{"id":1031,"date":"2022-03-10T11:48:38","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T16:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/?page_id=1031"},"modified":"2024-03-20T05:44:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T09:44:11","slug":"thoughts-on-good-ol-mary-sue","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/read-online\/thoughts-on-good-ol-mary-sue\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on Good Ol\u2019 Mary Sue"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) {\r\n  .su-tabs-nav {\r\n    display: flex;\r\n  }\r\n  .su-tabs-nav span {\r\n    flex-basis: 100%;\r\n    text-align: center;\r\n  }\r\n  .su-tabs-nav span:last-child {\r\n    margin-right: 0;\r\n  }\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\r\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"button\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/anthologies\/articles\/thoughts-on-good-ol-mary-sue\/\">Return to the Title Page<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"su-tabs su-tabs-style-default su-tabs-mobile-scroll\" data-active=\"1\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"yes\"><div class=\"su-tabs-nav\"><span class=\" tabmoji-cover\" data-anchor=\"cover\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Cover<\/span><span class=\" tabmoji-pubdata\" data-anchor=\"pubdata\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Publication Data<\/span><span class=\" tabmoji-note\" data-anchor=\"the-article\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">&nbsp;&nbsp;The Article<\/span><\/div><div class=\"su-tabs-panes\"><div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim tabmoji-cover\" data-title=\"&nbsp;&nbsp;Cover\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4059\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4059 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">Publication Data \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Thoughts-on-Good-Ol-Mary-Sue.png\" alt=\"Cover art for \u201cThoughts on Good Ol\u2019 Mary Sue\u201d by Ardath Rekha\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%\" customlink=\"false\" \/>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4059\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4059 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">Publication Data \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim tabmoji-pubdata\" data-title=\"&nbsp;&nbsp;Publication Data\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3995\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3995 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#cover\">\u00ab Cover&nbsp;<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4141\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4141 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#the-article\">The Article \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"1326\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-1326 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><u>Thoughts on Good Ol\u2019 Mary Sue<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <h4 style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 30px;\">By Ardath Rekha<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<span data-post-id=\"4513\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4513 \"><p><b>Synopsis:<\/b> The discussion of what turns an original character, added into a work of fan fiction, into a \u201cMary Sue\u201d has gone on for years. Here\u2019s my contribution from 2003.<\/p><\/span>\r\n\r\n<p><b>Category:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-genre\/#nonfiction\">Non-Fiction<\/a>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><p><b>Number of Chapters:<\/b> 1 \r\n\r\n<p><b>Net Word Count:<\/b><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e894c9e_button\" class=\"su-tooltip-button su-tooltip-button-outline-yes\" aria-describedby=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e894c9e\" data-settings='{\"position\":\"top\",\"behavior\":\"hover\",\"hideDelay\":0}' tabindex=\"0\"><sup><i class=\"fas fa-question-circle\" style=\"color:#243a68;\"><\/i><\/sup><\/span><span style=\"display:none;z-index:100\" id=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e894c9e\" class=\"su-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-inner su-tooltip-shadow-yes\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%);color:#D9ECFB;font-size:16px;border-radius:5px;text-align:left;max-width:300px;line-height:1.25\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-title\"><\/span><span class=\"su-tooltip-content su-u-trim\">For individual anthology articles that appear in the Read Online section, net word counts include only the story text on the actual story page, minus the title.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e894c9e_arrow\" class=\"su-tooltip-arrow\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%)\" data-popper-arrow><\/span><\/span> 980\r\n\r\n<p><b>Total Word Count:<\/b><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e89544f_button\" class=\"su-tooltip-button su-tooltip-button-outline-yes\" aria-describedby=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e89544f\" data-settings='{\"position\":\"top\",\"behavior\":\"hover\",\"hideDelay\":0}' tabindex=\"0\"><sup><i class=\"fas fa-question-circle\" style=\"color:#243a68;\"><\/i><\/sup><\/span><span style=\"display:none;z-index:100\" id=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e89544f\" class=\"su-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-inner su-tooltip-shadow-yes\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%);color:#D9ECFB;font-size:16px;border-radius:5px;text-align:left;max-width:300px;line-height:1.25\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-title\"><\/span><span class=\"su-tooltip-content su-u-trim\">For individual anthology articles that appear in the Read Online section, total word counts include all text present within the story tabs, excluding tab text, forward\/back page links, and tooltips. This count tends to be slightly different from the eBook Total Word Count reported in aggregate on the anthology title page.