"Draco in Leather Pants: When a fandom takes a controversial, antagonistic or downright villainous character and downplays his flaws, often turning him into an object of desire in the process." - TV Tropes

How to Write a Draco/OC

Greetings, fellow fanfic authors. This is your guide to constructing those complex and dynamic pieces that we like to call Draco/OC fics. I know that it's a daunting task, but it you feel that you're brilliant enough to write one then I suggest you read my guidelines.

Before we get started, first I must introduce the protagonist of your epic fanfictions, Draco Malfoy. In the Harry Potter series, Draco is the school dick - I mean, one of Harry's many rivals. He constantly proves this by bullying other students and putting down those he views as beneath him. This is done in order for J.K. Rowling to point out how lame and stupid the Slytherins are in contrast the awesomely cool Gryffindors. Despite Rowling's repeated attempts to portray him as an unlikeable fellow, fangirls of Draco Malfoy have decided to view him in a different light.

Fangirls have downplayed Rowlings "canon" version of Malfoy in favor of a smoother, cooler, less annoying FANON!Draco. Some fans might question why fangirls have turned an antagonistic character such as Draco into a sympathetic or even heroic character. Well actually, fangirls know that Draco ISN'T the elitist bigot that Rowling has painted him to be. No no no, Draco is, in fact, a bad boy. Never mind that bad boys don't normally whimper in the face of an enraged hippogriff.

Understand that fangirls love bad boys, especially bad boys who bully people and use the "M word" (Get it? M IS FOR MUDBLOOD). In fact, your true fangirliness can be measured by how well you are able to excuse or rationalize Draco's despicable behavior in the books.

Now that you are familiar with our clearly wonderful protagonist, it is time to move onto the steps to writing your fic.

Step 1: Create Your Mary Sue to Pair with Draco

A Mary Sue is an important part of your fic. If your character does not have at least one Sue-trait then most readers will likely turn away. True, you can probably get away with writing a complex, multi-layered character with a believable backstory, flaws and a non-stereotypical personality, but that's boring.

The first thing you have to do is name your Sue. Give her a name like Serenity or Aurora. Remember, the name has to be pretty for the likes of Draco Lucius Malfoy.

Now that you've named your Sue, the hard part is over. Onto something infinitely more important - describing your character's appearance. Anybody who says looks aren't important is LYING. If the reader doesn't know how hot your Sue is then they will assume that she is UGLY, and therefore not relatable. Try to mention her physical traits within the first paragraph of the fic, and if at all possible, within the first sentence. Give her gorgeous red/black/blonde locks of wavy hair and add an unusual eye color like violet or kaleidoscope. And of course, do not forget to describe the clothing she wears in Every. Single. Damn. Scene. Because, psht, I am not reading any further until I know that Serenity is wearing lots of eyeliner and a Hot Topic shirt with your favorite band on it.

We're nearly done with step 1! Now that she has a name and appearance, that's all you need really. Don't worry about anything else. Character development schmaracter development... Okay okay, fine! If you really want to add "dimension" to her, make her come from an abusive family. You can either overdo the abuse and have her angst about it all the time OR you can have her barely acknowledge the abuse as though it has no effect on her whatsoever.

One last must to step 1 - your Sue must be related to someone. Preferably Snape or Voldemort. Better yet, forget Snape, make her Voldemort's daughter. A spawn of Voldemort has the potential to be more awesome than any canon character. Ignore the fact that Voldemort breeding is WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS, or that ANYBODY WHO ACTUALLY READ THE BOOKS KNOWS THE MAGNITUDE OF HOW HORRIBLE AN IDEA IT REALLY IS.

Step 2: De-Canonize Draco

There are certain canon facts in the series that you must ignore in order to write FANON!Draco properly. Below you'll find a list of some of those common facts:

1. In the books, Draco is described as pale, slender, and having a thin pointed face. This might paint a picture of a not very sexy Draco. Um, wrong! Be sure to describe him as a Slytherin Sex God with rippling Quidditch muscles.

2. In the books, Draco isn't very popular. WRONG AGAIN. It is your job to depict Draco as a playboy and God's Gift to Women. Female students from all Houses must swoon over him and he must be a Slytherin Sex God. Remember, sex at Hogwarts equals good fan fiction. Be sure to have Ginny or Hermione admit to Draco being God's Gift to Women. Note the frequent use of the term God's Gift to Women. You are forbidden from referring to Draco in any other way when alluding to his good looks. GOD'S GIFT TO WOMEN or nothing.

3. In the books, Draco is a tad effeminate. In other words, he's a big fat sissy. He whimpers and cowers in the face of a threat. I think you can already guess what happens to him in fanon.

4. In the books, Draco is a snobby elitist. He is also for white supremacy. Oops, scratch that, I mean pure-blood supremacy. These are very unpleasant character traits, so you should probably write those off as whacky misunderstandings. When it comes to his bigotry, don't bother putting Draco through character growth or anything like that. Just downplay his flaws like a mofo.

Step 3: Write Your Fic

Yay! You're onto the last and easiest step. Contrary to popular opinion, this step takes the least amount of brainwork. Some people might say that as the author, it is your responsibility to concentrate on character development, plot progression, description, dialogue, and grammar. Do not listen to these people. They are haters, and haters gonna hate.

In fact, I encourage you to do just the opposite. Do not plan your story in a logical progression. Simply write two or three paragraphs and call it a "chapter." Do not correct your grammar or even make your sentences cohesive. That's lame, nobody cares about that. Do not pay attention to something called a "plot." As long as you continue writing about Draco and your Sue doing stuff together, it doesn't really matter what happens in the story.

Aaaand we're finished! I hope you learned something from my guide. It's important that more of these Draco/OC fics are written because there simply aren't enough of those around. If you don't write one yourself, be sure to spread the word around, Draco Malfoy needs lovin' too!

;P

CITATIONS:

Gillesbie, Tara. "My Immortal". 2006.