Original Characters in Fanfiction

[LollipopHell]

i dont really like reading fan-fic but when i do i prefer it to have an OC. it kills me when people take the characters and setting and give it a whole new plot
i think it takes more skill to weave a new character into a plot then to twist the plot itself.
i have a freind who is writing a harry potter fanfic
and it awesome because she created a character for draco malfoy to fall in love with but he is still all evil and goes to the dark side and try to kill dumbledore and all that. she is harry potters twin and was secertly raised by the order of the phoenix. she just weaved the new character in to every thing that already existed.

the one thing that made this really work is that she choose draco malfoy. it would have been stupid if she made her fall in love with ron because ron ends up with hermonie and it would proabably just have pissed people off, where as no one really seemed to care about who draco ended up with at the end

[Asiane]

Well, it depends, really, what I have in mind for the character.
But in general, I do prefer that the original characters stay as they were pictured in the anime/manga, it makes it easier to imagine them and make them more 'real', in my opinion.
As for original/added characters in fanfictions, well, I suppose since they're original the author will obviously create their personality and description as they please.
I, to be honest, don't approve of made-up, extra characters in fanfictions.
Unless they're like, unimportant characters, just to get the story running, not one of the main characters of the story.
I mean, if you're going to write a fanfiction, base it on the actual characters from the real anime/manga, don't change the personality so much that it's impossible to recognize the character within the story when you read about him/her.
That's what I think, personally.

[Text Reciprocation]

I don't like them unless they are a very small character in the story, and barely mentioned, or just there because you need an extra character in the dorm room.

I HATE stories where the premise of the story is an OC, such as the Mary Sues. I hate them because they try to outshine the REAL CANON CHARACTERS. It ruins the purpose of fanfiction completely.

~~Keechie heart heart heart

[kenkara]

To me, it usually depends on how the OC stands in the fanfiction. Minor Supporting roles are fine, but if the OC replaces the main character altogether or robs another of their proper place in the story...never mind.

I love reading fanfiction. I've been reading from ff.net for the last 7 years of my life now, and up to this day, my opinion on OC's still stand the same.

I dont like them.

A few more reasons why I dont like them aside from those I've already stated above is because these OC's usually end up having powers stronger than the real characters and all that sort of stuff. Its annoying.

On the other hand, I do believe OC's are important...in a way.

In the end, it usually depends on how the author plays his/her cards. I tend to avoid simply clicking into a story with OC's, but if the story itself is well written...well...I guess it's fine...sort of.

[terradi]

Eh. They can be written well, and they can be written badly. Some stories lend themselves more readily to new students than others.

Taking Harry Potter, because everyone knows it: there are new character who will come in at the beginning of every term. They probably won't have much to do with the main characters unless they're in a club or activity simply because they're not the same year. But it's quite practical to introduce characters this way.

A character who waltzes in halfway through the school year because she was discovered late, is dazzling, and moves in and goes after a main character is going to read as a self-insert. If she actually succeeds in getting the affection of a main character, even moreso.

That said, sometimes characters travel. If we were to follow ... say Hagrid on one of his far-off visits, it would be strange if there weren't any new people.

Authors work in new characters all the time. Minor ones become more important, or major ones become less important. Because of this, I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to introduce new people. But it has to be done well.

I agree with the idea that any newly introduced characters shouldn't be all powerful and awesome. They can have some skill, certainly, but someone completely unheard of who can beat the main character who comes in out of the blue is just weird.

I don't write fanfic much. I have one to my name. There are a lot of OC's due to the setup. A character (literally) comes back from the dead and gets dropped into a completely foreign place in order to complete a mission. The people he meets are not superpowered. While they are new, their existence is quite plausible and I'm doing a lot of digging into the world I'm writing in to make sure I do it well. I think that is the way fanfic should be done. You're writing in someone else's world. You have to make sure you do it well.

[Princess-Soul-Reaper-]

I like OC's, but as may has already said it has to well written. It's good to remember that the OC has (should?) to fit into their surroundings. You don't want an OC who acts like EMINEM (dunno why he is the example but meh) in the 18th century England, unless, that is, that it turns out to be a time travel fic.. but other than that it wont fit. Some people tend to forget this and it can be a major turn off for the reader.

I tend to read OC's as main characters but not as often as those who are maids, butlers, random people in the street, people behind shop counters ect, they can be good too.

Oh.. I just read that back... if something similar has already been said then I apologize now, I only skimmed through the posts. Whoa, still getting the hang of Gaia online... I'm such n00b sweatdrop

[Clare_N]

Again, there are good OCs and bad OCs. Good OCs are those who actually serve a purpose in the story, whose powers (if applicable) are on the same level as those of the canon characters and generally blend in seamlessly with the established cast. Having said that, it is possible to write a fanfic in which all the characters are OCs living in the universe of your favourite series, although some series lend themselves to this treatment better than others.

