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[krickets]

I don't read a lot of fic these days. I can't fully explain it. Call it laziness or what-have-you. I actually think it relates to the fact that I stopped following most fandom sharing comms including fic-related comms a very long time ago. I chose instead to simply join those comms without following, and mostly just follow newsletter comms. [I've actually been thinking of changing that pattern lately.] Also, my, erm, ...interests differ from a lot of what is written. So there's that.

Regardless, over the last two days or so I've been reading [okay, skimming] this epic Mary Sue related discussion over at metafandom and I came to the realization that I don't really have an opinion on this at all. I think the reason for this is that, generally speaking, I just do not read OCs in fic. [If they're a major enough character to be noted in the header.] It doesn't matter if it's the male or female variety. This is true probably 95% of the time. No offense to anybody, of course. It's simply a reading preference -- like character or pairing preferences. [I think this strongly correlates to the amount of investment/interest I have in my favorite canon characters, whereas OCs don't generate any investment/interest from me at the starting gates.]

Therefore, due to my lack of experience reading these types of characters, I don't have the ability to notice patterns or pick out things that would qualify an original character as a "Mary Sue/Gary Stu" or to have developed any pet peeves regarding the writing of OCs.

Essentially, my opinion on the issue overall is that I have no opinion. I've never had a chance to form one because of the types of fic I read. [Or more accurately, the types of fic I don't read.] I'm sure this has to be true of a lot of us.

Come to think of it, my only opinion would really be that new and young authors, or any authors really, should not be berated for common rites of passage that many of us seem to go through. We all grow and evolve, or at least we try to, at one starting point or another. There's nothing particularly wrong with that.

*cue cumbaya & handholding*

A side note,
Long ago, my idea of what defined a "Mary Sue" was simply a character as a self-insert. Which, unless you know the author very well, I don't think would be easy to pick out. [Unless named after the author, perhaps.] But I know that now most people have other, more widely accepted, definitions of what constitutes a "Mary Sue," so this simple way of thinking is no longer as relevant as I once thought.

Comments

[anoel.livejournal.com]

Me too. I just don't read them. I mean I'm generally of the opinion that writers should try not to do it but you know, it's the internet, it's fandom. Feel free to write whatever you want.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm of the opinion that real and believable characters are good. So yes. Of course, in the 5% of time that I have actually read an OC or two, I don't know of any of them that I've heard of that fall into that violet-eyed super-special-snowflake stereotype you see getting tossed around. So I quite literally don't understand/haven't experienced that sort of thing. Maybe that's just the sort of fandoms I read, though? I don't really know.

But yes, write what you want. Read what you want. It's simple. And if you are in a position to help a person out and offer them some constructive criticism in a non-offensive and helpful, genuinely friendly type way, then do it. Just be kind to one another, I guess is what I'm saying.

Why does everything have to have a label or be proven "officially BLANKITY BLANK" or what have you? And then all us fandom folks spend weeks talking about the thing until it becomes like this giant tree with so much stuff hanging on it that you can't even see the tree anymore. There is no tree. There is only the desperate need for a nap.

Wow, this is so much more comment than you probably expected.

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

Agreed that we should encourage new authors! :D

[crickets.livejournal.com]

As a person who likes less popular pairings and a few tiny fandoms, encouragement, for me, is so damn important. I think people see it less when they're in a GIANT fandom, but the principle is the same.

These are OUR PEOPLE. We should foster them and their creativity because in the end it's gonna mean more fic which we all love to read, and eventually it will lead to better fic cause practice (and helpful guidance, encouragement, and setting good examples, etc.) makes perfect, right?

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

I have used OCs before. Generally when I have to put characters into different environments or need a third party to drive the plot.

For example, the Costa Rica fic has one. She serves both of the functions above. And if that sequel had ever been finished then she would've been in that too.

So, yeah, because of my own experiences I'm usually pretty okay with reading OCs. One of my favorite fics is all from the POV of an OC. Sometimes it works and, honestly, it's all about whether or not the writer is capable of it or not. If it's a writer I know, then I'm gonna read it. Otherwise...probably not unless the summary grabs me or it's recced. But that goes for everything with regards to fic and me in general.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

That "missing scene" fic is getting finished right? (And if not, it's getting in my inbox right?)

And she's one of the 5% that I have read. And you did a great job with her. And any others that fit into that 5% have been well-done that I recall.

I do recall frustration at looking through fanfic.net (or whatever it is) for Sons of Anarchy fic and finding NO Jax/Opie slash and instead several pages of OC fics. But the frustration was triple-fold, I don't read OCs so there was nothing to offer me, I was looking for a specific pairing, and that is nearly literally ALL THERE WAS. (And no slash.)

I was mad that night. But I don't think it has anything to do with Mary Sues, since I didn't read any of the fics to know how they were, but lack of options.

Exceptions for me when it comes to reading OCs are writers I trust, and fic that is recced. But those are the same exceptions in place when I read fic for characters I normally wouldn't or pairings I normally wouldn't.

[harlot2.livejournal.com]

I agree that OCs can be done very well, but they do have to be done just right. (and I do hope that my own Charity LeHane falls into the "done just right" category, but I digress)

I'm currently following, as it's being written, a Dawn-centric story about her and her OC Slayer girlfriend and their adventures around the country, that I find to be extremely well-written and would recommend to anyone, regardless of their opinion on the subject.

On the other token, I don't go out looking for OC stories, they sometimes just fall in my lap. I tend to get myself hooked on the summary and whether that hooks my attention, rather than worry about if there are characters or pairings I may or may not like (both canon and original). Sometimes I'm pleased with the result, sometimes I'm not. But it has more to do with the quality of writing than the characters themselves.

Of course, I probably open myself up to a lot more fanfics anyway simply by not having any squicks, but that's probably a whole other conversation...

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, you're totally right on the no-squicks front. I can't imagine being that easy-going about fic. (And I consider myself pretty easygoing.) I'm more of the "don't like it, just click away" type.

There are definitely some things that I choose not to read due to squicks. Abusive, sadist type stuff for example. But then honestly, there's no limit to what fandom can produce. I swear they write shit that I never even knew existed and therefore didn't even KNOW to avoid, lol.

To be perfectly honest, aside from my weird pairings, I'm really kind of vanilla. If you could consider liking a fair amount of dark-and-twisty angst in my fics - though not completely dreadful - a "vanilla" thing.