Ask A.K. #4

What do you think about when adding a new character to an established universe?

Photo by Donald Tong from Pexels, editing mine

Do you have any tips considering fanfics with original characters as protagonists? Specific issues to look out for? I admire your writing and your writing advice, you put everything so well into words. Perhaps you've thought about this in more detail as well. I feel like fanfics with original characters are difficult to make intriguing or worthwhile for readers.

This question has a funny provenance, in that - as you can see - it’s about how to add a convincing OC to a work of fanfic. However, I think it’s part of a really interesting conversation that has applications outside of fanwork. I’ve kept the fan-oriented language in the original question intact, but I’ve broadened the context of my answer below.

The more I learn about the game narrative world, the more I believe that there’s a lot of overlap between fanfic writing and game writing skills. Based on stories I’ve heard from both junior and senior narrative designers, if you’re writing for a collaborative project - especially a franchise - fanfic is a big part of what you’ll do. You may have to write dialogue for characters who have been around for a while, which means you’ll have to mimic a well-codified personality and voice. If you’ve spent years honing your ability to write your canon faves in-character, you’ll already have an idea of what that’s like. You may have to write character design docs, which will feel familiar to anyone who’s played a tabletop game, edited a fan wiki, or done a bio for an RP character. You may even be asked to write a tie-in short story about one of the series’ preexisting characters. Canon? One-shots? Series newcomers? OCs? It’s all the same concept if we choose not to see it as silly.

(Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I imagine a lot of this would be true for working with IPs in other media, like film and TV, too. But I have no experience with either of them, so I won’t talk out of school.)

First, let’s ignore all the situational trappings and look at writing your newcomer purely as an imaginary person. I think at this early stage, there’s not much that’s unique about writing a newcomer versus one of the established cast. They both have to talk and behave like a real person. They both have to be consistent, or have a good reason for it when they’re not. They have to go through events in the story that challenge them. Basically, they have to be flesh and blood. You already knew that. If you can find the spark of life in your favorite series veteran and love them for it, you can do the same thing with the character you’re adding to the universe.

The one major difference is that you’re starting this character from scratch, and because of that, you have no preexisting content to reference for them. Sure, you’ll have the context of the story’s setting, but you’re on your own when it comes to their character arc and dialogue voice. That means you’re in the driver’s seat. You’ll either get to make some decisions or you’ll have to make them, depending on how you feel about that responsibility. Personally, I love it, because I’m a control freak, but I’ve had friends and colleagues who found it intimidating.

By the same token, a lot of “issues” I could tell you to look out for are issues that you could encounter on any writing project. “Make sure this character is part of a cohesive plot arc with conflict, rising action, and a conclusion that makes sense?” That goes for almost every story. Some fans will automatically be skeptical of any series newcomer. You can’t do anything about that, so you can’t let it sway your writing decisions.

If you’re still worried, let’s ask some questions:

Which side of the story’s universe interests you enough to explore?

Is there a side - or off-screen - character that you feel has untapped potential? Is there a quest detail you always wished the story had elaborated on? Have you ever wondered how the heroes’ main plot might have affected people and places that you didn’t see? These are all common subjects in fanfic, for good reason. When you dig into these new angles and perspectives in more depth, you add vital dimension to the story’s universe as a whole.

There’s another benefit to this: your character will show up on the scene with an ingrained connection to that universe. Those who are skeptical of original characters in fanfic sometimes complain that they don’t justify their existence. The conceit is that they show up and steal the spotlight because the writer wants them to, without adding anything fruitful to the cast’s relationships or the world’s lore. Now, fanfic is a hobby, and I don’t like fun-ruiners, so if you were writing fanfic, I’d tell you not to worry about it. For professional work, it’s something to consider more seriously. How is your newcomer rooted to the universe, and what do we learn from it?

Does this new character come from a place that is emotionally meaningful to you?

You’re not limited to writing about experiences that come whole-cloth from your personal life. I know it’s annoying and vague to hear people say “write what you know,” and with many popular game genres, it’d be impossible. I mean, who can put “survived a zombie apocalypse” or “alien kisser extraordinaire” on their resume? But what do you feel strongly about? Have you been through loss or overcome a challenge against all odds? Is there a kind of character that you wish there were more of in the gaming world? What’s the small, glowing grain of truth within the character that’s going to, metaphorically, turn Pinocchio into a real boy? If you have that, I promise someone will find it interesting. The one thing we can always be sure of when we write with emotional honesty is that somebody, somewhere, will feel spoken to.

Some people will tell you to keep your characters at arm’s length in case you have to do something nasty to them down the line. I don’t. I always fling myself into their creation, for better or for worse. (I also don’t believe in nastiness for nastiness’ sake, but that’s another post.) Does it make it more difficult for me when people don’t like those characters? Sure, but it forces me to be a more compassionate writer, and I feel the results are worth it. I’ve carved a piece of my guts into the development of all my protagonists, and I’ve served it up for you. Gross!

And last, but not least, do you like this new character?

Of course you like your character! What kind of a question is that?

And if you don’t, then… why not? I’m not judging, just asking. Have you written them from an emotionally-vulnerable place that you fear is “cringe?” That may seem like a sudden swerve into the personal, but I have no idea what kind of creative situations you may find yourself in. You may have to advocate for your newcomer character, and that means you’ll have to support and believe in them. Talk about them from your diaphragm. Stand up straight. This is not the time to share your work and go, “Uh, hi, I made this, sorry it’s so bad.”

Alternately, have you created them very recently and just not gotten to know them yet? Maybe you’re missing the key that will open the locked door of “knowledge of how to write them, and the fondness that comes with it.” Every character, to me, starts out with that door, and the key is different every time - a personality trait, an item of clothing, their dialogue voice, something that happened in their backstory, et cetera. For some characters, the key is much harder to find than others. I don’t know why. But if you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.

It all boils down to respecting your creativity enough to stand by what you can contribute to a universe. People can tell when you care. If you know the lore and you’ve made something with love, that shines through. If you get excited when you think about building upon a universe, build with the same amount of glee you get from imagining it.

One last thought: remember, a job offer or a published credit is the only thing that separates a fanfic writer from a professional. A lot has changed since I first laid down the outline for an epic Final Fantasy VI desert romance in middle school. Many professional writers now acknowledge their fanfic pasts, and some even continue writing it between professional projects to relax. If you cut your writing teeth in that world, take ownership of how much you’ve learned from it. You never know where your passion projects might pay off.

- A.K.