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Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:36 pm
by crystalswolf
Distracted wrote:I usually just let the story play out in my head and write what I see, so if I can get a clear picture in my head of how the character would react to a given situation it makes the process easier.
I do this too. With L'Sar I saw her in the bath (the stuff looked like a clearer, thinner version of children's suspension medicine) and the story took off from there!
Although I do not like to base characters on people I know because they usually end up completely different (although I might keep physical similarities) and I find that I'd wasted time on that template in the beginning.
Storytelling is an art form and I think like the other forms there are differing ways of getting the job done. I'm having fun reading everyone's ways of getting their story crafted.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:59 pm
by honeybee
I do love it when a character is there for purely functional reasons, and they take off with a life of their own. In FS, Ravel was simply the person who T'Pol's father sent to kidnap her. The, she was suddenly the surrogate daughter/Vulcan spy of her father - and very much the person T'Pol would have been had she been raised a Romulan. Then, T'Pol's brother nursed a long term crush on her - but he couldn't do anything about it because she was beneath his station. Then, she was the damsel in distress - the person our heroes had to rescue. So, it just evolved and evolved. . .
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 11:16 pm
by Alelou
I'm trying to remember how I create original characters, and like Dinah I think it usually starts with the purpose I want that character to serve in the story, then how they talk/where they're coming from -- since I have to figure that out in order to write their dialogue -- and then it takes off from there. I don't usually start by basing them on someone in particular, except possibly for looks. For example, one male character (not in fanfic) was based at least initially on a really sickly looking physics teacher I had in high school. Another I based on a painting I saw at the Rockland Museum of Art, though his name came from a guy at the local mini-mart near my first publishing job in Peterborough NH, mostly because my boss/friend thought he was cute and used to say, "Come on, let's go visit Winslow at the mini-mart!" That guy never made much of an impression on me -- I can't even remember what he looked like -- but his name definitely stuck, so when I needed a kind of quirky New Hampshire leading man I used it.
Vehlen needed to be someone at odds with his own empire, someone who had worked in intelligence and spent time on Earth, someone who had resources at his disposal, and someone who wasn't so ill that he wasn't still dangerous. That was about what I had for him when I started and the rest flowed from that.
I originally conceived of Kendra as a visiting doctor who might therefore gain privileged insight into Trip and T'Pol's troubled bond as a physician ... someone who would have something potentially dangerous in common with Trip (losing family to the Xindi) ... and someone who would represent cultures I haven't seen much in Star Trek (Jamaica and through her marriage Cuba, although I don't think I did very well getting either across).
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 4:57 am
by justTripn
I loved that Vehlen character, or more acurately, I was so IMPRESSED with that character. I enjoyed trying to hate him. He kept surprising me by being multidimentional and unique. At first I went, OH, I get it. This is like a charming evil guy, and Gul Dukat. But then no . . . not exactly. I was VERY impressed.
Same goes for Distracted's T'Mir (was that her name?) and I remember she had a Romulan boyfreind and I was hoping and requesting that he get more "airtime" but D. said no, his role was limited.
OH and there was a selfconcious ship!!! That was another impressive original character.
Elessar's Twist of Fate was chock full of interesting original characters. Wish he'd finish it.
Mestral in Mestral's Adventures was not an original character, but it's the same kind of thing because he hasn't been fleshed very often. I like fresh charachters.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:00 am
by WarpGirl
I so want Dis to do a story with that pair. I really loved them. Even with the mind bending temprol mechanics.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:40 am
by Transwarp
Like others here have said, my OCs are originally created to serve a specific plot-driven purpose. And like others here, once they have fulfilled their original purpose they could very well be conscripted to fulfill additional purposes based on the needs of the story (why reinvent the wheel?). And like others have said, they sometimes take on a life of their own and head off in directions I never imagined.
Sometimes all I need is a character to act as a cardboard cut-out, more a piece of scenery than a character, really. They may have one or two lines of dialogue, but that's about it. An example of this is Crewman Delgado, the other six-pack pusher who worked alongside Moose. His job was to add some window dressing to the scene, and to watch in horror as Moose drifts away. I am happy to report he performed his duties admirably, behaved himself, and didn't once try to upstage any of the main characters.
