Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
+4
MidnightPersona
Chibi Rachy
Kino karutta-chan
WolvenBane08
8 posters
Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
(Wasn't sure exactly where to put this, so I'm putting it here. Feel free to move it.)
This will probably be a touchy subject with lots of passionate debate (I know I'm passionate about it), but I feel it needs to be addressed. Could be because I'm so put-out right nao.
It shouldn't be too hard to figure out that I've been reading a lot of Harry Potter fanfics recently. Or rather, I would be. Nine times out of ten I find myself closing out of the tab and selecting a new one because the characters were just SO out of character it made me want to vomit.
I talked to someone about that, and they said that the OOC-ness was creativity and originality on the authors part. I just kinda sat there and stared at them before walking away. As an aspiring author, OOC-ness is a touchy subject, and I was already in a bad mood anyway.
Needless to say, I disagree with my friend. I believe that OOC-ness in a fanfiction is an insult to the person who created the characters in the first place. It's also an insult to the readers who were looking for a good story about their favorite characters.
That being said, I can understand how a character might become SLIGHTLY OOC throughout the course of a fanfic. Especially if that character starts out as a kid. I can also understand how a character would be SLIGHTLY OOC at the start of a fanfic if that character was a kid in the original story, and is nao an adult. Such things are natural. I do not act like I did 15 years ago (or even one year ago), so why should a character? It's called development.
Even if an aspiring fanfic author does go for the character development aspect of OOC-ness, certain aspects of the character should ALWAYS remain the same. For example: Hermoine should always be a bookworm who loves to study and learn. Change that, and nao it's not even Hermoine. Kain (FF4) should NEVER be a happy-go-lucky guy that prances around giggling. Gabrielle (from Xena) should always be adorable and desire to settle issues with the words instead of the sword. Xena...actually, I'm not even going to touch Xena. Too complicated.
But you get the point.
Also, an AU fanfic IS NOT an excuse for OOC-ness. AU fanfics can be great when written properly, but the characters are still themselves and their basic personality should not be altered.
nao that I've rambled enough, what are your thoughts?
This will probably be a touchy subject with lots of passionate debate (I know I'm passionate about it), but I feel it needs to be addressed. Could be because I'm so put-out right nao.
It shouldn't be too hard to figure out that I've been reading a lot of Harry Potter fanfics recently. Or rather, I would be. Nine times out of ten I find myself closing out of the tab and selecting a new one because the characters were just SO out of character it made me want to vomit.
I talked to someone about that, and they said that the OOC-ness was creativity and originality on the authors part. I just kinda sat there and stared at them before walking away. As an aspiring author, OOC-ness is a touchy subject, and I was already in a bad mood anyway.
Needless to say, I disagree with my friend. I believe that OOC-ness in a fanfiction is an insult to the person who created the characters in the first place. It's also an insult to the readers who were looking for a good story about their favorite characters.
That being said, I can understand how a character might become SLIGHTLY OOC throughout the course of a fanfic. Especially if that character starts out as a kid. I can also understand how a character would be SLIGHTLY OOC at the start of a fanfic if that character was a kid in the original story, and is nao an adult. Such things are natural. I do not act like I did 15 years ago (or even one year ago), so why should a character? It's called development.
Even if an aspiring fanfic author does go for the character development aspect of OOC-ness, certain aspects of the character should ALWAYS remain the same. For example: Hermoine should always be a bookworm who loves to study and learn. Change that, and nao it's not even Hermoine. Kain (FF4) should NEVER be a happy-go-lucky guy that prances around giggling. Gabrielle (from Xena) should always be adorable and desire to settle issues with the words instead of the sword. Xena...actually, I'm not even going to touch Xena. Too complicated.
But you get the point.
Also, an AU fanfic IS NOT an excuse for OOC-ness. AU fanfics can be great when written properly, but the characters are still themselves and their basic personality should not be altered.
nao that I've rambled enough, what are your thoughts?
