User blog:Winter Edition/Original Character Creating Guide

   This is a guide to help you, be it writers or artists to create an Original Character (OC). It is based on my experiences and other similar guides on the internet, as well as countless time running into writers/artists who asked for my opinions on how to create one.

Take notice of anything with a ‘*’, most of them are very important and could affect your character in general.

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Profile: The very basic of every character.

Each character has their own identity, such as names, date of birth, place of birth, gender, race* and sexuality. This is a fun step, because you get to mess around and it will be the base of your very own character, so my advice is to have fun with this step.

*When I say ‘race’, it is races in general: Human, elf, fairy, angel, you name it. However, be very careful if the race you are choosing for your OC doesn’t exist in the universe you are going to put your OC in, even if you are creating that very same universe, because it will be one hell of a time to try and explain it to your fellow readers/role-players in the future.

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Appearance:   An enjoyable yet difficult step.

Time to let your imagination runs wild! This step is VERY enjoyable, I must say, being an artist and a writer. However, don’t let that get into your pretty head, okay ? When designing a character, think about why the character wears what they wear, and how that defines them as a character. Don't just add things to try and make them "unique," let the character be told through their appearance. Keep it as simple as you can, simple characters are more iconic and easier to read.

My advice for this step is to find an anime/chibi maker. Not only it’s fun to play around, but you will also grasp the “Original” part, but can avoid being sued by the artist whose art* you might borrow as reference for your suppose-to-be Original character. Here is a good one: http://gen8.deviantart.com/art/Chibi-Maker-1-1-346025144

*You could either draw the concept art yourself if you have the time, or hire an artist to do that for you if you have the cash. Remember to provide them with plenty of details and reference images.

As I said above, whichever race you are going to choose for your character, it has to fit in the universe, and this apply to the appearance as well. Don’t let your character be an elf and let her dresses like an android, or an innocent angel dresses up like a slut.

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Personality: The pain!

Oh man, this step determines if it makes or breaks your characters. This combines with your character’s Ability, it WILL determine if your characters is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu or not. Take caution when dealing with this and the later steps.

Think outside the box! No more of the cliché “Shy and sweet girl” or the “Lone wolf trying to do everything by himself”. I’ve talked to people about originality, and some of them stubbornly said that “Originality died long ago!”. Which is WRONG! Originality isn’t about a concept that no one hasn’t used/hasn’t thought of yet, it is about the combination of what already exists. However, take note that anything you are going to combine, they have to match each other and create a smooth flow for your characters.

<p class="MsoNormal">Another mini step is to put your character in every situation you can think of and see what s/he will do in those situations. This step is to discover if your characters has flaws* or if some of the personalities you gave them conflicts with each other.

<p class="MsoNormal">*By flaws I don’t mean there is something wrong with your OC. Flaws is perfectly acceptable, I even encourage you giving your OC flaws.

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<p class="MsoNormal">History: Lots of researches to do.

<p class="MsoNormal">History builds your character. Everything about your OC, from their appearance, clothes, personality and ability has a history. Who gave your OC their clothes ? Where did that scar across their cheeks come from ? History ties the knots of everything your character has together, so do a lot of research, and try to avoid any confliction.

<p class="MsoNormal">Here is when thing gets tricky: The future is wide open for everyone, and each and every single one of them can choose from varies options, so keep your character’s future open for them to follow their own path EVEN if they are destined to be the savior of the world (In which I don’t recommend since it’s cliché). Let them choose whatever they want (and maybe they can have a nice breakdown from their choices), lead them around and back to the main goal that you have planned out.

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<p class="MsoNormal">Ability:

<p class="MsoNormal">What can your OC do ? From the simplest, everyday activities like cooking, cleaning, doing laundry to the most complicate thing you can imagine, like mixing chemistry (without blowing anything up, or at least, not as an accident of course). Go wild with this step, an example is a chef who can paint, a singer who can play soccer, even a puppy who can do the grocery. However, make sure it matches and won’t create any confliction later.

<p class="MsoNormal">Another ability I should mention is the ability in battlefields, especially if your future book/role-play is action-related. Now, I’ll cut to the chase and say it right now: Do not make your character Over Powered (OP). Start small if your OC is a teenage, let them grow with time as no one is able to actually master anything during their teenage years (Except maybe throwing trash in that trash can from 5 feet away – and there are chances that they sometimes miss the target.). Let your character grows through time, master some special ability – small at first, but stronger as time passes.

<p class="MsoNormal">*A big warning for all of the newly writers who are reading this: You can’t have the best of both worlds. No one can, and should anyway, even God. Characters with perfect Personality and Ability WILL be address as Mary Sue/Gary Stu and is hated by 99% of the writer population. While you can give your character a negative personality like kicking puppies just because they feel like, you can’t do the same in this step.

<p class="MsoNormal">My advice: Balance, balance and balance. If your OC is an archer, make him/her unable to perform close range combat, or if physically weak if they are a magician. If they are smart they would avoid any meaningless battle instead of butt heading into one. Be specific and very careful to write down their strengths and weaknesses.

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<p class="MsoNormal">And before you know it, you have created an interesting OC for your use~ Thank you for reading my guide and if you need my help or opinions, don’t be shy to ask. And if I miss anything, feel free to fill me in. Flora’s out!