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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. Rau_Fang

    Rau_Fang Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2005
    Alright! It's been a while since I've seen a mini-workshop - bring it on. I'm sure it's going to be great!
     
  2. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Everyone, don't forget about the challenge! We've got one entry so far and would love to see more!

    Now then...

    Workshop #1: Describing Character Appearance


    Welcome to the mini workshop on describing character appearance. This is an experiment for this thread, so public or private feedback is welcome on what works and what doesn’t so improvements can be made in the future.

    Like all writing techniques, there is no right or wrong way to do it, and everyone has different tastes. These are starting points to keep in mind but by no means are they hard and fast rules. Please feel free to add, comment, discuss, question, and disagree with everything in this workshop!

    The tentative plan is to post one of the following topics and short exercises each week:
    Week 1: General tips and methods for describing character appearance (human and nonhuman)
    Week 2: Character description techniques for different Point of View formats
    Week 3: Clothing in the Star Wars universe

    Okay, so… On with it!

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

    General Tips and Methods for Describing Character Appearance (Human and Nonhuman)

    Sources:
    The Bookshelf Muse. “The Writer’s Bane: Describing a Character’s Physical Appearance.” http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2010/04/writers-bane-describing-characters.html
    Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress
    Elements of Fiction Writing: Description by Monica Wood
    The Sci-Fi Factor. “Creating Believable Aliens.” http://scifi.fictionfactor.com/articles/aliens.html

    There are many approaches to describing the appearance of characters. Some authors prefer to keep details minimal or even nonexistent to allow the reader to form a unique picture in his or her mind. Other authors like to impart a complete image of the character down to the nitty gritty. Others fall somewhere in between.

    But within each of these approaches, the physical description details given by the author should work just as hard as any other word or phrase in the story. Don’t add description only for the sake of adding description. The details should be there for a reason and should not merely dump information on the reader, as info dumps are easy ways to halt the forward momentum of the story and can be glossed over and forgotten. Ideally, description can pull double duty: it can both create a vivid picture for the reader and teach us about the character’s personality.

    The book Dynamic Characters offers several ways to do this. We’ll look at them briefly here.

    Use appearance to indicate personality

    We can simply say that someone has brown hair. However, take this example sentence from The Bookshelf Muse: The bellhop's well-oiled brown hair suggested an abundance of cowlicks needing to be tamed. That gives us a tidbit about the bellhop’s personality as well as giving us information about his physical appearance.

    These two good examples are from Dynamic Characters: (page 10)

    “He was a lank, tall, bearded man in a shaggy brown suit that might have been cut from blankets, and on his head he wore a red ski cap—the pointy kind with a pom-pom at the tip. Masses of black curls burst out from under it. His beard was so wild and black and bushy that it was hard to tell how old he was. Maybe forty? Forty-five? At any rate, older than you’d expect to see at a puppet show, and no child sat next to him.” - Morgan Gower, in Anne Taylor’s Morgan’s Passing

    “Carrie stood among [the girls in the locker room] stolidly, a frog among swans. She was a chunky girl with pimples on her neck and back and buttocks, her wet hair completely without color. It rested against her face with dispirited sogginess and she simply stood, head slightly bent, letting the water splat against her flesh and roll off. She looked the part of the sacrificial goat, the constant butt, believer in left-handed monkey wrenches, perpetual foul-up, and she was.” – Carrie White, in Stephen King’s Carrie

    Instead of a list of physical characteristics we might find in a police report, the physical details and the specific words used for them help characterize the person.


    Use a character’s own reaction to his appearance to indicate personality

    How does your character feel about his build, his hair color, his weight? Does it cause him to act a certain way? Is he confident or shy about his appearance? Does he want to change it? If he’s unconcerned with aspects of his appearance, does that tell us that he’s laid-back and easy-going in other aspects of his life?


    Use appearance or dress to indicate a temporary situation

    This is for a character’s current feelings, not their permanent demeanor. Is your character’s hair mussed up and dress rumpled because she’s upset? Is your normally smooth-skinned businessman unshaven after a prolonged, stressful situation?


    Use dress to indicate personality

    A character can usually decide what clothes he wants to wear, so use this to your advantage to tell us something about why the character made that decision. How does your character want to appear to the world? Does it match who he really is? We’ll talk more about this in the Clothing week.


