(no subject)
I'm writing this in lieu of writing fic. Yes, I know, I suck. There's just something about this section that makes me not want to write it. Stupid writing.
Anyway, I mentioned a while ago that I had a post in the mental works about Mary Sue, who she is and why she's not as scary as fandom may think she is. I think it's important that we look at who Mary Sue really is and thus overcome our general fear of original characters in general and original female characters in particular. Because the OFC is your friend, if you treat her right.
The Whys and Wherefores of Mary Sue
Before we get started, some definitions are in order. The name, 'Mary Sue' gets flung around for all sorts of female characters, but my definition is very traditional. A Mary Sue is an original character (can be either male or female) who everybody loves for no apparent reason. S/He goes around making everything better, solving all of the canonical character's problems and pretty much claiming the dominant position in the story's narrative. S/He is always right, no matter what the canon characters may say, and is pretty much the author's avatar in that the Mary Sue does everything the author wants to do but can't.
Fundamentally, Mary Sue is emblematic of poor storytelling, which is why she is generally derided by more mature storytellers/ficcers. One key aspect of that derision is that most authors recognize Mary Sue on a very personal level. Most ficcers start off, at some point, generally in adolescence, creating Mary Sues. If they're lucky they never shared their Mary Sues with fandom at large but if you dig deeply enough you'll find that she's the dirty little secret shared by much of fandom. In a way, she's necessary. Mary Sue is who teaches us about character and plot. She's the stepping stone, the wish fulfillment fantasy that leads us into the wide world of fanfiction. Most ficcers, if they are willing to take a hard look at their own writing and are serious about storytelling, leave Mary Sue behind them.
However, what's so intriguing about Mary Sue is that much of the general public really likes her. Just look at all of the mainstream Mary Sues that surround us. A large number of YA and romance novels are peppered with Mary Sues. James Bond is a type of Mary Sue, especially as portrayed in earlier (Connery/Moore era) Bond movies. Kate on Lost was such a Mary Sue that my friends and I started referring to her as the half Ranger/half Elven Princess, as is Captain Doctor Hero Jack. And it can certainly be argued that Spike during season seven of BtVS was very much a Mary Sue character.
But there are many things that Mary Sue is not. When internet fandom really started branching out, during the heydays of the Buffy and LotR fandom we saw an explosion of Mary Sue. Suddenly she was all over the place, marrying Legolas and kicking Buffy's ass. She was the tenth member of the Fellowship who carried the Ring to Mordor and the immortal warrior who solved all of Buffy's problems. As the internet became more popular so too did fandom and suddenly every original female character was being tarred by Mary Sue's brush. Suddenly, it was suicide to write OFCs and anything that even carried the faintest whiff of het was banished from many reader's lexicons. It was self defense. Many of us still carry the scars from our encounters with terrifying Mary Sues and it became safer to simply avoid anything that had girl parts because if the fewer girls there were the greater chance you had of getting out with your brain entact.
Of course, it wasn't a foolproof scheme. I'm sure I'm not the only person who remembers what some people did to poor Xander Harris during that era. And it's still happening to Sam and Dean Winchester and pretty much every other character who is popular in any fandom. I haven't read much Torchwood or Who fic but I'm certain you'll find a plethora of Mary Sues floating around over there. As long as there are new writers Mary Sue will always be with us.
That doesn't mean that she's entirely evil or that all OFCs should be painted with her brush. During my early years in fandom I read stories, good, popular stories, that you don't see as much of anymore. Back then, before we learned to fear Mary Sue, writers felt more free to create OFCs. Mulder could have an affair with a psychic and people would actually read and recommend the story. A female mountie could be an ongoing part of Mulder and Scully's life and job and people wouldn't shudder in terror. Heck, you can even have a story about a normal Earth-woman transported to Middle-earth and discover that it's a terrific tale that feels like it could have happened.
So, what's the secret? How can we, the readers and writers, discern the difference between OFC and Mary Sue? It's simple, really. The key question to ask ourselves as we're creating the character is: Is this character realistic? Does she fit into the universe we're writing or not? Does she have actual strengths and weaknesses or are they pastede on, yay?
That's it, that's all there is to it. Of course, execution is difficult in and of itself. If you want to write a self-insert story, more power to you, but you have to look critically at what you're writing and see whether the, 'you' you've created is actually a three dimensional character or merely a see-through charicature. This is also a necessary investigation when you're writing any character, original or not. You can easily turn any character into a Mary Sue if you don't recognize all of their aspects, not just the ones you want to see. I've read more than a few stories that showcase a Dean Winchester as a long-suffering, emo hero and completely fail to portray his less-savory, jackass attributes. Yes, you're writing fiction but that doesn't mean that the characters don't have to be real. Every character is both the hero and villain of her/his own story. You do them a disservice when you fail to realize and recognize their complexity.
The truth is, OFCs are fun. A successful OFC can reveal new aspects of a character we all thought we knew as well as having kickass stories all their own. We shouldn't be afraid of OFCs, or, at least, no more afraid then we are of any other character who pops up in the fic community. Badfic will always be with us, but that shouldn't keep us from writing what we want to write. When something, be it an idea or a character, is fully-realized you'd be surprised at how awesome it can be, no matter how cracky it may seem at first.
In sum: Mary Sue will never die, nor should she. She serves an important developmental purpose. But don't let her scare you from writing or reading about OFCs. She is an OFC, but she is not the embodiment of all OFCs and by dismissing the entire category you're missing out on a lot of great stories, not to mention stunting your own growth as a writer.
