Writing Tips and Reviews

OC

What is an OC and how does it differ from a copyrighted character (CC)? Well that's quite easy. OCs are characters made for a story the writer didn't create, and CCs are characters made for a story the writer did create. Simple.

I see OCs everywhere, my characters have been called OCs before, and honestly, I've stop caring. I ignore them if they do it and go on with my life. OCs are created and sometimes sold to those who don't have the ability to make their own. "But Rin, if you sell an OC, it isn't original anymore". To that I say, who cares? I've said it before and I'll say it again, if originality is your main priority over character development, then, your priorities are wrong.

I do have a few OCs, off the top of my head I can name three: Celine Pasca, Khione Isa and Laurence Monochrome. Radiant Mythology 3, Tales of Vesperia and Kingdom Hearts respectively. Have I done anything with them? Not really, I made a dumpster fire of a fan fiction and decided to never do it again. So there's that.

How do you make a good OC? Well, I do the same steps for making a regular character. Personality, backstory, development etc. Just please, don't stop development at sexuality before going into the important stuff. Please. Also avoid being a Mary Sue. In short, make your OC follow the rules of the world. It can't be that hard, even I can do that.

A little story behind that, I was in the making of my first OC Celine Pasca, and was looking for good weapons for her. Radiant Mythology logic. Anyways,  Bill has these amazing ideas for cool weapons, and I had to reject every single one of them because it would be breaking the world's rules. Now, if it were my world, then those weapons might have been incorporated into new classes or new weapon types that existing classes can use. To say simply, I can't really work much with a world that isn't made by me. Unless I do hours of research and copy a script word for word with little changes. NOT A SECOND TIME! That's why Mysteria X RD takes place in a "middle ground" world.

Back to OCs. Honestly, all you need to do is know the world and rules (which can be skipped if you make your story, but whatever floats your boat) and make your OC following those rules. You won't have a Mary Sue and you'll have fun. If that's your jam.

I perfectly understand why people may not want to create their own story. The outlines for world and character building are complicated and take months to years. Trust me, I know that process. It is easier to use a template that's already set for you. I just like taking the time to create an outline, grant it, I have fifteen, eight of which are in beginning phase and six of those are just ideas on a google doc. No you don't get to see, no spoilers.

All I have to say, is put effort into your work. And I'm saying this to all writers. Don't settle for the minimum.