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

Characters The OC Revolution | NEW! 2Q 2024 Challenge Is Up: Friendship

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by OCDatabaseSock, Sep 28, 2012.

  1. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Everyone, don't forget to check out the Deathcoaster stories! :)

    Let's take a light-hearted look at our creations for a moment. Original Characters are one-of-a-kind. The only limitation to their traits, appearances, and personalities are our own imaginations. We can make them anything we want them to be.

    So, what was your most off-the-wall OC? Main character, background character, it doesn't matter-- pick a character that you had fun creating who might be a bit off the beaten path and tell us about them. What's special about them? How did you come up with the character? Did you purposefully build the character around his/her unique traits, or did they just kind of happen?

    Alternatively, make one up here in this thread!

    Do you have a shapeshifter who suffers from an identity crisis? A 3-PO unit who dreams of being Coruscant's most popular hairstylist? A successful businessman who is constantly afraid of being Jedi Mind-Tricked? Let us know!
     
  2. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    I have a female Jedi who developed a severe allergy to midichlorians. I haven't written her yet, though.
     
  3. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    I never wrote a truly offbeat character to be honest. The most "not your standard SW character" I created was a courtesan. It was a subject I always found interesting in real world history, and when the 2007 Diary Challenge came along, the character literally dictated her own experience. Her role in society versus what she wanted from the galaxy determined her characteristics and the outcome of the story.
     
  4. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    I have a ten metre long snake with nine pair of arms with clawed hands as one of my Jedi knights. She was inspired by a childrens book. And I have used her to help Obi-Wan to sneak into the archives
    Here is an illustration of her made by me

    [​IMG]

    Another character used by me is Jeki Eki dubbed by on of my friends here (AzureAngel2) as the Catweazle Jedi.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    As always, beautiful paintings. Which Jedi is Jeki Eki... the one with the blue or green lightsaber?
     
  6. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    The Jedi with the green lightsaber and he is here with Mace Windu

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Commander-DWH

    Commander-DWH Manager Emeritus star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2003
    I have to say my first and most frequently written OC, Leiraya Moran, is also the weirdest. She's a barefoot hippie Jedi, and is unabashedly true to herself.

    ...actually, I take that back. Obi-Ann, a protagonist in a Star Wars parody I wrote in 6th grade, and periodically came back for random things after that, is the weirdest. But as he's a parody character, I don't think he counts quite the same. :p
     
  8. SoA

    SoA Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2008
    I think the strangest OC I ever wrote was Cresh, a remote droid used for lightsaber practice (one of those floaty spheres) who couldn't speak but nonetheless had a strong sense of duty, justice, and need to be helpful.
     
  9. Thumper09

    Thumper09 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 9, 2001
    I'm a bit (well, a lot) delayed in replying here, but I blame that on the fact that NaNo ate my brain.

    I consider my most "out there" character to be the taun-taun protagonist I wrote in 1st person POV. Had fun with that one.

    The day will eventually come when I write a Jedi character, and I have some personality quirks planned for that. Namely I want to take Force abilities that are considered strengths for most Jedi and have them totally backfire on this character.
     
  10. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Strange OC's? It's a toss-up between the Ghost Child who learned how to cook from a psychic, and the Medic with a coffee fetish and stuffed animal phobia.
     
  11. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Okay, all you Revolutionaries, time to put your thinking caps on. :)

    What types of activities would you like to see in this thread? Any specific topics of discussion? Mini workshops? More challenges? (The next one will be up soon.) Something else? Several years ago there was a pretty involved OC Project that occurred in stages from character creation to full story. Would you want to see another long-term, in-depth activity comparable to that? Or do you prefer more frequent but less intense activities?

    Feel free to post here or PM the Sock with any ideas. :)
     
  12. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Lessons to draw and write a new character?
    I have a new character and drawing him is adding more depth.
    Here he is clad in his firefighter fatigues (based on my own)
    [​IMG]
     
  13. laloga

    laloga Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2011
    Hello, all. :D

    Hopping on this train for a sec...hmm. Been writing fanfic for many, many moons, mostly OCs, so I'll go with my newest for these questions, as she's been a ton of fun to create.

    Ava (no known last name) is a full-blooded Zeltron female who ostensibly works in a Nar Shaddaa pleasure-house, while in reality she is a slave to (another OC) Jurma the Hutt; Ava is essentially an undercover agent for Jurma, who "collects" information.

    She's one of the most...outgoing characters I've written; she's very frank and open about her sexuality, and has no qualms expressing her attraction to others. I like to think of her as being "sexually liberated," though that sounds a bit silly. :p Basically, Ava is very jovial and honest, and enjoys sex.

    Since she has been a slave for most of her life, she does have a lot of issues, as one can imagine. She thinks of herself as "expendable" and constantly objectifies herself, much to Wolffe's (the clone commander with the cybernetic eye from TCW), displeasure. I know that a lot of people see "Zeltron" and think "Mary Sue," so I've worked hard to make her as well-rounded (ha ha) and believable as possible. She makes some tough choices in the fic I've written, ones that may make the readers...not thrilled. [face_batting]

    I came up with her as part of a challenge in a writers' group that I belong to, which you can read here. (If it's not okay to post links to outside fanfic sites, please let me know...I don't post very often.) She and Wolffe had a great chemistry that I needed to explore a lot more; as of right now, I've a 43k word story that I'm editing, which I'm planning on posting early next month. :)

    My characters tend to grow very organically. Generally, I think of a scenario or trait I need for a story, and begin by building the character around it, though usually they get minds of their own. :p

    Hopefully that's sufficient. :) I've got tons more characters I could discuss, but Ava's the newest of the lot. [face_love]
     
  14. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    Specific topics and mini workshops would be great.
     