    Use other senses to indicate personality

    What does the character’s voice sound like? What does she feel like or smell like? Can this tell us anything about her, like what she does or where she spends time? How do other characters react to these additional sensory inputs?

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

    Moving on, since this is Star Wars let’s consider nonhumans. All of the above techniques can be useful to describing aliens, and they can also be described by using their environmental preferences, their physiologies, and their cultures.

    A Hutt’s size can be described by the groaning of the humanoid pedestrian bridge as he moves across it. A modified set of macrobinoculars can clue us in that a Gran has more than two eyes. Can that Anx fit through that door or in that landspeeder? Does the Chadra-Fan shed on the chair and need a stepstool to reach it? Does a Quarren’s skin get chapped on an arid world?

    Is any aspect of the alien’s appearance based on their culture? Tattoos, piercings, clothing, hair styles? Are cranial horns decorated, sharpened, and protected like an ornament, or are broken horns a sign of strength and pride? Does a species with fur expect special grooming standards of its members, and does your character abide by those expectations?

    What physical standards or attributes are considered “beautiful” or “ugly” to a particular alien species? Where does your individual character fit in that “ranking”, and how does he or she respond to that? Is a Wookiee that has lost patches of hair ostracized or embraced on Kashyyyk? Is a Twi’lek with blue skin favored or overlooked by other Twi’leks? Does a species with poor vision but acute hearing concern itself more with what sounds beautiful to them than what looks beautiful? Does an individual alien’s personal standard of beauty affect how they treat members of other species that may possess or lack those attributes?

    Think about other senses too. What does your alien smell like? If they have multiple hearts, what would their heartbeat sound like? Is their skin cold, warm, scaly, slimy, hard to the touch?

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

    Optional Exercises

    Either or both of these can be posted in the thread if you’d care to share your work. There’s no judging or grading system, these are just informal exercises.

    Exercise #1: Write a paragraph describing an OC by trying out one or more of the italicized techniques listed above.

    Exercise #2: Pick a canon character (major or minor) from the movies and write a paragraph to describe the character; however, don’t tell us who it is. Let us guess who it is based on your description. (Yes, this is the OC thread, but this allows a common frame of reference for a physical appearance.)


    ************
     
  3. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    Exercise #1: Bryont absently brushed an unruly red lock of hair away from his eyes as he peered intently at the scene before him. His emerald eyes taking in every detail until he sensed a familiar presence enter the room and they were drawn to the door... or rather to the young woman who had walked through the archway. His long legs followed his line of sight, somehow allowing their owner to avoid colliding with any of the other people milling about the great hall in spite of the fact the man paid no heed to anyone but the female who had just made her appearance. Once he reached her, his lips parted in a wide smile which lit up his face even as he bowed. "It is good to see you," his baritone voice danced through the air.

    Excercise #2: His muscles rippled in unrestrained power as he moved across the room. He moved so swiftly, one would think he had six pairs of arms instead of one, three lightsabers as opposed to the lone heliotrope blade. His bearing was ferocity personified. Sweat dotting his bare head was the only sign that he was physically exerting himself.
     
  4. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Exercise #1: Ivano Arvedai saw his smudged brown hair appearing when he doffed his gleaming helmet. Black soot was now colouring his rather blushed cheeks and matching with his brown eyes. And he picked up with his sharp hearing the muttering from his mates, sporting various smudges as well because of the masks. Fatigues were showing the same dirt. But he was satisfied. He had won the fight against the fire.

    Excercise #2:Cerulean blue eyes or were it grey eyes gleamed with laughter when they focussed on the lanky brown and black clad teenager sitting on the floor of the dojo. He had taught a lesson and placed his lightsaber back on his belt and picked up his chestnut brown cloak.
     
  5. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    1) At first glance, she reminded him of the Princess, exuding and inner strength and self awareness that belied her height, or lack there of. Brown eyes sparkled with irritation, even as she raised the lightsaber once again, and took on a fighting stance, and wiped a dark errant curl away from her face.

    "Bring it, Flyboy!" she snarled even as the training globe arose to challenge her. "I'm ready for anything you can throw at me!"

    *

    2) He never said much, not that the masses could understand him anyway. A soft rumble from deep in his throat, however, could convey as much as twenty minutes of human rambling. He leaned heavily aginst the bulkhead of the ship, wondering if they would ever stop arguing....
     
