Fanfic lit-crit meme, Day Eight

[matrixrefugee]

Day 8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.

I write OCs as the story requires, but I don't actually try not to make them Mary Sues: I just listen to their story and write it down as best as I can. I might put them through a litmus test to be sure, but even those aren't always fool-proof: If you're writing in an anime fandom, anormal hair colors are par the course, fantasy settings are going to have fantasy elements, and abusive pasts happen, sad to say (as long as the abuse is portrayed realistically and not put in there for sob value, I have no issue with it, as I know people who came from abusive families as royally screwed up as something out of a V.C. Andrews novel).

My two favorite female OCs are Rhiannon Jackford from the "Zenon Eyes" series of "A.I." fanfics, and Mercy Falcone from several as of yet unposted Yami no Matsuei fics. Rhiannon was my first African-American OC, and I based her off this warm but sassy and no-nonsense gal who used to be a clerk at a thrift shop, who had this crazy knack of slipping into affectionate self-parody and putting on this crazy ghetto-momma accent while telling stories about herself and her wacky family.

Mercy was more or less herself, though I've developed her background with a view to eventually writing some original fiction about her. She's tough and strong in a fight, but also genuinely kind and friendly, plus, I was trying to create a sexy but not slutty vampire character: she's an energy vamp who turns up her nose at the "secksay childe of teh nyghte" image that's been applied to her kind, but that doesn't stop her from being very sensual in bed, or wearing old-fashioned thigh-high black silk stockings with garters under her otherwise conservative A-line skirts and blouses.

I will say, my female OCs tend to be women in their late twenties and early thirties who've had a chance to see what life can throw at a person, so they're less likely to be Sues (just their age bracket alone would remove possible Sue-points: when's the last time you saw a thirty-something Mary Sue??)

My favorite male OCs are Dietrich Hohenzoller, the tough, massive German-born detective in "Through the Door in the Sky", my sequel to "The Truman Show", and Halloran "Hal" McGeever, who, in the heyday of the "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" fandom even became a fanonic character, since three other fans asked me permission to borrow him for their fics. Hal was somewhat inspired by a photograph of Jude Law as Harlen Maguire in "Road to Perdition", but aside from being creepers and being news photographers, the two characters couldn't be more different. Hal is a computer hacker of some expertise. He's sort of an anti-Gary Stu, as he has a lot of the tropes of an Arry Oo (peculiar birth, tragic past, hidden destiny) but it all sort of rolls off his skinny shoulders.

Dietrich was the first gay character I ever wrote, and I'm delighted that I've gotten a lot of compliments on "writing a gay man who is also a *MAN*". He's sort of a twist on the hard-boiled detective, and I wish the story hadn't required me to kill him off so soon, as he's a great guy: noble, tough as a rock, but with a kindly heart as big as his outside, calm under pressure, and calm in a fight (which makes him a rather scary opponent). I'd like to write more with him, but who knows? He may come back under a different name...

Day 1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
Day 2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Day 3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Day 4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Day 5 – If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
Day 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Day 7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?

9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!