30 Day Fandom Meme Day 8

[leethet]

Day 08 – 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.
Yes. I’ve written male and female OCs, peripheral and important. Any female OC who is romantically involved with a canon guy is automatically a Sue to most people, but I try to make my OCs human, and only involve them in what’s necessary and realistic for their level of skill. My OCs are almost never beautiful to anyone except those who love them (like most people) and although they always have skills, they’re never superheroes. I do tend to make them articulate and sometimes too verbally clever, and that’s a definite flaw in my characterization. Not everyone is clever.

Comments

[leethet.livejournal.com]

I should clarify - when I say they must not have abilities that are crucial to success, I don't mean they should lack every necessary ability. Only that they cannot be the one who, you know, carries everyone to safety, has the medical knowledge to save their lives, happens to know exactly how to get coconuts open so they don't starve on the tropical island, and is able to make a raft out of palm leaves and turtle shells, AND can navigate by the stars, AND speaks the language of the men on the rescue ship ... it's best to let your heroine have an area (or two - no more) of excellence and let others carry the rest of the plot-advancement.

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

I love your description! At the point when I dumped her, she was mainly succeeding in furiously irritating Napoleon (who would have bedded her no question, though). But yes, she had much too many various talents for her own good and too much awareness of them. Plus she was a pet experiment from Waverly (Illya-like) but I didn't mean to give her a great part in the final success; it would have been more an educational journey for a an over-ambitious and presumptuous young woman. My aim was too high for my capacity. Needless to say that most of it remained unwritten in my imagination but that effectively prevented me from using the other, more convenient, possibilities that were included in the premises of the story.

[leethet.livejournal.com]

My aim was too high for my capacity.

I think I want a t-shirt with that written on it, to wear when I write!