Mary Sue & Gary Stu - why they still exist, and why they don't work
Hi
guys,
I was working on one of my books the other day, and I had to stop
mid-sentence because I just realised I was starting to create a Mary Sue!
What is a Mary Sue and a Gary Stu, you might ask?
What is a Mary Sue and a Gary Stu, you might ask?
The Mary Sue and Gary Stus in the literary world
Interesting enough, the first time these terms were mention was around the year 1973, with Paula Smith's character in 'A Trekkie's Tale', which for those, like me, who are not Star Trek fans, is a fanfiction about a young Lieutenant, named Mary Sue, about fifteen years old, who is the smartest and youngest Lieutenant ever.
The name of this character quickly became associated with all the self-insertion type characters of the literary world.
Self-insertion
Self-insertion is none other than putting yourself on to the character TOO MUCH, as in, you're trying to make the character BE YOU, and that never ever ever works out fine.
In my opinion - note, that all I write in this blog is just MY OPINION - when you try to make the character look like you, whether because you'd like to have a steamy romance with one very famous boyband singer, or a vampire from the 21st century, it never turns out to be a valuable book; it will NEVER be recognised as a precious piece of literary history.
This type of character, either a boy or a girl, always tends to be dull, undeveloped, cliché and too perfect and unrealistic for any reader to identify him/herself with.
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| Image credit to http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-ShX1prkUWo/maxresdefault.jpg |
21st century,
still a lot of Sues and Stus around - how to avoid them
Here's the honest
truth: as long as there are people, and as long as they write stories, there
will be Sues and Stus. It's just the way it is. Every person has a writing
style, and every person likes to put their own personal experiences and
features in their characters.
How can you avoid
them? It's not too hard actually. In my own experience, I tend to read a
book/novella/ebook/short story reviews before I start reading it. I go to the
best reviews, the 5* ones, and then, I read the 1*.
Being a writer
myself, I've had all from 5* to 1*, and I think they all their point, and I
don't get offended if someone says they believe my character(s) were dull or
that they hated the way I write. It's a world with almost 7 billion people, you
can't be loved by everyone.
The 5* reviews,
really tell you the strong features of the books, whether it's a very original
plot, or great dialogue, etc., to how the character's chemistry works.
The 1* reviews...
ai ai... they tell you why the blonde shy girl could NEVER get the vampire
immortal and virgin guy. It just. DOESN’T. DAMN. WORK! (Sorry, lost my cool
there for a moment).
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| Image credit to http://misslunarose.deviantart.com/ |
Really, books
about unrealistic teens with unrealistic life problems with their very much
unrealistic 6f, perfect tanned and gentleman boyfriend. I. CAN’T. Please stop,
now. You'll go a long way with a realistic 16 years old with braces and glasses
who falls in love with her geeky best friend who happens to be bullied.
As a teenager
myself, I've read from great authors who portrayed real life teenage debates -
such as death, disease, divorce, etc. -; to the werewolves and vampires and
magical kingdoms kind of stories. And, let me tell you, I preferred to read a
realistic teenage princess who has acne and a dragon as a pet, than a beautiful
girl who is shy and bullied for being "too beautiful", and falling in
love with the immortal prince.
Bottom line is
Seriously, take
time to work on your characters. We all tend to make little Marys and Garys,
from now and then, and that's fine, as long as we go back and fix it before
sending them out to the world and to inspire more Mary/Gary makers.
Happy Readings,
Sophie
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