Fic Meme day 8
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?
2 - Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
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?
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?
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
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.
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,ewhere 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 funniest) 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
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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 do write OCs, when the story calls for it. Most of the time they at least start out as... I don't want to say plot devices but I can't think of another term. They're there because I need a character to do something specific in my main character's story. Sometimes they remain little more than that, but there's been a few times when an OC has taken on a life of his or her own, and sometimes even ends up with their own plot arc.
Jess in the Letters series was like that -- he started out as someone to give Obi-Wan an annoyance to deal with, morphed into more of an ally character at which point I started thinking about why he would have been so annoying in the first place, and started giving him a background and motivations and suddenly he had an actual storyline and development and relationships, the whole nine yards.
The one OC that popped into my head when I first read this question was Ian from Of Old Mystics. He started out as just a mysterious older mentor figure for Ethan - (I had been picturing a sorta modern day setting Gandalf type for what we needed, which led to the name Ian). He quickly developed his own personality and backstory and took on a bit of a life of his own.
The question about whether I've ever had a character push his way into a scene when he wasn't originally supposed to be there? Yeah, that was Ian. Omphalos and I had an original purpose for him in the story, which he did fulfil, but we also ended up with him in far more scenes - and more intimate scenes than we'd originally planned. And the epilogue of the series, ended up being a way to give his story a better finish than we'd originally gave him in the story.
Not only that, but we ended up taking Ian and his backstory, changing one thing and writing original fic about him and his partner. Let me tell you, some of the most fun I've had writing was developing Ian and his world.
How do I keep OCs from becoming Mary Sues? It's not really something I consciously think about - I create original characters with as little or as much depth as needed and treat them the same as any other character. I won't say I've never written Mary Sue like characters, I think every writer goes through that phase and I certainly did when I was a teenager. I was just lucky enough that the internet didn't really exist back then so there's no proof of it.
But creating characters and seeing where they go and how they develop is part of the fun of writing, even writing fic. Just with fic, you also are doing the same with characters that come to you with the process already started.