanted more readers! There's no way to win!!!

    Contemptous, am I. So what? I get tired of that Mary Sue label getting slapped on every character that hasn't made a one line appearance in one of the damned EU books, or a brief walk-on in the background behind Jar Jar in TPM. Not all OC's are Mary Sues. And even if one is, so what? Unless the character is so utterly obvious an insert for some teenage girl's Obi obessesion, the character can have some Mary Sue tendencies without being a full-blown Mary Sue, and could still be readable.

    On the subject of canon/OC romances...if a writer wants to write that, then good, let them. As long as it doesn't contradict established pairings from the movies (or the EU if you feel like going there), then let them do what they want.

    (Yes, none of what I wrote above makes sense. Big frigging whoopty doo. The insane are entitled to ramble. :D)
     
  15. dianethx

    dianethx Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2002
    I think what you need to establish is if this thread is for OC stories or if this thread is for OC character development - there is a difference. In one, only OCs are allowed, in the other, those of us trying to make our OCs better (even in hybrid stories) will get the help they need.
     
  16. correllian_ale

    correllian_ale Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2005

    As far as anyone that's posted a message on this thread, I have yet to find an OC by them I would catergorize as a Mary Sue...

    That being said, I don't think hybrid fics are bad, I write one myself...I just don't classify them as the same species.

    Actually, the only time I've seen something I might classify as a Mary Sue would be one of my own...and not the self-insertion kind.
     
  17. OriginalYesIAM

    OriginalYesIAM Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2006
    After a long discussion with my collaborator on this thread, we have decided to allow hybrid fics into our collection. For defining hybrid's - a fic that has a random OC thrown in does not qualify as a hybrid fic. The OC must have a significant role and by significant we mean at least 50% of the story must be tied to the OC to qualify as a hybrid. Fics that are borderline will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
     
  18. KrystalBlaze

    KrystalBlaze Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 3, 2002
    Yay! [:D]

    I'm a little confused at the moment. So we've got the main taken care of. Is there going to soon be a topic for discussion? ;)

    -Krystal
     
  19. correllian_ale

    correllian_ale Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2005
    no...no...no more, please. I'm too weak...I can't hold out much longer...

    :p

    Actually, since I was the staunchy "No Hybrids Allowed" guy, I gotta' ask, does anbody that writes hybrid fics plan on kicking those OCs out onto their own, or are you content to keep them in stories with the canon/EU characters? (not a bait, I'm generally curious)

     
  20. Darth_Intangable

    Darth_Intangable Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 4, 2006
    I have a few OC's that are just in as mains in Silent and Loud Death, but the story doesn't revolve around them... but yes correllian_ale I am planning on writing sstories that are all OC with one of them as the main...

    -A[face_coffee]
     
  21. GrandAdmiralV

    GrandAdmiralV Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 30, 2005
    [face_laugh]

    In my own case, I'll probably always keep writing hybrid fics, just because with the way I've set up the stories it's necessary for the OCs to interact with canon characters. The only exception I might make is a story involving Viraess that takes place back when she was fresh out of the Academy or something along those lines.

    So I'm relieved to see that hybrid fics are allowed here, because otherwise I wouldn't really be able to participate in this thread.
     
  22. dianethx

    dianethx Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2002
    I'm not going to kick mine out onto their own. I find it rather, how shall I put this nicely, upsetting that several people seem to want to discriminate against hybrid writers just because they want to learn to write OCs better. I'm not here to pimp my stories - far from it. In fact, if you think that is the case, please stay away from my stories. I mean it!

    What I really want is to learn how to write OCs better. Period.

    If that isn't what this thread is about, please let me know and I'll leave.
     
  23. KrystalBlaze

    KrystalBlaze Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 3, 2002
    One of my OCs I've used in a few viggies got his own story. (Shameless plug: link in profile!)

    I have a general question here: in my fic, I made my character to go with the story. Is that the norm for most people, or do people make the story for the character? Of course, I fell in love with my OC, but I'm curious. :D

    -Krystal
     
  24. Luna_Nightshade

    Luna_Nightshade Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2006
    My main OCs, Neenah and Kana (for one story) and Tynan Shard (for another, yet unposted story) all were created for the story.

    I take that back.

    Tynan Shard was a little bit of both. I had an idea for a character with his specific set of problems, but he didn't actually become a person until the story needed him.

    Neenah and Kana both were created for the story, after the plot line had been created.
     
  25. OriginalYesIAM

    OriginalYesIAM Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2006

    Diane, that is indeed what this thread is about -- and I have changed the title bar so it's hopefully more clear as to what the purpose of this thread is :)

     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.