Mary Sues are the bane of any fiction writer’s existence. They do nothing to move the plot along and are wholly unpopular with readers. But what is a Mary Sue, anyway?
Every writer wants their readers to love their characters as much as they do. We care a lot about our characters. We created them out of our own minds. They are like our children. So, we can get defensive when someone has a negative reaction to them. But it’s important to understand where that negativity might come from.
Here are some character traits that can help identify Mary Sues, and how to avoid them.
What is a Mary Sue, anyway?
Mary Sue is the common name in the writing industry for a character, usually female (although they can be male too; they are called Gary Stu), who is unrealistic and unrelatable. They are often idealized author inserts and have way more positive attributes and strengths than flaws.
Mary Sue One
A Character Without Flaws
This character is a Mary Sue because they are too perfect. As humans, we all have flaws. We have strengths and flaws. But this character has no apparent negative attributes. They are virtuous and gifted without even trying. They stand above any other character in the story in this way because they are often the only characters in the story with no flaws.
You can solve this problem by giving them flaws. You can make your character with strong morals and virtues, but maybe they lack somewhere else. Like physical strength. Or maybe they used to be thieves, but they changed their ways. However, bad habits from the past still haunt them.
Maybe they are very honest, except they’ve told a few white lies to get themselves out of trouble.
Mary Sue Two
They Spout Skills Out of Nowhere
Imagine your character faces a situation where someone is injured. A random person in the story suffers an injury right before them. Suddenly, your main character springs to action. Even though there was no prior mention of them having medical skills, they knew just what to do. They rush in and save the day.
This is a telltale sign of a Mary Sue. Where did this first-aid knowledge come from?
Another example would be if your main character is told to train to become a powerful wizard. Despite having no idea that magic ever existed, they effortlessly learn how to become the greatest wizards that ever existed. They sailed through their training and put everyone else to shame.
This is unrelatable. People can’t just sprout skills and knowledge that didn’t exist. Medical school takes years to get through, and if your magic system is complex, then training to learn that magic is likely to take years, too.
Mary Sue Three
Everyone Whoever Encounters This Character Likes Them
This Mary Sue can make the grumpiest person change on a dime. Everyone who comes into contact with this Mary Sue is instantly interested in them. They are admired and loved because every character who meets them instantly knows they are worthy of such devotion.
This is unrelatable for readers because people have to earn the affection they receive from others. Just simply existing isn’t enough. Especially when it comes to romance and relationships.
This Mary Sue never has to work at relationships because people of the opposite (or the same) sex naturally fall in love with them. And everyone around them would literally die for their cause without explanation.
Mary Sue Four
They Are Carbon Copies of a Canon Character
This Mary Sue is more relevant to fan fiction than fiction writing, but it’s also important to point her out.
If you are writing fan fiction, a canon character is defined as a character who was in the source material. Captain Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation or Aragorn from Lord of the Rings are canon characters.
An original character or OC is a character that a fan fiction writer creates to interact with their favorite canon characters, and most often, it is a potential love interest for the canon character.
An OC can become a Mary Sue when they lack any distinctiveness. They were created to be love interests, but instead of having their own distinct personalities, they have the same interests and skills as the canon character. And also, they can often outdo the canon character. They don’t stand out on their own.
Mary Sue Five
Author Inserts
Many of us write because we want to imagine ourselves in other places, living in faraway fantasy lands and meeting wondrous creatures.
It’s natural to want to put yourself into the story. We all want to be someone else sometimes. But don’t base your character completely on yourself because readers can tell.
I have many main characters in my novel, The Next Dimension, and I relate to many of them. I have a lot in common with many of them. But they are not me. There has to be a line between sharing similarities with your character and your character becoming a complete author insert.
Mary Sue Six
They Are Constantly in Need of Saving
This is another one that is most common in fan fiction. This Mary Sue OC is constantly being kidnapped, shot, stabbed, or cursed. The canon character’s love interest is constantly risking life and limb to save them.
Everyone enjoys a cute damsel in distress love story, but it’s obvious when this OC is there to force the canon character to save them.
OCs who get saved from a fire only to suddenly fall ill with some unexplained disease, forcing the canon character to constantly exhaust themselves emotionally and physically to save them because they would die without this OC.
Mary Sue Seven
The One Upper
This character always has it way worse than anyone else. All the other characters sympathize with them because they had everything go wrong in their lives.
Their parents died tragically in a horrendous fire. Then, they were kidnapped and held for ransom and abused, only to be tossed out on the streets, where they became destitute, living on rats to survive. If anyone else in the story had a terrible backstory, this one always has it way worse.
Mary Sue Eight
The Entire Plot Revolves Around Them
Any story should center on the main characters. Characters make up a story, and it’s perfectly normal for this to happen.
But when it seems like all attention is always on the main character, it becomes a little excessive. All the other characters focus on this OC. The villain focuses only on them. Even minor characters flock to the MC.
Mary Sue Ten
The Only Character with Depth
No other characters are shown to have interests, goals, or abilities except the main character. They carry the plot of the story solely on their shoulders. Even love interests have nothing on them.
My favorite fantasy novel series is The Legend of Drizzt by R. A. Salvatore. Although the story focuses on the main character, Drizzt Do’Urden, it’s easy to fall in love with all the characters he meets or interacts with. They all have their own personalities, backgrounds, and story parts. There are many subplots that spotlight other characters.
Unless your novel is about a character stranded on a deserted island, your character will meet other people. Give them life, too.
Mary Sue Eleven
They are the Exception
Everyone in the land was born a certain way except for the main character. They stand out like a sore thumb. This Mary Sue exists only to shake up the status quo. All the people on the planet have blonde hair, except for this one character, and the fact that they were born with red hair instead of blonde is something that the story comes back to repeatedly. Other characters admire them for them. Villains want to kill them for it. No matter what they do, they are forever burdened by being born different from the rest.
If one person can be an exception, so can others. Your character can’t be the absolute only one that stands apart from the other.
I reference Drizzt Do’Urden again because he seemed to be the only drow in the Underdark with principles at the beginning of the series. Throughout his life, it defined him. Later on, he learned he wasn’t the only one; he was a catalyst. His actions inspired others who were like him to come out from the shadows.
Bonus
A Method For Balancing Character Flaws and Strengths
Out of all these Mary Sue attributes, a lack of weaknesses and flaws is a major turnoff to readers. So, a good way to solve this problem is to use Dungeons and Dragon stats. I will write a later post on how this tabletop game can help with character development, but the basics are that your character has certain points in physical strength, intelligence, charisma, and other attributes. You must subtract points from another attribute if you give them lots of physical strength. Charisma, for instance. This way, you can give your characters balance.
Conclusion
As authors, our characters make or break the story. And a Mary Sue is often a deal breaker for many readers. Readers want to see the humanity in the characters they read about because they want to imagine themselves in their shoes. They want to relate to the things your characters go through and see similarities there. That’s what writing is all about.
