Sorry, Mary Sue. I’m too cool for you now! No. You read the title right. Terrible Writing
Advice is here to instruct writers on how to avoid writing a Mary Sue. Does this mean I’ve
turned over a new leaf where I produce high value and well researched videos that truly
inspire and educate new writers so they can hone their craft without having to rely on cheap
tricks? *Snickers* Yeah Sure. Let’s go with that. Mary Sue is a common term for an overly
perfect character usually designed to be a shameless self insert of the writer.
However, online discourse has somewhat watered down the term to mean ‘character I
don’t like’. For the purposes of this video, a Mary Sue is merely an idealized,
overly amazing character that hurts the story by being the writer’s pet and probably
a self-insert, basically the classic definition. Now I still stand by my original Mary Sue
video. In fact, here at Terrible Writing Advice, I still advocate for every character to
be a Mary Sue. Protagonist? Self insert Mary Sue. Side characters? Sueitably
Sueified. The villain? Suedisticly Sue, a real Mary Murderer. Background characters?
Suddenly Sueful. Every character should be a perfect idealize version of the author
and exist solely to fulfill the writer’s fantasies. But what if… here me out, if other
people think that writing a Mary Sue is bad! Oh no! I didn’t think about that. Other
writers, and more importantly random people in internet comments, might declare me ‘Not
a Real Writer!’ the worst thing you can be! I shall write fiction so grand, so perfect,
and so great that no one will ever declare my characters a Mary Sue. Every last person
on Earth will all universally agree that my work is in fact objectively perfect in every
way and all of my characters are totally deep, complicated, and multifaceted reflections of the
human condition. All of humanity has never agreed on a single thing, but I’m sure all fandoms,
who are infamous for starting endless flame wars over which not real people should hook up,
will be willing to set aside their differences to agree that my characters are not a Mary
Sue. Got to keep your expectations realistic! Fear not, for I’ll let you know how to avoid
the pitfalls of accidentally writing a Mary Sue and definitely not leave writers vulnerable
to falling into this completely different set of pitfalls right next it! So let Terrible
Writing Advice show writers how to ace those ‘is this character a Mary Sue’ tests and
show writers how not to write a Mary Sue! Now the first thing every writer learns when
they are trying to avoid writing Mary Sues is that Mary Sues never have flaws. They are
perfect in every way. Therefore the best way not to write a Mary Sue is to add flaws.
Does this mean that the writer can just add a flaw or two to the character and call
it day? Why yes! Yes it does. These include flaws like too beautiful or can’t choose
between hunky billionaire werewolf or hunky billionaire highlander. You know.
Real problems that everyone deals with. But if a few flaws or good, then a bunch of
flaws are even better! Just keep lumping on all kinds of character flaws until the character
collapses under the weight of them. Realistic flaws can sometimes make a character easier to
identify with, ground their characterization, and simply make them more interesting. But
were not shooting for realistic or interesting, but instead trying to throw off those naysayers in
the comments who claim my character is a Mary Sue! Writing characters with flaws works best when
flaws are treated like perks on an RPG character building system. They give you points to buy more
abilities! Flaws can be taken seemingly at random and have no connection to the theme, tone, or
even the character’s motivations, backstory, or most importantly character traits. A writer
definitely shouldn’t see character flaws as the flip side to character strengths which form a
complete character trait. Simply assume that character flaws automatically make a character
more interesting rather than being an element that merits some consideration or something that
can naturally result from solid characterization. Another Mary Sue trait is that everything
always goes their way. So naturally, the best way to avoid writing a Mary Sue is
to make every single thing in the story go wrong for them. All the time. That will make the
audience feel sorry for them! The audience will just ignore how contrived it begins to look when
the character tried to get her morning coffee, but it somehow resulted in her dog being
run over by the repo truck that towed away her car before she could drive her dying
grandmother to the hospital. Then the coffee caught fire and burned her house down. When
a character endures hardships, humiliation, or otherwise experiences tragedy, it can build
both empathy and sympathy with the audience provided the audience feels the character is
worthy of it. Lump too much crap on them and the audience will simply sympathize harder,
not start laughing a how ridiculous it is. Will the audience feel sympathy for a deeply
unlikable character who refuses to improve their situation? Of course! When a writer wants a
character to be likeable, obviously the writer is tying to make a Mary Sue! Therefore I shall make
my character as unlikable as possible! Who wants to read about likeable characters anyway? Only
amateurs who stupidly write Mary Sues want to pen characters that people would actually enjoy
spending time with. That’s not how to write! That even extends to the character doing
anything in the story that’s actually important. Another common Mary Sue quality is
that they are essential drivers of the plot and that everything that happens is about them. This
problem can easily be avoided if the character merely does nothing at all. They just passively
sit there and do nothing while the plot bends around them like a black freaking hole. There’s
nothing wrong with a reactive character rather than an active character. But to make sure no
one calls my character a Mary Sue, I will have them just sit there and have stuff happen around
them rather than take a single action that would move them closer to achieving their goals,
which they don’t have anyways. My character would never have a goal or motivation, because
only a Mary Sue would actually want things. What about abilities? Well Mary Sue has all
kinds of cool powers and abilities. So my character will not have any. Even if it would make
no sense for the setting. If a writer does want, then they can give their character a couple
