So I haven't made a character yet, and honestly, I'm still looking around and deciding where and when to, but even so, I feel like I should post somewhere so I'm not being an entirely inactive member.
I gotta say, I'm glad that this thread hasn't been posted in in a while, because this test is rather.... biased. I mean, think about it- what is it that makes a Mary Sue? What's the definition? The general textbook term seems to be 'a character who's perfect in every way and has no flaws', but then again, a character who's universally hated by all other characters is generally labeled as a 'Sue' as well. In fact...
If one creates a unique female character: "Well, she's way too out there, she must be a Mary Sue."
An average female character: "She's way too boring! What a Sue!"
A strong, independent female character: "She's way too overdone, what a Mary Sue!"
A weak female character: "That's degrading to women! What a Sue!"
...So what is it really that makes a Sue? Because clearly everyone has different definitions of it and loves to point fingers simply because they dislike a character. If one tries to defend their character, or simply ignore the obscenely baseless accusation, they are ridiculed.
I mean, let's be real here, is having a character named Raven or Hunter something that makes them a Sue? Is having a common spelling or an unusual spelling of a
name of all things going to make them fit the bill? And what's wrong with having a character with good physical characteristics, really?
Having people constantly preach about Mary Sues, when there's really no definite term beyond their own personal feelings, just makes people hesitant to make a character in the first place. Who can blame them, when they just run the incredibly high risk of being falsely labeled and urged to kill off their own creation?
There are character types that I don't like, and there are OCs that I would probably like a lot more if they were more well written- but that does not make one a Mary Sue or Gary Stu. It's true that fiction is
based in realism, and that characters have to have realistic emotions and abilities- obviously god-modding is bad, for example; however, fiction is also
not real. It's a world of fantasy and things that couldn't happen, and people make OCs because they want to enjoy that world- those fantasies.
Considering that, maybe we should consider that Sues are neither as good or bad as people make them out to be, maybe we should consider the fact that there's actually no such thing, and maybe we should realize that reprimanding people because you dislike a character that they like is both futile and mean.
People will develop characters on their own, and those characters will grow as the creator's writing and personal experiences grow- that's the natural way for OC character development to occur. They shouldn't have to change something they went out of their way to create for fun simply because it's labeled too 'Sueish' by someone else's standards.
tldr;
There's no such thing as a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. 'Nuff said.
