To canon or NOT to Canon, THAT is the question.
Hello Readers, Ok, now that we have dealt with the whole “I’m scared to write canon characters” in the last part of this section, it is time to consider the characters for your story. This is NOT to knock original characters; in fact, if you can pull it off you’re a far BETTER writer over all.
Ok, let’s start off with “Canon” characters, also known as Copyrighted, or Trademarked. These are characters like Batman, Catwoman, Wonder Woman etc…legal considerations aside, there are a LOT of advantages to using a Canon character
· The character comes with an establishes history and background
· The reader easily identifies (and identifies with) the character
· There is a lot of support, such as artistic representation (pictures) for the reader to reference
· Inspiration for new ideas.
A canon character USUALLY allows you to get to the “fun stuff faster. Consider this; if I simply started out a story and said, “Jack tied up and raped Jill” If you’re a fan of rape the actual description of the scene might initially interest you… On the other hand if I say Batman (Bruce Wayne) is seduced by Cat woman (Selena Kyle), likely your neurons in your mind alight with activity and possibilities, knowing what a NAUGHTY (and Dangerous) woman Catwoman is, and what a Strong and powerful guy Batman is.
Ok Disadvantages of a Canon character:
· If you depart from the canon character’s personality, or lifestyle you MUST justify it
· The characters original creator(s) have already set down certain rules, you MIST follow or justify the change
· You may get EXTREME criticism from fans of the character that you “did not remain true” (even if you did or you justified well, likewise YOUR fans may become rabid about YOUR version)
When you use a canon character, the tradeoff is you must at least start with most of the character intact. There is a certain amount of “What if” you can get away with (for example you start a story asking the reader “What if Batman had decided to be evil”) and in fact the original writers DO that, but that’s also called “Justification”
In any case, you HAVE to stay mostly true to the character. My favorite example of this came from a fan who wanted me to write a “Harry Potter” story for him. He started this way (this is a QUOTE):
Hey! Could you write a Harry potter story for me, only THIS time have Draco Malfoy secretly be Harry’s friend, and Draco cast a spell…so he’s not actually a guy, he’s a girl, and he’s in love with harry, and he isn’t really in Slitheren, he’s just spying and Hermoinie and Ron and Harry know and they are all friends…
Well I mean COME on, what is LEFT of Draco Malfoy? At this point, why not just make a new character?
Ok, now let’s look at ORIGNAL characters. Let me start here by saying if you CHOOSE this option PLEASE take time to come up with a realistic NAME! Ok….will all due respect to the writers, and the venue they are in...would you EVER create a name for yourself like BLUNDER broad? Jungle titties? Got gal or She goat? And USE it in public? Just the NAME makes me hit the delete key (and some I later read and they WERE good but dumb) because you’re just screaming to your reader “I think yer too stupid to look for a QUALITY writer who puts more than 10 seconds into their character)
Advantages:
· You have a clean slate, you can write whatever you want give whatever traits you want…but be warned, once they are defined, it’s an established character and you must LIVE by your own rules or show Why those rules changed)
· You can expect far less criticism (but less interest at first too)
· Your creative genius can shine
Disadvantages:
· You MUST develop your backgrounds. Wonder Woman’s longtime nemesis is Cheetah. Superman, has Lex Luthor. It takes TIME to build this relationship. If you make an Original Character (OC) called the Queen of Swords, her being taken by a Spanish Army officer may be erotic, but not NEARLY as much as if she has arrested him twice before, and 3 other times he tried to get her only to be outsmarted by her. If you always have these characters defeated EVERY chapter, then they are not very good villains or heroines
· You must come up with great WEAKNESSES for OC. Yes weaknesses, it is not the SUPER powers or abilities that make any character interesting, it’s their vulnerabilities (both mental and physical) Take for example Superman. Without Kryptonite (A weakness) he fears nothing, nothing stops him…you have my friend? *yawn* or well…I just move faster than light, take away yer gun…NEXT please…Or Batman, would he be NEARLY as interesting if Batman weren’t willing to do some QUESTIONABLE things? (personality)
· Your readers will PICK your logic apart like vultures on an undead zombie carcass. Every decision you will make SOMEONE will go back and say “hey in chapter # YOU said…”
· You will need a REALLY great “plot hook” if you’re using all OC’s the reason being, the reader has no idea of the great action you have PLANNED…if they do not see something that grabs their attention in the first 3 paragraphs, you run the risk of them not reading further, to go look for something “more interesting”.
So, there are a lot of challenges with both, whichever way you decide to go. So which should you choose?
I tend to like to do BOTH, I start OUT with Canon characters, but as I write, I inject my own OC’s. So…by the time that Wonder Woman is a devoted Nazi love kitten at the feet of her Nazi master. The Queen of Swords has already had several encounters with other villains, has had a tryst or 3 with some lovers (evil or good) She has visited her family, gone to her job in her other identity, and you can actually LEAVE Wonder Woman to fade into a secondary character, as YOUR heroine (and villains) take over center stage.