Mary Sue test...

My current one got 28 but some have been off the scale lol I don't think it matters my characters have many of the Mary-Sueisms for a reason and it works in the story.
 
Sorry to steal the thread for something totally irrelevant but it just goes to show my level of intellect when I saw the title of this thread and immediately thought of Johnny Test's two sisters, Mary and Susan!

Thought it was rather odd sitting in the writers section! :D

xx
 
This is a fun little test. I think the more experienced the writer, the lower your score will be because you've already learned to avoid the obvious traps. However, after 13 years of moderating a genre writers workshop (www.otherworlds.net) I have to say that I've seen nearly every one of those cliches from beginners at one time or another, and there is at least one hugely popular author out there who writes nothing but Mary Sues. For people who have not progressed past being in love with their characters, or "writing themselves", this is probably a useful exercise. I did recommend it to my group. At the least, it got a few chuckles from me, always appreciated!
 
Maybe or maybe not I've never done the fan-fic, RPG part of the test as my character's are original- the more experienced I have become the higher the score on that test has become, because I stopped trying to cut out the cliche and just built the character my story needs. Also I think touches of cliche allow for fun characters.

I have never despite many honest reviews never been accused of flat or cliche or Mary Sue characters. One of my characters is elegant, beautiful, talented beyond many others, shapeshifts, brought up by an adopted father in an abusive home, inspired and based on an actor I admire and kind of immortal he is a lover of another man who is less beautiful but is talented, half-breed, shapeshifts, brought up by foster parents and kind of immortal. Both are the children of half breeds, and both are way off the scale on the Mary Sue test.

However the test doesn't allow for the stories my characters are set in or what kind of half-breed they are (Nate the lover is half sparrow) or the relationships with the characters or exactly how they fit into the created world.
 
AnyaKimlin said:
However the test doesn't allow for the stories my characters are set in or what kind of half-breed they are (Nate the lover is half sparrow) or the relationships with the characters or exactly how they fit into the created world.
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Yes. I blogged on this subject just today, about how difficult it is to get out of the box with fantasy characters, because, let's face it, we like our heroes and we expect them to do great things. They also usually come accompanied by the usual cast of sidekicks. But, as you point out, it is what you do with them that counts. All their individual quirks guide how they will face the situations they are thrown into. It is always a delight when the guy with all the advantages ends up choking at the first hint of real danger (Shrek got this right with Prince Charming). The characters must be plausible within their created world.

However, I do believe they must be plausible people even before that, so an extremely high Mary Sue factor is likely to turn off a lot of readers long before they get to the part that demonstrates "oh, yeah, they really needed the purple hair and the inborn knowledge they didn't have to work for." It's fun to imagine characters who are superior in some way from the start, but if nothing challenges those superior qualities (to the point of death or beyond), there's nothing really interesting about them or their struggle.
 
However, I do believe they must be plausible people
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Absolutely. This is why it's not possible to escape the Mary Sue trap merely by "counterbalancing" advantages with disadvantages, as in "He can fly, but he's also an orphan, so that's ok". You could write about someone who scored 500 on the test - although it would be extremely difficult and basically a bad idea - so long as you made them credible through good characterisation. Basically, any disadvantage that entitles the character to look brooding and take revenge a la The Crow doesn't count as such.
 
Toby Frost said:
Absolutely. This is why it's not possible to escape the Mary Sue trap merely by "counterbalancing" advantages with disadvantages, as in "He can fly, but he's also an orphan, so that's ok". You could write about someone who scored 500 on the test - although it would be extremely difficult and basically a bad idea - so long as you made them credible through good characterisation. Basically, any disadvantage that entitles the character to look brooding and take revenge a la The Crow doesn't count as such.
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For me characterisation is about who the character is not what they are. If flying is necessary for the story to work -- then I will find a way for my character to do it. (Usually they turn into birds or the fairies have wings). But building a character is about their body language, speech patterns, looks, interactions with their family and the world around them.

Most readers would be a good portion through the book before finding out characters are immortal, or can fly etc. It is entirely possible for the first chapter and a half with my first book not to realise it is a fantasy.
 
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At the outline stage of the story I am currently writing my main character scores -1 (I got points deducted for research) and to be honest I can only see that score dropping as I progress. At this rate I may have to give them pink hair and a magic spirit parrot just to get them into positive figures.
 
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