Pimping those OCs

[pimpmyverse]

This is an OC meet-and-greet/discussion meme! We all love Original Characters here, so let's chat about them ones we have, the ones we're working on and even get some advice if we need it.

RULES

• There are three primary headers. If you want to talk about something related to OCs that isn't mentioned in one of them, feel free to make a header for it or ask me in the contact post and I will make one and link to it on the front page.
  
  
• All Original Characters are acceptable here! Whether from an Original Universe, MMO/RPG game designed for building OCs, or even a Fandom universe. All OCs are welcome.
  
  
• Yes, discussion can take place anonymously on this meme if you feel more comfortable doing it that way, but if it becomes too rude/disrespectful/out of hand, I will disable anonymous comments. This is a safe place for anyone who comes here to talk about original characters. Please find other venues if you get the urge to act otherwise.
  
  
• No Obnoxious Coding. No banners, no blinking text, no sparklies, no tables, no pictures directly in the comment (make them links). Use all the colors you like and then some, but please remember no ridiculously large or small text.
  
  
• Be Polite and Courteous. No bashing, no rude comments. Be respectful to everyone as you want them to be to you.
  
  
• If you have any comments, suggestions, or would like to direct me to any problems that need handling please do so here

Meet My OC | OC Building Discussion/Advice | ATP/Enable Me/RP With Me.

Comments

OC BUILDING DISCUSSION/ADVICE

[pimpmyverse]

Any topics you want to discuss about building original characters or any advice you want to ask about OCs you're currently working on goes right here.

Outside Interest

[fadedpoppet]

I tend to have a big issue with determining what would be interesting in a character to play with/read about for others..... not to mention just convincing myself that anything I create will interest anyone else.

What are people's thoughts on this? Support/advice/pitfalls/anecdotes/discussion?

[bendthekey]

I think that when it comes to interest, it's always down to you. If you like your characters and treat them like they are interesting with unique life stories, someone else will be interested, too. You can't play your character or create them just to make them interesting for others, but if you go into it considering them interesting and wanting to share them with others, I think people will respond favorably.

One big thing I've learn is that you shouldn't...treat them like "original characters"? If you treat your character the way you would any other character from a fandom canon, people aren't as wary about playing with them.

[fadedpoppet]

I do suffer when it comes to acting with confidence on stuff like that. :|a It's tough to convince myself on that level of headgames.

How do you personally consider treating a character like an original character, versus treating them like a canon character?

[bendthekey]

Yeah, it's not always easy, but keep in mind the character is a character first and if you like them, there's always going to be someone else out there who has similar tastes and likes what you like.

Treating your OC like you would any regular character probably involves a level of creative responsibility and distance at the same time. Yes, you made this character, but you shouldn't go into conversation or thinking of you and what you put into the character. Think of the character and the story you've created for them like you would a story you have published for people to read already. Just like a fandom character you're character has a backstory, a personality, events that have happened in their lives, and you should have enough of it written out somewhere that you can go back and check yourself whenever needed. Don't look at them as being malleable and easy to change things whenever you want. You created their canon already, so unless it is something that needs to be changed, don't. The more you alter just because you want to, the more you stop looking at the character as a current being and start seeing them more as a being-in-progress that you can keep shifting things around on.

I play comic characters too, and sometimes writers change things for the most ridiculous reasons that make no sense. And the audience usually reacts to it unfavorably because you never understand WHY those changes happened or what use they have, especially if they end up radically changing something about the character. So when writing an original character I look at things the same way, don't change things needlessly, because if you do, then no one will see who your character is and they will start to expect inconsistency from you. This isn't to say you can't reveal things you hadn't brought up about your character before, but your character feels less inconsistent if any big reveals that happen don't fundamentally alter the character. The reveals should add to and explain things that maybe didn't make sense before, not create more confusion.

If that makes any sense.

[afraid_of_my_shadow]

If your character is really interesting to you in the sense that they feel alive and growing- like you do not always know what they might do until the situation actually arises- chances are that other people will feel the same way.

I try to avoid as many tropes as possible as well, since that tends to make a character flat, but that doesn't mean your character won't fall into one trope or another. Instead of writing a character with a base personality type, try to pick out a quirk and work around that, see how it develops.

My main OC, Alex, started out as an over-sized hoodie and a rat that liked hiding in the sleeves. That turned into someone shy, but willing to go out on a limb for someone- saving the rat. Slowly, playing with the idea, he turned into a programming genius that is crippling shy. That might be a trope, but all of the effort of developing him (who was a she for a while, and then suffered from multiple personality disorder) created a much more well-rounded character. Even the process of merging the personalities from the personality disorder into one person added much depth to him. I had felt that part of that disease tends to be (at least according to what studies I researched,) comprised of flatter personalities that split and are absent from the main personality.

Relying on things like MPD (or whatever is PC these days) tends to make it at least seem like you are using a crutch. That isn't to say that your character shouldn't have some disability- physical or mental- but remember that no one thing defines your character. Think of how I mentioned Alex's jacket and pet rat. They don't define him, but are more like the 11th Doctor's bow tie, or Sokka's boomerang, or even the many meals a hobbit likes to eat in a day. These things influence a character, but do not define them.

Not just your inspiration should be this way either. Every fact you think up about your character should influence them somehow, even if it is subtle. Nothing should be flair, but at the same time nothing should be their only concern. Even characters completely focused on one thing have a whole history that influences why they are focused on this, and how they deal with obstacles and the people around them. This will make people more interested in finding out more about your character.


I think I may have gone on a bit more than I meant, and by no means do I think my characters are perfect, but these are some things I've learned over the years I've been writing. These are the same tenets I use when making characters for fiction works, and I use the same concepts to explore and learn about canon characters that I play. I hope that they can be of some help to you too!