Something I've noticed

[author_by_night]

H/Ders all stick together and rec one another.

R/S's, same thing.

R/Hr's have a site with over a hundred members.

OC writers? Hardly ever do you see them stepping up and supporting one another.

I'm not trying to make people feel bad - I mean, I'm guilty of it too. On one hand, I did a rec comm; on the other, how much have I actually recc'd? And I don't read a whole lot of OC fics, even though I write them.

Why is it that we can't stick up for one another? Why is it that a lot of us look away humming when someone else is harassed, but if someone says something about popular types of fanfics, they get wanked to the point where they won't even post on the website they helped start because fandom got so bad? Why don't we review one another's fanfics?

OC writers sometimes remind me of some of the "less than popular" kids in Middle School. They'd watch in silence as you got teased, or pretend to tie their shoes, and only till the kids were gone would they offer any sort of comfort. If at all. And then it would be them, and they'd be all "OMG EVERYONE JUST STOOD THERE." And they'd condemn the kids who were teasing the others for teasing, even though they'd basically acted like they didn't care when it was happening.

And again, I'm not accusing anyone, because I'm just as guilty. All I am saying is, why are we borderline hypocritical?

(And Fern Withy, this isn't directed at you; your post made me think about it, but I've seen you review other OC authors and stuff, you're actually much better about it all than I am).

Comments

[pickleprincess.livejournal.com]

And I don't read a whole lot of OC fics, even though I write them.

I'm entirely guilty of that too. I think I've only finished one actual story with an OC, and that was RJ Anderson's Maude Moody thing. Mostly I stick to the stories about R/Hr, H/G, R/S, etc, but then I expect other people to read my OC fics. I've never really questioned this before now, but you bring up a very good point. We ARE pretty hypocritical.

Perhaps it's because we don't want to read about any OC that's not our own? Since we make up OC's to fit into our specific take on the HP world, maybe when someone makes another character that is different from ours it's hard to read. It sounds self centered, but since we're hypocrites already... ;)

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

And I didn't even know you had an OC fic. :(

I don't think its that we don't want to read OC's that aren't our own; I think its more that sometimes, we don't know that we want them. And I do think sometimes shipping plays a part - doesn't it always these days? I mean, I'm not a huge shipper, but I can see a huge fan of R/Hr beng a tad bothered by an OC dating Hermione, not because they are anti-OC, but because they see Ron with Hermione. (And while that's not entirely fair, it happens).

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure comparing OC-centered fics with particular ships is the best analogy. I mean, you can safely assume that all R/Hr or R/S fics are going to feature two very popular characters and a popular plot element (romance), and that they'll have certain other canon characters in supporting roles and be set in a particular time frame -- while about the only thing OC-centric fics have in common is the fact that they don't have a canon character in the lead. Otherwise, they're all over the map. Somebody who's very interested in, say, a seventeenth-century historical fic about the origins of the Statute of Secrecy might not be interested in a Beauxbatons fic set during Harry's sixth year, and vice versa.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know, but sometimes it is about shipping. However, yeah, it is also about interest - and, sometimes, I think people fear canon being breached.

[chthonya]

I agree with a_t_rain - that was my first reaction to the question too. OC-fics are so diverse (from the most god-awful Mary Sue to the most brilliant exposition of an obscure point of wizarding culture), that finding one I like is no guarantee that the next OC story I read will give me similar pleasure.

I think it might be more helpful to break down the category a bit - OC writers in general might not have something in common, but historical fiction writers do. But I've never seen historical fiction being slammed as a genre, so it doesn't have the catalyst for the community to show itself, as do the major ships.

Also, the reasons why someone might defend OCs vary. For example, I've seen people argue that OCs are a mark of superior creativity on the part of the author - I don't argee with that, so I'd feel less comfortable being aligned with people expressing such views. It's easier to find commonality between shippers who share an interpretation of a common canon.

Then there are people who think that all OCs are Mary Sues, but I'm not inclined to waste my time arguing with someone who so evidently hasn't gone out and looked, or even asked for decent OC recs.

And a lot of people read fanfic because they want to read about favourite characters, so why would they want to read OCs? I suspect that what OC readers and writers share is an interest - or willingness to explore - the world itself rather than just focussing on the characters.


sometimes it is about shipping.

