Mike Loader wrote:

   There's been a lot of discussion on the ML lately of new
characters, self-insertions, and other things of that ilk. The
topic's a pet peeve/concern of mine, and hence you get the
following essay.

   A disclaimer: I make no pretense of being the sole authority
on fanfiction. This is all my opinion, and I reserve the right to
be completely and totally wrong.

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   So you've decided to write your very own fanfic. You have the
motivation. You have the talent. You have the spare time. You
even have the plot: a mysterious teenager shows up at the
Tendo Dojo one day, and...

   Right. Stop right there.

   There's nothing wrong with adding a new character to a fic.
All of the greats have done it, to various degrees of success,
and it helps add a bit of uniqueness to the field. However, be
aware that this character will make or break the fic, and if
you do it incorrectly you'll get autodeletes faster than you can
say "Jusenkyo curse".

   So how do you make a memorable character? Well, first,
here's what NOT to do.

1. Don't have the fic revolve around the character. This is a
horrible, almost always-fatal mistake. Your audience, as a
rule, doesn't care one fig for the new guy until he grows on
them, and if the plot involves him from the get-go you'll have
your masterpiece consigned to the Great Fanfic Dustheap.

    Comment: Twister from Twisted Path

4. Why are we here? Don't just have your fellow show up at the
dojo to train. I mean, please, at least make it look like you put
some thought into it. Original characters need motives, and
ones that don't make the audience hit the 'd' key.

   Revenge? Well, it's been done. Repeatedly. By Takahashi and
by fanfic writers. If you go this route, take a tip from a master
and examine the introduction of Ryo Muhoshin in TMTC.

   Ryo makes his plans. He makes his attack.

   He gets the living spit beat out of him. There's no "why are
you doing this? Let's work things out!" No, Ryo gets a royal
thrashing from a very irate Ranma Saotome.

   And after the attack, aside from a idle thought or two, no-
one gives much thought or worry to why he tried to kill Ryouga.
Because this is _normal_ in Nerima. Another day, another
wacky villain.

   Your motive should fit into the larger plot of the fanfic.

   It helps a lot if the character has a tie to Nerima somehow.
One fic featured Kuno's cousin, who was very well presented. It
doesn't need to be a blood tie either: Noriko, in Raph See's fic
Scoop of the Day, is the editor of the Furinkan newspaper. Make
the new character an _old_ one, someone who's been around the
entire series but who we've never seen. One of Nabiki's
henchmen. One of Kuno's Kendoists.

   Resist the urge to make the character a tragic figure,
bursting with angst. This, too, is the dreaded wish-
fulfillment, to be avoided at all costs. It's in the same
category as daydreams of how sorry everyone would be if you
died, or went blind. Fine as daydreams go, but don't inflict
them on the rest of us.

5. Power.  How much of it should your character have? R1/2 is
a story about martial artists, so it's reasonable to expect that
your new guy might be one himself. But how good?

   Well, a lot of the answer to that depends on what sort of
fellow he is. Villains, as a rule, are allowed to be more
formidable. If your character is on the side of the angels,
however, I'd recommend halting his power level around
somewhere between Akane and Ukyou.

   Why, you ask? Well... there's something about ultrapowerful
people that get one's teeth on edge. Then too, remember, the
spotlight isn't supposed to be on your new creation. He's
supporting cast, not the star.

   In the end, it's hard to pin down specific reasons for limiting
the power level. But the results are there. Readers will
sympathize a lot more with your character if he _isn't_ the
new God of Martial Arts.

   In fact, are you even sure you want him to be a martial
artist? Not that there's anything wrong with this, but non-
fighters can be just as dangerous. Ratiko, from Ranma 2096, is
out of shape. Heck, look at Nabiki. She outmaneuvers the cast
on a daily basis without a bit of physical might to back it up.
You want a villain, a scary one? Picture a Nabikilike plotter-
manipulator actively out to make life miserable for the rest of
the cast.