  6. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    I'm guessing that's Obi-Wan Kenobi.

    Chewie? And I'm guessing the two who are arguing are Han and Leia. :p
     
  7. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
  8. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    Exercise #1

    After checking one last time that all of her creases were lined up, Republic Marine Captain Laera Reyolé swiped a faint smudge from her nameplate before treading confidently to the front of the briefing room. The gleaming metal hilt of the lightsaber hanging from her belt went well with her dress red uniform, neither overshadowing her uniform regalia nor going unnoticed. Overall the effect was quite striking, and those officers in the front ranks gave expressions of appreciation if not admiration. Her straight auburn hair caught the light in a pleasing way, framing the experienced tan of her visage and flowing gracefully with her movements. Her piercing sapphire eyes took in the faces—some old, but most new—that paid rapt attention to her measured countenance. Clicking her heels together after having arrived at the podium, she began to introduce the latest battle plan to the Third Marine Battalion.

    Exercise #2

    A flick of a lek belied the slight irritation she felt at yet another age joke hurled her way, but otherwise she kept her emotions in check. It wasn't easy, though, hanging around with folks who were old enough to be her parents—or worse, her grandparents. Instead she focused on what she was doing; the ship didn't maintain itself after all, and she was the best organic slicer among her charming little group of friends. Nimble blue hands fiddled with switches and manipulated dials as her brown eyes examined intricate circuitry, taking in the tableau of machinery that made up the communications holoprojector.

    "Done!" she exclaimed happily fifteen minutes later.
     
  9. Rau_Fang

    Rau_Fang Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2005
    Exercise 1.

    The boy squealed with glee as his pa threw him high into the air as if he was a feather on the wind. When he came back down he was hugged by his pa's wookie-paw sized hands and gently placed upon his lap. They noticed dirt clinging to the thin space between pa's fingers and fingernails. His pa, brown hair still damp from stepping out of the shower moments before, rubbed his fingers together to get at the stubborn dirt. Failing to do so he shrugged and smiled down at his kid.

    "Reckon I only gonna get more dirt in there tomorrow," He said. His pa no longer stood when he played. Old smashball punishments and three children later, his old man easily tired. Instead pa was settled into a plush burnt orange lazy 'noid chair passed down from his grandpappy. It was a furniture relic even when it was bought long before the Clone Wars.

    Exercise 2.

    There wasn't blood on her vine-silk dress, not yet. Her once tight braids had fallen apart and loose strands of pale blonde hair fell across her shoulders and face. She would have put them right were she not being interrogated. Her assailant, a small and spry woman, brought the back of her hand across her prisoner's face with mind-numbing force. It was not followed by a question. She winced and cried out once and sharp but she quickly recovered. She righted her posture, sat up straight with her shoulders back. Slowly her eyes tilted up, betraying not one bead of emotion.
     
  10. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    1. Six teal arms glistened from sweat created by dancing under the stage lights for thirty minutes. Three spindly yet muscled arms on the left side held three green glass bottles in the flats of the being's palms; three arms on the right side held three silver trays.

    The being twisted on his bulb, tossed one bottle into the air, turned in a semi-circle, then caught the bottle on the first tray. He repeated the bottle flip and tray catch twice more until the applause from the crowd in the restaurant signaled the end of his performance.

    2. She wore a long white dress and cape, simple in design, transcendent in symbolism. A chain of silver chromium squares were around her neck. Long brown hair descended in a simple braid down her back. It was hastily created elegance, born from the glorious victory after the destruction of the Empire's superweapon.
     
  11. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
  12. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    Obvious, no? :p
     
  13. Thumper09

    Thumper09 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 9, 2001
    I got a bit behind this week, but I'll make some guesses for the above #2s tomorrow. These are all looking great! :D
     
  14. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Workshop, Week 2

    Character Description Techniques for Different Point of View Formats

    Source:
    Elements of Fiction Writing: Description by Monica Wood

    Now that we’ve looked at some basic strategies for using and including description, we’ll go a little deeper into how to insert them into your story, namely pertaining to writing in First Person and Third Person points of view (POV).


    First Person POV

    One general thing to keep in mind is that the First Person Narrator is a character, so the description details and how or when they are expressed should tell us about the narrator’s world and personality. Have the narrator speak from their own experience and use details that would be natural to them. In First Person, we also need to pay attention to how the narrator chooses to observe him- or herself.

