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Index Index of the Old Republic- KOTOR index and discussion- Winter update! New stories, new discussion.

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by KOTOR_Index, Jan 2, 2006.

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  1. SabyneAmberle

    SabyneAmberle Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2004
    We all take our own views of KotOR. As long as it's in the TOTJ/KotOR era, no one's gonna squawk. I write a story with an OC of my creation, and she's quite popular. (Especially in her dark side manifestation [face_devil] )
     
  2. Ben_Watson

    Ben_Watson Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 2004
    Ok cool. Are we allowed to tell what goes on after KOTOR, and are the Sith Wars part of TOTJ?

    Mind sending me some of your work?
     
  3. SabyneAmberle

    SabyneAmberle Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2004
    To answer your first two question, yes and yes.

    To answer your third, check the Index posts on the first page. Find my username, click the story titles, and go wild. :)
     
  4. Ben_Watson

    Ben_Watson Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 2004
    Ah great, yes... Very good... This works very well for me. Thanks very much. (For both)
     
  5. Ben_Watson

    Ben_Watson Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 2004
    Title: What I will do for you...
    Author: Ben_Watson
    Timeframe: Pre-KOTOR-AU
    Characters: Revan, Malak, Vrook, OCs, Bastila, other KOTOR characters
    Genre: Romance, Angst, Action
    Keywords: Love, Betrayal, Deception
    Summary: That AU events that take place before Revan's fall to the Dark Side.
    Notes: Excuse my spelling, and some obvious facts might be wrong.
    Status: WIP

    What I will do for you...
     
  6. Commander-DWH

    Commander-DWH Manager Emeritus star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2003
    All right, there's a nice segue into a new topic. :D

    The original character, in my opinion, can be an integral part of the KOTOR experience, but some people shy away from them. Personally, I think if there's any place where OCs are needed, it's in this era. It needs to be populated with a full cast of characters, after all. So, what do you think? Do you OC? Or do you think that they're unnecessary? How do we avoid Mary Sue-ism and make them a believable addition to the era?

    Not so random plug: those of you who write OCs, or are interested in doing so, should visit oqidaun's OC Writers Anonymous thread, for it is awesome and supremely helpful.
     
  7. kotorchick

    kotorchick Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2005
    I almost consider anyones Revan as an OC. Yes, the character Revan has been canonized (as a lightside male... grrrrrrrr), but with the game there are so many beyond possibilietes. You can actually make your character have long hair, or be rather pretty. Lets face it, most of the female faces aren't just screaming hot at you like oh... a certain Carth Onasi. Their personalities can be varied. Though one has to follow the plot if they intend to make it canon, the conversations can actually change based on you. I personally think the Revan character is always going to be slightly Mary-Sue in the fact that, like it or not, most people base their characters off of themselves.

    As for OCs in the era, I also find them as an awesome addition. However, they are just that- an addition. A fic does not need one to be perfect, but it gives a more rounded out crew. They're also fun to read. I really enjoy reading a good KOTOR fic with an OC, nothing I enjoy more. But ones without it are also teriffic. The only reason I can see for not having an OC as a vital character is because it technially makes a canon fic an AU. But only in the technical sense.
     
  8. WyoJedi

    WyoJedi Jedi Youngling star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2005
    Great new topic Commander!
    The idea of OCs in Kotor era just opens up so many new possibilities. I do think that they are an intergral part of this era, especially if you are trying to personalize the story, and not just rehash the game. And as kotorchick said, Revan is a pseudo-OC when you play through the game. I personally have a hard time figuring out how to fit an OC into my story, other than minor characters that is. I guess I'm one of those who generally shys away from the OC main character **holds hand out awaiting slap on the wrist**

    Maybe I'll try an OC based Kotor fic after I finish my main fic, or if I see a challenge I can't resist.

    Cheers,
    Wyo
     
  9. Ben_Watson

    Ben_Watson Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 2004
    Agreed, there is so much unexplored in that Era that the possiblilties are nearly endless.
     
  10. Exeter

    Exeter Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2005
    I think OCs are important for fleshing out the galaxy and turning it into something vivid and lifelike. Of course, I probably use too many of them - a great majority of my stories are all-OC with no canon characters, so I'm probably biased.

    Good point about Revan (or the Exile) having the qualities of an OC. Since during both KOTOR games you craft the character's personality, it really leaves personality traits ambiguous and full of possibilities when writing stories.
     
  11. obi_webb

    obi_webb Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2005
    often if you want to write about the events after the first 2 kotors you cannot avoid oc's. i use oc's and for the story i'm telling they are essential. you don't have to, wyojedi for example in his main fic is telling of the events after the game, and he hasn't used oc's as he's mentioned and his story seems like it doesn't need them.
    even if you retell the events of the games, i like ocs if it all possible. if you're telling a story that most of us all know, it makes things more interesting if you have one or more oc's in the mix.
    plus the point that was made that revan and the exile are oc's in some ways. i know the way i write revan is different then how commander writes revan for instance. we both have revan as light side males, but the personality we give revan is not the same. and since revan and the exile and their interpratations are based on the individual there is no one right way to approach the characters.
    that is one reason why i think fanfic writers (including myself) like kotor so much. you have 2 main characters that automatically have a very interesting backstory and lots of general details that are appealing but you can fill in their personality pretty much however you want.
     
