How To Write...

Original Characters

Yurii: Okay, since now I'm getting swamped with requests to help with fan fiction OCs, I figured I might as well write a tutorial.
This tutorial is basically one big author's note.

If you're just reading this because you're bored and feel like flaming somebody because you think you don't need my help… swallow a knife and die. I hate you.

IF NOT, and you actually do want a few pointers on how to write your own Original Character(s), you've come to the right place.

Let's begin, shall we?

PROFILES

Okay, first things first.

You want to make a profile for your character.

It's not to post at the beginning of the chapter (which, frankly, I wish I hadn't done in some of my first fan-fictions…), but more for you to follow in case you have to mention any of his/her features.

Since about 99 percent of OCs are female, I'm just going to write it under the assumption that's what she'll be.

The profile, like I said, is a guideline to follow, not just in your writing but to visualize as well, which makes it a lot easier to sneak in tidbits about her physical appearance when you're writing the actual story.

Here's the layout of the profiles I use; copy and paste this so you can fill it out for your own OC (I'll explain what each part should have below)

Name:
Nickname(s):
Age:
Gender:
Height:
Eye Color:
Hair Color:
Weight:
Nationality:

Birthday:
Rank:
Team:
Hometown:
Physique:
Persona:

I know, it looks intimidating, but believe me; it's saved me a lot of trouble and time while writing the actual story.

You'll notice that I didn't include an 'outfit' space in here. (Urgh... I hate that word). Really people, I hope she changes her clothes. However, don't spend a whole paragraph in each new chapter describing what she's wearing. Just change it according to weather or occasion. And please, people, don't make her look like a slut. You give us ladies a bad name when you do.

NAMES:

Good God. This is the first part that every Mary Sue author screws up their character. These are the most important factors in naming your OC.

Make sure her name fits her nationality: everyone is tired of seeing the Russian OC with a name like Hikaru or Maya. Her name should be a REAL NAME. It's one thing to tweak a name (I strongly encourage tweaking to make them more original, like I did with Taylia [original: Tanya or Talia, Nadriya [Nadia or Nadiya, Drayea [Drea or Andrea and Alekzander [Alexander or Aleksandr)and another thing entirely to completely BULLSHIT their name because you THINK it sounds like their nationality. Really, it's not that hard. If they aren't Japanese or Chinese, give them a middle name. If they are, write their name with their surname (last name) first, followed by their name (first name). Follow their culture, damnit. Also make sure that middle name fits their nationality. DO NOT FOCUS SO MUCH ON THE MEANING OF THEIR NAMES. I have seen so many Mary-Sue OCs with crap names all because the author cared too much about the meaning of the name and not enough about how crappy it sounded.

Now, we move on to WHAT NOT TO DO with names.

NAMES TO NEVER USE. EVER.

1) Raven or Rogue

2) Kia, Kaia, or any anagram of Kai

3) Any anagram of any other canon character's name

4) Diamond, Pearl, Ruby or any other precious gem

5) Amber or any other precious metal

6) Rose, Daisy or any kind of flower

7) Rainbow (My poor eyes –sob-)

8) Kitten (This was in the same fan fiction as the OC called Rainbow)

9) Sakura

10) Hikaru or Hikari

11) Serena, Selena or any variant of that name

12) Kiara, Kari, Kara, Katie, Kate or any variant of that name

13) Anya

14) Amy, Ally or any variants of the two

15) Any random word translated into another language.

Do I even have to ask who's tired of bad names?

LAST NAMES NEVER TO USE

1) Any of the canon characters' last names

2) Hikari or Hikaru

3) Kage

4) Tenshi

5) Any precious gem or metal

6) Any flower

7) Any random word translated into another language.

There. The names are done.

NICKNAMES

Ehh… not a lot to say here.

I don't recommend nicknames unless it's a team theme or it's just a shortened version of a long name. (Ex. Elizabeth- Beth, Eliza, Lisa, etc.)

AGE

You would be shocked at some of the things I've seen on here.

NUMBER ONE RULE CONCERNING AGE:

IF IT'S A ROMANCE AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A LEMON, FOR (insert deity here)'S SAKE, STOP MAKING THEM 13-14 YEARS OLD. THAT'S JUST SICK.

For this, unless your character is someone's baby cousin/sibling, say, seven-plus years younger than a canon character, try to make them within 3 years of the rest of the characters.

GENDER

I don't even have to go over this.

HEIGHT

Only one thing here.

Make their stature fit their nationality.

