So you want to make an OC?: A Masterpost of Ways to Create, Develop, and Make Good OCs!
i made this masterpost in hopes that it helps you in making your own OCs ah;; it can also apply to developing RP characters i suppose! if you’d like to add more resources then go for it sugar pea (´ヮ`)!
EDIT (9/25/17): hi! i see this post going around a lot and a LOT over my many years here so here’s a sort of disclaimer before you delve into the huge chunk of info here.
1. i made this post when i was like 13, so jot that down. the information researched here is very, very old. a lot of it, imo, is no longer relevant! especially with language use (ESPECIALLY if you’re reblogging the old version of the post that had links to an article about gender/sexuality. i’ve removed that. i’ve removed also the mary sue/gary stue chunk because my values have changed since i was 13.) the point is, i’m not the person i was since i was 13, and the resources here will not always fit in with what we need as time goes on.
2. you! don’t! have! to! take! these! resources! as! law! i made this post because i was and still am very passionate about ocs. this resource was intended to be a sounding board for when u have ideas you want to further delve into and you’re not entirely sure where to begin. it’s not the only resource out there, and sometimes, the best sounding board will be you!!! follow ur heart. ocs are fun. this post was never, ever meant to tell you how to write your own characters but help broaden ur knowledge if u found urself limited in an area (as a lot of this was made with a white cishet audience in mind. i apologize for that ;;)
3. i’ve gotten some great notes and commentary on this post and things i want to explore more since making this post roughly 5-6 years ago. things are very, very different. i have better resources for a LOT of these, and have more i want to tack on! but i simply can’t find the time for it, so until I do: i’ve removed a lot of links here that i found harmful and irrelevant to today, but i haven’t combed through all of them and can’t lead you to what i think is best. research yourselves! you’ll learn lots.
4. and in closing, thanks for reading! this a/n got off on a tangent so that’s that, LMAO. go forth and develop your ocs!!! and tell me about them!!! or tell me if you have fresh sources or a better perspective or just wanna call me out. this post is 100% open to criticism because it’s imperative to keep growing. thanks!
How to Write Better OCs:
basic tips on how to make your oc even better
tragic backstory? learn how to write one/make yours great
writing specific characters
a wordier, great guide on how to develop your character
kick out those vague descriptions and make them AWESOME
Character Development:
how to actually make an OC
Q&A (to develop characters)
more Q&As
giving your character a backstory
how to write an attractive character
Diversity
adding more racial diversity
masterpost on writing more diversity into your story
cultures of the world
guides to drawing different ethnicities (not just a great art reference, but also really helpful in appearance descriptions!)
Villains
villain generator
need an evil sounding name for your evil character? bam
villain archetypes
what’s your villain’s motive for being a villain?
Relationships
character perceptions (What your character thinks of themselves and what others think of them)
how to write strong relationships between two characters
8 ways to write better characters and develop their relationships with others
OCxLove Interest Handbook
develop your couple with good ol’ Q&A!
how to write realistic relationships
how to write relatives for your characters (this is more OC related to a canon character, but will help in writing family members in general)
ARCHETYPES
12 common archetypes
8 archetypes for male/female characters
female archetypes (goes pretty indepth from two main categories)
a list of archetypes
NAMES
how to name your character
random name generator
most common surnames
surnames by ethnicity
APPEARANCE
tips for better design
basic appearance generator
pinterest board for character design (includes NSFW and images of skeletons/exposed muscle (?) so tread carefully!)
clothing ref masterpost
DETAILS
give your character better powers
a list of professions
proactive vs reactive characters
positive and negative traits
interest generator
skills generator
motivation generator
123 ideas for character flaws
list of phobias
again, this is to help inspire you or help establish your OCs! i hope you get a lot of info and help from this ahh ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