  12. Ben_Watson

    Ben_Watson Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 2004
    A very intresting view.
     
  13. Commander-DWH

    Commander-DWH Manager Emeritus star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2003
    It's true about Revan and the Exile- I tend to refer to Aiden and Arden as "quasi-OCs" due to the fact that I didn't make up their story at all, but I've put a lot of groundwork into the false memories that the Jedi Council gave Revan. Memory building is no small task, and they essentially had to create an OC of their own.

    I like OCs. They are a freaking lot of fun, you can do whatever the heck you want with them, and one OC tends to spawn multiple OCs. Family, friends, teachers... the works. I have a small army of them, and most of them trace back to just one. And as has already been noted, they add interest to a story that most of the people reading it already know. My OC actually started her life as a LSF Revan- you can tell if you go back and read some of my earlier fics, such as The End User Strikes Back. I've also got extensive notes for a post-KOTOR story that I started right after I finished the game. I did so much characer work for Revan that she became more OC than canon, and I knew something was wrong when I got irritated that KOTOR 2 Revan was acting "out of character." So I went all out and made her into her own person, where she is even crazier, and much happier.

    It's hard to write something outside the games that doesn't involve OCs. I love the KOTOR characters to death, but there's a limited amount you can do with just them without becoming downright incestuous. :p
     
  14. KOTOR_Index

    KOTOR_Index Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2005
    Index updated with a new fic!

    Remember, guys, to PM your links to the sock, not post them on the thread. Keeps things uncluttered here, and much easier for me to organize. :)
     
  15. Ben_Watson

    Ben_Watson Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 2004
    Sure thing! Sorry about that.
     
  16. Commander-DWH

    Commander-DWH Manager Emeritus star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2003
    No problem. :) Everything's running smoothly, so it's all good.

    Also, another fic has been added, and we have a new topic:

    Revan and the Exile


    They're quasi-OCs, certainly, but we played them, so here's the question- how much of yourself goes into these characters when you write them? If you put too much of your own personality into both, you wind up with two almost identical protagonists, which is always a bad move, so how do we avoid making them too much alike?
     
  17. WyoJedi

    WyoJedi Jedi Youngling star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2005
    I have actually never played II, so I have personally stayed away from the Exile... But I think I put a lot of myself into the Revan character (Dark side) that I write. Not that I'm an evil, overbearing warlord, but there is a dark side to my personality and I inject that into my writing. It is nice to have that as an outlet. But I also don't try to make my character all me... I actually try to project different parts of my personality onto different charcters throughout my story. So they all are part of me, but still unique.

    Cheers,
    Wyo
     
  18. obi_webb

    obi_webb Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2005
    my solution? only write revan so no one knows my exile is the same character!:p
    no, in all seriousness i WILL be having revan and the exile in my fic at the same time. and i've had to think a bit about how to make them seem different. and i plan on them both being light side males so i can't go an easy way out and just make one of them dark side!
    and i don't want to completly change how i think of the exile, because i've grown attached to the version of him in my head that is based on myself.(as is my version of revan)
    my approach is that i plan on highlighting certain parts of myself in the exile that i don't really highlight on revan. the exile will not be as much of a leader. he will lead by example, while revan is simply a leader in every sense of the word. my revan has more of a dry sense of humor, and the exile will be more serious. when the exile IS showing his sense of humor it won't be the same type of humor revan displays.
    plus i plan on having the two have a very different view on the Force and Jedi philosophy. i hope by having them have opposing viewpoints on certain things it will accentuate their differences to each other.
     
  19. kotorchick

    kotorchick Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2005
    Yeah, I definatly err on the side of writing (when I do get to that step) just Revan, who is a character who captured my heart far more than the Exile did. For me, they're also pretty much the same character- me.
     
  20. Oddly_Salacious

    Oddly_Salacious Jedi Grand Master star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2005
    They're quasi-OCs, certainly, but we played them, so here's the question- how much of yourself goes into these characters when you write them? If you put too much of your own personality into both, you wind up with two almost identical protagonists, which is always a bad move, so how do we avoid making them too much alike?



    [color=darkblue]First, all authors put all of themselves into any written character whether it be an OC [i]or[/i] Cannon. It's impossible not to inject oneself, we know, because the writer is acting through the character in a personal and individualistic setting (even if in the Mos Eisley Cantina).