Bad OCs, by contrast, are often simply bunged into the fic for no reason other than to act as a self-insert, have powers which totally eclipse those of the canon characters and are notorious spotlight-hogs. These are the characters who get labelled as Mary Sues or Gary Stus and tend to sully the reputation of all OCs, regardless of how well they are written.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the question of romances between canon characters and OCs. My advice here would be:

1, Don't have the canon character and the OC end up in bed together five minutes after they meet.

2, Pay attention to the canon character's sexual orientation. If they are regularly seen flirting with members of the opposite sex, they are not going to suddenly become gay.

3, Be wary of breaking up canon pairings, as there are people who won't thank you for it and will slap a "Mary Sue" label on your character faster than you can say "One True Pairing".

[The Drunken Jester]

I don't mind OCs as long as they're not a love interest or a main deciding factor in how the main character is going to act.

I've seen too many beautiful girls sweep Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy/Severus Snape (I read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction) off their feet and completely change their attitudes and personalities with a pretty face.
However I've also seen a few where there were a few side characters - and they were main characters - but the changes they made to the main character's attitude were completely realistic and they didn't seem perfect or like an author insert at all.

[Aha]

Clare_N

2, Pay attention to the canon character's sexual orientation. If they are regularly seen flirting with members of the opposite sex, they are not going to suddenly become gay.

You know, as far as most fanfiction writers are concerned, a characters orientation within the series is more of a suggestion then a fact. It's called slash or yaoi and it doesn't discriminate against using canon character or originals, though it's more common to use just canon characters for such stories. It kind of makes this a moot point. Otherwise those are some good guidelines you have there.

Moving along.

I don't have an problem with the idea of using original characters in fanfiction. I don't care if they break canon pairings either, so long as their presence makes sense. If they break the basic rules of the universe they are in then I don't like them.

Strictly speaking, most of the time OC's don't fit the universe they are written into and become the dreaded Mary Sue (uh oh, I used the M word). These usually have similar summaries so I can pick them out and avoid them. Sorry to say Rabidpixie, but long lost sisters are on the avoid list and Draco is very popular with the fangirls, so that doesn't clear her of suspicion.

Long lost siblings, childhood friends that aren't even hinted at in the series, and transfer students are all things that turn me away. Otherwise, I have seen good, well developed OC's in fanfic. Some even had superpowers, those stories are just really hard to find.

Of course, my opinion is mostly biased since I regularly use multiple OC's in what fanfiction I do write. The one I'm writing now is even breaking a canon pairing. No superpowers though.

[R O K Says Hello]

I enjoy fan fictions that include original characters, so long as they fit well into the book / show or whatever other suggestions you may think of. I find myself more drawn towards stories that include original characters who become a love interest of a main character or are influential to the storyline.
However, the insertion of an original character should not alter the original storyline, and change the ending, or any other parts, of the storyline that the fan fiction is based upon. This is just silly and the author has let loose their imagination a little too much and should consider creating a completely new story instead.
As mentioned a few times, if the story is fantasy based or such the original character should not suddenly possess completely new, much stronger powers than the original characters and single-handedly solve all of the problems, save the world, etc. They have to fit in, but only creeping at the edge of the limelight. I do find it slightly comforting if there is a mysterious storyline and at one point something I do not understand, and somebody adds in an original character to explain such a situation. It put my mind at ease, I confess.
I myself have written a few fan fictions and I always create an original character to slip in as the main narrator of the story. This just makes it easier to put a point of view on the whole thing, because you can fit in your personal views on parts of the storyline without any complications [the majority of the time]. It means you don't have to expand on a character's thoughts too much, and that character can stay the same as in the original book, show, etc.
I find an original character as a love interest can make the story much more interest, with a new twist on things. This is thrilling if you know the storyline well, because you then have to figure out which direction the story is heading and allows for small, new scenes that do not alter the storyline. Just for a bit of added spice, really.

[Ember_of_Energy]

I think it depends on how you use them. They work great as extra characters that blend into the story and help move it along. However, they also can be used as the main focus of a story when that story is connected but not completely intertwined with the original.

[Sweet Joslyn]

Me and my friends are are writing a few fanfics write now with OC's, but we changed the plot so it's almost like a new story but not at the same time. We did that because we don't like fanfics with basically the same plot with OC's added into them.

[Rei Uchikino]

A lot of people have been saying that the OC shouldn't suddenly have remarkable powers that match the canon character's. I agree with this, but what do you all think of an OC that gradually gains strength and powers that, eventually, into the story will rival the canon character's? I think an OC like that would make for a good new rival to match up with the canon character's within the story.

[Alli Bialystock]

I know this is very hypocritical of me, but I have written many OCs, but hate reading about them. I feel like writing OCs in is really more for me, and I understand that many people won't want to read about them, and I won't read anything if a major character is an OC.

[Sexual Canteloupes]

Hey, if they further the plot, they're probably worthwhile. If they're just wish fulfilment, I likely won't enjoy it. But, you probably already knew that.