Scott Jamison wrote:

        Just some thoughts, especially for the new writers on the list,
but I'm sure the more experienced members will be able to add their own
wisdom...  I'll be using Ranma 1/2 as the example, since it's more or
less our lingua franca, but much of this should be generally applicable.
        There are three main classes of new characters that appear in
fanfics.
        1.  Villain of the Week.  A new antagonist for our hero(es) to
fight.  While as the name implies most of these are one-shot characters,
in more campaign-oriented series such as Sailor Moon the new baddies can
cover an entire series of stories.  An example off the top of my head:
the Ace of Hearts, from the "Ace of Hearts" story.
        2.  Co-Protagonist.  A character who is effectively "co-starring"
in the story with the Ranma characters.  Often these are stand-ins for
the author (and friends) or a favorite character from the author's
original work.  Example:  Twister, from "Twisted Path".
        3.  New supporting cast.  Just about everyone else.  Often
created to fill a niche ("I wonder why we never see a police officer in
Nerima?") or as adjuncts to the first two types.  Note that VOTW and CPs
can be moved into this category if they stick around after their main
storyline is completed.  Example:  Just about every story has at least
one for a cameo.

You forgot one of the major groups, namely:

Crossover/Imports: The most common type of crossover is to have one or
more character from a totally unrelated series show up in the normal
universe. For instance, there are more Ranma/UY crossovers than there
are bad politicians in Washington/Ottawa (take your pick). 

Usually they fall under the above three categories, but with one major
difference: They have already been defined in their own series to some
degree. You should still do a character/biography sheet, but this time
you're researching the character rather than making it up. Some
characters have sketchy backgrounds, so you may have to fill in some of
the details, but keep as loyal to the original version of the character
as possible. Take out the characters name and have someone who is
familiar with the character read it. If they can't figure out who it is,
go back to the drawing board.

Figuring out how the character got into this particular universe is
sometimes glossed over, but it is still important. Don't drop Captain
Harlock into the middle of Furinkan High without a good explaination as
to exactly what the hell he's doing there. More 'compatible' series,
such as UY and Ranma can usually survive without much in the way of
explaination, but the more disparate the series, the more creative
you're going to have to be with your bridges. Linking historical events
is one way to do it.

You also have to be careful when mixing characters that the power levels
aren't so totally out of whack that one series cast becomes useless. For
instance, Importing Golem from Iczer 3 into the BubbleGum Crisis
universe would be almost pointless, as she is quite capable of laying
waste to cities far more advanced than Megatokyo. Of course, this could
be offset by bumping up the power levels of the Knight Sabers (give them
Iczelion battlesuits maybe?... damn, that could actually work!) but make
sure the power levels are represented acurately.

I think that's about it. Please add anything that I've missed.

The Prime Sagittarian,
Alpha Centauri

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