How to Make an [DETAILED] OC! + Roleplaying Tips and Advice

Basics

I heard you wanted to learn how to make a better OC? You've come to the right place! Here I'll be sharing with you my tips for writing better OCs, especially more detailed and realistic ones. A quick reminder though, having a highly detailed OC can take lots of time and effort to develop. Often, I use these to make characters that I know I will enjoy using to write and roleplay with to the best of my abilities as a whole. And heck, these same tips and tricks that I use still work for settings as bizarre as... JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Yes, I make OCs for that wacky little franchise! But first, let's start off simple.

What is an OC? An original character, but of course you'd already know that since you probably came here searching up "how to make an OC." Don't go yelling at me in the comments that ya didn't come here searching up "how to make an OC." Anyway, let's get on with the type of character that you want to avoid. A Mary Sue/Gary Stu. Often times, these are depicted as characters who are too unrealistic for a story, often lacking proper balance and flaws. Too competent for the current tasks at hand, or just perfect. Perfection to the point where it is annoying. And/Or the world itself simply has them at the center of the story in some shape or form. However, there are also common types of Sues that you will see often made by the younger audience for the writing and roleplay scene. 

But while there are stereotypes for Mary Sues, a Mary Sue in any form is just a character who is meant to be the center of everything. Instead of having to adapt to the world around them, the world around the Sue adapts to them. That's what makes these sorts of stories just not a compelling read. As Overly Sarcastic Productions once said, "It takes more than a cartoonishly tragic backstory and a laundry list of positive traits to make a character compelling." They often have some huuuge defining traits that always makes them stick out, so here are the different types of Sues.

-"I'm God's masterpiece!" are the sorts of Sues that you'd see who appear to be just perfect. They're nice, they're pretty, and they're popular! Oh, what else? They can cook, clean, even fight, have a bunch of potential love interests, this is the types of Sues that we all know and love. (No we don't!) You'd usually see the nine year old Gacha kids making these. They have to be the center of attention, to be the special one out there. Personality Sues in general just seem to have these overbearing personalities that aren't fun at all to interact with. 

-There are Sues that are labeled as the "Edgy McEdgerson Darkheart" Sues. You'll be constantly barraged by their many, many complaints about the world and often times have such unrealistic backstories just for angst and edge. It's that they have to be the center of the attention with their tragedy and just how "cool" they look for being a survivor of it. This also applies to some characters that have been attempted at making evil. This is more of another "personality" type of Sue that takes a dark turn rather than a turn towards perfection.

-STANDO POWAH! Sues. They have such incredible power and they often have it so that it's soooo convenient for them when they're in a sticky situation. Often times they'll be upstaging other characters (especially canons in fan written stories), and it's common to also see them with a tragic backstory that leads up to their development as a fighter or however they're going to use such power. Having such skill and strength that they "can't ever lose." 

-Metagaming Sues are the type of Sues that just seem to have such unrealistic knowledge and try to perform such god-like feats. They know things that they shouldn't. Like, for example, they're an Undertale character that knows all about the resets and blah blah blah, ooh!!!1!! ever heard of gAsTEr? Dear God... They can just talk your ears off about all of this knowledge that they really shouldn't have. You'd often see this mixed in with other Sue types, as the writer doesn't know the boundaries. 

Often times, a Sue could also have a name that's much too unique or a bloodline that wouldn't even be possible. If you want to choose a much more unique like 'Homura,' that's totally fine! But don't make it one of those incredibly long and even too rare names like Jonasephotarosukelynnyke Cujoshikujoketastar. Jesus Christ, how do these folks even remember the whole thing? And for bloodlines, don't put things like the biological child of Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi because mAGiC made it possible-

Anyway, now that you've got the basics down on Mary Sues, well, or at least a refresher on common types, let's move on to another type. The Anti-Sue, or characters that I believe that the writer tried so hard not to make a Mary Sue that they've become too bland. They don't lack the flavor that a well-written OC would, they're just there.

Often times, an Anti-Sue will try to stay out of the spotlight in fear that it would make the more Sueish, or because the writer doesn't want them to make it seem like they're desperate for attention. This is not the case if done correctly. if you give your character just a decent amount of attention, where people can notice them and it's in a way that's not so obnoxious, then it's great room for character development! I know it seems greedy if you don't want attention and just want to let your character stay a hood ornament, but that could also get a bit annoying, too. Especially if you're someone who's pretty chill and others would love to see your character finally grow. 

It's sad when I see a character that:

-Doesn't or can't do anything that will help progress the plot.
-Has no specific interests, opinions, noticeable traits, or passions that can be easily seen to make them stand out.
-They never, or at least rarely change and develop.
-Are never truly challenged by something, even just the little things in life can add more interest to them. But if it's a thing like a fight that can be seen as 'tough' for many others but not your character, it can be saddening. Unless this was done purposefully for the sake of their development, such as with people like Saitama from One Punch Man. He's grown so powerful that he's searching for something to finally give him a challenge.
-The character's too similar to something we've seen before, so that it's predictable in how we'll watch them grow and develop.  Especially if it's something that's just too basic like your typical shy and always scared person.

Or it can be nothing related to a bland personality. An Anti-Sue can be so unique, but individuality does not necessarily mean that they are useful. They just sit there to not develop over time in the story. Even after going through so much, they could still stay the same and make decisions the same way they would in the beginning.