Guess I have to give back the Campbell

[ksmith]

gacked from jaylake. oh dear.

Mary Sue Litmus Test

71 points or more: Irredeemable-Sue. You're going to have to start over, my friend. I know you want to keep writing, but no. Just no.

Jani scored 83.

I found these comments about the test interesting:

Again, keep in mind that the test isn't always correct. Morpheus from the Sandman Comics scored nearly 70 points, and yet we don't believe he's a Mary-Sue. He's well developed, suffers the consequences of several major personality flaws, and has very few powers or talents besides those necessary to perform the duties of his station. Of course, research, an interesting story, and good writing always help too. ;)

We hope this test has been some help to you. If you're looking for suggestions on how to avoid Mary-Sues and create original, developed characters,

Trying to avoid feeling all shirty over the fact that Jani may not be considered original and developed.

Seriously though, I would argue that many qualities of a Mary Sue also could apply to a Hero, or a highly competent individual of the type that some would like to fuck and others would like to kill.

And yes, I like her name. If I really really hadn't, I wouldn't have given it to her.

Comments

[naomikritzer]

I found that test amusing but flawed. It's amusing when it nails the universal traits of the angst-ridden Mary Sues of my adolescent fiction (cast out from the tribe? check. eyes of a color not found in nature? check. even the meanest bully eventually repents when s/he realizes that the heroine is the only one who can save them? that wasn't on there, but it should've been...) But you have to give protagonists the tools they need to protag, and some of the time that means they're going to need to be smarter than average, better at certain things than the people around them, etc., because otherwise they'd die in chapter one.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The eyes and angst questions did me in. But, oh well.

But you have to give protagonists the tools they need to protag, and some of the time that means they're going to need to be smarter than average, better at certain things than the people around them, etc., because otherwise they'd die in chapter one.

Very true. The test misses a lot of shading and nuance that separates a Mary Sue from a flawed hero. I narrowed it down to a simple question--would I want that character's life? For all I admire Jani, would like to know someone like her, and wish I possessed a few of her qualities, I wouldn't take her life on a plate. Hence, I don't consider her a Mary Sue.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

would I want that character's life?

-->That's the standard I use, too. Mary Sues are wish-fulfillment. And even then they're not always horrible to read about: Harry Potter is a total Stu, but that doesn't diminish the books.