by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: August 16, 2010   Last Updated: August 26, 2010

OOC is an acronym used in fan fiction that stands for “Out Of Character.”

What this means is that a character from the canon, or source, material is doing, saying, or thinking things that he or she would not normally do, say, or think.

A character has a history established within canon works, so even though liberties are, at times, taken with those backstories by fan fiction authors, they also tend to keep to a certain level of continuity. This is called keeping “in character” when writing fan fiction.

Some fan fiction writers, however, take a canon character in a completely new direction and alter some or many of his or her personality traits. A normally grumpy character could be presented as pleasant and courteous. A character who is usually polite and well-mannered might be written as selfish and rude.

Reviewers who say that someone's writing is “out of character” for a particular (fictional) person may mean it as a compliment. Readers might enjoy seeing how a character would react to a given situation if he or she were just a little different from how he or she is presented in canon stories.

More often, however, calling an author’s version “out of character” is not a flattering description. Seeing a beloved character behaving in unexpected ways can be unsettling for some readers.

This is why some writers add an author’s note at the beginning of a story; they do not want to startle a reader with a bizarre or unusual characterisation.

The OOC label is not limited to fan fiction stories. It is also applied in some cases to the source material itself.

When the Powers That Be make changes to a show that go against established histories or continuity, some fans of those shows have referred to certain actions as being OOC. Changes might be made to a character’s personality, leaving fans wondering why this has been done. We become accustomed to seeing a character behave a certain way, but then he or she suddenly changes with little or no explanation.

Even when an in-universe explanation is given by a series, it usually will not satisfy a good portion of the fans. Such sudden changes can sometimes be referred to as jumping the shark.

This acronym is also found in online role-playing games, where one might wish to tell other players something as his or herself rather than the character he or she portrays in the game.

It could be something like informing others of the time that he or she must be off of the computer or that he or she will not be available for a few days.

Sources:

http://fanlore.org/wiki/OOC

http://www.fanhistory.com/wiki/OOC

http://www.squidoo.com/fanfictionglossary

http://web.archive.org/web/20080822041856/http://www .subreality.com/glossary/terms.htm#O

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