Post by mfelizandy on Feb 11, 2009 22:13:28 GMT
We've all read them. The stories that are nothing more than an excuse for a writer to get her fangirl paws all over some favorite character. There are quite a few web pages and journal posts devoted to identifying, analyzing, and avoiding the dreaded Mary Sue disease--but that's not going to stop me from offering my own ideas on the subject.
In my view, every character in every story is a Mary Sue. They all spring from the imagination of a writer, and thus underneath every word of dialogue and hidden in every face is the mind of the writer. A writer, in a sense, is performing a one-man (or one-woman) show, playing all the parts herself, as well as writing the script, building the sets, making the costumes, arranging the lights, and choreographing fight scenes, dance scenes, love scenes, and whatever. Good writers handle the juggling of roles so well that the audience really believes that there are dozens of separate people to play each role. The characters played by not-so-good writers all tend to sound and act the same. Mary Sue writers barely bother with the sets or costumes or makeup--they're in too much of a hurry to get to their fantasy images.
Not that one can't indulge in fantasies. But if you're going to do it, and post it for other people to read, do it right. Respect your readers and the canon enough to work with them. There are ways to arrange almost any scene you can dream up, if you take your time and lead into it in steps that are at least plausible.
It's a risk to introduce an original character into a canon. It's a bigger risk to introduce that character and make her the center of the story. So before you inject that new character, make yourself take a step back and take a hard look at the situation. Are you having to kill off canon characters to make room for your OC? Can the OC's role be filled by a canon character? For instance, if you're a Roy fangirl and you really want him to fall in love with you--why not take on the role of Riza Hawkeye? There's more than enough canon to justify those two as a couple, and they're a well-matched pair. Killing off Riza, then making Roy forget about her and devote all his attention to your OC, severely stretches the suspension of disbelief.
Rare and wonderful gifts are another dead giveaway of a Mary Sue. If you create an OC alchemist character, make sure he/she works under the same limits the canon characters do. I.e., in canon it's rare to be able to perform alchemy without an array--the very few who can do it have had dramatic experiences with the Gate. If you want to give your OC this power, you're going to need to justify it--and have a very good reason why the role couldn't be handled by Ed, Al, Izumi, or another canon alchemist. That arrayless alchemy had also better be life-or-death necessary to the plot.
The rule I'm arguing for here is one of economy. Most canons have plenty of "building blocks" to work with. Start with those, and if (and only if) you run out or find yourself needing a particularly odd-shaped piece, then put in an OC--and don't name her after yourself.
In my view, every character in every story is a Mary Sue. They all spring from the imagination of a writer, and thus underneath every word of dialogue and hidden in every face is the mind of the writer. A writer, in a sense, is performing a one-man (or one-woman) show, playing all the parts herself, as well as writing the script, building the sets, making the costumes, arranging the lights, and choreographing fight scenes, dance scenes, love scenes, and whatever. Good writers handle the juggling of roles so well that the audience really believes that there are dozens of separate people to play each role. The characters played by not-so-good writers all tend to sound and act the same. Mary Sue writers barely bother with the sets or costumes or makeup--they're in too much of a hurry to get to their fantasy images.
Not that one can't indulge in fantasies. But if you're going to do it, and post it for other people to read, do it right. Respect your readers and the canon enough to work with them. There are ways to arrange almost any scene you can dream up, if you take your time and lead into it in steps that are at least plausible.
It's a risk to introduce an original character into a canon. It's a bigger risk to introduce that character and make her the center of the story. So before you inject that new character, make yourself take a step back and take a hard look at the situation. Are you having to kill off canon characters to make room for your OC? Can the OC's role be filled by a canon character? For instance, if you're a Roy fangirl and you really want him to fall in love with you--why not take on the role of Riza Hawkeye? There's more than enough canon to justify those two as a couple, and they're a well-matched pair. Killing off Riza, then making Roy forget about her and devote all his attention to your OC, severely stretches the suspension of disbelief.
Rare and wonderful gifts are another dead giveaway of a Mary Sue. If you create an OC alchemist character, make sure he/she works under the same limits the canon characters do. I.e., in canon it's rare to be able to perform alchemy without an array--the very few who can do it have had dramatic experiences with the Gate. If you want to give your OC this power, you're going to need to justify it--and have a very good reason why the role couldn't be handled by Ed, Al, Izumi, or another canon alchemist. That arrayless alchemy had also better be life-or-death necessary to the plot.
The rule I'm arguing for here is one of economy. Most canons have plenty of "building blocks" to work with. Start with those, and if (and only if) you run out or find yourself needing a particularly odd-shaped piece, then put in an OC--and don't name her after yourself.