Now go forth and OC. You'll be happy you did. =D
Anyway, I mentioned a while ago that I had a post in the mental works about Mary Sue, who she is and why she's not as scary as fandom may think she is. I think it's important that we look at who Mary Sue really is and thus overcome our general fear of original characters in general and original female characters in particular. Because the OFC is your friend, if you treat her right.
The Whys and Wherefores of Mary Sue
Before we get started, some definitions are in order. The name, 'Mary Sue' gets flung around for all sorts of female characters, but my definition is very traditional. A Mary Sue is an original character (can be either male or female) who everybody loves for no apparent reason. S/He goes around making everything better, solving all of the canonical character's problems and pretty much claiming the dominant position in the story's narrative. S/He is always right, no matter what the canon characters may say, and is pretty much the author's avatar in that the Mary Sue does everything the author wants to do but can't.
Fundamentally, Mary Sue is emblematic of poor storytelling, which is why she is generally derided by more mature storytellers/ficcers. One key aspect of that derision is that most authors recognize Mary Sue on a very personal level. Most ficcers start off, at some point, generally in adolescence, creating Mary Sues. If they're lucky they never shared their Mary Sues with fandom at large but if you dig deeply enough you'll find that she's the dirty little secret shared by much of fandom. In a way, she's necessary. Mary Sue is who teaches us about character and plot. She's the stepping stone, the wish fulfillment fantasy that leads us into the wide world of fanfiction. Most ficcers, if they are willing to take a hard look at their own writing and are serious about storytelling, leave Mary Sue behind them.
However, what's so intriguing about Mary Sue is that much of the general public really likes her. Just look at all of the mainstream Mary Sues that surround us. A large number of YA and romance novels are peppered with Mary Sues. James Bond is a type of Mary Sue, especially as portrayed in earlier (Connery/Moore era) Bond movies. Kate on Lost was such a Mary Sue that my friends and I started referring to her as the half Ranger/half Elven Princess, as is Captain Doctor Hero Jack. And it can certainly be argued that Spike during season seven of BtVS was very much a Mary Sue character.
But there are many things that Mary Sue is not. When internet fandom really started branching out, during the heydays of the Buffy and LotR fandom we saw an explosion of Mary Sue. Suddenly she was all over the place, marrying Legolas and kicking Buffy's ass. She was the tenth member of the Fellowship who carried the Ring to Mordor and the immortal warrior who solved all of Buffy's problems. As the internet became more popular so too did fandom and suddenly every original female character was being tarred by Mary Sue's brush. Suddenly, it was suicide to write OFCs and anything that even carried the faintest whiff of het was banished from many reader's lexicons. It was self defense. Many of us still carry the scars from our encounters with terrifying Mary Sues and it became safer to simply avoid anything that had girl parts because if the fewer girls there were the greater chance you had of getting out with your brain entact.
Of course, it wasn't a foolproof scheme. I'm sure I'm not the only person who remembers what some people did to poor Xander Harris during that era. And it's still happening to Sam and Dean Winchester and pretty much every other character who is popular in any fandom. I haven't read much Torchwood or Who fic but I'm certain you'll find a plethora of Mary Sues floating around over there. As long as there are new writers Mary Sue will always be with us.
That doesn't mean that she's entirely evil or that all OFCs should be painted with her brush. During my early years in fandom I read stories, good, popular stories, that you don't see as much of anymore. Back then, before we learned to fear Mary Sue, writers felt more free to create OFCs. Mulder could have an affair with a psychic and people would actually read and recommend the story. A female mountie could be an ongoing part of Mulder and Scully's life and job and people wouldn't shudder in terror. Heck, you can even have a story about a normal Earth-woman transported to Middle-earth and discover that it's a terrific tale that feels like it could have happened.
So, what's the secret? How can we, the readers and writers, discern the difference between OFC and Mary Sue? It's simple, really. The key question to ask ourselves as we're creating the character is: Is this character realistic? Does she fit into the universe we're writing or not? Does she have actual strengths and weaknesses or are they pastede on, yay?
That's it, that's all there is to it. Of course, execution is difficult in and of itself. If you want to write a self-insert story, more power to you, but you have to look critically at what you're writing and see whether the, 'you' you've created is actually a three dimensional character or merely a see-through charicature. This is also a necessary investigation when you're writing any character, original or not. You can easily turn any character into a Mary Sue if you don't recognize all of their aspects, not just the ones you want to see. I've read more than a few stories that showcase a Dean Winchester as a long-suffering, emo hero and completely fail to portray his less-savory, jackass attributes. Yes, you're writing fiction but that doesn't mean that the characters don't have to be real. Every character is both the hero and villain of her/his own story. You do them a disservice when you fail to realize and recognize their complexity.
The truth is, OFCs are fun. A successful OFC can reveal new aspects of a character we all thought we knew as well as having kickass stories all their own. We shouldn't be afraid of OFCs, or, at least, no more afraid then we are of any other character who pops up in the fic community. Badfic will always be with us, but that shouldn't keep us from writing what we want to write. When something, be it an idea or a character, is fully-realized you'd be surprised at how awesome it can be, no matter how cracky it may seem at first.
In sum: Mary Sue will never die, nor should she. She serves an important developmental purpose. But don't let her scare you from writing or reading about OFCs. She is an OFC, but she is not the embodiment of all OFCs and by dismissing the entire category you're missing out on a lot of great stories, not to mention stunting your own growth as a writer.
Now go forth and OC. You'll be happy you did. =D