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TheGiantMudCrab — The OC Help Box
Published: 2012-06-28 01:01:18 +0000 UTC; Views: 31068; Favourites: 430; Downloads: 75
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Description
This is a list of links to websites and deviations on DA that offer help to develop an Original Character (OC) or a Fan Character (FC)-Feel free to suggest a resource if it isn't already on here!
*a
means it has received a Daily Deviation*a
means that I've found it to be exceptionally helpful myselfMake sure that you also favorite the resources you use! the artist's that did the REAL work need some love too!
Original Character Resources
What Makes Your OC Tick: Meme by ~CareBearKidd
Character Creation Tutorial by ~Binkansa
DO's and DON'Ts of OCs by ~Llawlietz
How To Make Your Own OC by ~PercipientFish
Writing Character Info sheets by `meikahidenori
Unique Character Design Tips by `thundercake
Character Design Tutorial by ~NuttyNuti
Character Cliches to Avoid by ~GMYuna
The Naming of Characters by ~PrincessTwili
Character Design 101 by ~Heartless-Bowser
Character Creation Guide Pt 1 by ~Sheeply
Character Creation Guide Pt 2 by ~Sheeply
Character Creation Guide Pt 3 by ~Sheeply
To Create a Character by ~WarriorLoverInc
Knowing Your Character by ~WarriorLoverInc
The Originality Illusion by =illuminara
How To 'Flesh Out' an OC
Memes and such
Flesh Out OC Meme - Blank by ~NatahanKataka
Sorely Unasked OC meme blank by ~Ishiji
Character Creation Challenge by ~omgdragonfly
Generating an OC meme - blank by ~0netnet0
OC Meme: Appearance by #Create-Your-OC-Club
OC Meme: Introduction by #Create-Your-OC-Club
Ocart OC Meme by *ThePurpleCat
OC BFF Meme Template. by =Hetherly92
Outfit Design Challenge by ~Rymaru
Creator Meme by *Phycosmiley
Couple Development Meme blank by ~agra19
Character Building Camp Meme by ~EmmyAngua
The Official 9 OC Text Meme by ~xThexJadedxBugx
Design Sheets
Major Character Dissection by ~OtakuLiz
OC Information Sheet Meme by *TheRealTriplesix
Ocart Character Ref Template in #Ocart, by *ThePurpleCat
Character Profile Form by =fyuvix
Character Profile Form- Short by =fyuvix
OC Profile Tutorial by *Kayla-Chan
In depth; Writing
Quick Guide: Story Organizing by = pisatielnitsa
"A Quick Guide to Organizing Your Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novel"
Three Act Structure by *PaperDart
"The three act structure is a common and effective method of plotting a story. This tutorial aims to serve as a straightforward and practical introduction to
that structure, avoiding excessive detail and technicalities."
Lit Exercise: Fictional Races by ~Seabirdicat
"I was given a writing in German History about the early germanian tribes, and the way it was sectioned was very intriguing to me. Since so many people write
fantasy and sci-fi and create fictional races and civilizations, I thought this could be useful to figuring out your race or civ, to make it all the more realistic.
Even if these subjects are never mentioned in your story, it helps to give the race a 3D feel and also helps you figure out why they act how they act, and other such
things."
Crossing Genres by *OokamiKasumi
"Every genre has core elements that make that genre that genre. In order to Cross Genres properly, you need to know each of your genre's distinctive elements
and make them Equally Important in the story. "
Character Motivation by =illuminara
Beta Reading Tutorial by =thorns
"What is a Beta Reader?
Apart from being a writer's best friend, beta readers provide a cross between edits and a critique. A beta reader does not edit a manuscript, but will note the errors
for the author to fix. Advice and critiques are other services a beta may perform."
10 Tips for Novel Writers by `ATrue (
)Style vs. Voice - A Guide by =illuminara
"Here on dA, there seems to be a lot of confusion and general mass hysteria when it comes to the subjects of writing style and voice. What are they? What's
the difference? Can you write one without the other? How important are they, anyhow? Do you really need either of them? Wait, what are they again?"
Guides and Lessons by ~Mae-Jay
How to name your characters by ~Xancsia
"I hope I have been of some help in dealing with any issues you might have when naming your characters. This is the first in my -Pitfalls- series. I hope to do
many more, this was something of a water tester. "
How To Write - And Love It by = DarlingMionette
"Welcome to my tutorial on how to start writing. This tutorial isn't going to teach you the rules of grammar, or punctuation. Let's face it – there is a
plethora of such tutorials already out there. Instead, this tutorial is going to teach you the tools you can use to get a head start on writing."
How to Introduce a Character by *dragon8writer
HOW do you make THE END? by *OokamiKasumi
"DISCLAIMER: As with all advice, take what you can use and throw out the rest. As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what
is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT."
