How to create a good OC
Sometimes there are just stories that you have no one else to ship your favorite character with, or perhaps it’s a story that seems made to throw OCs in. Either way, creating your own character can sometimes be very tricky. Which is why I compiled these few tips to help you out a bit.
Be realistic
Just like in the real world, not everyone fits together. Sometimes certain personalities just don’t match. I’m not saying that opposites can’t attract, because in my opinion they can, see How to make opposites attract and why they do, but I am saying that sometimes the main personality traits of a character are just impossible to match with your own character’s personality traits. If you do, they’ll eventually grow tired of each other or irritated by each other if you keep the OC as realistic as possible.
For example, pairing a funny person who loves to joke around with someone who stands quite serious in life and doesn’t always get jokes, it would be a horrible combination and terrible decision to put those two together. You can argue with me all you want, but if funny is the main personality trait of character A and serious the main personality trait of character B, then they just won’t work.
It would be a different story, however, if let’s say, character B just doesn’t understand why certain jokes are funny. This can easily be changed by the help of character A, and if it’s manipulated well enough in your writing, then this pair could work out.
So, if you want your OC to match with the character from a book, film or television show, then make sure their personalities don’t repel. Most people can work well together, but there are always a few who just don’t.
Don’t turn your OC into a Mary Sue
For the love of anyone or anything you believe in, do not ever turn your character into a Mary Sue. I think that anyone reading this will agree with me. Because there is no way that your character will be likeable to everyone. Neither will he or she be the most beautiful person on this entire planet without any flaws – inside and out.
So give your character a couple of flaws! Do they perhaps have a slightly crooked nose, or perhaps a bunch of freckles on their chest? It doesn’t even have to be a flaw to you, but it has to be something that disrupts the flawless skin.
As well as with the personality. Do their words always come out wrong, or are they seriously stubborn in everything? It’s okay to give your character such a trait and let the reader hate him once in a while. Only this way you’ll keep the reader intrigued and make the character believable.
Choose well
Some films, books or television shows just don’t go well with OCs. That’s because some stories are already magical enough with their own characters, and throwing in an OC might sometimes shake the story up.
Of course opinions can vary on this, but it is important to ask yourself: Will an OC really fit in this story? If not, try to pair two already existing characters together. If you do throw in an OC in a story that might be considered as one that is already magical enough on its own, then it really helps to at least have a good plot that supports your character.
For example, in my opinion, Harry Potter isn’t a story I’d throw OCs in. Why not? Well, first of all it has such a variety of different characters that there are always pairs to choose from. And second of all, the people at Hogwarts all have such tight groups. It’s difficult to squeeze an OC in there and not make it distracting from the plot.
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, though. I have read plenty enough of fanfictions as well that had an OC in them, and still managed to not let it distract it from the plot. If you can do that, then by all means ignore my opinion and throw one in!
Just like everything in fanfiction, whatever you create, there is always at least one person who will take interest in it. This actually goes perfect with the subject I’m writing about now. As you can see, there are many different things that some people may like or not. Not everything is likeable, and not everyone will be likeable.
Choose a fitting character description
This one kind of goes hand in hand with my first tip, but I still wanted to elaborate on it a bit. Because of the reason that not everyone goes well together, it’s important to carefully create your OC. This doesn’t necessarily goes for looks, though. The way someone looks will be the least of your concern.
But it is important to match the personalities a bit. Or if you’re going for opposites, at least make sure they can attract to each other. Make sure they have some common ground if you choose for the latter.
A few examples of what works:
Character A is serious and doesn’t understand jokes well – Character B is funny and is able to help A understand the jokes by showing A the joy behind a joke. Unless the jokes are plain rude and the pranks are simply mean, then it should be able to work out.
Character A is caring – Character B doesn’t know how to care for someone, but is willing to learn.
A few examples of what doesn’t work:
Character A is caring and likes to help people – Character B is selfish and only does what is best for B.
Character A is stubborn – Character B is stubborn. They’ll both never admit the other one is right when they are, creating a serious distance between them. Neither will they do something if they say they don’t want to, even if it’s necessary. All this works against them, and eventually their relationship will be doomed.
Keeping these three tips in mind, you should be fine with everything else you do to create your OC. These are just the main points that can really ruin your fanfiction if done wrong, so try not to do them!
