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Pyrowhere




My Mary Sue Litmus Test


Naming Your Character



1. Did you name your character after yourself in ANY way? This can include your first, middle, or last name! (Even a screenname in a chat or other computer-business....) Add 3 points.


2. Okay, so maybe the character isn’t named after you. But is it a name that you wish you had? Add 1 points.


3. Does your character have more than one name, such as a nickname or a pseudonym? Add 3 points.


4. How long did you spend looking for the right name?


* a. Less than three hours? 0 points

* b. Over a day? Add 1 point.

* c. Over two days? Add 2 points.




5. Have you considered naming your pet or child or teddy bear your character’s name? Add 1 point.



Physical Attributes


1. Is the character your same gender? Add 1 point.


2. Is your character the same racial group as you? (This is mostly a fantasy genre question, but it can work for realistic fiction as well. For fantasy, “racial groups” include the elven races, dwarves, centaurs, nymphs, etc. For science fiction, aliens and such races also count.) Add 1 point.


* a. Is your character a hybrid or two or more species? (Another fantasy-based question. Half-elves count, folks...and people, half-dwarf/half-elf people do NOT exist! It canNOT be done!) Add 2 points.

* b. Is your character in his teens or early twenties? Add 1 point.


3. Does your character look like he or she is a teenager or in his/her early twenties for no apparent reason? Add 3 points.


* a. Is this look caused by magic? (Oh, please.) Add 3 points.

* b. Is it even explained in your novel? If not, take 3 points.


4. Is your character the age you would like to be? Add 1 point.


5. Is your character remarkably beautiful or handsome? (To the degree that other characters are getting their gogglies at some point or other.) Add 3 points.


* a. Do the other characters see him/her as a threat to their own love lives because of his/her beauty? Add 3 points.

* b. Aww, is the character the love of another character’s life? Add 2 points.


6. Are the eyes of your character unusual for no apparent reason whatsoever? Add a whopping 5 points.


7. Does your character have an accent which you do not have (such as a Southern accent or an Irish one)? (But NO ONE has my accent!) Add 1 point.



Personality’s Interrogation


1. Is the character a long-lost child or a descendent/sibling to another regular or recurring character? Add 2 points.


* a. Is this recurring character someone you are intending to write another story about? Add 2 more points.


2. Did the character have an unusual birth or childhood? Add 4 points.


3. Does your character have a twin or—my favorite—a clone? Go on and add 4 points.


* a. Is this twin or clone someone about whom you are planning on writing another story later? Add another 3 points.


4. Is your character usually the source of witty and sarcastic comments? Add 3 points.


5. Does everyone in your story wind up liking your character? Add 3 points.


* a. Does one of the other characters absolutely hate your potential-Mary Sue, and somehow becomes their best friend later on in the story? (Amazing how that worked out!) Add 4 points!



The Eerily Super-Natural (Mainly fantasy here, folks.)


1. Is your character of magical/elven/dwarven descent? Add 2 points.


* a. And your character doesn’t find out until the middle or end of the story? Add 2 points.

* b. Or does he/she not find out until the sequel you have planned? Add 2 points.


2. Is your character oddly cat-like (“Oh, my God! There is a tail!”) or no reason whatsoever? 3 points.


3. Does your character have telekinetic powers, including telepathy? Add 3 points.


* a. Is there an explanation to why he/she has these powers? If no, then go ahead and add 3 points.


4. Okay, so your character isn’t a mage or a wizard or any creature that is supposed to have magical powers. Does he/she still have magical powers anyway? Add 4 points.


5. Premonition. A wondrous thing, really. Does your character just “know things” for no apparent reason? (“I just have this bad feeling.....”) Add 3 points.


6. One of my favorites: Can your character fly? (Mythology writers, Hermes and such does not count. Peter Pan doesn’t either, for that matter.) Add 3 points.


* a. Without the aid of wings? Add 2 points.


7. Can your character heal people with the use of their “powers” or mind? Add 2 points.



Welcome Aboard the Love Boat


1. Does your character fall in love with your favorite character in your novel/work? Add 1 point.


* a. Would YOU fall in love with the character your potential-Mary Sue falls in love with? Add 1 point.


2. Does the story end with the character’s wedding or a kiss? Add 3 points. (God, it’s like another Meg Ryan movie.)


3. Are other characters attracted to your potential-Mary Sue because of his/her beauty? Add 3 points.



Your Character...in Reality


1. You are walking down the street and see your character. Would you want to be friends with him/her in real life? Add 1 point.


* a. If it is a character of the opposite sex, are you attracted to him/her? Add 1 point.


2. Do you think that anyone who reads the story should automatically like your character and want to be friends with him/her? Add 1 point.


3. What if a reader said that he/she hated your character? Would you take it as a personal attack on yourself? Add 1 point.


4. Do you ever have dreams in which you are the character, with all of his/her strengths/abilities? Add 1 point.



The Plot and Your Character


1. Do you tell your story from your character’s point of view, all of mostly? Add 2 points.


2. (I love this one.) Does your character manage to develop a friendship with an otherwise villainous character, and through this friendship, reform the other character? Go ahead and take 3 points from the PointKeeper.


* a. In ultimate grief, does the villain become evil again after your character dies? (Add 2 points.)

* 1. Does he/she retain some last vestige of goodness from his/her interaction with the character, evidenced in one selfless action at the end of the story? (God, I love this....) Add 3 points.


3. Is your character magically altered? Add 2 points.


4. Does your character save the day and/or another character’s life? Add 1 points.


* a. Through dying? Add 3 points.

* b. Does he/she come back in the end of the story? Add 4 points.

* 1. What about in a sequel? Here, you look like you need 4 points.


5. Do you plan to write many more stories revolving around this character? Add 2 points.


*** *** ***

Possible Points. (I broke out the calculator!) 128 points.

0-16: Your character is definitely not a Mary Sue.

17-30: You character isn’t a Mary Sue, but has a few traits of one.

31-69: Your character is crossing over towards the Mary Sue territory.

70-128: Please reconsider changing your character to something a bit more unique. But remember that even big-time authors use Mary Sue’s from time to time, and still get avid readers. It’s all a matter of what readers like.