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The Evil Mary Sue |
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The Problem: As she struts up to the hero, her eyes shining like magical pools of starlight, he is so overcome by undeniable love it is frightening. He cannot turn away but he knows he shouldn't stare; his gaze upon her seems to be riveted, however, and though he does not with to tarnish her beauty with his own stare he refuses to look away. Her long blond hair, perfectly sculpted as always, is flung over her shoulder just as she passes by, and the world stops for a moment as if the universe itself finds it hard to breathe in her presence. I know what you're thinking. Icky, right? The Mary Sue, or Gary Stu as it is called when the character is male, can often be a real turn off for readers yet she seems to crop up in more fanfiction than logically possible. To keep your readers from throttling your characters mentally with big league bats and huge mallets, I suggest these few tips to identifying the horrible witch that is Mary Sue. As long as you can identify her then you will 99 percent of the time be able to fix her into a character that is graceful and real. The Solution: There are three major things that can easily bring a Mary Sue to the attention of even the most dense of writers. Keeping these ideas in mind you can easily alter a character differently to give her originality. First, is your character perfect at any and all things? There is a great chance of this character being a Mary Sue. Sometimes people can give off the aura of being perfect but not everyone has perfect looks, perfect grades, perfect social skills, perfect ethics, perfect sporting skills or even perfect eating habits all at once. Bring your perfect characters down to earth by knocking down a few traits if she or he seems too great at everything. Even character that seems perfect on the whole in the books or in the shows--Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter*, for example--are real simply because they're not always there when they are needed or are too secretive for their own good. Even if they are only small things, as long as someone is not incredibly perfect at everything then they can usually be upgraded from Mary Sue status to realistic character. Now, how about the way in which the other characters react to yours. Do all the boys go gaga for this girl? Or are the girls so shy and sweet around him because he seems like a dream come true? News flash--THAT'S BAD! Even a character who lots of other characters adore can inspire wrath, jealously or hate in others. While Tamaki Suou (Ouran High School Host Club) is adored by most of his classmates and fellow club members he has his own enemies, in the form of the newspaper club, and his own grandmother cannot stand the sight of him. Like the perfect character, just giving your own a few rivals, enemies or even just disinterested friends can add a lot to making them more real. Just look at yourself; can you honestly say that everyone in your school or at your workplace is completely agreeable to you? For a final big sign, always check to make sure your character is in no way completely like another character from the true story. There is no need for two children with lightning bolt scars on their foreheads with destinies to destroy a very powerful mass-murderer (Harry Potter). Why make a double of another character that may, just to seem different, have a different color of hair or eyes? Stories have their own characters to keep those stories going as the original author wants. If you cannot make your own original character without copying one of their own then maybe you shouldn't make one. In the instances of twins (your character being the long-lost twin of the author's true character) then I will make a small exception for this but remember, even twins are different in some aspects. Like Fred and George Weasley (Harry Potter) Fred is a bit more emotional than George, like Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin (Ouran High School Host Club) Hikaru is more mathematically minded while Kaoru is better at artistic subject or like Risa and Riku Harada (D.N.Angel) Risa is more girly while Riku is actually pretty sporty. While these rules generally apply to a fanfiction's original characters, true characters from a story are not immune to the Mary Sue disease either. Placing your favorite character from a series on a pedestal--like making Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket) so much better than Yuki at everything all of a sudden--can seriously turn a true character into something they really aren't. This goes back to being OOC, a huge no-no. No one wants to see a series' true characters become Mary Sues. While these are not the only indications of the dreaded Mary Sue they are most certainly the most general and broadest aspects. Just remember, God is in the details even when it comes to characters. For more information about building good original character, check out the Original Character Creator. Help us stop the growing disease that is gripping the newest generations of writers and fight against the Evil Mary Sue!
*I don't like to give anything away, especially to those who have yet to read anything on a certain series, but I would like to point out that all hidden flaws of Dumbledore can be easily seen after reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book 7). |