Again: Twister:
 second comment: The new character can be a god or the next best thing
to it, if he isn't the main character. See Careful Destiny: the chap in
the white suit who sells Ranma the locket. Hearts of Ice is a good
example the person who saves Akane and adopts her.

6. Love and Relationships. There are plenty of single,
attractive men and women in the Ranmaverse. It's tempting to
pair up your creation with one.

   If you choose to do so, do it over time. Large amounts of
time. If Nabiki is glomping your character by the third or
fourth episode, you're doing something wrong.

   Why? Because relationships between a cast member and a
new character are a source of scrutiny by the readers, who
will be waiting to pin the dreaded twin flags of wish-
fulfillment and OOC. The way you avoid this is by making the
relationship as realistic as possible, something that is
unsought for; which begins as friendship and slowly blossoms.
And we do mean _slowly_.

I take it you have read any of Donny's stuff Life and Times in
particular

7. Self-insertions. This is a genre that requires considerable
care.

   Take all the rules above, and escalate them. Extremely.

   If you've been picked up and plopped down in the Ranmaverse,
do not give yourself martial arts skills. None. Nil. They won't
do you a whit of good. Even if you have them in real life, edit
them out.

   Why? Well, simply because it's ludicrous to expect that you
could beat any of the cast. Or even hold your own.

   Let's look at the weakest of the regulars, Tendo Akane. This
is a person who's been training since childhood in an advanced,
family school. She has at very least a black belt, and very
probably several Dan ratings. She breaks bricks with her bare
hands for jollies. Before Ranma came, she defeated multiple
attackers (some of whom were sumo types and kendoists)
every day without them ever posing a serious threat to her.

   I don't care that belt you have in real life. Unless people call
you 'sensei' on a regular basis, Akane will wipe the floor with
you. And she's years away from the level of Ranma, Ryouga, and
Shampoo.

   Besides, you have an advantage already, that being your
knowledge of the series. Set me down in Nerima with only a
knowledge of Japanese and the clothes on my back, and I could
kill almost every cast member within five days. Face it, folks,
it's a powder keg waiting for a few judicious sparks.

   Avoid super powers. Self-insertion is will-fulfillment by
definition, but there's no need to be blatant about it.

   A note on Gaijin protagonists. If the character in your story
is one, everyone will automatically assume it to be a self -
insertion. Whether it is or not. Just ask Greg Sandborn.

   Self-insertion is best done with a sense of humor. There
should always be a "we're not really serious here, this is a
put-on" air about it. If your fic is funny, people will forgive a
lot. If your character spews drama and angst, well, it's D-key
time.

Can't argue the last part a sense of humor is good. I also liked Bubble
gum Zone,Which is pretty angsty. Super powers can work but  it is
harder to keep people interested unless your character is very
interesting in and of themselves. Exchange Students is an example of
this. Some one issued a challenge recently for someone to write a story
where an otaku ends up in an unfamiliar universe. I think having one
end up in fanfic version but one they don't know would be interesting
or a variation like that.

8. In closing. Not all of these rules, of course, are absolute.
Greg Sandborn breaks several of them in Nabiki: New Horizons
and still turns out a first-rate story. However, I humbly
submit that following the above guidelines will produce not
only a better fic than otherwise, but a greater positive responce.

Any rule can be broken IF you can write well enough Mark Twain broke
most of the rules of his day and succeeded. So do most of the great fan
fic stories. Follow the rules and you will usually be average, of
course break them and you may be terrible. This includes the rule of
breaking the other rules. The only rule that should always be followed
is be comfortable with your work. If you don't like it or enjoy reading
it, the odds are nobody else will either. Oh and use good spelling and
good grammar, so people can read it.

Rick Robinson
rik@cfanet.com
Who is learning the hard way.

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-Mike Loader
-nifty .sig in shop with broken axel