Mary Sue - Her Many Incarnations

[Miranda_]

Exactly; I mean, you don't even have to go to the library and get out a book any more. You can just google the historical era you're writing your story about and look it up. But that's still far too much effort for a Suethor.

[Silent_Wolf]

I just want to say that I had a LotR tabletop game over my time away, and my OC (an elf warrior but not a Sue!) fell for Gimli.

Just sayin', but he didn't like her back. XD

[Miranda_]

Making your character fall for Gimli makes her definitely NOT a Sue.

[Silent_Wolf]

She's not even my first character to fall for any dwarf character. XD I had an OC fall for another OC, and it was also an elf falling for a dwarf and unfortunately said dwarf also wasn't returning those feelings. It was sad but amusing since that seems to be an ongoing trend. xD

[belladoggy]

This was given a DD; I know most of you have issues with dA, but I think this is a very helpful bit of literature, even as a "what-not-to-do" companion to this thread. Avoid-A-Sue Guide (not the actual deviation title, but that's basically what it is)

[Elanorea]

Nice guide; I agree with most of it, though this part is kinda iffy:

5. The past is the past! If people can't get over tragic events within a few months, then they have a problem. Please do not glorify problems. Have someone take your poor character to a school counselor or a psychologist so he/she can feel better.If you do give your character a mental problem or a traumatic experience, extensive research is a very good idea. A good rule of thumb is this: If the character can't get over it within a few weeks, then it generally doesn't belong in a more lighthearted story. Unless you want it to be a major part of the theme, avoid it at all costs.

IMHO it's more unrealistic if people get over all sorts of tragic and traumatic events incredibly fast with no lasting damage. I mean, yeah, don't have your character angst endlessly over stubbing their toe, but if they've been horribly tortured, or seen their friends murdered in front of them, etc, then you'd better show them struggling with the aftereffects. There's a reason some experiences are called traumatic, rather than 'mildly inconvenient'.

And I'd say this is probably the most important part:

10. Watch yourself! Are you putting the character on the pedestal in your own mind? Step back and make room for other characters! It's hard, but you can get a big cue from what you're doing yourself. The biggest clue to a Mary Sue is what you think of them.

Details like unnatural eye colours or incredibly fast learning are only symptoms of Mary-Sueism. When you really get down to it, the actual cause of the 'disease' is writing a story solely to show off how cool your character is.

[Miranda_]

Especially if you make your character into a horrible person, but they still have tons of friends. That to me is a big indicator; in real life, if someone is horrible to everyone, they're unlikely to have many friends. Especially in stories where a character is bloody nasty and spiteful towards people... who not only don't call them out on it, not ever, but also carry on fawning over them.

[Cheshire1996]

*points at Bella Swan*

[Miranda_]

Exactly. XD Bella is a nasty b*tch, yet everyone still fawns on her whereas in real life, she'd be getting a backhander to the face.

[Cheshire1996]

She never seems to be very happy to be honest, but that's just my personal opinion. She cries, complains, cries, throws tantrums and then cries again. Anyways, I shall stop hating before I myself throw a tantrum.