    Physically describing the character who is acting as the First Person Narrator is a challenge that many writers face. Please do not use the “looking in a mirror or other reflective surface” method (unless your character is very vain and actually does pick apart his/her appearance in the mirror!) to solve it. Like all descriptive details, no matter the POV, the detail should be relevant and hopefully also add to the story in other ways we discussed last week.

    In the book Elements of Fiction Writing: Description by Monica Wood, the author offers several ways to describe the First Person Narrator that we’ll explore below. She also provides numerous examples that I’ll be including for illustrative purposes.

    Let the narrator describe himself outright

    The directness of the description depends on the character’s personality. What he describes about himself and how he does it can tell us a lot about him and his emotional state. There should be a logical reason for the self-description as well, otherwise it risks sounding forced or staged, not natural.

    These three examples use some of the same basic physical characteristics (red hair, grey eyes), but the way the narrator relates them to us shows differences in the three narrators’ personalities:

    (p. 93) “Because I’m red-haired and grey-eyed and fond of tight clothes, men keep mistaking me for their old girlfriends. ‘Wanda!’ they’ll holler, charging across the street, against the light. ‘Marlene? Is that you?’ they’ll ask, scanning my chest as if looking for a name tag.”

    (p. 94) “At the finishing school I attended in my nineteenth year, Jessica Lange was the rage. Meryl Streep, Kathleen Turner. Blonde was in. My hair was a blemish they were too polite to mention, like a scar or leg brace. I was the only girl in my dorm who didn’t have call-waiting. ‘Redhead,’ my roommate would whisper mournfully when describing me to a potential blind date.”

    (p. 94) “After my father died I lost one hundred and twenty pounds—a whole person—and my true face began to appear: the high cheekbones I remembered from my youth, the grey eyes larger somehow in so much less flesh. Even my hair seemed more prominent—red and curly—now that my extra face was gone.”

    Use description by association

    Have a narrator who isn’t the type to describe herself? Can she compare herself to another person instead?

    (p. 95) “I have my mother’s hair, thick and red. She used to braid it for me, her trembly fingers sifting the strands as I stood before her, paying attention. I have her eyes, too, grey and wide set, and her pinked lips. I inherited her face when what I wanted was her spirit.”

    Use the plot

    If something about your character’s physical appearance is important to the plot, you can introduce it in that context. Does it drive the way the narrator acts or how other characters react to him?

    (p. 96) “Because I had always been the biggest kid in the class, I was accustomed to being last in line.”

    (p. 96) “I boarded the bus (jammed as usual) and scanned the faces. Usually there was at least one—a wizened grandmother or a good-natured child—who didn’t mind sharing space with a white man.”

    The observant second party

    Have another character point things out, either by the observer describing it directly or the narrator reporting what was said. Be careful to not go overboard; keep the observer’s description in character and natural, don’t just use them as a mouthpiece to rattle off a list of physical descriptors. Spread descriptive details out as necessary.

    (p. 97) “My mother was always telling me how pretty I was, how grey my eyes, how red my hair, the color of rusted fall leaves, she said. I carried myself like a queen, she said, over and over, like a preemptive strike against the neighborhood boys who might not share her enthusiasm. To my sister, whose beauty went without saying, she offered nothing at all.”

    (p.97) “ ‘I wish I had your hair,’ my sister sighed. ‘Red is all the rage right now.’ She laughed. ‘You’re finally in style, Julia.’
    ‘Imagine that,’ I said dully. I knew what she was up to.
    ‘Of course we’ll have to cut it. It’s too long the way it is now. Too heavy.’ She lifted the front of my hair as if parting a curtain.”

    Avoid staged details

    Make sure that descriptive details are included at appropriate times. Their appearance should be natural, not plunked in whenever it might be convenient. This example is included of what not to do:

    (p. 99) “Joe drew his gun. I backed up, clutching at the loose strands of my ash-blond hair.”

    A character afraid for her life probably wouldn’t be thinking about the color of her hair at that moment.


    Third Person POV

    Many of us are used to writing in Third Person POV. If you write in Third Person Omniscient, there are very few restrictions on describing physical appearance. One thing to keep in mind is to make sure the description stays consistent with the omniscient tone you have developed for the story.

