Mary-Sue: Who is She?

She Banged the Love Shebang - Part 1: The Scenarios

Whether it's in an action-packed bring-to-justice horror-mystery or in a feminine girl-drama novel, who doesn't like a bit of romance in the mix?  That is, only if it's well-developed, and well-written romance.  Let's face it, I've read stories with "romance" in the selected genre, and it didn't feel like a romance, or even remotely romantic to me.  Two characters meet, it's love at first sight and they act as if they've known each other for years.  They kiss, end up in bed immediately upon that first kiss, and then they get married to live happily ever after.  When, in real life, has that ever happened with positive consequences?

Yes, writing stories are supposed to be fictional, so a few instances of unrealism is bound to be in the story, but do people want to read a rushed-love where there are no conflicts, yelling matches, or questions of doubt?  I certainly don't.

Unfortunately, even though most stories aren't as bad as that, the romance genre (in the amateur world at least) is taking hits, and lots of them, for three main reasons: (1) the characters come off as underdeveloped, in other words, a Mary-Sue, (2) the plots are clichéd, and (3) the appearance of sex scenes.  

Starting with the characters, I've already written a guide on how to make a character and develop them, but because of the romance theme, I have to add something just to quickly clear it up.  For the fan fiction writers and fan fiction readers, not all OCs who are paired up with a canon character, or even more than one character, are Mary-Sues.  If you've read my other guides, you'll probably have figured out the Mary-Sues come from things deeper than looks or plot devices.  If someone decides to pair up an OC with a canon, that is what they want to write.  Other people enjoy reading them too, so there isn't a lack of an audience to worry about.  As long as there are no false advertisements, or a lack of information on the pairing, there is no reason for a comment full of bashing toward the author, the character, or the story simply because you don't like OC and canon pairings at all.  It's not as if you paid money to read it.

For the original storywriters and readers, not all of the main characters, of either gender, which happens to get the person they want, or end up in multiple relationships (maybe at the same time) during the entire story are Mary-Sues either.  

In order to determine Sueism, there needs to be an analytical thought process of multiple factors besides the characters themselves along with the plot.  If it was just those two, I can safely say that all of the books I've ever read probably had Mary-Sues as main characters.  The universe, writing style, the use of the Hero Cycle also come into play along with other smaller factors, but that's for another guide.

Romance, in general, means that there is going to be a developing romantic bond between two or more characters.  There doesn't have to be any kissing, sex, or even any "I love you" talk for a story to have a romantic factor.  The feelings, action and reactions are enough of an assertion that there are strong feelings in the air.  Those feelings don't necessarily have to be returned with an ironclad hand of commitment either, however I think for the story to positively have a romance tag on it, the feelings have to be returned in some form, whether it's for pure or impure purposes is all up to what you want to write.

So even though there is a wide range of what is considered "romance" a ton of people complain about over-used plots.  Do not worry about writing with a clichéd plot.  Don't even worry about being original.  Just write what you want, and write it to the best of your ability.  If you try too hard, your story will end up bland whether it's a clichéd or original.  Meyers spun the vampire thread and ended up with some original ideas, but wasn't written well because she was so focused on Bella and Edward, trying so hard to keep the tension and angst that she forgot about the other aspects of a good story.

Besides, tons of people still like cliché romances, including me.  Just as I've stated in my other Mary-Sue guides, as long as there is character and plot development, the language fit the characters, and clear explanations pertaining to the plot and emotions, then it should be fine.  Let me talk about the over-used plots anyway, and give you some tips.  They aren't necessarily restraining, but, if anything, it'll give you more material to think about.  I have a couple categories with multiple plots, but for the sake of simplicity, I'll name them by the pairing of characters or the scenario.  Each scenario will bring up something different, but it will probably be best if you keep all scenarios in mind even when you're only writing about one.