Lord of the Rings Fanfiction Involving OC
These are the things that I’ve notice in a lot of fanfiction that are becoming or already are cliches. From the small details to the big important ones. But it’s mostly stories that revolve around female original characters (including female self-inserts) that are added to the Lord of the Rings fanfiction. I hope that by listing why they are becoming boring and cliche, it will help writers of such stories improve in their writing of it.
I have nothing against female OCs or self-inserts in LOTR stories, actually I enjoy them a lot but only if they are done very well and realistically.
1. The female gets transported to the “past”, “another world” or “alternative dimension” known as Middle-Earth (and becomes a tenth walker).
As awesome as it is to read about such an important adventure where all the action is at – writing a story like that doesn’t leave much for creativity and originality. There’s so much a person can write about and it’s disappointing when people limit themselves by doing what has already been done.
It’s actually not THAT difficult to write about an adventure before the journey to destroy the one ring begins. Or you can write a story after the ring has been destroy. Either way, each point in time leaves room for adventures to happen. For example maybe some orcs manage to escape the war and went into hiding? They could be terrorizing small villages and they’re on a mission to resurrect their leader? Or maybe another dark creature or evil being took over and is using them to carry out their plans? Maybe there’s something else that’s threatening the peace and it could be before LOTR happens (like around The Hobbit, or a little after it)?
As for the OC, why do they have to be from another world (well, the future or another universe)? Why not have the character actually be born and raise there? J.R.R. Tolkien created a fictional world that contains many fantasy creatures and in such a world you don’t have to limit yourself. Your character doesn’t have to be a human (or a elf, a hobbit, or even a dwarf) raise and born there. They could be any other magical being such as a witch, a fairy, a nymph or a mermaid, etc.
Or if you don’t want them being from Middle-Earth you can make them an alien then. It’s not that far-fetch to think that an alien has a device that allows them to time travel or enter through other universes. Maybe they were in a space ship and got sucked into a wormhole? Maybe they are a magical being from another world and a spell went horribly wrong? Maybe because of that they can’t go back home until their power is restored or until they required something? Whatever you do, I hope you aren’t limiting yourself. Nothing is impossible, as long a there is a reasonable explanation for why and how, then you’re on the right path to creating a very enjoyable story.
On the other hand, maybe you want to do something completely different? Such as a realistic story about one of the characters coming into the real world (or maybe a completely different world). Just be creative!
2. The female is always a teenager.
There’s actually a lot more stories about female teenage original characters going to the LOTR (or The Hobbit) universe then there is adult females. It would be a very nice change for OCs to be adults. After all, we are human and humans do age. People don’t stay teenagers forever and nor do the readers. It gets tiring to read about a teenage OC because it’s hard to relate to them, especially for older readers.
For once it would be a relief to read a story with a adult OC because they have more to share, more experience and a higher maturity level then a teen. Depending on the adult OC their background, how they were raise or even their career may or may not be some benefit to them, like how well they adapt to being in a new world.
After all, it does get boring when the OC acts/is a hormonal, emotional driven teenager. Their reactions all feel the same and make things seem dramatic and worst than it is. They even act as though the world is all about them and that they can handle anything thrown at them (like taking a life, fighting, traveling long distance without the comforts of their world).
Either way, my point is that for once I would like to read a story with an OC that is level-headed, a realist, has good understanding of other people’s thoughts/their way of life or at least takes into consideration of their thoughts/feelings and has a believable emotional reaction for their age when it comes to certain situations.
Oh, and speaking of age. If an elf is 900 years old, they wouldn’t act as though they are a human teenager. Honesty, if I was that old I would have A LOT of wisdom and maturity. So it’s very strange to see an elf that was born and raised in Middle-Earth acting like a spoil overly-emotional brat. It unreal, especially when it doesn’t make any sense. I’m sure they were like that once, maybe when they were 60 years old or so but people don’t act like that forever.
Personality, opinions and the mind changes overtime for an immortal being while their body never grows old. Just keep that in mind if you decide to make your OC an immortal.
3. They speak English.
Why is it that in majority of the stories OCs can magically speak and understand what everyone is talking about? I can understand the concept that the authors use, that “Westron” is actually English in our world or time or whatever. But I’ve actually heard that it’s been proven by the author, J.R.R. Tolkien himself that “Westron” isn’t English.
But I guess many don’t know that or haven’t done their homework. Or maybe they do know, but didn’t want to focus on the language barrier because it would be too much work to write about?
Whatever the reason, it would be an interesting story if there is a language barrier. To read about a character that is out of their element and can't communicate with other characters. It’s realistic and it's fascinating to read about a OC’s frustration in learning a new language. As the character learns to adapt, the readers would start to connect and grow with them too.
