This manual is for the growing fiction and fanfiction community on how to recognize and avoid creating a mary sue. A mary sue or gary stu or marty stu is an idealized fictional character, a young or lowrank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. I think that mary sue is a more popular term than garymarty stu, yes. If youve been around the fiction or internet scenes awhile, youve probably heard the term mary sue, and wondered what it is. Soon this derogatory term spread to other fanfiction created by other fandomsand eventually to canon fiction as well. Mary sue characters were first identified in fan fiction in 1973, but they have. Mary sue plural mary sues fandom slang, usually derogatory a fictional character, usually female, whose implausible talents and. A mary sue is a generic name for any fictional character who is so competent or perfect that this. For the best answers, search on this site i havent been into mary sue fanfiction since i was 12 and now, reading harry potter slash mm doesnt provide much opportunity to be faced with such an abomination since most mary sues are found in the het category. Odysseus is not a mary sue, despite being the coolest wisest most tricky achaian who always knows what to do and never gets caught up in camp politics, because odysseus makes a mistake and gets fucking owned by poseidon on a hellcation around half the mediterranean. Some people think its a superpowered, almost perfect character. Mary sue is a term used to describe a fictional character, usually female, who is. A mary sue or gary stu for males is a character who is overly perfect. Everdeen are among other famous characters whove been called mary sues.
Elminster aumar is the gold standard of mary sue s in fantasy series, at least to me. This post tries to explain mary sues and why they might make good protagonists. We all know them, the perfect character we all have made at one point. Any term intended as a criticism loses clarity of meaning over time, and like macguffin before it, the parameters of a mary sue protagonist are hotly debated. For example this is a nice fit for childrens fiction. Mary sues typically have dramatic backstories, awesome names, unique looks, and more often than not, upstage the main characters. There are too many fucking mary sues in our games and fiction. A mary sue is a wishfulfillment character who the author clearly wants to be. Mary sue is a term widely used in fan fiction, but has spread to mainstream fiction. Who are the most notable mary sue characters in books and. Heres a great definition of a mary sue by teresa nielsenhayden.
What people get wrong about mary sues fictional stories. A mary sue can destroy a piece of writing or media, since the characters existence will often forcibly make the world and people around. The most in famous mary sues in fiction by melissa albert october 28, 20 at 3. Empress theresa is a good example of the waifu theory of mary sues and the doyalist definition of mary sues, where the authors relationship to the character is the defining factor. They may excel at tasks that should not be possible for them, or they may upstage the protagonist of a fictional setting, such as by saving them. In essence, shes a protagonist around whom the plot and characters revo.
And within fan writing communities, people are going to bat for even the most selfindulgent mary sues, questioning why we shame young fans for making themselves the heroes of their own stories. Cause when mary sue brings tears to our eyes, it should be tears of joy. Ayla of earths children series, anita blake of selftitled series, elizabeth bennet in pride and prejudice, luke skywalker of star wars, and my own character serbindi of circumstance. Its basically a character that is in god mode, for lack of a better word. Would it be possible or a good idea to split the article. The original purpose of this list is to provide examples so the phenomenon can be studied, identified and as a result of the latter avoided. Collins dwells on the double standard at the heart of mary sues. Mary sue is a derogatory term primarily used in fan fic circles to describe a particular type of character. What that character type is, exactly, differs wildly from circle to circle, and often from person to. You learn the color, the fabric, the brand namefrom scarf to shoes. Mary sues tend to be a bigger problem for fan fiction.
Anything you can think of regarding mary sues, honor harrington has done it from start to finish in the honor harrington book multiverse. My mother likes mary higgins clark im not a fan of the genre, but shes good at what she doesall of her main characters are mary sues. There are usually really muggle names for mary sues in pureblood families like olivia black and emma lestrange, along with superlong and elabourate ones like octavia sybella ariana flint etc. The term is a derogatory one, as mary sues are universally denigrated in fan fiction. The official mary sue manual, a general fiction fictionpress. Feb 09, 2012 the definition of a mary sue is difficult to nail down, because the meaning has changed over time as the character type has migrated out of fanfiction and into canon works.
In other terms, the author is inserting herself into the text through the character. How can i incorporate unethical experimentation on a character without making it seem tooangsty. A mary sue is a generic name for any fictional character who is so competent or perfect that this appears absurd, even in the context of the fictional setting. Mary sues have become a catchall insult for poorly written characters. In several places throughout each book the characters clothing is described in detailas she dresses for dinner, dancing, or danger. Elminster is essentially a authorinsert gandalf the grey of the forgotten. This book is not in any way meant to be a hate book, i just want to help you. Others think its a character meant to be an avatar for. He cant quite bring himself to give eragon a substantial flaw, seeing as he has publicly stated that the character is an analogue for himself. A mary sue is considered to be a proxy or wishfulfillment for the author.
