5,086
edits
So You Want To/Avoid Writing a Mary Sue: Difference between revisions
So You Want To/Avoid Writing a Mary Sue (view source)
Revision as of 15:43, 2 May 2018
, 6 years agono edit summary
(it's "kill your darlings", and it's about cutting out scenes or plot elements that you are overly attached to, not whether to let bad things happen to your character) |
mNo edit summary |
||
| (One intermediate revision by one other user not shown) | |||
Line 4:
== The accidental Sue ==
First, we need to establish a distinction between an intentional [[Mary Sue]] and an accidental one. Characters like [[The Girl Who Lived|Rose Potter]] or [[My Inner Life|Jenna Silverblade]], for example, are very clearly [[Mary Sue|Mary Sues]], but that's what the author ''wants''. Oh, [[Most Fan Fic Writers Are Female|she]] doesn't want the criticism of the character being called a [[Mary Sue]], but it is clear that the author has deliberately written one. This guide is not intended to deal with that kind of [[Mary Sue]].
The second thing you need to understand is what a Mary Sue is. A Mary Sue is an audience reaction to a series of events that strongly suggests that the author herself is unduly favoring a character by changing other characters or the environment in inappropriate ways. When the audience calls "Mary Sue" on a character, the author has shattered their [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]]. There are a number of subjective points here, which naturally means that everyone's Mary Sue threshold is different. But it does suggest some places to look.
Line 38:
* [[Remember the New Guy?|Backstorying in an original character]]. This is always suspicious to the cynical fanfic reader. ''Especially'' if it is a romantic relationship. Speaking of which:
* Romancing canon characters. If the story is all about an original character romancing a canon character, people are generally going to call Mary Sue on that. And those who don't certainly will if a canon relationship is broken up to do it. If any romance is going to take place, it needs to be relevant to the overall plot and contribute to character development, and it can't [[Romantic Plot Tumor|overwhelm the rest of the narrative]].
* [[Purple Prose|Overtly flowery descriptions]] of original characters. Most Mary Sue-based fanfiction is poorly written, and thus will contain lavish descriptions of original characters. Avoid doing this early on in a story.
=== Original fiction triggers ===
Line 200:
** Pick ''one'' tragedy to befall your character in the past and build on that, instead a mountain of travesty. If your character was orphaned at a young age, tormented by classmates, beaten and/or raped by a drunken foster father, then ran away from home and turned tricks to survive...at 12 years old, you ''are most definitely'' laying it on too thick. Any one of these can add the necessary angst without going overboard.
** Whatever the tragedy, [[Did Not Do the Research|please be respectful to the real life victims and do the actual research]] ''first.'' Especially if your character has [[Rape as Backstory]], since this is quite the Mary Sue cliche.
* Similarly, if your character is still affected by her tragic backstory, make sure you properly demonstrate why she still hurts.<br />Maybe it happened recently.<br />Maybe it has something to do with the [[The Power of Trust]], which can last a long time.<br />Maybe it's an old wound reopened recently.<br />Maybe the small town/organization has a long memory and won't let the character forget. Having a character angst over small slights, imaginary persecution or things that happened long ago just makes the sorrow look cheap.<br />Or maybe your [[Original Character]] just ''refuses'' to let the past go (especially if it ''was'' a big deal when it happened). But remember that if this is the case, this can be a serious mental issue in [[Real Life]] and should be an integral part of your character's personality.
** And make sure that your character reacts in an appropriate manner to her tragic backstory, particularly in comparison to other characters; if your character has ''less'' reason to angst (either vocally or internally) than the other characters yet angsts ''more'' than they do, it won't make the reader feel more sorry for your character.
** If you want her to feel guilty for it, make it something she did, so there's a logical reason for her to feel guilty. Perhaps she was off playing around in the forest, rather than standing guard at her village when the [[Big Bad]] came and killed everyone. Maybe she insulted her parents just before her parents died. Angst can make a character compelling, but there'd better be a good reason for it.
| |||