I usually don't start with someone I know. Most of the time I don't even have a firm idea of what they look like. I do know a little something about their background and motivation, usually no more than I need to accomplish the immediate purpose.
One of the main reasons I have for creating an OC is to provide information to the reader. For me, revealing important information through dialogue is preferable to just telling it or having the character thinking it. Of course, you have to be careful to avoid the "As you well know" trap, where one character will lecture another about something both characters should already be fully cognizant of. (For example: "As you well know, T'Pol, the maximum range of our sensors inside this nebula is only thirty thousand kilometers...)
Lieutenant Ashcroft was created for this purpose. Enterprise was going to be the flagship of Second Fleet, and I wanted to let the reader know that the Admiral and his staff would be taking over Enterprise's science labs. I could have just said it in a paragraph of exposition. Instead, I had Ashcroft mention dialogue about his feelings at having to remove the scientific equipment from the labs. He served the additional purposes of fleshing out the scene and helping set the atmosphere I was striving for.
Later, I needed a character to die to put some emotional stress on T'Pol, and there was Ashcroft, ripe for the taking. The poor guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Interesting aside: Linda reviewed this story and accurately predicted Ashcroft's demise several chapters before the fact. I was quite impressed--I didn't even know he was dying until I started writing that scene!)
<Caution--dirty little secret revealed> I talk about the importance of keeping the plot moving, but sometimes I throw in a scene or a section just because I think its cool or interesting. For example, I had Trip and T'Pol discussing Vulcan music in a recent chapter. It had absolutely nothing to do with the plot. Other examples are Trip's talk with Kov about the nature of a Human-Vulcan mating bond, and the flashback to the USO show. I created Moose for the purpose of instigating a discussion with T'Pol about her childhood nick-name. The nick-name came first (I thought 'Moose' was distinct and interesting), then I fleshed out the character based on her nick-name. As the story progressed, Moose kind of took charge and expanded her role. I didn't plan it.
I've always had a problem with character names. I can't think of good names off the top of my head. Back in Dallas, I went to the US Census Bureau and downloaded three files for last names, male first names and female first names (ranked by popularity), then I wrote a pearl script to automatically generate a hundred male names and a hundred female names (by randomly picking from the first name and last name files. Needless to say, this results in many odd names, but I can usually find one or two that I like. I didn't bring that script with me when I came to Afghanistan, so now what I do is walk around the PX or dining facility and read names off the soldier's name tags. Sometimes I even use their faces as a mental picture for how the characters look. (This only gives me last names--I still have to make up the corresponding first names.)
So there you have it. All the secrets of my craft laid bare. Feel free to use them or ignore as desired. As someone said earlier, writing is a craft, and there are as many ways to approach it as there are writers.
Now go forth and write!
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 4:10 pm
by WarpGirl
Dang
Transwarp we have some of the same secrets. Me I created S'Tal because I wanted a Vulcan giant like the guys in Amok Time. I also needed a character to start the political and social intrigues with T'Pol's family. Because that ties into the Romulan War. Then I decided he needed a Mate, because well T'Pol lacks female friends, and Hoshi needs more friends too, (she's a friendly girl). And I decided poor Koss needed a break and a pretty Vulcan artist. Because someone deserved an "ordinary relationship." Also since Skon is making an appearence and no mention is ever made of Sarek's mom I needed her too.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:44 pm
by justTripn
Transwarp, I think of the plot as an excuse for the interesting scenes and interactions between characters. Often I can't follow the plot of a movie and have a great time nonetheless, minute by minute. This goes double for Star Trek plots, which rarely hold up to close scrutiny. So no need to apologize for interesting scenes. For me, that's the whole point.
