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 Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:04 pm
Zemblanity Insomnia and Serendipitous Coma Present....
The Mary and Gary Sue
You might have all heard the term Mary Sue and Gary Sue and wondered just what people were talking about. Well, good news for you, this will give you an explanation about what they are and why people hate them!
BUT, first, let's give our characters a test before they can study up on it. Take all of your characters, start with any one of them, and I want you to take this test in all honesty (don't worry, we won't ask for a score).
Do you see your characters score? In all honesty? Are they Sue-like? Confused? Well, read on down and we'll give you some bullets that you can look over and decipher which your character is guilty of, so then you can figure out how to change it for the better.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:13 pm
The Mary/Gary Sue is the character Archetype most frowned down upon. In other words, you should never, unless doing in purpose for humor, do a Mary Sue (if it's a girl) or a Gary Sue (if it's a boy). To put it in very very simple words, it's a character that's 'perfect' But of course, things aren't so simple as that. Let's get into more details shall we?
For simplicity sake, I will just talk about the Mary Sue, but everything also includes that Gary Sue.
First of all, let's see what Wikipedia has to say on the origin of the name....
wikipedia The term "Mary Sue" is taken from a character created by Paula Smith in 1973 for her parody story "A Trekkie's Tale,"[4] published in her fanzine Menagerie #2.[5] The character in question was Lieutenant Mary Sue ("the youngest Lieutenant in the fleet — only fifteen and a half years old"). Smith's story poked fun at unrealistic and adolescent wish-fantasy characters in Star Trek fan fiction. Such characters were generally original (non-canon) and female adolescents who had romantic liaisons with established canon adult characters or in some cases were the younger relatives or protégés of those characters. They also possessed unrealistic, often exotic skills beyond those that would have been expected of a character in that series or of a conventional author surrogate. "Mary Sue" was expanded to include any author surrogate or overly idealized character who plays a big role in original fiction as well as fan fiction.
So, that's why they are called Mary Sue! Now, let's look into more traits that would make a character a Mary Sue...
1. A Mary Sue does not have flaws. She's perfect under every angle. Oh, of course, she will say that she isn't perfect. Her nose is 0.01cm too long! She's also a clumsy! And let's not forget, she's a perfectionist! Now, people, those aren't flaws. They are just silly things in order to try to make her more cute.
2. A Mary-Sue is never wrong where it matters, only when it makes her more cute.
3. She'll know things she has no business knowing. She'll be able to speak five different languages while never having been out of her small little town. She strangely knows every martial art in existence. Even worse, she'll be a master swordswoman in a time and date where nobody uses swords anymore.
4. She'll always be able to sense who's a "good guy" and a "bad guy" even when the good guy is being a jerk and the bad guy is being sweet, and even without the slightest implication of powers she'll be so right about everything that, by chance, she'll be able to save the day.
5. The Mary Sue is never unhappy! She's just a little bundle of joy who loves everyone equally. She doesn't discriminate whatever the situation. Hell, she'll probably even forgive her parent's murderers at some point. The only time she won't be happy is when her main love interest hurt her feelings. She will then spend a night crying before getting over it... which reminds me....
6. She gets over everything really fast. Seriously, her parents could have been killed and her sister tortured in front of her while she was being raped, she will not suffer any kind of psychological drama and go on with life as if nothing had ever happened.... until she can tell that story so people will pity her.
7. More often than not, she has a very dramatic past, but eh, it doesn't matter, right? It's all in the past! It helped give her a better development! //Major sarcasm here.
8. A Mary Sue will basically scream "Hey! Look at me! I'm Perfect =D"
9. A Mary Sue will often originate from an author's own will to include themselves in the RP. In other words, the character is based almost 100% on them. Of course, our own notion of our qualities and flaws aren't the best, which gives you... ah, you guessed it it. Mary Sue.
10. They'll be more than good at everything they do. A Mary Sue failing is not possible, unless it'll bring a cute scene where people will pity/cheer her up. They never cooked? Doesn't matter, they'll make a 3 story wedding cake. They'll beat anything and everything sent their way and strangely possess powers close to the Gods.
11. Oh, but Mary Sue can't just be pure perfection, right? She has to have something that makes her stand out among all the other girls because she's not really anything but an average Sue! For instance, she'll have oddly coloured eyes, be the last of some species that doesn't exist, have custom-made tools of an impractical and impossible nature - unless you're her!
12. She's Bela Swan.
13. Love. Mary Sue can't just get a break, can she? Because everyone will fall in love on sight! The first man she meets is destined to be her love interest for no good reason! Even if they aren't compatible - she can either change him or change herself or maybe she doesn't have to change herself? Maybe there's been a secret side to Mary Sue we all just never knew (not even the narrator) until RIGHT NOW.
14. Mary Sue's looks are also top notch - even in the worst of conditions! She could have spent the whole night awake and still come out with maybe a hair or two out of place, but, God, is she still so beautiful! Covered in blood? Sick? Sweaty? Oh, come on, Mary Sue's beauty can tear through any ailments such as that with ease!
This list is only partial and will surely be updated later.
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