    Third Person Limited can use all of the techniques listed above for First Person. Be mindful to keep the descriptions 1) in character to, 2) in the perspective of, and 3) in the body of the viewpoint character whose head we’re residing in at the time.

    (p. 114) “Patty watched the elevator doors groan open. Alan was standing inside, smirking, the manuscript he’d stolen from her tucked into a leather binder. She watched with disbelief as he lifted one manicured finger to beckon her inside. She felt her breath escape in small stutters through her closing throat. ‘You,’ she said, but the word dried on her tongue. Blood swirled in her head and her pulse banged against her temples.
    ‘Going up?’ he asked. Her brown eyes blackened with rage.”

    The above example is included in Monica Wood’s book as part good, part bad. It’s good description in Third Person Limited up until the last line, where the mention of “brown eyes” makes the reader jump to outside of Patty’s perspective to look at her brown eyes.

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

    Optional Exercise

    This can be posted in the thread if you’d care to share your work. There’s no judging or grading system, this is just an informal exercise.

    If you did Exercise #1 last week, review what you wrote. Pick out one or two physical description details from it, then write a First Person POV paragraph incorporating them. Try out one of the italicized techniques above. The scene can be the same as in last week’s exercise or it can be different.

    The same exercise can be done if you didn’t do Exercise #1 last week or if you want to do it for a different OC. Just pick a physical description detail or two and write a First Person POV paragraph incorporating it. Try out one of the italicized techniques above.

    *******************
     
  15. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    What if the OC you want to use refers to themselves in third person?
     
  16. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Throwin' me a curveball here. :p I take it you want to write a Gand?

    I'd go ahead and use the third person pronouns or wording the character would use. In a case like this there might not be much difference in the wording between First Person POV and a very deep Third Person Limited.

    If you want to do this for the exercise, just try to keep the "spirit", so to speak, of First Person POV even if the pronouns don't match our usual expectations.
     
  17. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    My response for the optional exercise utilizes a different OC than the alien dude I described last week. This time around, I'm using a character named Cala Siroko.

    "Let me start with the boots. They're black, spiky heeled, and covered with fake Corsuca stone chips. It's like I'm wearing a bunch of stars on my feet. My brown flight jacket is casual (except for the gold zipper that I think makes it look almost fancy). The jacket is a contrast with the boots, which are really more for a girl who heads out to the clubs every night. That's not me, never has been, but I still like them anyway. What the boots and jacket are to me is a reminder of the old days when I ran around looking for planets where the Rebels could hide. Long blonde hair comes from Grandma Terise and the female gene contributor I can't really call my mother; brown eyes come from the male gene contributor who was technically my father. But the smile comes from me. "
     
  18. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    "Dratted kriffing masks." I picked that up although it was at the other end of the dressing room when I was doffing my helmet. And I saw it a bit distorted in the gleaming surface. My flushed red cheeks - we had been quite busy with that nasty fire and had won the fight - were sporting dark brown and even black smudges. I had now an extra pair of eyebrows matching with my brown eyes. My fatigues had fared no better. Soot and dirt was clinging to the black fabric and obscuring most of the reflective striping
     
  19. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    This is a double-header post. First thing:

    Challenge Voting

    We've got two great entries for the current challenge!

    http://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-sonim-threat-a-siri-wan-adventure-with-fanart-updated.50007277/page-3#post-50426551]The[/url] SONIM Threat (Chapter 23, first scene) by earlybird-obi-wan (full story http://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-sonim-threat-a-siri-wan-adventure-for-the-nano-competition.50007277/]here[/url])

    http://boards.theforce.net/threads/stargirl-oc-revolution-challenge.50010052/]Stargirl[/url] by leiamoody

    Go check 'em out, then PM your vote to the Sock by next Saturday, March 9. Everyone is eligible and welcome to vote! The winner can choose the next challenge topic.


    Next up:

    Workshop, Week #3: Clothing in the Star Wars Universe

    I have to admit that this was delayed because I had more trouble writing this section than I anticipated. So we'll keep it short and simple, and wrap it up with a discussion question instead of a writing exercise.

    From Jedi to stormtroopers, there are many well-known outfits and uniforms in the GFFA. One difficulty that an OC may face, however, is if they don't fall into a familiar faction. Or even if they do, their clothing choice could still be a key detail: what does your stormtrooper wear when he shucks the armor to sneak out on a date?