of worthless powers. No one can complain that my character is the center of everything
and super special even if she’s the only non-magic user at a school made only for
magic users. Is it that overpowering magic powers can rob the story of any tension if used
excessively? Is that even overwhelming powers and abilities can still be made interesting
by having the character use them in fun and unique ways? No. I can’t think of a single
popular story that features an overpowered main character. If they did then that character
would be a Mary Sue and therefore not a good character. And no one loves Mary Sue…
I mean outside of the fiction at least. Now that I have a character that is completely
unlikable, has no abilities, way more personality flaws than is reasonable, and has zero ability or
motivation to move the plot forward, there is no way they could be called a Mary Sue even if all
the characters still obsess over her. The entire universe still bends and revolves around her and
she is still the star of the story. What? You think just because she’s described as super ugly
that all the attractive cast still won’t fawn over her? I can’t have that. The whole point is to
stop the audience from accusing her or being a Mary Sue. Not stop me from writing an indulgent
character whose presence hurts the story. See? She makes mistakes all the time. Mary
Sue would never do that. I mean the story bends over backwards to make sure all of her
monumental screw-ups don’t matter while all the characters just forgive her for some reason,
but she still technically makes them. Which makes her technically not a Mary Sue! Ha! Man, I’m
smart! I’ve treated all the symptoms so the disease should magically disappear! Besides,
other characters still do stuff on their own like buy my main character gifts, so it’s not
like she is still the center of the universe. I can’t have my character share any of the
common Mary Sue traits. See! This massive glut of articles on the internet says so! It’s full
of common Mary Sue traits that you never see in extremely popular characters from successful
franchises. I can’t think of a single popular character that’s super attractive, has amazing
superpowers and abilities, literally has the plot revolve around them, and are special enough
to have the fates of entire universe shaking prophecies hinge on their actions. Obviously no
one wants that and it will never sell. Could it be that Mary Sue is so hated, particularly in fan
fiction, because she often usurps the roles of already popular characters while failing to mimic
the character qualities that made them so popular in the first place? And that people consume fan
fiction typically to enjoy spending more time with the characters that they love. Only to find
that this glittery haired, eye color changing, stale biscuit of a character is there bending
the main cast to her will with zero blowback from anyone. Well except for maybe the story commenters
and reviews. No flames plz. In original fiction Mary Sues can typically be the result of simply
poor execution and author favoritism getting in the way of storytelling. I could try to dissect
exactly what makes Mary Sues unlikable. But I think I’ll instead fixate on all of those
common traits everyone keeps talking about. This makes taking all of those ‘Mary Sue’
tests that float around on the internet an excellent use of time. What a great way
to learn characterization. Reducing Mary Sue to a freaking power level. This
is definitely a useful tool and not a complete waste of time better spent just
writing and learning through mistakes. I don’t have time to write. I have to spend
time worrying about what other writers will think of me! What if a big successful
writer tells me I’m no good a writing because I wrote a Mary Sue? Yes. Super
successful writers clearly have the time to personally tell other writers that they
are writing wrong! And not even the writers, I had to worry about everyone on the
internet calling my character a Mary Sue! My work must be liked by everyone! Everyone who
writes Mary Sues does so because they are lazy. If you put in enough work, then you can make a
work that’s perfect! That’s how that works! That’s why I’ve never met a writer still workshopping
their very first book for over a decade. It’s a matter of sheer effort, not experience.
Put in enough time and I can write the best story in the world and when my story becomes mega
popular there will not be a single person on the planet call my protagonist a Mary Sue! Every
writer should carry this exact expectation. Obsessing over what everyone will think will
never lead to the writer missing what their target audience will think. Better to
assume every lifeform on the planet Earth will become a megafan rather than
simply accept that a lot of people aren’t going to like my work and that’s okay.
Don’t worry. It’s not a matter of when someone calls a character a Mary Sue,
only if they do. That if being if anyone bothers to read my work at all. But why
wouldn’t they? My work is Mary Sue free! Corporations take note. This style of character
creation is great for big franchises that have achieved the coveted cash cow status. Don’t make
a new character or a good character when we can make a bland committee designed character
with as much personality as a wet potato, but with none of the potential to cook
into some actually good. This character can’t be a Mary Sue, because if they were
they might actually be more interesting. It’s important for the writer to understand
what the audience wants from a character in fiction. And people are great at
articulating exactly what they want and never complain about it when they get it
to the letter. People obviously don’t want a character that they can project onto,
feel special, do interesting things, or any other qualities. They want something
that’s so bland and tasteless that it would ace every Mary Sue test ever. Because the character
is never there to make the story worth enjoying, they are there because I don’t want to
get called out for writing a Mary Sue. Never mind that a character can be deeply
unlikable, self-centered, a huge jerk, and still in be fascinating to read or watch.
So can a character that is likable, selfless, and kind. Because all of those traits, both
positive and negative, serve the story or their characterization. Which is a mistake,
because obviously character and story should be beholden to the author’s anxieties instead.
