Everything Wrong With HARRY POTTER Fanfictions

DON'T NO 3: Out of Character Syndrome

Now let's be really honest here...

We have all seen this too many times to ignore it.

Have you ever come across a fanfic where Hermione is a manipulative bitch (excuse my language though, this happens such a lot of the times that I tend to lose my calm while writing it over and over again), Ginny is nothing more than a psychotic ex-girlfriend, Ron is a whiny wimpy brat etc etc the list could go on forever and ever and ever...

Take a deep breath...

Be calm...

Good.

Anyhow, the point is that the Out of Character syndrome or commonly referred to as the OOC syndrome is what's affecting a lot of authors on this site.

The OOC is basically when authors twist up a canon character so badly that he/she ends up as a wholly different character.

Now I am definitely not saying that you must fit characters into canon stereotypes, of course you can bend the rules here and there. But please do not bend it to such an extent that the character becomes unrecognizable.

Consider a few examples (honestly, there are a lot of characters suffering from this but I can't include all of them so here it goes).

1. Harry Potter being a confused kid who has no idea how to interact with others. He is just a really good and misunderstood boy who is wrongfully stuck in all the situation he has ever been in and just gets out alive through sheer luck.

Or Harry being portrayed as the Hero who loves attention and does everything in order to seek other's attention and admiration.

[Harry Potter may have not wanted to be in all those situations he got stuck in, but it wasn't only luck which got him out of trouble, it was also his determination and will to fight against evil that made him victor over Voldemort].

2. Hermione Granger is usually portrayed as a bossy know it all who gets jealous very easily and wants all her competitors dead. Also, another way she is portrayed is as the depressed girl who has no idea what to do in her life, who smiles apparently but cries a thousand times when on her own.

3. Ronald Weasley doesn't even stand a chance of being shown in fanfics until or unless the fanfic is based on Ron (happens rarely) or its a Dramione/Tomione/Fremione etc etc where he gets to play the jealous ex. In the remaining type of fanfics, he is the person who's kept in the story just to shout out an idiotic comment, or make a stupid remark, or just provide the laughs.

4. Ginny Weasley is also never shown as the headstrong Weasley sister we knew from the books. She is an even twisted up version of the movie Ginny; a gold digger who follows Harry because she wants attention.

5. Speaking of gold diggers, Fleur is also portrayed as such (that is, if she happens to be part of the fanfic and that's very rare). Even though it's entirely ridiculous for her to ever be a gold digger. 

6. Molly Weasley being an abusive mother who treats her younger children very poorly because they can't afford them and she's sick of putting up with all their nuisance. 

[She just can't do that. Molly looked after Harry and Hermione even though they were both not her own kids, she cared for so many people and was probably the most loving character shown in the HP series along with Professor McGonagall. No one has any right to show her as an abusive and cruel mother. And the fact that she would scorn down on her kids just because she doesn't have enough money to raise them is entirely pointless].

7. Draco Malfoy being an insanely obedient and respecting person even when he was eleven. And not bullying anyone and not even being slightly prejudiced.

8. Tom Riddle caring for the love of his life and being very protective over her, willing to die a thousand times if it could do her any good.

9. Severus Snape being a considerate teacher who understands every single student and tries his best to be of any help to them. And does not dock house points off without any reason. (Only place where this happens is the Snamione/Snape x OC stories).

10. Peter Pettigrew being a backstabbing traitor even when he was a student in Hogwarts. The one who was jealous of James, Sirius and Remus and who always got them in trouble.

[Peter wasn't a traitor from the start, okay? I don't know why so many people have trouble accepting this but Peter was just a boy as James, Remus and Sirius were, he was their friend and he stood by them. Just because he betrayed them later on doesn't mean that you have the right to portray him as evil from the start].

Also, I'm not elaborating on all of these points because I think I have done enough elaboration for Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Draco etc in the previous chapters.

Avoiding OOC Syndrome:

The only way you can avoid having characters turn out as entirely different beings, is to keep your personal opinions aside, watch the movies, read the books carefully, do a little bit of research, ask your fellow friends about what they think about the character's image and personality and after you have a clear layout on each character's outlook set in your mind, then start writing.

It hurts readers to see characters twisted into mangled versions of themselves. So please don't do that. You can hate a character as much as you want but please, don't let your personal views bias your writing. 

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That is all for today.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.

And excuse me for getting carried away at a few points in the chapter. I just couldn't control myself when I came to the Molly Weasley part.