"In which, I help you write a fanfic for The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies."
I do not own the characters, plots, or information given from the TVD Universe.
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Yes, it is time for me to advise you lovely writers on how to choose the perfect faceclaim for your OC(s). Now, this is not an important aspect of a story. Frankly, I don't think it should be thought about until the last possible moment. The actual writing should come first.
I don't know how the whole "faceclaim" thing got started, but I do know that it adds an extra layer to a story. It brings a character to life beyond the reader's pure imagination.
If you don't know what a faceclaim is, it's basically using an famous person as a basis for what someone wants their OC to look like. The inclusion of edited pictures, gifs, and videos makes it seem like the character is actually a part of the TVD world. Not to mention, it's a neat new depth to storytelling.
There aren't many things that count as wrong when it comes to a faceclaim. But, there is one. And it's very important.
When choosing a faceclaim, make sure the actor, actress, model, or whoever's age is close to either the characters ages in the shows or the cast members at the time of filming. Age gaps are a MAJOR turn off or not just me, but a lot of people. And yes, it matters, even if they are fictional characters and not the faceclaims themselves.
For example, I've seen stories that have Klaus Mikaelson as the love interest and Sabrina Carpenter is used as the faceclaim for the OC. Like, that's gross. Not only is Klaus a thousand years old trapped in the body of a twenty something, the actor, Joseph Morgan, was in his early thirties during his first appearance in The Vampire Diaries. Sabrina just turned twenty last month.
If you don't see what's wrong with that, I can't help you.
Now, I'm not going to harp on you guys about using overused faceclaims. You do you. Overused faceclaims have a lot of material you can use. I'm guilty of using a few.
Here are a few that are considered overused, if you don't already know.
Crystal Reed
Holland Roden
Adelaide Kane
Victoria Justice
Shelly Hennig
Nina Dobrev (when it comes to twin OCs)
And those are only the ones I can remember.
The last and final thing. Choose a faceclaim that resembles your OC in most physical aspects. Try not to change eye color or hair color, unless you think it's absolutely necessary. What I mean by that is don't have, like Sophie Turner be your faceclaim and then say your OC's hair is brown. She is known for her red hair and blonde.
It just throws the reader out of the story trying to picture the OC as the faceclaim, but also forcing them to alter that imagine every time they see an image or gif that might be included in the story.
By all means, do what you want. If you want to use a specific faceclaim, do it. Although, the age thing is crucial. Seriously...don't overlook it.
