HELP! (fanfic advice.)

iv. new kid

The new kid™ plot is a brilliant one when executed properly, here's some pointers on how to do that:

The Cool Stuff

i. It's one of the easiest ways to introduce an OC, you just have them transfer from Beauxbatons or Durmstrang or Salem or Ilvermorny or any other school you can dream up and that's that.

ii. It means you don't have to write the first few years of Hogwarts, which - if you're lazy like me - is a huge blessing. You can skip straight to the age when your character is old enough to fall in love and have relationships and all that jazz.

iii. You can get creative with backstories and come up with interesting reasons why they moved. Were they being targeted by Italian spies so they went undercover in a new country? Were they expelled from their last school for multiple incidents of breaking out into a song and dance routine during lessons? Or are they simply looking for a fresh start? You can go as wild or simple as you want with it (just as long as it makes sense).

iv. If your character has moved from a different country, they probably speak another language. This is an amazing way to introduce different cultures into your story.

The Not So Cool Stuff

i. It's very easy to make your character a Mary Sue. If they're from Beauxbatons it's common for them to be blonde with blue eyes and angelic beauty. If they're from Durmstrang they're usually described as having sharp features and modelesque bodies.

Try not to fall into that trap, let your OC break those stereotypes and still been seen as beautiful. Let them be bigger than a size four, let them have skin that isn't "pale as snow", let them have talents and skills that don't relate back to their looks. Destroy the idea that a person has to be pretty to be worthy.

ii. The OC somehow knows everyone at Hogwarts, it's like "Draco, my favourite cousin! And Hermione, I met you on that skiing trip last summer! Harry, remember that time your aunt shouted at mine? Ha good times! And Cedric, my ex who I'm not really over, how are you?"

Yeah, that gets old real quickly. Don't do that. It's not impossible for your OC to know maybe one person there, or a specific family, but if they've lived in Bulgaria their whole life it's unlikely that their going to be best friends with half the population of Hogwarts.

If you're going to make them know someone, give a believable reason.

iii. The whole school is in love with them within the first day of meeting them. Okay, new students do recieve a lot of attention when they first join; everyone wants to see what they look like and how they act and if they're cool or not. But no new student has five people pining after them over looks alone.

;

I hope this provides you with some useful tips when writing your fanfictions!

- hxgsmeade