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
Reading that makes me want to use this "D:". People, how could you do that?? ;_;WolvenBane08 wrote:Even if an aspiring fanfic author does go for the character development aspect of OOC-ness, certain aspects of the character should ALWAYS remain the same. For example: Hermoine should always be a bookworm who loves to study and learn. Change that, and nao it's not even Hermoine. Kain (FF4) should NEVER be a happy-go-lucky guy that prances around giggling. Gabrielle (from Xena) should always be adorable and desire to settle issues with the words instead of the sword. Xena...actually, I'm not even going to touch Xena. Too complicated.
But you get the point.
I am pretty sensitive with OOC myself. Sure I don't care about a little bit of OOC-ness, but that *looks above* Makes me want to cry D:
Oh well, it's so damn hard to find good FanFictions :< I am always happy when I find some. Well, even if I think the FF is well written there is still too much OOC-ness in it.
Is kinda strange, because I don't always care THIS much about it, but that is only when the story is GOOD anyway, I have fun reading it and it isn't too much OOC-ness.
I just begun to read a FF with too much OOC-ness in it. You have no idea how mad I got over it. After some chapters I couldn't stand it anymore and dropped it.
Oh well, blubb.
Ahem. If you want to read a story with characters you don't know, you don't read a FF. But sadely there too many FFs which are like stories with charas you don't know :<
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
The OOC thing is part of the reason why I read very little fanfiction. Doesn't matter the fandom. I'm very critical of it and that includes my own work as well. I simply won't write a character if I cannot get a feel for them and their motives. I don't like it when others write characters they cannot capture in the least.
If you can't get a character down, don't write them. It's that simple. You ruin otherwise good fic when you try to include the entire cast and you know you can't do everyone well. If you want to do that character, then study them and rewatch them in action. Try to think like them and get into their heads. If it's a character you really love and want to portray, then give the effort and work to make them shine in your work.
I am most critical with this when it comes to the Simoun fandom. There are very few writers, and so I love when new fic appears, but it's simply awful when the characters are not themselves in some fashion.
In the end...if you're going to write good fanfic, put in the effort to get to know the characters. Study and study again. Contemplate the fic and its flow with that character. An author who does not put forth this kind of effort should probably just try original fic instead.
If you can't get a character down, don't write them. It's that simple. You ruin otherwise good fic when you try to include the entire cast and you know you can't do everyone well. If you want to do that character, then study them and rewatch them in action. Try to think like them and get into their heads. If it's a character you really love and want to portray, then give the effort and work to make them shine in your work.
I am most critical with this when it comes to the Simoun fandom. There are very few writers, and so I love when new fic appears, but it's simply awful when the characters are not themselves in some fashion.
In the end...if you're going to write good fanfic, put in the effort to get to know the characters. Study and study again. Contemplate the fic and its flow with that character. An author who does not put forth this kind of effort should probably just try original fic instead.
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
^ Everything Chibstah just said.
I write mainly for Mai HiME/Otome, despite never finishing both series.
And yet I manage a pretty good job, because I have studied the characters far more than anyone would think.
My most popular fanfic, Death Row, was an experiment that turned into a full fledged monster of personality and depth.
If you take the time to study the characters/personalities they have, you're going to do a much better job.
I write mainly for Mai HiME/Otome, despite never finishing both series.
And yet I manage a pretty good job, because I have studied the characters far more than anyone would think.
My most popular fanfic, Death Row, was an experiment that turned into a full fledged monster of personality and depth.
If you take the time to study the characters/personalities they have, you're going to do a much better job.
Guest- Guest
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
Well, I don't know what I can add really other than I agree with what everyone's already stated, and instead of repeating I'll add in a little of my own.
Some characters I may like I *know* I can't write worth a damn. I love the show h2o: Just Add Water (don't judge me. xD) but I would NEVER write anything for the show because I would fail to much with the characters, and I wouldn't write Teen Titans because, though I may get a few toons right, I'd fail with to many to do good.
Some people just CAN'T do certain characters, but sometimes practice makes perfect... that's when you tell people "idk wtf I'm doing, give advice" not "I AM Fumi AND THESE CHARACTERS ARE BETTER!"
