Avoiding Clichés Like the Plague
Original Characters
Making up your own characters seems to be a huge part of fanfiction, especially in Percy Jackson, because there are so many opportunities to add your own character. However, inserting someone into a pre-made world can cause many problems. New characters have a good possibility of ending up as a Mary-Sue, making all the actual characters act differently, becoming a mouthpiece for your opinion, or just being really, really boring. I went over a lot of problems with original characters (Ocs) in the last chapter, so this one won't be super long.
When creating original characters, think of them as real people. People who have actual thoughts, emotions, and lives. You have to care about them, otherwise it will be very hard to make them seem realistic in your story. In fact, you don't even have to like them, just have some sort of emotional attachment. It could be that you can't stand the sight of this character.
If you've made up multiple characters, there's probably at least one who's past is a big mystery. You know, like Jason Grace, Shadow the Hedgehog, and countless others. This actually has to have something to do with the story or play a big part in the character's life. Maybe they have a really good reason for not remembering or telling anyone about their past. But if you leave this detail hanging with no reason whatsoever for it being there, you've just created a very pointless and obnoxious character. Mystery is good. But not too much.
Considering this is the Percy Jackson fandom, it's pretty likely that your character is a demigod, meaning they have some sort of weapon that they like to use to defend themselves and train. Make sure it's appropriate to who their parent is. In other words, don't give one of Apollo's kids a sword. He's the god of archery. People also have a tendency to think that the weapon must have a small version, for example, a pen. This is not at all the case. The vast majority of the weapons are just weapons, nothing more.
While naming your character, you take a lot into consideration. You might want to use a name that hints at their personality, or maybe a really beautiful name. However, if you do either of these things, it can be turn out to be just plain stupid. It's like Connor Stoll. Connor Stole. Well. I wonder what he's going to be like. Giving your character an exceptional name can make them seem more Mary-Sue like, which is exactly what you don't want. I often find the best names are the ones that don't give anything away, like Kayla Blondeau, Martha Jones, and Richard Mayhew. Completely normal names that don't hint at anything.
Character clichés can be pretty disastrous. The supposedly emo guy with a soft heart, the rebel girl, the "strong, silent type," they appear in so many stories. But if you don't give them more depth than that, they can be horrible. Even if you do, they have to be in a pretty unusual story, seeing as you're using such generic bases. And if you do use these general figures, for the love of whatever, don't make them stereotypes. I'm not going to lie. It will kill your story.
Speaking of stereotypes, I'd like to address a huge problem that everyone overlooks. Maybe people think it's a taboo, or a really touchy subject. Too bad. I'm going to talk about it: Obligatory gay and black characters. It goes something like this: You've created the base for your story. You've got the characters, the plot, everything. Then you realize that you don't have any gay or black characters in your story. Oh, no! People might think you're racist and homophobic! They might think you're part of the KKK or something! So you quickly insert a gay character and a black character. Problem solved, right? Wrong.
First of all, unless you are outright say something like insert generic racist or homophobic insult here, youtube's a good place to find them, no one's going to accuse you of being part of the KKK. Also, when you add in a character after the initial story has been created, they seem very out of place. And if this is the only black (or Asian, or Indian, or whatever) character, it's going to be very obvious that you are attempting to not seem racist.
As for the gay characters, keep in mind that approximately 10% of the population is queer, and not all of them have come out about it. So having a queer character isn't necessary. You hear me? You don't have to do it. Plus, when there's a gay character, all their problems usually end up focusing on the fact that they're gay. This is not how it is in real life. It sounds like a stupid bit of advice, but remember, they're queer PEOPLE not QUEER people. (I use the term "queer" because it includes all who are not heterosexual.) Their lives don't revolve around the fact that they aren't hetero, so stop making it like that.
In fact, I've only ever seen three stories pull off having a queer character where it wasn't the whole focus. This first is Harry Potter, in which we read about Dumbledore for ten years without knowing he was gay. The next is Going Bovine, by Libba Bray, in which it's just a side note on a couple of characters. And the last is The Higher You Fly, by Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg, where one character is mentioned to be gay, and then it never comes up ever again, and really doesn't have much to do with the plot. Oh, and I guess Doctor Who also succeeds in this category.
Now, although it is not necessary to include a gay or black character, it's a good idea to have some. Because gay and black people do in fact exist, and need to be represented in writing. Unless your story takes place in, say, Nazi Germany, there is a very good chance that your setting would, in reality, have black and openly gay characters. But my point is, don't make these characters stand out. They should be a part of your story, not an extra bit hanging of the side. Treat them the way you treat any other characters, don't make them seem awkward and out of place. Include them in your original cast. Okay, end of rant.
Basing a character off of someone you know can be tricky, too. Often, they end up totally off base and unbelievable. Or maybe they're really cool in real life, but they don't transfer into the Percy Jackson world, or any story, very well. Not to say that it can't be done. After all, J.K. Rowling based Gilderoy Lockhart on her ex-husband, and he turned out to be a great character.
As for children of the Big Three, I would recommend keeping them to a minimum. They tend to be even more Mary-Sueish than others. Or you could always kill them off partway through the story. That's always fun.
Making your own character is pretty open ended, considering they can literally be anything you want. Just keep in mind that you have to be able to make the reader care about them for it to be worth the effort that goes into their creation. Also, many people are not very open-minded to Ocs, so even if you make a fantastic character, it may be tough to have them accepted. And now, as you determine whether or not this lovely character of yours is actually worth sticking in a story, listen to Hollerado, visit their website, (it was made with markers and paper) and don't blink.
-Socks