Fan Fiction and Original Characters
Part 1: Introduction / Or: OCs are people too
More often than not, I bump into comments around how awful fics featuring original characters are, in particular if the original cast is part of the leading roles. Considering that every story I write is done with an original lead sharing screen time with the fan favourites, that stings a little.
I'm proud of Sadja and I'm absolutely in love with Zofia, and writing them has taught me a great deal. And I like how their influence has rubbed off on both Redfield and Crane, growing them beyond what canon restricted them to. Which is one of the reasons why I prefer stories with OCs in them (or AUs): Introducing an outside element and shaking up the status quo.
Original Characters aren't for everyone, and that's fine. But they aren't inherently bad.
A lot of people come to Fanfiction to read exclusively about their favourites. Some go in search of the smutty one-shots, others chase the high school AUs and whatnot, but they all have something in common: it's the execution that matters. The same applies to pieces featuring original characters, whether we're talking about a straightforward self insert, or an outsider added to the equation.
To be fair, in my experience stories with badly written original characters don't fall solely because of the OC. If the OC's characterisation is shoddy, then the canon cast isn't off any better. The difference is that we're more likely to give those a pass because we're projecting our own expectations on them, and glossing over flaws in the narrative from the author. We're aware of the character's weaknesses from the source material. Know about their pitfalls and their highlights. So if a fic doesn't play on any of those details, that's not a big deal. It doesn't need to.
But if the OC doesn't display any, and comes across as unnecessarily flawless or otherwise flat, then oh boy here are the pitchforks.
So, how do we work on that? I've got a few ideas, but that’ll make for a long enough article to deserve its own spot.
Part 2: Characterising your OC (and the canon cast)