Okay don't be hating on me for this, I'm not trying to start a fight. I just think that we'd all be better off if we at least read these and thought about them, even if just for a second. I'm gonna say this right now: these are not cut-and-dry rules. By no means am I forcing you to follow them, and there will be exceptions. These are just suggestions, on how to make your OCs well liked and better off. So, with that being said, in no particular order, here are 15 suggestions for making good OCs.
1. Ask yourself if making a new OC is really necessary.. Don't contribute to the overcrowding unless you truly believe that the club will be improved with the addition of this character. It helps if the new character has some relation to one of your existing characters, but it's not necessary.
2. Write something about them before you start posting. It can be as little as a bio, or as big as an entire article series, but whatever the case, your character will generally be better recieved if we feel like we know them a little bit first.
3. Don't go overboard with the powers. I'd say no more than 5 distinct powers, otherwise it gets to be overwhelming and annoying if your character can do everything. No one likes the character that, whatever situation he or she is in, can pull out another trick out of his or her hat.
4. If you absolutely must give your character tons of powers, then give them 1 to 3 "favorite powers". It's much less annoying if your character usually only uses a couple of his or her powers, as opposed to all 20.
5. Make their powers related. It drives people nuts when your character has thirty different powers that are completely random and unrelated to each other. They should be logically connected. For example, my OC Jackson (Thunderblade). His main power is communication with metal, and his other two powers, swordfighting and magnetism, logically stem from that.
6. Hero names should have some relation to them and/or their powers. There are exceptions, but still. It's confusing when you have, say, BlackCat whose powers are flight and telepathy. It just doesn't make sense.
7. Try not to copy others directly.. Yes, yes, I know, imitation is the highest form of flattery, but no one likes a deliberate copycat. That seems to be a trend with this group. One character gets pregnant, and the next day you've got 3 other OCs that are preggo. One person creates a child that has some relation to their OC, and before we know it, the cave has turned into a daycare center.
8. Appearance and pets should, again, be related to their powers. Pets can be great when they are a familiar, that either has powers of its own or is linked to the character. And my biggest example of the appearance thing is the recent outcropping of characters with cat ears and sometimes tails. Those are fine when they're actually related to their powers (if they have catlike senses, for example, or claws) but it's just annoying when they're completely unrelated.
9. Don't kill your character without a good reason. If you must kill your character, at least do it dramatically! And give a reason for why they must die! Don't just do it for attention, or so that your other characters have a reason to moan and be depressed.
10. Don't reincarnate your character unless necessary and justified. Which it usually isn't. But there are exceptions. And if you do provide a good reason, at least make it a process that takes up time. For example, when Fin was killed, it was logical that she would be reincarnated, since she was part phoenix. And it didn't happen overnight. It took a couple months for her to come back.
11. Don't make your character completely invincible. Your character can have limited invulnerability, kind of like Superman, but they can't be completely resistant to death and damage. Make it realistic, people! Even superheroes couldn't get shot or stabbed in the heart, then pop up minutes later completely fine, like nothing had happened.
12. Give your character a unique personality. Put simply, don't make them dull or flat. This goes back to the idea that a new OC should be making some sort of contribution to the group. It's a lot better if their personality affects the others in some way.
13. Give your character some weaknesses and/or flaws. Preferably both of them. That's all I can say.
14. Be careful if making your character related to or dating a canon character.. Make sure that it's realistic and not annoying. Same goes with if they're related to or dating another OC, especially if that OC was not created by you.
15. Make sure your character isn't a Mary Sue. No one likes a Mary Sue. link Mary Sues are honestly, just plain annoying. I'm not saying that if your existing character has some elements of "Sue-ism" that they're bad and need to be changed, but try to keep it in mind for new characters. If your not sure if your existing or potential character is a Mary Sue, or if you suspect he/she is, but don't know how to change it, you can take link. If you want, you can post the results here (Aisling got a 19, in case you were curious, which you probably weren't...).
So, that's all I have for now. Rage on me all you want, but just know that I don't care. Once again, by no means do you have to follow these. They aren't rules, merely a few suggestions.
For now,
AislingYJ :)