[Firepaw crouches in tall grass]

Tip and Tricks to Creating a Character by Kestrelpaw

Kestrelpaw gives some tips on making Warriors OCs!

Have your ever wanted really bad to write this fanfiction that you’re so pumped about that you plan out all the lore and plotlines, but when you get to creating a character…you’re stuck? Have you always wanted to make a warriors OC, but don’t know where to begin? In this article, we’ll cover the basics of Character design, so that you can write out that amazing fanfiction or show all of your friends your wonderful character!
1. Start with the backstory. Often times, with a character, you start with the name and then the backstory, but I’ve found that it’s easier when it’s the other way around. Most of what a character’s personality and name comes from their background. Maybe, your cat was a rouge making him a daring cat who is a little bit arrogant. Maybe your cat used to be a soft squishy kittypet before joining the clans and ended up keeping her name and child-like nature. Maybe your cat was half clan, so they hold bitter resentment to their parents. It’s all up to you. However, make sure that when creating an OC (especially one for fanfiction) that you avoid the stereotypical Mary-sue my-life-is-horrible background. For example, one background that I see is: When So-and-so was a kit, all of their family and friends were killed and then they got exiled from the clan and then- you get the idea. Make sure your character background is realistic and relatable.
2. You got the backstory down, now onto the personality. The majority of a character comes from it’s personality. After all, Firestar wouldn’t be Firestar if it wasn’t for his leadership qualities, loyal nature, and courage. It’s important to know that when creating a character like this for a fanfiction that you make him/her relatable and avoid Mary-sues. Creating a character based off of a real person is definitely something I would do. For example, for a fanfiction that I’m currently writing, the mom of my main protagonists (Sky-eyes) is incredibly protective and goes mother-bear on anyone who so much as looks at her kids wrong. Sky-eyes was based off of my mom, who is incredibly protective and throws out dirty looks like candy. This is where backstory comes into place. One of Sky-eyes’ daughters, Kestrelkit (yes I know, it’s me) was born with a major disability which limited her chances of survival. Therefore, Sky-eyes is extremely protective and doesn’t want anything to hurt her little baby girl. What you shouldn’t do is create a character like this: Beautifulflower was the prettiest cat in the whole clan. All of the toms loved her, and she was the favorite. Beautifulflower was super kind and helpful and the best hunter and fighter. She never got into an argument with anyone. This is a classic example of a mary-sue.
3. Ok, this is my favorite step of this whole list. She-cats and toms, drumroll please…….CHARACTER DESIGN! I know what you’re thinking, “Kestrelpaw, when do we get to pick our names!” Just be patient my friend, it’ll come. A lot of your character’s little details can be shown in the character design. Firestar wouldn’t be Firestar if he didn’t have his highlighter orange pelt. (Minor spoilers for Encanto here, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, I suggest you read ahead.) In the beginning of the movie, Mirabel was always really optimistic and was so proud of her family. She said multiple times about how proud she was to be in the family Madrigal. On her dress, she has stitches for Abuela (which is a candle), A rainbow and sun for Pepa, flowers for Isabella and a weight for Luisa.
4. It’s time, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for…NAMING YOUR CHARACTER! Taking you character’s backstory, personality and appearance to consideration, name your cat. When naming my OCs, I use SparkyTheWingedCat’s name dictionary. It’ super helpful and gives a ton of prefixes and suffixes as well as their meaning.
Whoo-hoo! Congrats guys! You finally have that multi-dimensional totally not Mary-sue OC! Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions for this article, feel free to tell me!

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27 comments

  • -makes OC using guide-

    Backstory: The middle child between 3 kits, this cat loves attention, and will often use their big, wide eyes to get what they want, even now, as a seasoned warrior. Topped by their younger sibling, and topping their older, they really are the middle child. They loved splashing around in the water as a kit, though a flood changed that. Quite unusually, they “soar” from tree to tree, which is not a clan skill. They live in RiverClan, close to becoming the deputy.
    Appearance: A cat with teal-tinted patches with thick, long fur. They have Brilliant green eyes.
    Name: Mossdash

    • I love Mossdash’s personality. Especially with him being the middle child and the change in what they like to do after a flood. Keep it up!!

  • THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!! I write warrior cats books too, with one of my heroes as Quailstar, but this article makes it a whole lot easier to write my own warriors, The Omen Of Darkness, too!

    • Thanks! I was really nervous about writing an article but seeing all of these comments have really made my day!

  • Im making my own warriors and my main character is a she-cat called Sunshine the kittypet, who turns into Quailstar, the saviour of the Clans. She is a brown she-cat with quail patterns on her pelt, and the greenest eyes you’ve ever seen. Also I have a tom called Whiteflight who is a white tom with black stripes and blue eyes. I loved that article as it has helped me lots!

  • Backstory: Born to Adderstripe and Bluepetal in ThunderClan, he was born alongside his sister Scarletpelt. His father was killed when he was a young warrior, and all grieved. His mentor was Thicketleap.
    Purrsonality: He is kind and helpful, but is grumpy and sharp-tongued when tired. He is a great fighter and hunter and enjoys both. He is fun to play with, but is quick to judge and is a little picky, favoring vole over everything else.
    Character Design: He is a dark gray tom with darker stripes and icy blue eyes.
    NAME: Wolfbite!

    • Ooh I love that! (I’m a sucker for sharp-tongued and judging warriors. I don’t know why xd) Wolfbite is such a cool name too!

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