Cures for writer's block by ~SnoodleDoodle
How To Write A Story by ~MurderGoddess
On Mary Sues
Anti Mary Sue Tutorial by ~NuttyNuti
How to evade making a Mary Sue by *GreySidewinder
MARY SUE COOKBOOK by *AirieFeristo
Fan Character specific
Naruto: Balanced OC Tutorial by =mongrelssister
Rules for Naruto OC Creation by ~Naruto-Fan-Ratings
Pokemon Trainer OC Tutorial. by *Aonyx
Fandom OCs: How to Avoid Being A Mary Sue! by *StainedLace
Other
Create-A-Character Tutorial by ~Haiso
This is a tutorial that will help you generate a character by rolling a dice, rather than coming up with something~ an interesting technique to try if you're
interested.
5 Easy Steps To... by ~AleriaCarventus
"Make Your Editor Not Hate You"
Groups
:iconWalkthrough-
Rookie:
Other Websites and resources
Character Developement Tips
A writer's Website
Character Developement by Sheree Rehema
"This guide is designed to help people with writer's block, role-players of all levels, and people who are just interested in psychology and philosophy as it
applies to fiction. Here you'll find tips, examples, suggestions, general information to aid in creating rounded fictional characters for your stories and/or RPGs, and
perhaps even information useful for everyday life."
Writing Technique: Character Development
"essortment.com - your source for knowledge"
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator List
"The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung
understandable and useful in people’s lives. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent,
being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment."
-practical in the real world too, this only gives an outline of the personality types that can be used to help flesh out characters- and even understand more about
yourself. definably check this one out.
World building Cites
Elements of Fantasy Worldbuilding
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
How to Name Places in Your Fantasy World
Magical World Builder's Guide
random resources/tools
Character Traits
Understanding Literary Archetypes
Writer's Block: Is It All in Your Head?
The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test
Related content
Comments: 36
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Okay, so weird question. I want to make a character who has a life-threatening disease/sickness, but when I put research into those kinds of things, none of them really have the idea I have. So... Is it okay to make up a disease/sickness for my character?
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My oc is a skeleton, and I can draw skeletons quite easily (clearly as I am obsessed with drawing him) and have a big brother-ish personality so he's a pretty much perfect oc. EXCEPT I am not sure about his past. I was thinking about making him the resurrected form of another oc, but although my skeleton oc is a lot like him, he is too childish to be him. Any ideas?
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Thank you so much. This makes my life a whole lot easier.
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Uhhh... This isn't a question I'd ask normally, but I made a character in a story of mine openly interested in other men. He even tells that to the main character when asked why he has no girlfriend. He even gets a boyfriend in story! Why does my friend repeatedly insist he is straight? She keeps saying that he is straight on the inside. Is she just crazy, or does making a character not flamboyantly gay automatically cause people to assume he's straight despite the events? AM I DOING SOMETHING WRONG???
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You're doing nothing wrong. Sexual/romantic orientation doesn't affect someone's personality (usually). He doesn't have to fit the stereotype!!
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Thank you! So many amazing sources, all in one spot.
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This was extremely helpful thank you for putting that much time and effort into making this
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This must have taken a long time to compile, it's such a neat and useful index for authors and OC creators. Thank you so much!
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I absolutely love this list, and wondered if I could get your opinion, or at least hope that what I've written helps compared to the other links you've jotted down. You're probably tired of the term Mary-Sues though, huh?
I actually have two series pertaining to Mary-Sues. The first is Mary-Sue: Who is She? that portrays my personal definition, and introduction of the basic character, and then moves on to the other parts that could be problematic for writing, such as powers and abilities, how to write action scenes and love scenes, how to choose names and such.
My second series "The Mary-Sue Complaints Checklist" isn't portraying how to develop, like the first series was about, it's more of me taking a list of complaints and pulling them apart. Why is this bad? Is there a way how to make something supposedly bad good? Or just me ranting about why something should be complained about at all.
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wow looks like a lot of readng but seems helpful, Thanks! *goes off and studies them*
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So...beautiful...this is extraordinarily useful, thank you so much!
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Wow, I love you now
Gonna spend maybe three hours using this XD
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Thank you!~
Trying to create masses of characters for something... So hard thinking of 20+ unique personalities x_x
Anyways, thanks for the links! They have helped a ton!~
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I hope so! no problem!
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awsomesauce!! this will definatly help me get my OC's backgrounds together
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.... ....... .........
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!
You are officially amazing! This will help so much, THANK YOU!!!
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That looks very helpful... thanks for providing it
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Hey, this looks cool! I'll definitely have something to do on a rainy day now. 
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great! that's what it's there for!
make sure you let the people with the tutorials know that you appreciate them
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God.
Bless.
You.
You truly are a giant help for me, thank you so much.
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you're welcome!
i'm glad it helps
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wow thanks for all the info and different sites! this is a great help!
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you're welcome!
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