Obviously, your Japanese or Chinese OC isn't going to stand at five-foot-eight; it's one thing if they're half-and-half (which often times gets to be horribly cliché, which I'll go into later) but try not to make them tall just to make them seem more appealing.

EYE COLOR

Alright, since this is an anime, you can get away with weird eye colors like pink or purple or whatever, but I highly discourage it unless he/she has some kind of medical condition.

HOWEVER.

DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHARACTER EYES THAT CHANGE COLOR BY THEIR MOODS.

That's just CRAP, people. Not even in anime are their mood-ring eyes.

Nuff said.

HAIR COLOR

Unfortunately, people still don't get the hair thing.

Again, since this is an anime, you can get away with crazy colors, and again… I don't recommend it unless there's a medical condition, or, in this case, she dyed it.

(Ex. Albino- white hair, red eyes)

Shit To Avoid

I don't care how cool you think it is, or how many people use it.

STOP IT WITH THE RAINBOW-COLORED HAIR, DAMN IT.

Unless you're a really clever writer, you really can't get away with multiple colors, and don't you dare come to me saying 'she has two-toned navy and gray hair, just a little longer, like Kai's.'

WEIGHT

Okay, this one may require some consideration to your character's physique, but I'll go into that later.

Basically, the smaller she is, the less she'll weight; keep in mind, muscle is heavier than fat, so a large number doesn't necessarily make her overweight.

NATIONALITY

This is a big thing here, because it's going to determine a lot of things about your OC… hair color, eye color, stature, name, surname and hometown.

I discourage making your character more than one nationality. Only a good writer can pull this off. (I am NOT bragging about my use of Mitsu Utariyma)

The biggest thing here is that the more creative you are, the better your character will be. Just don't make it too hard, or you'll never be able to find them a name that matches their nationality.

If you can't figure out what you want to do, pull out a world map or a globe, find a country and see if you can find your person a name. After that, you're pretty much good to go.

BIRTHDAY

This really isn't important unless your story takes place over a period of time longer than 10 months, because obviously, your character is going to get older.

The beginning of my own fiction, Pyeremena Vyeter, is an example of this. The Four Winds were separated for five months, and before that, I had covered about five or six months, so obviously, they were going to have birthdays.

RANK

This part tends to confuse people until I explain this.

Ready?

Their rank is what they are to the team they're on. (If on one at all.)

They're a Coach, a Captain (only one, damnit) or a Blader.

That's all there is to it.

TEAM

Oi… this part tends to get pretty ugly.

Team names, admittedly, are difficult to come up with, but it's not THAT hard.

First things first…decide which country they represent. Then pick a name.

TIPS:

When coming up with a team name, it's best to choose which country they'll be representing, and then it narrows it down to the type of name you can give them.

I recommend finding a name meaning, then looking it up in their country's respective language.

Voila, team name.

Now, obviously it's going to get tedious to type out their foreign-language name, so slip into the dialogue or story what the name means, and then call them by the meaning.

NAMES TO AVOID:

1) Shadow Bladers

2) (Anything) Angels

3) Gothic (anything)

4) Anything implying that they're sexy (You have no idea…)

5) Shadow (anything)

6) Anything concerning an animal unless all team members' bit beasts are similar or the same as that animal

7) Any band names

We clear on this?

Good.

Email me if you need help coming up with a name to translate, I'll do what I can.

HOMETOWN

The place he/she grew up in.

MAKE SURE THE TOWN OR CITY IS IN THE COUNTRY OF THEIR NATIONALITY.

PHYSIQUE

Oh boy…. This one's going to be a motherfucker. People screw this up so badly it makes me want to gauge my eyes out, Oedipus Rex style.

Okay, the first thing is to determine by their nationality what their stature is.

In general, (forgive me if I sound ignorant or stereotypical) an Asian OC will be small, lithe, and quick.

Europeans vary by area; Eastern Europeans tend to be tall, sturdy and strong (I'm including the so-called Middle East, which is also Europe), and Western Europeans tend to vary more.

Africans, Australians, and Americans (Native Americans- North America) vary greatly by tribe. You may have to do some research here.

South Americans also tend to vary, but in retrospect are average-proportion.

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTER WITH 'long, lustrious legs, tanned skin, large breasts and curves in all the right places'.

Okay, lets start at the top of the list of factors to consider.

1) Nationality- it will effect skin, eye and hair color, stature, etc.

2) Lifestyle- obviously, if your OC never lifts a finger and/or chows down on junk food, she's not going to have that supermodel figure.