    So, avoiding a personality mirror (achirality -for those chemist out there) and a wildly singing Mary-Jane becomes a matter of remembering which restrictions come with that character. When I write Boba Fett, I act as Boba Fett would and [i]only could[/i] act based on a given set of instructions I believe comprise who he is. This takes a bit of research. And this is why Hardliners get so hacked when Jaster Mereel gets kicked in the pants and sent packing.

    Revan is more me than Boba, true. This is what makes it such an interesting character and a potential firestorm. Revan comes with its own restrictions. We who write about Revan help shape those rules, and in time a generally accepted manner by which Revan lives will emerge. Already, we readily accept that Revan is: A) Humanoid, B) Male or Female, 3)a Force-wielder.

    Other rules hardwired into Revan? It has the memory of Malak to contend with. It has Jedi duplicity to deal with. Revan also has a shared past with Cannons that are relatively entrenched. We know how Revan interacted with those Cannons. KOTOR did a great job at keeping Revan's responses on an even keel no matter which bent the player takes on.

    Ordering the Wook to kill Mission (a must in my book - I'd sick Ol' Z on Carth if I could) - these are the dicer areas; the stormy seas.

    I do like reading other takes on Revan but stop at wondering how it's a reflection on the writer. Save that for Melville or Dickens. I just enjoy the characters. Wyo does write some good ones, too. (Shameless plug here for a cyber-friend. Manager, scream at me later).

    In the end, we all tell the same stories, just in different spins.

    [i]O[/i]
    [/color]
     
  21. Commander-DWH

    Commander-DWH Manager Emeritus star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2003
    Fair enough, though I hope I didn't sound like I was suggesting we psychoanalyze each other based on the Revans we write. I say leave that kind of crap for your professors/teachers who might actually care about what it says about the writer.

    The main point I was hoping to address is the fact that, for those of us who play and write both games, we've got two versions of ourself running around. I know that when I played K2, I very much saw the world yet through the eyes of Revan, and if I saw some mention of myself, I'd say, "Hey, that was me, but the other me!" (my friends will quote me on this one). And when describing the end of the game, I'd often refer to the fact that I was going off to the unknown regions to find myself, and not in an Obie neo-hippie sort of way.

    My Revan is actually not really much of a reflection of myself. It helps that I write a male Revan, to be sure. And after playing both games, I wanted to make sure he'd have a personality that would lend itself to being okay with taking off to the Unknown Regions and leaving his loved ones behind (which I, to this day, am completely not okay with). Instead, he's a bizarre combination of a lot of people I know. My OC is more like me than anyone else I write, even though she definitely ran away from me (in a good way). I used to joke that Leiraya was an exaggeration of my artistic, free-thinking side. The side of me that wanted to be an art or a music major. Arden, my Exile, on the other hand, was an exaggeration of my logical, mathematical and precise side. I'm not exactly sure how that pans out anymore, since I put most of the stories involving her on massive hold until I get that far, but she's definitely got a life of her own that's not at all like my Revan.

    Consequently, I've got two very distinct characters, and that's generally regarded as a Good Thing. :D
     
  22. Winged_Jedi

    Winged_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 28, 2003
    Yeah, my Revan and Exile are quite distinct as well. At the bare bones of it, my Revan is a charismatic hero and natural general who fully understands the need for both war and sacrifice, while my Exile is an introspective pacifist who just wants to be left alone.
     
  23. Aiden_Sanic

    Aiden_Sanic Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 25, 2005
    When I write Revan, I don't think of him as the usual power-hungry sith. Revan always seemed to know a lot more than what he said he knew when he was doing certain things. I always try to characterize him as an intellegent sith. Yes I know they don't exist, but I try and make Revan a nova in the force, and he knows how to handle it.


    Now the exile, the exile is a different story. I would love to write a heck of a lot with the Exile, but it's hard cause dispite the fact that he's the main character in KOTOR II, he's still a big mystery.



    Any ways...... UP!!!!!
     
  24. KOTOR_Index

    KOTOR_Index Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2005
    Holy stinkmonkeys, this semester ate me alive. Well, I just did some mad updating action, and here's hoping I don't get that absurdly busy for a loooong time. :) I'll come up with some brilliant topic of conversation in the morning, but for now let's dust some of the cobwebs out of this place...
     
  25. bi0nic

    bi0nic Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2006
    By the Nine Divines! There's a KOTOR discussion thread? I had no idea . . .

    Pretty much everything I write is KOTOR, so I'll just settle into a nice comfy chair in the corner here.

    In response to the Why KOTOR? question posed earlier, I agree with a lot of people's comments that the characters are incredibly compelling. I think it's inherent in the medium of video games that you're more easily immersed in the world and invested in the characters than more passive media (assuming that it's a really well-made game, which KOTOR most definitely is).

    I came to KOTOR as a game first and Star Wars second. I had always liked Star Wars but I was never a huuuge fan. The reason I write fan fic at all is basically because KOTOR made me fall in love with Star Wars to a much stronger degree.

    Why KOTOR? Why Star Wars?
     
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