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

[katsmeat.livejournal.com]

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

H. 28-32

2. What do you think of original characters?

Love them. I prefer them, in fact. Endless trio-fics can get to be a bit dull.

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).

Perfectly OK. Often essential, in fact.

4. Do you write OC's?

I've written several fics in which the main character is an OC.

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

The points made in the tests seem to be just common sense.

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

They have reason to be wary. Though I think the general standard has improved. It's ages since I've seen a really stinking MS.

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

Not really.

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

Yes and no. And OC is entirely the invention of the author. But even the faintest wisp of information about a CC tells you something about the person and provides a framework one should stick to in order to stay in canon. For example, I've done quite a bit with Miss S Fawcett and her Hufflepuff friends, Stebbins and Summers. It's probably fair to say she's smart (Ravenclaw) but tends to be impulsive and have little respect for rules (hence the beard in GOF.)

9. What is a "Mary Sue"?

Shall I be cynical and say "an OC you don't like?" :-)

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

The unamed narrator in "So you want to go to Hogwarts."
Most of the characters in "Love on a Quidditch Pitch"

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