Some people... :shakes head sadly.:
Some characters I may like I *know* I can't write worth a damn. I love the show h2o: Just Add Water (don't judge me. xD) but I would NEVER write anything for the show because I would fail to much with the characters, and I wouldn't write Teen Titans because, though I may get a few toons right, I'd fail with to many to do good.
Some people just CAN'T do certain characters, but sometimes practice makes perfect... that's when you tell people "idk wtf I'm doing, give advice" not "I AM Fumi AND THESE CHARACTERS ARE BETTER!"
Some people... :shakes head sadly.:
MidnightPersona- Meister Otome
- Posts : 3412
Bubuzuke points : 4253
Armitage GUTS!!! : 798
Join date : 2011-04-20
Location : HaruKino's Dorm Room
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
I agree, Raven. I've got nothing against a person who writes an OOC fanfic, but asks for advice on how to make it better. I admire that in a person. It takes GUTS to admit that you don't know what the hell you're doing and to ask for advice, knowing full well that you may get the odd person who will tear your story to shreds (which is just plain rude).
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
Some authors take liberties that way to make their already establish character fit the story's universe. What the author doesn't realize is this 'version' of the established character could be someone else. At times, they have accidentally created an original character but cover it up as (for example) Shizuru Fujino post-Natsuki no Prelude. So you sort of waste a potential character that way.
I'm not the greatest author although I try to stay true to the original spirit of the established character. The point of taking an established character is to show your audience how he or she would deal with the world and O.C.s you've created. Like Rach, I don't read much fanfiction either unless it's from here as I consider most of you highly overlooked/underrated.
I'm not the greatest author although I try to stay true to the original spirit of the established character. The point of taking an established character is to show your audience how he or she would deal with the world and O.C.s you've created. Like Rach, I don't read much fanfiction either unless it's from here as I consider most of you highly overlooked/underrated.
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
Bumping this topic because I'm starting to notice OOC moments in Rizzoli and Isles fanfiction at ff.net. ^^; Some authors have to make Jane more of a coward in order to expose her submissiveness? Jane has shown weakness, but she is no coward. And it would be OOC of her to have affairs with suspects she knows are guilty as charged. Ugh. Stupid.
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
I don't mind a BIT of OCC-ness if the plot makes them that way and they remain deep inside true to their nature.
What I can't excuse is when authors completely butcher the character and create a new one, completely different to what that character was like in the begining. Their reason being that it's an AU or years into the future on the story line of that series.
ONLY if the plot draws me in is that I continue reading. It's like wondering WHAT IF... but are very rare cases where I do this.
What I can't excuse is when authors completely butcher the character and create a new one, completely different to what that character was like in the begining. Their reason being that it's an AU or years into the future on the story line of that series.
ONLY if the plot draws me in is that I continue reading. It's like wondering WHAT IF... but are very rare cases where I do this.
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
shezaei-neko wrote:I don't mind a BIT of OCC-ness if the plot makes them that way and they remain deep inside true to their nature.
What I can't excuse is when authors completely butcher the character and create a new one, completely different to what that character was like in the begining. Their reason being that it's an AU or years into the future on the story line of that series.
ONLY if the plot draws me in is that I continue reading. It's like wondering WHAT IF... but are very rare cases where I do this.
The worst part is never explaining the drastic change in-between year gaps. As I've mentioned before, they change so damn drastically, he or she might as well be a completely different character all together. ^^;
Fun Writing Analysis Tools
So in my Rhetoric class today we basically putzed around on the internet submitting various bits of writing to a slew of different websites that analysed them for us. It was entirely too much fun.
The first website is I Write Like
"Check which famous writer you write like with this statistical analysis tool, which analyzes your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of the famous writers."
Then there's Textalyser, which gives you a lengthy (but super-useful) analysis of your text, including your longest sentence, most-used words, and overall readability of the submitted text.
I'll be using this one a lot for my own writing from here on out.
Writer's Diet gives your text a fitness-grade. Most of mine ranked Lean, but I had one "Fit & Trim" that will need a bit of editing. Basically it shows you the unnecessary "fat" in your text; the full diagnosis (free) downloads to a PDF and goes into more detail.