Yes, but the same is true of any genfic. OCs aren't the only types of fics that people only interested in ships will avoid.


sometimes, I think people fear canon being breached.

Speaking for myself, I have much more fear of that for stories featuring the Trio. Apart from the blatant self-inserts - which can usually be spotted by the end of the first sentence - anyone who goes to the trouble of creating an OC is likely to take as much trouble over canonicity as would any serious fanfic writer.

[the-bookdork.livejournal.com]

Well, OC-centered fics I don't usually read. I don't know why not. I've read fics where there are OCs that are secondary characters, but excellent. The thing is, I guess OCs don't catch my interest fast enough. Which comes to the point where a_t_rain is correct. OCs have unlimited possibilites and what we're interested might not be interesting to someone else.

There has been one OC fic, but I think that was about Harry and this little girl. I can't remember very well but it was well known. =\

Or maybe I have a faulty memory. I still can't remember anything about this one fic I'm searching for other than the fact that it was a hilarious parody that might've been on Schnoogle. *shrug*

[our-innocence.livejournal.com]

Well, to be honest, I think it's the prolifieration of bad OC writers.

OC's fall into two catagories: Original Characters and Other characters. i write both, so I assume that both reply. Both OC's get -Sued so often that it makes your head spin, and well-written OC's are a bitch to find. I'll read them- if they're good. But honestly? They're mostly not.

However, I run hermiones_desk, a comm made solely to archive aspects of the HP fandom. If you'd like, I can set up a cat for OC-centered fics, if you need a larger list of recs.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's definitely a load of bad OC's.

As for hermiones_desk, sure! :) I already have a group, but the more OC rec stuff, the better! I do think that people just need to find the *good* OC's.

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

With you there. I occasionally castigate myself for not reading what I write, and then...I still don't read it. Well, no, not true, I read some. Just not heaps.

I think the problem is not so much OC writers needing to band together as the general perception of OCs in the fandom. Once that changes, it's not going to be so much of an issue - but we need to get people to accept that OCs can be written well. The best way to do that is to recc and write good OCs, but you still run in to the "OCs are BAD" barrier.

Who knows. Maybe once the series is finished, people will get over it - once the main storyline is closed and to write in the Hogwarts time period, people _have_ to go for elements outside of the main storyline.

[jan-aq.livejournal.com]

On one hand, I did a rec comm; on the other, how much have I actually recc'd? And I don't read a whole lot of OC fics, even though I write them.

Sometimes people write things, like a type of genre or pairing, but they don't like to read them. It might be better if you find someone who loves to read original characters to be a recommender. :)

But really, I think that it's because each original character is a different character. With ships, the characters are known and the same/similar in the stories so people who like the characters will be happy (usually). With original characters, the characters are all different, and may not interest the same readers. Plus, perhaps OC fics are just usually long. If they are, then you have to go out on a line, invest time reading this unknown character for a long period of time, and you might not like them at all, or feel as if you wasted your time in the end. Some people don't want to do this. Don't want to take a chance.

[oh-valentine.livejournal.com]

I'm with you, here. I write OC fics occasionally, but I rarely read them. I think it may be that we already know the other characters so well that we don't want to spend the time getting to know the new ones. That and the fandom-wide fear of Mary Sues.

[celisnebula.livejournal.com]

I think, perhaps, you are generalizing far too much. While yes, it is hard to find a good OC, I know that when I run across one, I recommend it, whether I know the author or not. I've some f-list friends that do the same. It comes down to whether or not the actual storyline and character is good or not, and I am the same way about canon based characters as well. If the fan fiction author has created a believable premise and created a captivating spin on the characters, be the OC or original, then I will recommend the story... and usually do in a review response if I think a reader will enjoy the story, or point someone out to a story on their LJ.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying there's not an OC writer in fandom who is supportive; many are. But not as many as all the people who thump ships or certain scenario fics.

[thoughtcr1me.livejournal.com]

It's funny, there was actually a big sort of sub-movement back when I first got into HP fandom (right after OotP was released, I'm thinking) to try and get OC writers to support each other, and I think it fizzled out.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Hm....

[thoughtcr1me.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was weird. I heard about it on FA, but it was before I was on LJ so I'm not sure how widespread it was.

I'm all for OC's, really, we should start something. :D

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I would, except I'e already tried, hasn't worked well.