Writing Tips and Reviews

Mary Sue Continued

What makes a Mary Sue? In short, it's a character who is just better than everyone else in every way with no training. They play the writer's fantasy of who they wish they could be. They're void of all flaws and now I know why there are so many people who don't know what flaws are.

It's safe to say that everyone hates Mary Sues. But, many aren't able to admit their OC or character is a Mary Sue.

Whether you're writing a fan fiction with OCs or your own work with characters, there was a point when you made a Mary Sue. When I started I made a few for fan fictions. I learned from that mistake and grew as a writer, some people, haven't grown and continue to only give more power to an already over powered Mary Sue.

You can have a character be powerful, you can have them be smarter than most, you can have them be whatever you want, but, they must stay within the limitations of the world you've created. Once they've passed those limitations, that's it. You've got a Mary Sue. As I've heard, the character should bend to the world's rules, not the other way around.

It is true that Mary Sues seem to be more prevalent in fan fictions, as they're OC inserts and are usually a version of the writer that the writer wants. Not how the writer is really. During my character review, I reviewed a Mary Sue. They had all the power in the world, they were loved by all and anyone who disagreed with them was evil, their "flaw" was being depressed (not kidding) and they were perfect. Of course, they had a "tragic backstory" and five years of fighting experience. Which for some reason, was better than a swordsman who trained all his life and he was four times older than her. They could also defeat their enemies by raising their hand. But I digress.

Do you see the problem? Mary Sues are just boring. Without flaws the reader can't relate to them, they become an idol that can't be obtained. They're special beyond anyone else and the only one who can stop the enemy.

How do we solve this problem? The first step is to identify a Mary Sue, if you have one, then figure out what to do with them to make them a real character. The next step is to use those flaws you don't want seen, it shows who a person really is, and helps others be more accepting, or reject you, depends. After that, make your story and write your character around the story, or write the story around the character. As long as the character stays within the rules of the world.

(I'm tempted to write a Mary Sue just for fun and see how hard I fail at making a perfect character.)