Writing Sample Analyzer will analyze your text like Textalyser, but not quite as in-depth. It'll give you grades on three different readability scales and tell you the approximate grade-level of your text (i.e. if it's written so a 4th-grader can read it easily).
There are a few other sites we used as well, but I'll add those in a bit. Gotta run off to my next class right now.
The first website is I Write Like
"Check which famous writer you write like with this statistical analysis tool, which analyzes your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of the famous writers."
Then there's Textalyser, which gives you a lengthy (but super-useful) analysis of your text, including your longest sentence, most-used words, and overall readability of the submitted text.
I'll be using this one a lot for my own writing from here on out.
Writer's Diet gives your text a fitness-grade. Most of mine ranked Lean, but I had one "Fit & Trim" that will need a bit of editing. Basically it shows you the unnecessary "fat" in your text; the full diagnosis (free) downloads to a PDF and goes into more detail.
Writing Sample Analyzer will analyze your text like Textalyser, but not quite as in-depth. It'll give you grades on three different readability scales and tell you the approximate grade-level of your text (i.e. if it's written so a 4th-grader can read it easily).
There are a few other sites we used as well, but I'll add those in a bit. Gotta run off to my next class right now.
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
Thanks for the tools!
Now at the original topic, OOC-ness irks me very much. Unless changes are made in the way Jenna originally stated or made off of leads from canon material and thus fit, there is no excuse for going OOC. I always do my best to practice what I preach, even moreso when I do roleplaying, and it makes me cringe so hard when I find those trash fics that among other things, tear the characterization to shreds. Especially for characters dear to my heart like Francesca Lucchini or Saki Watanabe. So no, never go OOC, its like going AWOL in the military.
Now at the original topic, OOC-ness irks me very much. Unless changes are made in the way Jenna originally stated or made off of leads from canon material and thus fit, there is no excuse for going OOC. I always do my best to practice what I preach, even moreso when I do roleplaying, and it makes me cringe so hard when I find those trash fics that among other things, tear the characterization to shreds. Especially for characters dear to my heart like Francesca Lucchini or Saki Watanabe. So no, never go OOC, its like going AWOL in the military.
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
I'm just trying to figure out how my writing tools post wound up in this thread. Could have sworn I made it a topic of its own....
Re: Fanfiction, author and OOC-ness rant/discussion
When I come across fics where characters are OOC, it's a deal-breaker. I immediately close the tab and search for another fic to read, which is actually really really hard these days, for some reason.
And like the others have already pointed out, I can understand if the characters exhibit some behavior that may be different from canon, but if and only IF something drastic happened to them throughout the course of the story AND we know about it (implied or otherwise). And especially like Jenna pointed out, AU or kid-to-adult fics are not an excuse to completely change the core of a character. Yes, if a character grew up in a different world, they may have different opinions and even overall view on life, BUT THEY NEVER STOP LIKING/DISLIKING THE THINGS THEY DID IN CANON.
...why is that so hard to grasp?
And like the others have already pointed out, I can understand if the characters exhibit some behavior that may be different from canon, but if and only IF something drastic happened to them throughout the course of the story AND we know about it (implied or otherwise). And especially like Jenna pointed out, AU or kid-to-adult fics are not an excuse to completely change the core of a character. Yes, if a character grew up in a different world, they may have different opinions and even overall view on life, BUT THEY NEVER STOP LIKING/DISLIKING THE THINGS THEY DID IN CANON.
...why is that so hard to grasp?
Similar topics
» Seitokai Yakuendomo (rant and discussion)
» Strike Witches rant and discussion (WE DON'T NEED PANTS!)
» Horizon on the middle of Nowhere (rant and discussion thread)
» Akuma no Riddle anime and manga rant/discussion
» Girl Friends (Rant and discussion) LONG LIVE AKKOXMARI!!
» Strike Witches rant and discussion (WE DON'T NEED PANTS!)
» Horizon on the middle of Nowhere (rant and discussion thread)
» Akuma no Riddle anime and manga rant/discussion
» Girl Friends (Rant and discussion) LONG LIVE AKKOXMARI!!
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|