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8e95e89544f_arrow\" class=\"su-tooltip-arrow\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%)\" data-popper-arrow><\/span><\/span> 1,170\r\n\r\n<p><b>Article Length:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-story-length\/#flash-fiction\">Flash Fiction<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><p><b>First Posted:<\/b> August 22, 2003\r\n\r\n<p><b>Last Updated:<\/b> August 22, 2003\r\n\r\n<p><b>Status:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-status\/#complete\">Complete<\/a><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n\r\n<span data-post-id=\"4465\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4465 \"><p><small>The views expressed in these articles are solely the views of Ardath Rekha. References to specific works, actors, and writers are done in keeping with the Digital Millenium Copyright Act\u2019s fair use policies. eBook design and cover art by <a href=\"https:\/\/laraklaber.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LaraRebooted<\/a>, drawn from a photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/@ann-nekr-3111643\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ann Nekr<\/a>, licensed through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pexels<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.1001fonts.com\/great-vibes-font.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Great Vibes<\/a> font from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.1001fonts.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1001 Fonts<\/a>, and background graphics &copy; 1998 Noel Mollon, adapted and licensed via Teri Williams Carnright from the now-retired Fantasyland Graphics site (c. 2003). This eBook may not be sold or advertised for sale. If you are a copyright holder of any of the referenced works, and believe that part or all of this eBook exceeds fair use practices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/contact-me\/\">please contact Ardath Rekha<\/a>.<\/small><\/p><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><small><i>Rev. 2022.10.09<\/i><\/small><\/p><\/span><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3995\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3995 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#cover\">\u00ab Cover&nbsp;<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4141\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4141 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#the-article\">The Article \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim tabmoji-note\" data-title=\"&nbsp;&nbsp;The Article\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3996\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3996 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">\u00ab Publication Data<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"1525\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-1525 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 20px;\"><b><u>Thoughts on Good Ol\u2019 Mary Sue<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">I was cleaning through some files when I found this rumination I started a while back.  It\u2019s not half-<nobr>bad\u2026<\/nobr><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">The question of Mary Sue is always an interesting one.  What defines Mary Sue is subjective and somewhat arbitrary in the minds of the readers, but here\u2019s the clincher:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">When we read fiction, generally what pulls us into a story is our ability to identify with the protagonist.  We look at her (or him) and see some aspect(s) of ourselves.  We understand to some degree, at least, how they are approaching a situation, why they think what they think, why they do what they do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">The Mary Sue \u201cfactor\u201d is a barricade between the author\u2019s protagonist and the reader.  These are qualities of the character that repel that identification and prevent a reader from responding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Mary Sue is about self-insertion, but it\u2019s also about writing ourselves not as we are, but as we wish we were.  We write ourselves with all of the qualities we\u2019ve coveted and lacked, that would have saved the day for us at various times in our lives.  It can be as simple as having our character walk into a party and (unlike us) nobody else is wearing the same dress she <nobr>is\u2026<\/nobr> and looking better in it than she does. (We\u2019ve <i>all<\/i> been <i>there,<\/i> right?)  Or perhaps rewriting the incident in which the guy who humiliated us in the high school hallway one horrible afternoon is instead flayed alive by <i>our<\/i> wit. (Don\u2019t we all have a collection of things we wish we\u2019d said to some jerk, but didn\u2019t even think of until after the fight is over?)<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">But while we can all probably identify with being the one who looks like the \u201cpathetic twin\u201d in the fashion contest, or who was tongue-tied and devastated in a verbal match, and we all did wish we hadn\u2019t <nobr>been\u2026<\/nobr> it\u2019s very hard to identify with a character who wins those things effortlessly.  Because the truth about the human condition is that everybody  \u2013 even the person we envy most of all  \u2013 constantly struggles with <i>something.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">There are many professional writers who \u201cget away\u201d with writing Mary Sues.  