Also…have you notice that characters from the future or alternative dimension or whatnot seem to automatically speak properly? If I was in United Kingdom I wouldn’t automatically pick up an accent or the lingo. It would take some time. If I lived there for a long time or if I was born and was raised there, then it’s excusable that I would speak like the locals.
The same concept should also be remember with Middle-Earth. It would take time for the OC’s speech to adjust, to sound like one of them. But that’s not the OCs fault, it’s up to the writer to that keep in mind. That speech differs for characters because of the timeline/world they’re from and/or are living in. So there’s going to be certain phrases the OCs or canon characters will say that the other wouldn’t get (and would need to be explained).
4. Research.
Sometimes I see the effort the writer puts into the story but at times I don’t and it’s seriously lacking. It’s sad to read a story when the writer didn’t do their research, especially for little details that make a difference. Like when it comes to bathing, or dressing, or riding a horse or the time people actually wake up to start the day or how relationships are actually handle during those times and between certain races.
Writers need to keep in mind that in that world, women don’t do man’s work. It was their way of living. They were raise in thinking that and it would be frown upon or found very strange when someone breaks that tradition. So of course, they would find it strange if a female OC suddenly appeared in shorts and a t-shirt beating the crap out of a group of orcs. Such a sight would alarm them. They would notice the way the OC is dress. How improper her clothing are because they reveal so much skin and how she’s a female fighting against a pack of orcs. It would surprise them, but it wouldn’t stop them from coming to her rescue.
Males are chauvinistic, believing that women are maidens who must adhere to male protectionism. You know, basically let the man handle the hard labor and provide the women strength and protection. Sure, it sounds sexist, but it wasn’t for malicious reasons. At that time it was consider normal to think that way. Many didn’t question it because they were satisfied or accustomed to that belief. Of course, there are probably a few that want to be treated equally and will rebel against it. If so, they’ll face difficulties in trying to achieve that. Plus, for each race it’s different and again, it requires research to know how similar or different they are to each other.
For example: The Elves, particularly the Noldor, preoccupy themselves with various things such as smithwork, sculpture, music and other arts, and of course, what to eat. Males and females can do almost everything equally; however, the females often specialize in the arts of healing while the males go to war. This is because they believe that taking life interferes with the ability to preserve life. However, Elves are not stuck in rigid roles; females can defend themselves at need just as well as males, and many males are skilled healers as well, such as Elrond.
As for the Dwarves, “It was said by Gimli that there are few dwarf-women, probably no more than a third of the whole people. They seldom walk abroad except at great need. They are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to the dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of other peoples cannot tell them apart. This is given rise to the foolish opinion among Men that there are no dwarf-women, and that Dwarves ‘grow out of stone’. It is because of the fewness of women among them in the kind of the Dwarves increases slowly, and is in peril when they have no secure dwellings. For Dwarves take only one wife or husband each in their lives, and are jealous, as in all matters of their rights. The number of dwarf-men that marry is actually less than one third. For not all the women take husbands: some desire none; some desire one that they cannot get, and so will have no other. As for the men, very many also do not desire marriage, being engrossed in their crafts.” The Return of the King Appendices; Appendix A; Page 449
So this means that they look, sound and dress like the male Dwarves. This doesn’t tell us whether or not the females were treated like equals (similar to the Elves) or protected (like the human), but maybe it’s a mixture of both? Even though there aren’t any facts to help understand how the dwarf society is like, there’s just enough information to make some educated guesses. But point is, it requires research to get a better understanding on how a culture is like and how their society was like during those times.
Once you have grasp that knowledge of how things are like, than as a writer you’re another step closer to making a believable story.
5. Backpack.
It seems that a lot of the original characters are lucky enough to have their backpacks come with them in their jump. Sure they have a reasonable explanation as to why they happen to have them, but it’s not like they'll honesty have things in their bags that are useful. Really, I don’t remember teenagers carrying a sleeping bag or daggers in their backpack while heading home from school or going to school. Or even a change of clothes. I don’t know that many teens that carry an extra set of clothes for no reason. The only thing I could think of is gym clothes…like they’re going home and bringing it with them to wash. Or they’re taking it to school because it’s a P.E. day for them.
Or maybe they wear a uniform and they hate wearing it after school? So they change into a new set of clothes before meeting up with friends to hang out. Whatever the reason, the writers have to make sure that they have a logical reason for why certain items are inside the OC’s bag. It’s one of those important details that readers like to know because it makes the story feel more believable. Otherwise, it’s just ridiculous to read about a OC taking out a flashlight, sleeping bag, matches, swiss army knife and so on, out of their backpack, when they were supposedly going to school or on their way home from school.
