Forums → Art, Music, and Writing → Mary Sue (test your character here!)
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Phew, I just almost got pwnt by a vacuum cleaner c.c
Anyway, Mary Sue was a 70s TV show character in which the premise was essentially that no matter what happened, she would always come out on top. This was found to have no literary credibility and therefore since then the term "Mary Sue" is taken to mean a character that is unrealistic for the world it inhabits because it appeals to so many cliches or has unreasonable powers/abilities. In general if your character is recognised as a Mary Sue, this is a sign of an incomplete character, immature or drastically overdone writing though sometimes this is more undesirable than other times.
Specifically Mary Sues are contextual and apply more to fanfiction characters as the typical Mary Sue author would be one who wants to write their character into a popular universe so much that they end up hijacking it to the extent that people just roll their eyes and call them a crap writer. However, the same characteristics carry over across various types of writing, so I've found the following guide to be extremely helpful:
The Mary-Sue litmus test
This guide is very handy if you are interested in developing a multi-dimensional character that people would actually be interested to read about without puking. As the author of this quiz does say, it's not perfect and a high score does not necessarily mean you have to kill the character or change it, but personally I encourage a healthy sense of detachment from your character's story so you are still able to tell what actually makes good writing and what just makes us say "yeah, right."
You are welcome to post your scores here and make comments naturally. For example, Orlestat, who is the main character in a novel I've just decided to rewrite (yes, rewrite) an entire book of, comes in at 17, which for my purposes is spot on. But he started out closer to a 30, and it took me a lot of angst and chipping away to get him right. Strop, on the other hand, comes in at 34 mostly because Strop is a highly autobiographical character and the target audience of the stuff he is involved in is already familiar with him, so I'm confident of getting away with that despite the score.
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Xzeno is suspiciously similar to you as you'd like to be.I disagree. He is similar to me in some ways, but defiantly not as I would like to be.
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 got no emotional scars to speak of. And he's gotten no slack from you.
In general, you care deeply about Xzeno, 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. Xzeno is a healthy character with a promising career ahead of him.
That's what I got.
Someone need to draw that!
I couldn't agree more!
I tried making a character out of the philosophical zombie once, but had to can it because I would have had to alter the metaphysics of the story world and the whole world just became, well...puerile.
Thoad, you just got reality checked really harshly. When I was 14 I thought my abused and malicious character was original and stuff too. Then I eventually realised that everybody else had the same idea all by themselves. Ultimately discovering yourself is one of the best stimuli to writing good characters.
even if that means creating your character to act as the exact opposite of yourself I would assume?Mainly for the fact that if you say that making a character that is alot like yourself is the best way for making an original and realistic character,then in a way I have to disagree.I think forming a character should be more then just whats coolest,or whats the most awesome as that could end in a character being unrealistic and unoriginal,but really when it all comes down to it.I think a good character takes more inspiration and at times a fair amount of thought as well.Sasquatch ended up getting created by accident,after I got a lot of positive feed back for a small joke that I didn't even think people would like too much.After that the art contest submissions and the jokes behind them in a way inspired the way his attitude formed,and Yeti was not originally designed as a serious character,but after I gave some thought to it,I decided to make her the opposite of Sasquatch in both the way she fought and the way she thought,and so thats in a way how they were formed,and were used as examples to prove my point.Although I never said you couldn't use yourself as inspiration by any means,and the way people form characters some times just pops into their heads(at least from what I have heard concerning some authors)Anyways its ironic that the Mary Sue Test you gave us a link to actually had so many questions concerning how whether or not your character is like yourself.
Anyways its ironic that the Mary Sue Test you gave us a link to actually had so many questions concerning how whether or not your character is like yourself.If someone makes a character who is JUST LIKE themselves except BETTER, then that character is most likely a Mary Sue.
For some reason 'sonas score really high, well because of that. It is assumed that it means you haven't been creative with the character if it resembles you a lot, but with 'sonas that's kind of the point...
Besides, real living human end up scoring really high in that test...
I still sometimes wonder why Kai is not "like me"... Oh well.
I put myself in the mind of the writers of the original Get mart series and took the test...
Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 got an 89... =|
Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 got an 89... =|
How about this: If Agent 86 is an original character in his own show, he should be not a Mary Sue. However, if he pops into a James Bond movie and out-Bonds Bond, he's probably a Mary Sue.
Otherwise, I don't think most popular fictional characters would pass the test, definitely not most superheroes.
Given the context of the coinage of the term Mary Sue, it makes perfectly good sense that Maxwell Smart should be a "Mary Sue". This is quite in line with the style of TV show popular in the day.
Mary Sue worked back then but the term appears derogatory now because such things have fallen out of fashion. A better example to think about would be, say, the Twilight fad.
These tests aren't perfect (and I'm not defending them- rather I'm trying to explain my understanding of them), but if anything, frank autobiographies ought to be automatic exemption from Mary Sue. Though if you're conceited enough to paint yourself in 100% positive light, then well...yeah.
Also it's not impossible for real people to be unrealistically gifted, charmed or unusual. It just makes it harder for other people to believe you're the real deal but if you know what that's like, then I'm sure you could pull it off.
Mainly for the fact that if you say that making a character that is alot like yourself is the best way for making an original and realistic character
I never said that. I merely said that 'discovering yourself' is the best way to learning how to make good characters because the process of 'discovering yourself' is an involved, life-changing one. Which many people never completely embark upon.
Also, because I just saw it, most popular renditions of superheroes these days would "ass the test" because they've been humanised, again reflecting what I said about tastes changing. Spiderman has his insecurities, Batman has his demons etc. Superman also has a debilitating weakness, and throughout their storylines they have to face great adversity and sometimes greater setbacks. Real Mary Sues would sail through it without breaking a sweat and have time on the side for flirting with the groupies.
Ultimately discovering yourself is one of the best stimuli to writing good characters.
sorry, seems like I might be high off air again, can you clarify if that was a compliment or "brutal" truth that I'm not as good as I'd like to think? But yeah, I guess they have thought about the same base as I have, but I guess the thing that I find to be original from it was it's. . .well, origins.
When you get older, and have more experience with life, your characters might become more realistic, as you figure out the big world of "action and consequence".
Also, you will probably be able to portrait the traits of your character better with time.
Might just be my oppinion.
I never said that
Hmm I misread it.While you did say this
Ultimately discovering yourself is one of the best stimuli to writing good characters.
I thought you said this...
Ultimately yourself is one of the best stimuli to writing good characters.
This is definitely a really long test! I will not have the patience to go through all of it!
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