Sadly, there is a lot of misinformation about what the term actually means. And in fiction, there are still countless books to uncover like the plague by albert camus. She instantly gets to know how to repair anything, fly anything, be liked by everyone even the bad guy has the hots for her, and instantly learns how to do everything having to do with the force in an instant. Male mary sues are sometimes called marty stu or gary. Which fantasy characters and gary stusmary sues and why.
The second book is about another mary sue i hate, the popular. And it is typically used by readers to describe a character that they think was done wrong. People have no problem labeling mary sues, even some women that dont deserve it i read a completely bonkers article on how maria from silent hill 2 was a mary sue. The mary sue phenomena in published literature and popular culture. The reason i rarely read oc fanfictions is because of marysues. Its not so much a type of character, but rather a flatout insult. Deranged author who cant take criticism creates his perfect waifu, hands her the world, and refuses to edit the resulting masterpiece, and posts. What can be agreed is that it started its life in fan fiction circles, where it was used to suggest that a protagonist was a thinly veiled.
Accusations of narcissism that belittle womens writing rarely surface when it comes to male authors. This is likely because of poorly written self inserts sidelining the franchises other characters and that traditionally published works have things like editors to weed out mary sues. Unethical experimentation is another common angsty backstory excuse for mary sues, alongside rape, torture, and abuse. Soon this derogatory term spread to other fanfiction created by other fandomsand eventually to canon fiction. Leia is as much the child of darth vader as luke is, but only luke gets to use the force, be recruited by his dad and ultimately save the day. Comic books are literature, and one of the biggest names in comic books right now. Most often found lurking in the pages of fan fiction, mary sue inspires rage in all who read her. At least in the first book, havent read the others. The mary sue phenomena in published literature and popular. A mary sue is an original character in fan fiction, usually but not always female, who for one reason or another is deemed undesirable by fan critics a character may be judged mary sue if she is competent in too many areas, is physically attractive, andor is viewed as admirable by other sympathetic characters. They may disregard previously established aspects of the fiction such as characterization and natural laws. Discussion in character development started by xboxlover.
Mar 31, 20 for the best answers, search on this site i havent been into mary sue fanfiction since i was 12 and now, reading harry potter slash mm doesnt provide much opportunity to be faced with such an abomination since most mary sues are found in the het category. Can any of the characters in harry potter books be considered a mary sue character. She was abused by her mum and bullied by the school slut, jessica. Mary sues dont have to be perfect either,they are just written as being. Who are the most notable mary sue characters in books. The colourful hair, being pale, tall, skinny, are all mary sue traits, and how exactly does she look like ender man. Free novels and histories about pandemics the mary sue. Shes usually a hollow character, but even characters of substance can be mary sues. The definition of a mary sue is difficult to nail down, because the meaning has. Male mary sues are sometimes called marty stu or gary stu, often associated with james bond and superman.
Is mary sue a label we are more inclined to slap on. One article, the main one, talking about the popular culture definition of mary sue and one talking about the fan fiction mary sue. I am not the most popular user here not by a long shot but id like to help people make better ocs and stay away from the horror that is mary sues. Can you give us some examples of actual mary sues from popular works to contrast with the characters in your previous comment. Mar 23, 2017 in an act of reclamation, one of the most popular femaleled geek sites on the internet took the term for its name. Mary sue is a derogatory term primarily used in fanfic circles to describe a particular type of character. Usually found in fanfiction, these characters are nearly invincible, multitalented to the extreme, and loved by everyone except. What is the mary sue, and when can you actually apply the. The mary sue has a strict comment policy that forbids. Twilight by stephenie meyer, the selection by kiera cass, halo by alexandra adornetto, fallen by lauren kate, and hades by al. The marysues of literature bella swan, clary fray, ever bloom, and all you other wonderful excuses for heroines, come on up. This is an interesting trope, because shes usually a femaleinvented fantasy of the ideal heroine, rather than a maleinvented one.
