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As some of you know, I'm very fond of original characters in fanfic. Both reading and writing. As a writer, I enjoy the challenge of creating a new character, getting to know them. Their quirks, hopes, fears. I love getting to know each and every one of them, and recognizing their 'voice'.
Now some fandoms seem to lend themselves more to original characters. If I were writing in Firefly, I probably would be less likely to feel the need to add a character since it has such a large cast. But Highlander -- which is a fandom I do write in -- seems to draw new characters out of me by the boat load. Part of that is Methos not having much offered in the way of a past. Alexa died, the few friends/comrades we've seen, other than Joe and Duncan, were killed off in short order. And since he's the character I'm most interested in writing, he needs a framework. There's so much we don't know about the character, and probably never will. Plus, I think Highlander lends itself to OCs just from the way it was structured. Every week we had new characters, some in the present, some in the past, some in both. It was a revolving door of new characters.
Yes, somewhere in here is a question :) So for those of you who create original characters, do you find you have more of them floating around in your brain than you could possibly ever use? For example, last night, I came up with a whole new story, separate from the two series I'm currently writing in, complete with a new character. It's almost frustrating! And it happens frequently. And another question: what draws you into creating original characters for your fic? Especially since OCs are the redheaded step children of fanfic :)
And for those that actually like reading fic with OCs, you get a question too! Why do you like fic with original characters? Especially since such fic is generally not terribly popular?
For me, it's along the same lines of why I write them. In some fandoms, my favourite characters just need a life of their own. It probably doesn't help that my faves are usually the 'sidekick' and not the star [g] If say, Duncan was my favourite character in Highlander, I'd have a treasure trove of people and events already created by the series. He already has a 'life' for lack of a better term.
Over to you guys!
Now some fandoms seem to lend themselves more to original characters. If I were writing in Firefly, I probably would be less likely to feel the need to add a character since it has such a large cast. But Highlander -- which is a fandom I do write in -- seems to draw new characters out of me by the boat load. Part of that is Methos not having much offered in the way of a past. Alexa died, the few friends/comrades we've seen, other than Joe and Duncan, were killed off in short order. And since he's the character I'm most interested in writing, he needs a framework. There's so much we don't know about the character, and probably never will. Plus, I think Highlander lends itself to OCs just from the way it was structured. Every week we had new characters, some in the present, some in the past, some in both. It was a revolving door of new characters.
Yes, somewhere in here is a question :) So for those of you who create original characters, do you find you have more of them floating around in your brain than you could possibly ever use? For example, last night, I came up with a whole new story, separate from the two series I'm currently writing in, complete with a new character. It's almost frustrating! And it happens frequently. And another question: what draws you into creating original characters for your fic? Especially since OCs are the redheaded step children of fanfic :)
And for those that actually like reading fic with OCs, you get a question too! Why do you like fic with original characters? Especially since such fic is generally not terribly popular?
For me, it's along the same lines of why I write them. In some fandoms, my favourite characters just need a life of their own. It probably doesn't help that my faves are usually the 'sidekick' and not the star [g] If say, Duncan was my favourite character in Highlander, I'd have a treasure trove of people and events already created by the series. He already has a 'life' for lack of a better term.
Over to you guys!
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Date: 2006-11-15 08:39 pm (UTC)From:I like writing OCs who interact with Methos and Duncan and Amanda and Darius, but I don't often enjoy reading them. I love Jay's. I get bored very quickly with fanfic stories that are primarily plot, so OCs introduced just to keep the plot going don't interest me much. So much for the only valid, true writing involving the creation of originals. That's not what I'm reading fanfic for.
I love stories that, as Killa says, flesh out minor characters, particularly when they give a new view of the universe or one of the main guys. I especially like it when the writer can give one of the minor characters a twist, through backstory or development, making him or her behave differently from the small slice we saw in canon but still be recognizable.
Writing is more interesting than reading; that's the root of all Mary Sues, in a non-condemning view.
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Date: 2006-11-15 08:59 pm (UTC)From:So much for the only valid, true writing involving the creation of originals.
No kidding! Heh.
(if anyone has a link to a Firefly fic with Methos in it, pass it along!)