HP OC survey

[author_by_night]

1. What age range are you in? (You may give your exact age).

     A. 7-9

     B. 10-12

     C. 13-15

     D. 16-18

     E. 19-21

     F. 22-24

    G. 25-27

   H. 28-32

   I. 33-35

  J. 36-38

 K. 39-41

 L. 42-44

M. 45 +

2. What do you think of original characters?

3. What do you think of  "canon oc's" being written? (Hestia Jones, Dorcas Meadowes, Andromeda Tonks... anyone who has been mentioned in the books, but has not appeared often enough to get a good sense of the character - or has not appeared at all).

4. Do you write OC's?

5. What do you think of Mary Sue Litmus Tests?

6. Why do you think the HP fandom (which actually used to be quite open to OC's) has become wary of them?

7. Do you have any limits as to what sort of OC you'll read?

8. Are "canon oc's" really OC's?

9. What is a "Mary Sue"?

10. If applicable, list some OC's you have found well written.

11. If applicable, list some "canon OC's" you felt were well written.

 

Comments

[larilee.livejournal.com]

HP OC survey

1. What age range are you in? (You may give your exact age).
K. 39-41

2. What do you think of original characters?

When they are done well, they add to the story. When they are done poorly, they detract. It all depends on the writing. But then the best canon characters can suffer in a poorly construed, grammatically challenged work.

3. What do you think of "canon oc's" being written? (Hestia Jones, Dorcas Meadowes, Andromeda Tonks... anyone who has been mentioned in the books, but has not appeared often enough to get a good sense of the character - or has not appeared at all).

Same as with any characters. The writing has to be tight, concise and just plain good.

4. Do you write OC's?

Yes.

5. What do you think of Mary Sue Litmus Tests?

I'm not even sure what they are.

6. Why do you think the HP fandom (which actually used to be quite open to OC's) has become wary of them?

I see a lot of shippers who are intolerant of anything but their particular ship. OCs are easy targets.

7. Do you have any limits as to what sort of OC you'll read?

I don't like perfect characters, OCs or canon. I'll start anything, I'll finish the good stuff.

8. Are "canon oc's" really OC's?

I think the term itself is an oxymoron. If a person is mentioned in canon, they cannot be in OC.

9. What is a "Mary Sue"?

A Mary Sue is a self-insertion of the writer into the actual plot. Usually it is applied to OCs, but in dealing with the Harry Potter genre, I seen such an influx of Hermione!Sue, Harry!Stu, and whenever canon characters you want to name. Or as I like to think of it, "Mary Sues... not just for breakfast or OCs anymore." They're the sign of a new writer or a lazy writer regardless of what name they carry.

10. If applicable, list some OC's you have found well written.

Go to Occlumency at www.sycophanthex.com. Almost everything there is well-written. Check my username and then click on favorite stories and you'll find my complete list. Well, my complete list of that site.

11. If applicable, list some "canon OC's" you felt were well written.

N/A to me.