3) AGE- This is the biggest thing that people screw up. No 13-year-old has D-Cup breasts. Have some shame, people! Be realistic! For one thing, if she's pre-puberty age, there's no way in HELL she's going to have huge breasts, and in most cases, even post-puberty. STOP OVERDOING YOUR OC'S. FLAWS ARE WHAT KEEP THEM FROM BEING MARY-SUES.

... I don't think there are any others worth mentioning.

Anywho; lets just start from the top.

There are a few base figures to choose from, so I recommend just picking one of these.

Slender:
Second most commonly used physique. It's not a bad idea, but people tend to use this to make their character look and dress like a complete slut or become a fragile, timid, weepy doll that will run crying to her man for protection (especially if she's short). This isn't always the case.
Petite doesn't necessarily make her a weakling, nor does it mean she can't fend for herself.
Best Described As: Petite, slender, lithe, slim, lean

Average:
Almost nobody uses this shape, just because it's...well, average. I really don' t have to say much; just that if you make your OC look like the Average Jane, it becomes hard to write.

Muscular/Athletic:
The most commonly used physique; it makes some sense, since most all OCs in Beyblade are bladers, but you really have to make your OC do something alongside blading, just so it's convincing. If she's thin and strong from doing nothing all day, you've got a Mary-Sue in the making. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Best Described As: Strong, athletic, well-built, resilient

Overweight: I've only seen ONE fan fiction with an OC in this physique. IT'S A KICK ASS FAN FICTION. Really people, it's so much more realistic when you put it in retrospect; not everyone is a supermodel.
Not much to say here.
Best Described As: ...just... overweight. (State how many pounds, if need be)

PERSONA

This part often times turns the whole thing into one big, ugly mess.

Okay; even though in real life, a person can change his/her personality as much as they want, but in a story, you want your OC to keep the same personality all the time.

There are several basic personas to choose from:

Shy/Low self-esteem/Timid (Easy)

Loud/Cheery/Social (Easy)

Tomboyish/Rebellious/Sarcastic (Medium)

Self-Persona; putting your own personality into your OC's (Medium)

Quiet/Anti-Social/Irritable (Hard)

Split Personalities (Grand Master of Hard)

I've labeled each as to how difficult each persona is to write, and you'll find that the less they talk, the harder it is to stay in character.

...The last one was kind of a joke, so don't kill me too bad... :)

Remember, that even the most cheerful, optimistic character will be serious and/or sad if something traumatic occurs, such as a teammate getting hurt or their bit beast taken.

PAST

Oh.

My.

God.

Some people just don't know when to stop.

Alright, if you want to give your character some kind of screwed-up childhood, here are some things to avoid.

SHIT TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS

1) Having her raped/beaten/abused by drunkard/violent/both father

2) Making her an Abbey blader (THE ABBEY IS A BOYS-ONLY FACILITY; THERE ARE NO GIRLS DOWN THERE)

3) Turned into a cyborg/demon/half breed/drone/etc

4) Parents and/or sibling(s) brutally killed in front of them

5) DO NOT EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER MAKE YOUR OC A LONG-LOST SISTER/COUSIN/ WHATEVER OF A CANON CHARACTER

Alright; this part may require some thinking, which is why my email is posted on my profile.

There's not a lot to put here.

FAMILY

Alright, this part tends to get forgotten, so keep this stored somewhere in your mental file cabinet.

Write down your OC's family members; their name, what they are to the OC (father, mother, etc) and status (deceased, divorced, etc).

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER, MAKE YOUR OC RELATED TO A CANON CHARACTER; THIS INCLUDES COUSIN, SISTER, DAUGHTER, NIECE OR AUNT.

Really, people. If any of the canon characters had siblings (not previously shown in the anime/manga) THEY WOULD FUCKING SAY SO.

Okay, this is the last part of the tutorial for now, but never fear!

I'll eventually post a 'How To Write a Bit Beast' tutorial.

The last tip I have to offer you for completing your Original Character is that if they're paired with another character, KEEP THEM IN CHARACTER.

Even if your OC is well-written, non-cliche and easy to follow, if the canon character they're paired with is out of character just to make the romance get along faster, you've ruined all of your hard work.

DO NOT DO THIS.

Well, that's all I can rant about for now. Keep an eye out in the future, I'll eventually have a tutorial for making bit beasts, intro chapters, plots and all that good crap.

Good luck, my loyal readers!

Don't forget to review. I mean it.

-Yurii S.