Anne McCaffrey comes to mind, as much as I love her writing.  Many of her characters are a little too perfect, too glamorous, or too sweet and pure and innocent, and their battles are traditionally with someone who is a little too <nobr>evil\u2026<\/nobr> and the result is that we\u2019re forced into sympathizing with a character we have trouble relating to, anyway, because her opponent has been rendered as a cartoon villain and we can hardly root for him\/her.  This was particularly noticeable for me when I was reading the \u201cCrystal Singer\u201d series (Carigana, Killashandra\u2019s antagonist who we were adamantly <i>not<\/i> to sympathize with, had many of the same personality traits that Killashandra herself had, and that we <i>were<\/i> to sympathize with) and in \u201cDragonQuest\u201d (Supervillains Kylara and Meron were so nasty and wicked to everybody, especially the poor, sweet heroine).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">And a certain degree of self-insertion is inevitable  \u2013 after all, the cardinal rule of writing a good story is \u201cwrite what you know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">But that\u2019s often what does <i>not<\/i> happen with a Mary Sue.  The author writes not about the things she understands, but about the things she\u2019s imagined and dreamed of but has no concrete experience with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Her character is the wittiest girl ever, something she\u2019s always longed to be, but because <i>her<\/i> wit is what the character has to draw from, it falls flat for readers, because most of the material is still simplistic or recycled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Her character is super-fashionable, owning all the clothes she\u2019s always longed <nobr>after\u2026<\/nobr> and this gives her story a very short shelf-life because as fashions change, the clothes she dressed her character in go from being fashionable <nobr>\u2026to<\/nobr> \u201cfive minutes ago\u201d <nobr>\u2026to<\/nobr> out-of-style <nobr>\u2026to<\/nobr> laughable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Her character has the body she\u2019s always dreamed of <nobr>having\u2026<\/nobr> with none of the drawbacks.  She has the little abdominal six-pack, but somehow never has to take time out of her busy world-saving schedule to get her butt into the <nobr>gym\u2026<\/nobr> or she has 36DD breasts but strangely, no grooves in her shoulders from where her bra-straps bite in, and no back-aches. (In fact, she can go braless!)<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Her character is a superintelligent scientist, but both the character and the writer mess up some basic science facts in the very first chapter. (And as an aside, this is the plague of science fiction, and part of why the genre as a whole doesn\u2019t get the credibility it <nobr>deserves\u2026<\/nobr> just last night I watched a movie in which the ship\u2019s captain referred to not a \u201cconversion table,\u201d but a \u201cconversation table.\u201d  And watching actors attempt to use slide-rules in 1950s z-movies is always good for a laugh.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">And above all, her character\u2019s flaws are unrealistic  \u2013 the quick temper that somehow never makes people decide they\u2019re done with her is a perfect example  \u2013 and somehow get redeemed by the story because they are turned to her advantage in some way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">It\u2019s more interesting to feel  \u2013 and empathize with  \u2013 a character\u2019s deep insecurity, her sense that she\u2019s just been shown up by someone else, her awareness that a situation is totally out of her control and is probably going to stay that <nobr>way\u2026<\/nobr> than to feel and empathize with a character who always knows exactly how to solve every crisis.  And it\u2019s much more meaningful to us to hear the hero whisper \u201cyou\u2019re beautiful\u201d to his lover, reassuring her insecurities, when we know that her insecurities are as valid as our own, and she doesn\u2019t look like the latest airbrushed Playmate Of The Month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Mary Sue draws writers <i>to<\/i> her because she\u2019s the woman we all secretly wish we could be.  But she also repels readers <i>from<\/i> her because she\u2019s <i>also<\/i> the woman we all secretly wish would drop dead.<\/p>\r\n  \r\n  <p style=\"text-align: right; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>August 22, 2003<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3996\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3996 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">\u00ab Publication Data<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"button\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0;\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/anthologies\/articles\/thoughts-on-good-ol-mary-sue\/#comments\">Leave a review<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Return to the Title Page Leave a review","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":308,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"bgseo_title":"Read Online: \u201cThoughts on Good Ol\u2019 Mary Sue\u201d by Ardath Rekha","bgseo_description":"The discussion of what makes an original character, added into a work of fan fiction, a \u201cMary Sue\u201d has gone on for years. Here\u2019s my contribution from 2003.","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1031","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-wpautop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1031"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4895,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1031\/revisions\/4895"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}