I take that back, this is going to be a terrible oc, probably an author selfinsert. Sep 29, 2019 from the name of an intentionally overthetop character in the 1973 star trek parody fan fiction a trekkies tale by paula smith. You seem really nice and all, but i did happen to notice that you made this list right after commenting on my list, top ten most annoying mary sues, and i do feel like that is a tad bit sketchy. Talisha aubrey and the other daughters of the istari, trained by alatar the blue come to middle earth at gandalfs bidding to help in the war of the ring. Mary sues have become a catchall phrase to describe poorly written. Apr 29, 2014 a mary sue is a stock character found in fan fiction that is an overidealized version of the author. Smith acknowledges that it is possible for authorinsertion in works of fiction to be. In book three, eragon appears to be, literally, a sociopath, but im not at all confident that paolini even meant to write him this way. Sep 17, 2014 according to, mary sue is the derogative term for an original fan fiction character inserted by the author into an already popular series, usually to serve as some kind of wish fulfillment. People will often accuse a character of being a mary sue, especially when they dont like the book or movie, instead of examining what is actually wrong with the writing. Television fandom and the creation of popular myth. First note that the term mary sue is not a neutral definition. The definition of a mary sue is difficult to nail down, because the meaning has changed over time as the character type has migrated out of fanfiction and into canon works.
Is creating a mary sue or a gary stu for the main character. What that character type is, exactly, differs wildly from circle to circle, and often from person to person. But while many mary sues pass the mary poppins testpractically perfect in every waymany others seem to subvert this trope at first. In an act of reclamation, one of the most popular femaleled geek sites on the internet took the term for its name. She had no personality, is very beautiful, a useless damel in distress, smart and she only think about romance and how tragic her life was. I trust by now most of you know what a mary sue or gary stu is, its a character that is seemingly perfect, and the entire plot is always revolving around them. A sue is usually used for ocs original characters in fan fiction, but people have been using it to describe canon characters as well. Hopefully no mary sue or at least a very well hidden one. List your top 5 mary sue characters in a scififantasy. Mary sues are often an authors selfinsertion or wish fulfillment. The marysues of literature, this books narrator is worse than bella swan. After the publication of a trekkies tale, the star trek fandom began branding similar characters as mary sues or, in some circles, gary stus if theyre male, and the fanfiction they appeared in as mary sue stories. The series is, to be fair, not very good anyway, but its almost hilarious watching chris paolini wrestle with the character from book to book.
Usually found in fan fiction, these characters are nearly invincible, multitalented to the extreme, and loved by everyone except. From the name of an intentionally overthetop character in the 1973 star trek parody fan fiction a trekkies tale by paula smith. Afflicted with such traits as unflinching goodness, inexplicable sex appeal, and comically overwritten good looks, mary sue is the character the author wishes she could be. Typical mary sue names in fanfictionoriginal fiction. Mary sue is most frequently used as a noun a mary sue or modifier a mary sue story, although it may also sometimes appear as a verb, to marysue, meaning to insert oneself into a fictional story character. Often this character is recognized as an author insert andor wishfulfillment. Rey is totally the most mary sue of all the mary sues. Turns out a mary sue is a perfect character, usually acting as some sort of wish fulfillment for the author. A mary sue is a character who is so perfect that he or she warps the world around them to display their perfection.
Really, the books all just go downhill and downhill forever and ever. A marysue is considered to be a proxy or wishfulfillment for the author. Grow among apes, stronger and handsome than any modern man, has all. In fiction, a flaw should be something that hinders a characters progress and prevents him from achieving his goals. At least the books gave the other characters more depth, enders feats took. Mary sues are possible to write about, but not everyone can write as brilliantly as neil gaiman. People will often accuse a character of being a mary sue, especially when they dont like the book or movie. Are any of the characters in harry potter books a mary sue.
In fan fiction, harry potter, aragon and canon characters are not mary sues. We know it, and we love to complain about it, because it makes us feel a little better to call a spade a shovel. A mary sue is a stock character found in fan fiction that is an overidealized version of the author. The stories she is featured in are usually poorly written and overly simplistic. Quotes tagged mary sue few female characters get to be the chosen one in science fiction and fantasy. Oct 05, 2018 collins dwells on the double standard at the heart of mary sues. Mary sue is most frequently used as a noun a mary sue or modifier a mary sue story, although it may also sometimes appear as a verb, to marysue, meaning to insert oneself into a fictional storycharacter. List your top 5 mary sue characters in a scififantasy series. It seems as though nothing in this universe except mary sue is even real, and is instead a plot device to make mary sue seem flawless and loved. But once in a while, mary sue and her male counterpart, gary stu makes it into an actual published book james bond. According to, mary sue is the derogative term for an original fan fiction character inserted by the author into an already popular series, usually to serve as some kind of wish fulfillment. The mary sue marty stu there are plenty of articles out there saying what not to do but all of the characters in popular culture display like this trope. Mary sue plural mary sues fandom slang, usually derogatory a fictional character, usually female, whose implausible talents and likeability weaken the story. Feb 18, 2016 first note that the term mary sue is not a neutral definition.
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