6. Ipods.
We all love our little portable music player but come on. None of them are on steroids and can last for weeks or months if you’re constantly using it. So of course it’s highly annoying and unrealistic when the OC’s ipod (or cell phone or any other electronic device) is constantly in use when there’s no way it should be able to last that long. Electronic devices need to be recharge after a time, it doesn’t even matter if they’re being used or not – the battery will eventually lose its’ charge and die. So ipods or whatever electronic device that comes into the story should only be mention if they have a purpose.
7. Knowledge.
Not everyone is a LOTR (or The Hobbit) fan and knows exactly what’s going to happen. But sadly it seems like every female OC that gets transported or whatnot seems to know everything. Or has some kind of knowledge because a close friend is a LOTR fan and always gives them the “gist” of it. So…would it be that bad to write as though the OC doesn’t know what’s going to happen?
It would be a nice change in the fandom’s fanfiction to see a OC not know everything. It would be nice to see them react honestly because it would feel more realistic. Readers would be interested to see how the OC will handle their situation and how they’ll react. It would make the characters come to life, by reading about how they worry and stress out. Or be completely awed and freaked out by the creatures and magical items.
8. Injuries.
Eventually, the OC gets hurt. The problem with this is how they lack serious injuries. I’ve read plenty of stories where the OC gets shot with an arrow. That’s believable. I would find it highly unrealistic if they did all that fighting and not once get hurt by an arrow or a sword. Even the canon characters get hurt.
An OC that doesn’t have any experience in war shouldn’t be able to come out of battles or fights without a scratch. If a OC doesn’t have experience or has some but not enough, the description of their fights should reflect that. For example if they don’t have the endurance then make sure it’s reflected in their fight scenes. Make it obvious, show them falter once in a while.
When it comes to injuries, the most common one found in LOTR fics is when OCs gets hurt by an arrow and it ALWAYS hits them in the shoulder. That’s annoying. It’s not creative and it’s not realistic. There are other parts in the body that can be hit by an arrow. After all, a moving target is very difficult to hit, more so to make a killing blow.
For example, what if someone was going to get hit with an arrow and the OC notices. They bravely jump in the path of the arrow. They protect the original target but end up getting hit and somehow it lands on their shoulder. What…that’s like winning the million dollar lottery. That’s some incredibly good luck for that to happen. But this happens in MANY LOTR fics and it’s hard to take the story seriously when that exact scenario occurs. Why could it not land somewhere else for a change? Like the arm, or on their back, or their leg? Maybe they were lucky enough to only get grazed by it because they were still moving and pushing someone out the way?
Red hair seems to be an extremely common trait with original characters that are added to the LOTR and The Hobbit fanfiction. As great as it is to read about a character that has such an unique feature, it tends to get very annoying when it’s overdone by many other writers of the fandom. No matter how many times a writer describes their character it all leads to the same thing…
Of course, it also leads to other cliches. That in order for a character to be special they must look special/unique, something that would stand out physically in the LOTR universe. Other times, they stereotype a red head as ‘fire’ or ‘stubborn’ or ‘strong-willed’. I’m sure that some red heads are just like that but not every OC that’s a redhead should be exactly the same. In doing so, they start to look like carbon copies and readers will get mixed up. Also, please tone down the purple prose when it comes to describing the OCs.
“Scarlet hair and emerald orbs with a creamy complexion.”
“She looked at her reflection on the water, noticing her murky blue eyes became and fiercely ruby hair.”
“Lilac eyes shine and her flowing red hair blew wildly in the wind.”
“Long flaming red hair, chocolate-golden speckled brown eyes.”
“Crimson hair cascades down her back, over her shoulders and her blue eyes glittered like diamonds.”
“Red-brown hair with emerald green eyes.”
“Blood-red hair streamed down her back and shoulders.”
“Amidst the battle and darkness a blazing color of red dances around like a flame.”
There’s nothing wrong with redheads but it doesn’t hurt to have a plain OC. Why can’t they just be a fake redhead? The canon characters would find it interesting to see her original hair color growing in. Other characters would think she’s magical or something even if she’s a normal person. Or even, what if she does not have hair as red as blood but an auburn like color? Or a carrot color?
Heck, go with a plain color like brown. It’s not that difficult to make something plain like brown hair sound beautiful; have the sunlight shine on the character’s hair revealing strands of gold and red. After all, hair isn’t just one solid color it’s made up of individual colors of strand. But appearance isn’t everything and what’s more important is the personality of the OC. It’s what makes people love a OC and honesty come to care about them and find them special.
It’s amazing how OCs are capable of riding horses without any experience or training. Or if they do have some experience they just happen to have it because they took lessons when they were younger. Or they own a horse ranch or they know a family member that has/had a horse. Sure it’s possible but it starts to become a cliche if a lot of the characters all have that ability.