As for your list of names, that's a good idea. My husband was horrified that for one of my stories, I named a character after my son P., and that character was a girl. I just thought it was a great name, and you usually hear it for a girl. I told my son P. up front that I had named a character his name and it was a girl. I didn't want him to look over my shoulder while I was typing and think I was writing about him. I wasn't. He was fine with that. But I wouldn't want anyone assuming there was some deep meaning. It's just a great name. Actually, in picking first names, I like to add a little "ethnicity" and a little creativity. Did you ever notice that names of the Star Trek actors are more unconventional/interesting than the names of the characters they play? Take DS9: Odo (Rene Auberjoinois); Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor); Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton); Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks); Miles O'Brien (Colm Meany) . . .
It seems like in the Star Trek future we will all be named John, James, Charles etc. . . . .
Anyway, so I tried to avoid the very standard names and in particular use some of the "made-up" names. People have always invented new names, even in the supposedly conservative past. (How about Sojourner Truth?) Why would they suddenly stop?
Edit: Ut oh, "in the Star Trek future, we . . ." *sigh* OK, back to the real world now!
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:48 pm
by justTripn
And speaking of interesting ethnic names, how did I forget Siddig El Fadil (who played Julian Bashir).
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:51 pm
by WarpGirl
Vulcan names are hard to think up. Especially girls names. I hate that. You never know if you accidently stole from another fic writer.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:23 pm
by crystalswolf
WarpGirl wrote:Vulcan names are hard to think up. Especially girls names. I hate that. You never know if you accidently stole from another fic writer.
I fear that too. So far only had to do it three times and just decided to extract parts of Vucan words for two characters. For one, I looked at the list of known Vulcan names, took the first and last letters that I figured were okay to use and listed the vowels. Once chosen I crossed my fingers hoping they were original.
Since I'm new to this and there are years of fanfic that would probably take me equal time to read them all, my new worst fear is that I pick a topic that has been written by several. In those cases overlap is inevitable, awkward, and disappointing. Learned this the hard way with the last story.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:58 pm
by panyasan
crystalswolf wrote:Since I'm new to this and there are years of fanfic that would probably take me equal time to read them all, my new worst fear is that I pick a topic that has been written by several. In those cases overlap is inevitable, awkward, and disappointing. Learned this the hard way with the last story.
Are you kidding? What ever you can say about your fic, I thought it was very original. You made it alien and at the same time real. I got the impression that you will write more stories with the theme "A day in the life of" and that's also very original. Just my humble opinion.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:15 pm
by Silverbullet
Since I am really new at this the only Original character I have tried is the Vulcan Priest. I didn't even name him. Made him an Ignorant Bigot. One wo does not know a person or species but is bigoted by heresay.
also tried to give T-Mir and name in the Mestrals adventures stiry. Best I could come up with was a Slavic sounding name "Timira" near enoougt ot her own name that she would answer to it easily without having to remember that she was using a name like Zelda or some such.
I have buried somewhee in my Word pad the start of series of stores I am writing for my own amusement. I wna tto introduce a new species. They have a Wolf like appearance so I, naturaly, call them Wolves.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:45 pm
by crystalswolf
Panyasan, thanks for the kind words. My awesome beta for this story, Honeybee
, caught the similarity between my descriptions and Distracted's in Secret Service (great story BTW!). Although the similarities are only of function and somewhat in clothing, it was enough to feel uncomfortable.
But like Vulcan names, I will not stop writing about common topics. It's just one more thing to fear overlap when I'm done though.
Silverbullet, you had me at wolf.
Re: OCs (and we're not talking Orange County)
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:52 pm
by Asso
Trip and T'Pol are the core of my stories. Any character I painted was functional to them. I began with a meddling Italian Maitre (Do you remember? I hope so
). Then, somehow, there was that Human female so "interested" in Trip, in "Shore Leave", and I think also the Bannerdas and "The King" in "In the Hall of the Mountain King" could be intended in this way, and, still in the same story, Major Dougal is fated to to have a very peculiar destiny (I hope I am reawakening your attention
).
Ah... there is another character that I wrote: the younger daughter of Trip and T'Pol in "Without End".
But, at any rate, all my characters are revolving around Trip and T'Pol.
Mh... maybe Major Dougal (and "someone else") could have a different path.