My Writing Advice

Fixing a Mary/Gary Sue

I've already said that I'm not a goddess at characters as I'm not thorough enough, but there are somethings that I do have to say about making and using characters, including avoiding Mary Sues and other stuff I'll probably get side tracked to later.

I'd like to use a constant character as an example throughout this whole chapter, I will name them, uh... Proxy.

So, Proxy is a Mary/Gary Sue from the planet of Earth. Let's try to change that. One of the most common Mary Sues include a character that has a certain power without a limit or too many powers. The simple solution is to add a limit. Proxy's original power was that they could spawn anything, anything in the world. Here's where you can get as creative as you want, it's like inventing a superhero, every one has a weakness and each is quite unique. The possibilities are endless, and I'm going to go with a simple one and say that the bigger or more complex the object, the harder it is to spawn to the point where things like animals or death rays are pretty much impossible. This specific one can give you some pretty good character development as well. As they get stronger, the more epic they become, they can also have struggling scenes where they try to get something huge. 

What about simpler powers? I actually have a character that can control energy, but so they aren't blowing up every monster in sight they started off getting hurt if they used it too much.  Then they got a necklace where they could store energy, they didn't need to, however, that is until a certain incident happened in which her friend now feels immense pain when she doesn't use energy from the necklace. So she has to manage how much she has, not too hard, right? There's one more thing, if she gets surprised she automatically throws up a shield if she reacts in time, but this shield comes from her own will, therefore she hurts her friend. Be as thorough as possible, but sadly I have a hole in mine, if charging this necklace comes from herself, then why doesn't it hurt her friend? Whoops.

Don't give your character too many abilities as well, too many will choke them and lead to far too many inevitable plot holes.

That was a little too long. For other parts, just make sure your character isn't perfect, your character should not be loved by absolutely everyone they meet, and make sure people's reactions around them are natural. If a fairly soft spoken person suddenly insults them with no incentive, that is not natural.

Add flaws that are reasonable, don't give them diseases that you purposefully put there for the pity of other characters, make sure they are apart of the character and are constantly in the back of the reader's mind if the disability, mental, physical, disease, virus, whatever, calls for it. If they have anxiety, then they should have anxiety, not just a little fancy piece so your character can get scared and jump into their lover's arms. (Unless of course you're writing a story where the main character's anxiety causes this great reliance on a lover and stuff that makes this idea better.)

Proxy has polio, but it's very early stages and doesn't affect them, but it will someday, but because of their powers, it's being held off, however, one day it could just come. *forgets that ever existed*

Something that you can do without altering the usual Mary Sue perfection is actually adding their perfection as a flaw. (Don't make that the only thing though. Don't, they need to have a couple at the least. At least two that you can tell affect them.) Maybe your character's perfection causes them to be naive or ignorant. They're so caring to the point where they don't know how to tell a harmless person from a dangerous person. But of course, then they're not perfect, and that's the point. 

Just imagine your character as a friend of yours, a friend you can talk to, think about the kind of things you'd love them for anyway, and then the others things about them that drive you crazy.

To further my subject on characters and help with Mary Sues the next chapter will be about realism and likability-(of main characters). 

Then after characters I'll go into what I have on story and plot.

Hope you're having a good summer! And if not, I hope for you it'll get better.