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How do you stop characters being so Mary-sue? I'm writing a character, sure, she has flaws and the such but she does seem very close to Mary-Sue-ish and I couldn't do that to my character! The poor thing..

So, as the first question states, how do I stop from creating the monster?
Tell us about the charachter and we'll tell you if she's sue... stare
I know she's not Sue but she's getting awfully close and I'm just looking for ways to repair her. She isn't the classic Mary-Sue though, she just is beautiful and kind ... I guess that isn't so Mary-Sue-ish huh?
Leesa-Chan
I know she's not Sue but she's getting awfully close and I'm just looking for ways to repair her. She isn't the classic Mary-Sue though, she just is beautiful and kind ... I guess that isn't so Mary-Sue-ish huh?


If you don't want to crete a sue then simply make your charachter realistic. Think "could this happen to my best friend...or my little sister...in real life?" if the answer is no then don't do it. Don't go over the top, with strengths or flaws, just make her real!
I write mainly fantasy so yes, sure some is far-stretched but she's a normal human being. She has flaws, hates things and isn't kind to all small creatures. ^.^

Wheezing Werewolf

Just... no making any canon characters fall in love with it. For my sanity's sake... sweatdrop
What do you mean canon characters?
Leesa-Chan
What do you mean canon characters?
He means if you're writing fanfiction the charachters that already exist in that world, not the ones you add in.
Oh, right.

No, I don't write fanfiction. I can't stand it when people can't portray the 'canon' characters properly and I'm afraid I wouldn't do well either so I just roleplay as madeups with other madeups.

Anyway, that's offtopic.

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What are her flaws? When alot of Suethors give them flaws, they're often like...quick-temper, or fake flaws(i.e., little flaws that are mentioned, but don't come up in the story at all to impede the character's progress)
The best way to avoid a mary sue is to keep her strengths/powers limited. Crossgrouping powers is okay but don't overdo it. That magic-using/druid/planeswalking/swashbuckler/half unicorn/half angel/dreamspeaker/exotic dancer may sound cool in your head but on paper it will merely seem overbearing. Another thing to do is give her a humble background. There are thousands and thousands of ex-princesses/child0fadeity/ninjatrainedfrombirthinahiddensoceity characters out there. Very few will say my dad was a farmer and my mom served beer at the local inn. Next, give her a realistic flaw. She hates rabbits may be funny but will rarely if ever cause discomfort to the character unless your villian is a giant rabbit. I see a good comedy from that one. Make her insecure, gullible, forgetful, tempermental, unsure, easily lost, and so forth. Good luck.
Ekoja
The best way to avoid a mary sue is to keep her strengths/powers limited. Crossgrouping powers is okay but don't overdo it. That magic-using/druid/planeswalking/swashbuckler/half unicorn/half angel/dreamspeaker/exotic dancer may sound cool in your head but on paper it will merely seem overbearing. Another thing to do is give her a humble background. There are thousands and thousands of ex-princesses/child0fadeity/ninjatrainedfrombirthinahiddensoceity characters out there. Very few will say my dad was a farmer and my mom served beer at the local inn. Next, give her a realistic flaw. She hates rabbits may be funny but will rarely if ever cause discomfort to the character unless your villian is a giant rabbit. I see a good comedy from that one. Make her insecure, gullible, forgetful, tempermental, unsure, easily lost, and so forth. Good luck.

Great advice. Also, make at least one other character hate or dislike her, and not for petty reasons. I've seen enough Sues where a character hates her, but it's either a mean ugly character, or a handsome character that later likes her, or someone who hates her because she's smarter than average.
And don't describe her appearance in beautiful graphic detail. Instead of something like "vivid sapphire deep pools that could show her true soul", just say "blue eyes".
And you should write a description of the character so we could point out some things that could help.
TPauSilver

If you don't want to crete a sue then simply make your charachter realistic. Think "could this happen to my best friend...or my little sister...in real life?" if the answer is no then don't do it. Don't go over the top, with strengths or flaws, just make her real!


That's great advice! Another thing to remember is that this is a character, not an outlet to your soul (unless that's what your going for I guess sweatdrop ). So imagine a different person, what they would do. Not just what you would do. It adds a different sense of depth to the personality you're trying to create.

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Don't make her the most beautiful creature on earth! Along with the personality flaws, give her some physical imperfections. You could make her flat-chested, sort, and/or scrawny, or give her hair that never quite looks right or can't be styled easily. You could give her an overly-feminine body if she's a tomboy; that'd be pretty funny...
Raincrow
You could give her an overly-feminine body if she's a tomboy; that'd be pretty funny...


Don't. Just, don't. 'Nother sue-characteristic. Tomboy with huge 'features'.

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