    What a character chooses to wear is an indicator of their personality, and because of that, the clothing details can work two jobs (description and characterization) like we've discussed in the previous weeks. Does the character go for style over comfort? A certain color to stand out or blend in? Does he or she wear jewelry, and if so, why? To enhance appearance? For a symbolic or sentimental reason? Both? Neither? How do other characters react to what a character is wearing? If the character is a non-human, is the clothing appropriate for that species? The physiology, the culture?

    An author can also put articles of clothing to work as part of the plot. Belts are handy things to use to tie something in a pinch. Shirts can become impromptu bandages or hand protection. Shoes could become projectile weapons if someone is desperate enough.

    If you're looking for some inspiration on GFFA fashion or clothing styles, check out http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Clothing]Wookieepedia's[/url] Clothing Category page (with links to subcategories such as coats/jackets, pants, footwear, etc.). Other alternatives include Star Wars comics for the era you're writing in and the Star Wars Role Playing Game books for pictures and gear. And, of course, the movies. Please feel free to add any other good visual sources!

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

    Discussion Questions

    If your character wears an organization's standard outfit or uniform, what do they think of it? What type of outfit do they wear when they're not in uniform?

    If your character isn't beholden to a certain dress code, what's their preferred type of outfit?

    *****************
     
  20. Rau_Fang

    Rau_Fang Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2005
    Timing! I just wrote this today in my fic - I'm going to share it as an answer to your questions:

    They moved quickly, taking the round about way to reach the lower deck where Lars' Trilon M83 Classic Black was being kept. Even with HuttSec making their way down through the hub via the main garage there was chance that the back door would close before they had a chance to escape. Especially if the main brass sniffed out any funny business before the cousins flew the coop.

    “Wait wait,” Lars said wrinkling his nose. “You're goin' to the Corellian Sector looking like that? You've got grease all over your coveralls and your hair is tied back with... what is that? A plastic tie for fiber opts?”

    “Yeah I thought about it,” Dee frowned down at his work attire. He then snapped, “But we ain't really have time to change, do we?”

    “No, suppose we don't,” Lars said. “But when we get to the Corellian Sector we're gonna by you something you'll like... something slimming... something clean.”
     
  21. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    The votes are in, and we've got a winner for the challenge!

    Congratulations to leiamoody and her story "Stargirl"! =D=

    leiamoody, you get to choose the next challenge topic. Please PM the Sock with your idea by next Wednesday (March 20th).
     
    DarthBreezy likes this.
  22. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Here's our next challenge topic, courtesy of leiamoody:

    "The Worst Day of Your Life"

    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.

    The deadline for entries is May 15th.

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

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

    And some new discussion questions:

    1) Why do you write OCs?

    2) What challenges have you faced with writing OCs?
     
  23. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    I write OCs because they allow more freedom than canon characters. I don't have to worry about canon events or continuity as much, like if I said that Luke lost the wrong arm or something. It also means that I don't have to know all the EU details as I can set my stories where the EU hasn't touched, either in the timeline or in the galaxy.

    The biggest challenge I find is coming up with names, and sometimes descriptions. I'm terrible at names and while I can see the characters in my head I'm not good at describing them.
     
  24. Rau_Fang

    Rau_Fang Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2005
    Congratulations on the win leiamoody! I'm excited to take your challenge. It's going to hard to pick the worst day ever for the Kannon Cousins.

    1) I write OCs cause I feel like there are so many personalities and spaces to fill in the gffa! It's just an infinite sandbox of people and plot bunnies. If I did write Canon Characters I'd be a revisionist. Like moosemousse I want the freedom of doing what I want with characters. What's the fun in writing a canon characters if there are never any high stakes or character development to be had?

    2) The challenge for me is writing dialogue. I have to hear the voice of whatever character I'm writing and it has to be obvious that character is speaking just by the dialect and the words being used. It's hard to write that for some reason. I have a guy that reads my work and coaches my dialogue : ) - he's a pretty good friend to do that.
     
  25. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    1) I write OC's because I love to explore new territories and parts of the Jeditemple that are rarely mentioned. They give more freedom to write and I can do my art about them. Finding names is nice using various sources like newspapers, magazines and what you see at work

    2) writing dialogue had been a challenge for me