Mary Sues

I've taken a lot of "Mary Sue" tests for fun, just to see what on earth the general writing community considers a Mary Sue- or a Gary Sue, what have you. Usually, however, I really don't agree with how the questions are set up. They make it impossible to have a character who does not possess the traits they list, because if they didn't, they wouldn't be a fictional person. It's especially difficult to do with a fantasy like setting because "magic" is involved, and unfortunately a lot of stereotypical crap is lumped in with that. I took one over at KatFeet.net that I've taken before, and my results were thus:

"Lonlor is nothing like you. He isn't really very cool: he blends into crowds, he hangs out on the fringes at parties, and wearing shades after dark makes him run into things. He may have sometimes thought that he was special, or destined for greater things, but probably dismissed the idea as a fantasy. He's had more than his fair share of hard knocks, and probably spends more time than he ought moaning about it. And he's gotten no slack from you.

In general, you care deeply about Lonlor, but you're smart enough to let him stand on his own, without burdening him with your personal fantasies or propping him up with idealization and over-dramatization. Lonlor is a healthy character with a promising career ahead of him."

Which was pretty interesting to me, though I'm glad to hear he of all characters scored low on this particular Mary Sue test. Because as far as main characters goes, he has the teenager finds amulet has to go save the world and reluctant hero nonsense counting against him, because heaven knows THAT'S been done before.

And, granted, a lot of the questions on there were questions that held incredibly over used cards that authors tend to favor and readers tend to somehow eat up. Half breeds, outcasts, abuse, torture, tattoos, scars, etc. And I do agree that these things can be overdone, and in a lot of cases, they are. However, it caused me to question the definition of a Mary Sue outside of fan-fiction. What would qualify a character to be a Mary Sue? The first thought that comes to most recent reader's minds is Bella Swan from Twilight- at least, thats the first example that comes to my mind. But what makes her a Mary Sue? Is it over used cliches? There's nothing really extraordinary about her, if you think about it. She is apparently the cats meow (or the vampires bite, the dogs bark- yes, I think I'm hilarious) of Forks, as she attracts every male within miles. She also takes to the vampire mojo very quickly with disturbing ease, but beyond that, what is so Mary Sue about her?

Yeah, I drew a blank too. So then why, if she has these two big things that could have been written well, do I immediately jump to her when I define Mary Sue? There are people out there who are naturally great at many things. I bet you can bring to mind a few of them that you know or know of, and how it can be a little annoying that they are so naturally gifted. There are also women who men tend to think of as beautiful across the board and who always get the attention of the opposite gender. So what's the big deal when you combine these things? What makes a Mary Sue...sueish?

My answer is this: Execution.

No, not a massacre of Mary Sues (though I do support that), but how their writer's actually execute their characters. Stephanie Meyer could have pulled off Bella Swan. She could have bulked out the same character instead of letting shallow, bland facts define her. I'm never against the general story of Twilight- what has always been a chip on my shoulder was how it was written. How the tale was carried out, how the characters were fleshed out (well, they really weren't. They all have one general emotion to stick to- Jacob was usually aggression, Edward melancholy, Bella passiveness), and how the author chooses to portray them. Because you know what? I love mush. I love triangles of the mushy variety, and I love torment and conflict and meshed together feelings with a random mythical creature thrown in. I'm all for these things, but if executed poorly like they were written by a chicken with it's head cut off, they turn sour. It's like leaving a banana on the counter for three weeks. You don't want to consume it, you don't want to go near it, and you definitely don't want to touch it. You're not entirely impressed by who left it there, because they certainly did not pay enough attention to put it into the trash where it belongs.

I don't believe in "over used" cliches. I don't think that all because a thousand people execute the same idea poorly, that one person should be denied a shot at it. Because hey, I have a half blood in my story, and he's one of the main characters. And guess what, my main character was abused growing up, and yeah, it affects him whenever he interacts with women, because he has two categories for women in his life time. One, his foster parent who never hesitated to smack him around and use force to enforce her will, and two, his sister, who is the direct opposite and sweet, caring, kind and was the only thing keeping him sane during their childhoods. Then you toss in Naomi, who starts to file into the latter category for him, but then he realizes that hey, she's not his sister. She has no reason to act the same, yet she does, and it's different, so what does that make her?

The point is, my personal definition of Mary Sue characteristics is this: A Mary Sue is made up of seemingly randomly, unexplained pieces that are not at all sewn together properly. This doesn't mean you need to provide answers for everything. Reader's don't need pages of back story of why a character's hair is a certain shade, or why they like baloney instead of turkey in their sandwiches. It's a good idea to get a grasp of what is considered cliche, or over used, or Mary Sue-ish, and to check out how not to execute your personal character. But heck, if you want a love triangle, you go for it. If you want your character to be tatted up, if you want your main character to be blonde, if you want them to have unusual coloring, magical powers and fairy wings that bring all the boys to the yard, then go for it. Write and create your little heart out, but remember that when people look at your character, they will be able to see how much you've actually put into it. And what you put in is exactly what you will get out.

Just remember to connect those pieces, stamp your own mark across the creation, and to never be afraid to do something that has been done before. Because guess what? As true as it is that there is nothing new under the sun, it hasn't been done by you before, now has it? And that, in itself, is new.

Just don't go out and make it a Mary Sue.