The important thing is to indulge, just rather than the author’s wish fulfillment,
it’s instead the author’s anxieties. If only there were a way between a self-indulgent
blatant Mary Sue and a bland boring play it safe character? If only there were a way
to write characters that have traits, that encompass both good and bad qualities
depending on the circumstance as well as a solid motive. Alas, I’ve played too many
RPGs and as such can only see characters as a collection of stats and perks rather
than people with opinions and perspectives. My first work must be a magnum opus! When writing, you start out producing amazing works of
art rather than having to actually build skill through experience and learning from
mistakes. A writer can’t just go ahead and write god awful indulgent crap to get it out of
their system. Never should a writer accept that It’s okay to be bad. You can always
write something better later. But what then? Just not share it with world! How
will people know my character isn’t a Mary Sue then? I must share my genius with the world
for the sake of seeking validation rather than focusing on improvement. Then I’ll spend the
rest of my time on the internet arguing semantics over what is and isn’t a Mary Sue. Which for
a writer is a great use of time and resources. Fixating on the label Mary Sue is way more
productive that just focusing on writing a good character. A perfect writer can never write
a Mary Sue. A writer must be perfect and loved by everyone and never make a mistake or have any
flaws and be the best most amazing writer that everyone always talks about and obsesses over
all the time. I must become the most special important writer ever that everything revolves
around. Only then will I be a… a uh… Uh oh! GUARD: Federation sold us a fresh
batch I see. Move along prisoners… GUARD2: Oh hey! He’s got the old rig.
GENERAL: Old rig? GUARD2: Yeah. The old mark 1 animation rig.
We’re already on mark 2. Don’t worry. They’ll update you after orientation.
GENERAL: Orientation? MERC CAPTAIN: Welcome, scum, to Wagwater. MEGACORP’s elite mercenary company.
GENERAL: Wait! We’re going to be soldiers of fortune? Does that mean
I’m finally going to get my war!? CORPORATE SUIT: Oooo. No. We don’t use the big W
word anymore. Focus group says that’s a no no. We prefer the term security contract. We’re not
invading. We are providing prompt and direct security services. As a new Security Defense
Associate, it’s very important that you maintain Wagwater’s high standard of customer service.
Especially considering Wagwater is a subsidiary of Megacorp. Unless you get into trouble, in
which case Megacorp has no idea who you are. GENERAL: That… just sounds like sales? CORPORATE SUIT: The orientation
video will explain it better. NARRATOR (V.O.): Terrorism got
you down? Democratic reformers trying to mess up a perfectly good military
junta? Former client states asserting their sovereignty? Megacorp has the solution for you!
Wagwater security company! Don’t settle for any old soldier of fortune. Wagwater provides
high energy security solutions for a new age to actualize your earning potential. And
now it’s your turn to become part of the team! As a new Security Defense Associate you will be
expected to maintain a high standard of customer service at all times. If a client insists on a
committing a war crime, you are to refuse in no uncertain terms… Unless they purchase gold plan!
Be sure to also offer our false flag service to cover up the crime and snag that upsell!
All sales made by a Security Defense Associate give a commission that will be put
toward reducing your sentence. Just remember that all equipment will be charged to you
including spent ammunition so make ‘em count! Complete your full tour of duty and you may even
be given a chance to join the rest of Megacorp in Nebula. Secure your place now before the rest
of the TWA expanded universe explodes in a vortex of unsustainable greed!
GENERAL: Wait. What?! NARRATOR (V.O.):But let’s not focus on
that. Get excited for your new dream platform Nebula!Nebula is a streaming
platform built by YouTubers, podcasters, and other creatives. Should YouTube fall,
the TWA Universe will live on thanks to Nebula. A place free from YouTube’s fickle
policies allowing for experimentation in content. Exciting opportunities await along
with outstanding Nebula Originals like Real Time History’s Series on the Soviet nuclear
program called Red Atoms. Or Lindsay Ellis’s Nebula Original on Jurassic Park. Singing up
using TWA’s link also gets you free access to Nebula Classes where the Creators on Nebula
offer you tricks and tips for being a creator or just generally good advice. Like Simon Clark’s
Turn Data into Stories. Georgia Dow’s extremely useful class on Beating Anxiety. Or How to Analyze
Stories and Enrich Your Own from the mind behind Like Stories of Old. Support the channel. Secure
your place before it’s too late! Use the link in the description and escape to Nebula today!
Megacorp is not liable for the destruction of the Terrible Writing Advice Expanded
Universe. The CEOs actually don’t plan to save any of you chumps. More space
for us! See offer for more details. CORPORATE SUIT: Well I hope we all learned
something inspiring. It’s important to maintain high quality customer service when we
inflict… uh I mean when we provide satisfaction guaranteed security service. And for
our first security contract, you will finally remove those pesky Space Communists to
pave the way for Greed’s ultimate ascension. GENERAL: Killing space communists!
Great! The Federation’s democracy didn’t work out. Maybe corporations
running things won’t be so bad?
