Gratuitous insertion of characters made to go into a specific fandom is hard. Mary Sues happen because the author is in love with (a) someone else's fictional universe and (b) an original character idea, and doesn't know how to go about making readers interested in the character.

If your characters are already well-rounded and three-dimensional, and if you've already written stories/RP/etc. about them, I don't see why it's tacky to use them in a crossover just because they're yours.

If you have an idea for a story, write it. Don't get into the habit of second-guessing your stories' quality before you even get them on paper. That's a sure way to develop chronic writer's block. Write the story, and if you don't want to publish or post it immediately, ask a trusted few readers for critique and be prepared for whatever they might say.

Oh- don't worry- I'd write it if I didn't have an equally cool fall back idea ;) I wanted to know if it was tacky, cause I've seen it done badly SO many times T.T Specially in comics where everyone personality seems to dumb down to elements so that they unsubtle enough to be noticed. I agree it can be done right but int he end, isn't it usually kinda tacky? Like.... you can't be bothered creating a new character for a new storyline?

On Mar 16, 2008 7:02 pm, arkillian said:

Like.... you can't be bothered creating a new character for a new storyline?

Only the author knows if it really is laziness. Who knows, you might be wanting to write that crossover because a particular OC of yours will fill a certain role in the plot particularly well. You might not even be realising it consciously. Write the story and see, and if it seems awkward, or if a completely new character would serve the plot better, rewrite.