I have only rode on a horse twice in my life so far. Those experience only happen because I was in a fair when I was little. Such an experience does not make a person a master of riding horses (or ponies). All I did was just sit on the horse while someone pulled the horse in circles. It was fun because not that many kids my age during then could say that they rode on a horse. But the point is, that wasn't any experience at all. If I was truly on the run for my life, my butt, thighs and so on would be in pain. Maybe my back too because I would need to lean close to the horse to hold on better.
Though I would have to overcome my fear of heights first, before I could even think of riding a horse because they are pretty tall. A person can get hurt from falling off a horse. That is scary because you’re sitting on a living creature that has a mind of it’s own, there’s no guarantee that it won’t get spook or stand still. Horses would be harder to control then a bicycle. You would have to get to know the horse and trust them, trust that they would listen to your commands and in return they trust you to treat them well. You really need to know what you’re doing.
As for when the OC doesn’t have any experience with horses, one must remember that not everyone can get it after three tries. They need time to get the handle of it. That’s the difference between realistic and unbelievable. An fake, unbelievable character would pick it up with ease without much effort, while a realistic character would take time to get it right and be decent. It might even take longer if their goal is to be a master at it because that would require field experience.
It’s the same concept with other things too. Physically if the OC was on the run for their life and they are couch potatoes (or not physically active at all). How in the world can they run three miles without having an asthma attack/clasping? They wouldn’t have made it pass a mile. Let alone ride a horse, fall into a raging river and swim against the current, run two miles, climbs a tree, climb a cliff/mountain, and battle orcs. If your OC is a human, with no experience in fighting or riding a horse and not physically active and yet they can supposedly do that all in a week? Then there’s something very wrong with that. Realism is the key here, like I keep saying it’s what makes a story more awesome and enjoyable to read. These things can happen, but it’s all about pacing yourself and subtly training your character for what they may face in the future.
I’m impress by how quick the OCs are to recognize that they’re in Middle-Earth or who the canon characters are when first introduce. Realistic, they shouldn’t automatically be able to figure out that they’re in another world just by being in a forest or a small village/town. Instead they should be convince that they got lost or got abducted and dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Possibly dumped in a community similar to the Amish, in which they don’t have technology and do things the old fashion way, etc. Or they’ll think that someone is pranking them and that they’re being secretly filmed. Maybe they died and think they’re in some sort of Heaven or they think that it’s all a realistic dream. Basically the OC will try to rationalize their situation before thinking the impossible happen.
However, if the OC starts noticing the way that the people are dressed, how they’re speaking in a different language/s, or don’t understand their common phrases and terms, then they should feel like something is definitely off about their situation. More so, if they pick on the differences between the people, like how strange a “child” is actually a fully grown adult and is a hobbit, and so on. At that point, once they realize they’re not anywhere close to home – they might think that they’ve gone insane. Or that they stumbled upon a secret magical realm on their world until someone proves them wrong.
Also, the OC shouldn’t be able to recognize the canon characters by first appearance. There’s too many fics that base their appearance exactly on their actors/actresses and that’s a little too convenient. Instead, it would be believably that there’s some physical characteristic that the characters share with their actor, but it wouldn’t be enough to automatically figure out who they were. Not until they actually introduce themselves at least.
On a similar note, the canon characters shouldn’t be able to easily accept that the OC is from another world. They would be highly suspicious and if not, they would be concern that the OC is ill in the mind or something. It would makes sense that until the OC proves that they’re not from the same world, than they’ll be taken seriously.
Whenever an OC is dropped into the LOTR world they are conveniently close to Rivendell, Mirkwook, Lothlórien, The Shire, or some other major location. If not, they just happen to be in the same area containing a canon character. No one is that lucky and there’s nothing wrong to have an OC dropped in the middle of no where. It would actually be interesting to read about an modern OC trying to survive in the forest on their own for a bit. To see if they have any skills or knowledge that helps them adjust better than other OCs. Or have them stumble across a small town or village and see how they’ll handle that. Will they have trouble communicating? How will they handle an environment that has none of their modern conveniences? How will they deal with trouble?
Rarely have I found stories that focus on the OC adjusting in the new world first. In those stories the writer gives the OC a chance to understand their situation (even if they may not know just yet exactly where they are) and it’s refreshing to read about. Not all OCs are the same either. An OC that comes from a farmers background would probably be able to handle the environment better, but an tech savvy OC would struggle the most, maybe even experience a bit of withdrawal?
If I think up any more cliches/annoyances then I’ll come back and add more on to this. However, if anyone reading this knows some or just want to leave any input feel free to do so. I don’t bite and I would appreciate some feedback on this or on any of my past entries.
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