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Mary Sue

Discussion in 'Literature Library' started by Iridescent Isabelle, Jun 20, 2016.

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  1. Iridescent Isabelle

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    Mary Sues. Those who know about them will groan. Those who do not need to learn about them. They are, in my opinion, the second worst mistake a writer (of any kind) can make. I'd like to let you know what a Mary Sue is (the male form is Gary Stu, for those interested), how to recognise them, and most importantly, how to avoid creating one.

    [​IMG](Bella Swan and Edward Cullen from Twilight as an example of what harm a Mary Sue can do)

    First up, what is a Mary Sue? When you google it, many blogs and books on writing will give you definitions. Let's use this one:
    A Mary Sue is an idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character, a young or low-rank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. Often this character is recognized as an author insert or wish-fulfillment. (Definition found here.)

    Mary Sues rarely, if ever, have to deal with the consequences of their actions. For example, as a student, Mary Sue can attend as many parties as she wants and gets away with so little studying that realistically, she should have been kicked out of school already. Find more description here.

    If you want to know whether your character (in roleplay, fiction, or fanfiction) is a Mary Sue, do this test.

    Remember, I am not saying this to hate on your creation. Use this website, and other information on Mary Sues, to create a good character. The questions in the test will help you think critically whether your character is believable.

    Keep up the good work, everyone.

    Love,

    Iridescent Isabelle.
     
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    WavePearl and Dashing Dom like this.
  2. Dashing Dom

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    I ran through the quiz, which took long enough, came out as moderately likely to be a Gary-Stu! I don't think I necessarily am, but I would say the quiz did a good job at alerting me a ) to a few potential pitfalls I hadn't considered and b ) that I need to make Dominic a little deeper, because a lot of the time I felt like some of these things weren't decided or weren't relevant.

    In a more general capacity I definitely agree that Mary Sue's need to be avoided; they're horrible to roleplay with and to read. Avoiding these clichés shouldn't be restrictive, it should instead provide something to work around to make a nice, deep, rich character. Good topic, Izz!
     
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