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omg read this.... - Printable Version

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omg read this.... - Tamme - 11-09-2013

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Help-I-have-a-Mary-Sue-412301021

I'll pull out some highlights:

"My character is involved in every interesting event.

If your character is the main character, it's natural for him/her to be present when important things are happening. The story is focused on your character, after all!

However, sometimes things can grow a little out of hand. Your character becomes present all the time (even when his/her presence isn't needed), and your character's business is the only business that matters. When the female supporting character gets a secret love letter from her crush, she spends a few lines wondering about it before the main character's issues become the main topic of conversation. Your character's mentors have no lives outside of helping your character. Your character shows up at council meetings discussing the fate of the universe, even if she is a fifteen-year-old girl whose only credentials are her interest and her stellar grades at school, and they don't escort her out of the building as soon as they see her or call her parents if she tries again. Do any of these situations sound vaguely familiar?"


Your character cannot be everywhere at once! Sometimes it's fun to not be in the know.



"My character is flawless.

I'm sorry, but you can't get out of this one: If you consider your character to be perfect (or practically perfect), critics will label him/her a Mary Sue and a product of immature writing. Why? Well... come sit down on my fuzzy blue rug and I'll read you a story."




"My character is superior.

I imagine that there will be some confusion here, so let me define what I mean by superior. We'll call your character "superior" if:

1. Given his/her age, education, or other limiting factors, the character is mind-blowingly talented. (A twelve-year-old girl can easily do magical spells that are too complex for most experienced adults.)

2. Your character's combined talents are much more than other characters' talents. (She can pilot a ship through the tightest squeezes, repair all sorts of broken machinery without opening a manual, beat up five men at once, and cook delicious food. One friend is more skilled with machines, but she has no other talents. Another friend is a great chef with some medical knowledge, but these are his only strengths.)

3. Nobody can do what your character does. (Your character is the best cello player in the whole world.)"






RE: omg read this.... - Ampere - 11-09-2013

Ooh this looks fun to read, I certainly know I can be guilty of the PUTS MY CHARACTER INTO ALL THE THINGS xP


RE: omg read this.... - Onni - 11-09-2013

That feel when half of the TV shows I watch have the main character ridiculously involved in things all the time.

I think probably my biggest flaw in my writing is that my characters are too perfect or damn near too perfect. Probably need to work on making them a little less predictable. x3


RE: omg read this.... - Africa - 11-09-2013

Wow. My character is practically everywhere all the time! Thanks for putting this up 0.o


RE: omg read this.... - Kahlua - 11-09-2013

Seconding Riv & Blu, Kahlua has "everywhere all the time" disease. But the article is a great read, if you have time to go all the way through it.

It talks a lot about how a single trait doesn't make your character a Mary Sue, but rather how a culmination of traits (and especially the reasons for your character having those traits) work together to make or not make a classical "Mary Sue" type character.

It really makes you sit down and wonder "why" in regards to why your character acts the way they do. Thanks for sharing, Tamme!