  15. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Welcome, laloga! :)

    Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! Feel free to keep them coming, either in this thread or via PM.

    We'll put together a mini workshop or two amid more casual discussion topics and go from there. Sound good?

    Earlybird, based on your suggestion we're looking into doing an in-thread exercise or mini workshop on developing a character's appearance and clothing style, and how to describe those in a story. Drawing lessons are probably more in the realm of the FanArt forum, but there's a lot we can do with the prose aspect of a character's appearance.

    A new discussion and challenge will be up in a minute!
     
  16. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    New 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?


    The deadline for entries is February 28th.

    PM the links of your entries to the Sock. All other challenge rules are in Post #2.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    New Discussion Topic!

    This ties in with the music/sound aspects of the challenge. Tell us about songs you associate with writing.

    Do you have certain music you like to listen to when you write?

    Do any of your characters have a theme song?

    Do your stories have soundtracks?

    Let us know!
     
  17. Rau_Fang

    Rau_Fang Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2005
    Hello Everyone!

    I mostly listen to stuff I'm familiar with and that won't distract me (ie. Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Battles or Tom Waits). I try to write with bands like Japandroids, the Strokes and the Hold Steady during scenes with the Kannon Cousins. There is a sneering celebration of reckless youth in those songs with which I connect.

    I find it harder to connect with the older characters I try to write. I'm trying to connect with the Kannon Patriarch and it's difficult. He's a washed up Smashball Player father of three begrudgingly running the "family farm" out of duty and love for his own father. I'll have to work on vibe that is not cheesy or obvious. What artists and genres connect best with that? Is Bruce Springsteen too cheesy? Neil Young? Bob Dylan? Bob Seger? Frank Sinatra?

    Anyway - it's nice to see all of you again. I'll do my best to keep active in the revolution.
     
  18. SoA

    SoA Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2008
    I have a couple of playlists, for different mood scenes, that I just play on loop while I write. I do a poor job writing to songs with lyrics, so it's all sorts of sound tracks and such. I also really like to use theme songs I associate with my major characters to boost me into inspiration when I sit down to start writing.


    On another topic, I am going to have to step down as co-host as this thread. It has been lots of fun, but it's probably also been obvious I have fallen off my duties since this fall. It turns out grad school is keeping me far busier than I thought. I leave this all in the capable hands of Thumper. [face_peace]
     
  19. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    I listen mostly to soundtracks. Avatar, Gladiator and LOTR are my favorite for the Moniron characters
     
  20. Mechalich

    Mechalich Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2010
    Not sountracks per se, no, but I have a general rule - if a major fight scene doesn't feel like it could be coreographed to something suitably epic (my personal standard is the Therion version of O, Fortuna), then something is very wrong.
     
  21. Ink.Knight

    Ink.Knight Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2013
    It really depends on the character and the story. If I'm writing about a character who's strong-willed and angry like my first and oldest OC I'll listen to something like Rise Against or maybe Slipknot. But if I'm writing from the perspective of her partner, best friend, and soulmate I'll listen to something calmer because he's very level-headed.
     
  22. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    For Luke and Aube, John Denver's "For You" - the chorus is so beautiful...

    For you for the rest of my life
    For you all the best of my life
    For you alone, only for you



    For general writing for my OC boys...

    Music from 'The Stand'
     
  23. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Do you have certain music you like to listen to when you write?

    Not really, no. If I have any music on, it's just the radio, and the station is a rock station. The only time when I'll actually listen to music and be particular about the music is when I'm typing. Then, the music needs to have a fast tempo, as it helps me to keep a good cadence going.

    Do any of your characters have a theme song?

    There's a few... See if you can guess to whom the following songs pertain to! :D

    Metallica- Sanitarium (Welcome Home)
    Pink Floyd- Brain Damage/Eclipse
    Disturbed- Voices

    Granted, the character isn't an OC, but whatever.

    Do your stories have soundtracks?

    Really, I could just drop the whole of The Wall into my Bedlam soundtrack...
     
  24. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    I usually listen to electronic music when writing something because the beats force my brain to concentrate. I listen to something new age when I'm writing mystical stuff.

    None of my characters have their own personal theme songs. There might be some songs that influence how I write certain incidents in their lives, but I usually find it too limiting to have one song that is supposed to define everything about the character.

    I don't have any soundtracks for my fanfic because I've only recently dived back into the fandom pool, but I do have an original fic that currently has 102 songs in a playlist that one could probably say is a loose interpretation of a soundtrack.
     
  25. Thumper09

    Thumper09 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 9, 2001
    It's great to see the variety of responses! :D

    I've got a bunch of playlists and theme songs for characters and stories that I use for inspiration. I'm totally incapable of writing anything when there's music on, whether or not there are lyrics, so I save my playlists for downtime musings.

    I hit a higher-than-expected learning curve while putting together the upcoming mini workshop for this thread (it's my first one and is something of an experiment). Sorry about the delay. Look for it in a couple of days.