Original Characters, Self-Inserts, and Canon Characterizations - Fanfic writer opinion
“Self-inserts are so cringe” Okay, but, have you considered that some people need the solace and escapism that SIOCs(self-insert original character(s)) offer?
While none of my Naruto ocs are true SIs( they are technically isekai OCs and yes that is a slightly different thing), because when I first started writing fanfic as a pre-teen I needed the escapism that Self-Inserts, or isekai OCs offered.
So maybe, before you call something cringe, just maybe consider that for some people it’s healing.
Creating self-inserts, SIOC adjacent characters, and original characters is okay. It is okay to want to see yourself in a story, in a world you love, interacting with the characters that you find solace and joy in. Original characters are not cringe, and honestly they can add so much a story.
Also, genuinely new fic writers, you will benefit from writing oc fics first if you’re gonna write long form. I was discussing this with fellow fic writer today and just, there are so many fics within bnha(and other fandom) I’ve noticed that use the canon characters but they aren’t really the characters. They’re an oc with the canon characters name. There is nothing worse than reading fanfic where you don’t recognize the canon characters as themselves, or a reasonable version of them. While variations and interpretations of canon characters are alright, true ooc-ness will kill the readability of your fic. If you aren’t certain of the canon characterizations write with ocs, it will help you understand canon characterizations so much better in the long run. Another thing, you have to know the canon material, if you only know fanon interpretations and write based off that you will never fully grasp the canon characterizations. If your canon characters sound like they’re out of character, its because you are writing ocs with their names.
And before someone says something silly like “its fanfic, its all ooc anyway, so why does it matter”. In an academic setting what fic writers do would be considered a critical analysis of characters within a story setting. For people whose long term plan is to write, understanding characters and the different voices they have is crucial to writing good stories, with complex and interesting characters. If all your characters sound the same, or cannot be pinned as being a specific character then your reader will not care about them. And if the reader doesn’t care, then neither will a publisher(and if you self publish, the time put in will not equate to the reward). Just like fanfic readers do not care about fics where the canon characters are truly ooc. Because fanfic is written based off something, fic writers are writing with a specific character voice in mind, and if that voice becomes someone else because the writer doesn’t understand the character- readers notice. Some examples of this-
in Naruto I expect Kakashi to be an emotionally stunted dumbass, I do not expect him to be an abusive arse who hates team 7. In BNHA, I expect Izuku to be kind, heroic, selfless with a touch of self-worth issue, I do not expect him to be arrogant and brash, villainous, and manipulative. I am not going to read stories that portray these characters like that, because that’s not who they are at their core.
Kakashi at his core is a broken man, who needs therapy to deal with the mountain of grief that has been accumulating on top of his shoulders since he was a child. Despite all of that, he does love his team. Those brats are his.
Izuku at his core is someone who is inherently kind, heroic and so utterly good. He is not arrogant, not depressed to the level in which he gets written in fanfic, and it would take something unfathomable for him to be a villain. Izuku is a good person, not a great, but a good person.
So when more than a few of what I consider core characterizations are not included, it immediately kills all interest in a fic for me. Because look characterization can be up for interpretation AU dependent, but even then there still can come a point when you are not writing the canon character if you change too much about them. The point of AUs is the small changes, the flap of a butterflies wings, its the what-ifs.
As fic writers what that means is we push the bounds of the character realistically within the confines of the au we are writing as well as based off what we know of them from their actual canon. The goal is telling the story, in a slightly different way that it was originally told. Not changing the characters from who they are entirely.
Now does that mean that I think people can’t write villain!deku fics, or bad teacher Kakashi fics? No, because you can write those things realistically within the confines of the canon characterizations. The problem however, is that more often than not the character is not being written within the confines of their actual characterizations and they are out of character.
Because newer fic writers aren’t writing ocs, and new fandom seems to have a vendetta against ocs and siocs in general, new fic writers are writing canons character ooc in a good bit of long form fics that I have seen. I am not saying this to be mean, I am saying this because the longer you write ooc fics the more you hurt your own chances of writing interesting and compelling characters. If the long term goal is original work, characters need distinct voices. Fanfiction writing is a good practice for that, because the characters already have established voices. You just need an oc that you already know to interact with the canon characters until you learn what their distinct voice looks like in your fic.
But what if the original character is ooc? Okay, and? The only person who’s going to realize that is the writer, the reader is still learning about your character they have no expectations of their personality yet. OCs can be ooc. That’s why they’re good for learning. Because no one expects anything from them. You as the writer are in charge of the ocs true canon, you get to decide if something they do is ooc or not. The only person who has expectations of the oc is the creator.
And that’s not something you get to do when you write characters that already have expectations attached to them. Readers have expectations attached to canon characters. So please, for your own growth as a writer, experiment with writing ocs. Create your SI, and SIOC adjacent characters. Write the fix-it fic of your dreams.
I promise, it will help.
At least this is what I have found that to be the case in my experience and based off the experience of several of my fic writer friends.
Oh, and if this sparks questions please feel free to ask. My ask box is open (sans anon, sorry but several instances of meh asks from anon made me turn it off), I’ve been writing fics for a long time, so if I have an answer I am happy to answer.
