I think the point here is - okay, let me put it this way so I won't sound like I'm bashing anyone.
Here is Harry. Harry's mother is a Muggleborn. Nobody knows his dad's heritage, but it's been hinted that he may be pureblood. Harry grew up in an unloving home pulling spiders off his socks because he lives in a cupboard. All of his clothes are so big they practically fall off him. In the meantime, he gets to watch his cousin be spoilt to the point where he's bad as a rotted egg. Now Harry gets to go away to this awesome school and have all these amazing adventures. He'll make friends, do homework, fight trolls, get in trouble, develop favorites and least favorites, get in trouble, learn a few valuable lessons, get in trouble, get seriously beaten up by a crazy teacher who's being possessed by Voldemort, get in trouble, and discover that he's really not like everyone else, even though that's really what he wanted to be.
Now - here is Mary-Sue Harry (created by me). Mary-Sue Harry had pureblood parents who got killed and now he lives with relatives who are terrified of his powers, so all he has to do is say "jump" and they say "How high on a silver platter, master?" MS Harry is part veela, part phoenix, and part unicorn (yes, I know I said his parents were purebloods, but then nobody said Mary-Sues always make sense). When he discovers his Gringotts vault, he's not thrilled that he has money of his own - he's disappointed because there's not more, and why didn't he ever stay with the Dursleys even though they're stupid because then he could have SO much better than this? Harry falls in with Draco Malfoy but somehow gets sorted to Gryffindor because, you know, it's the best house, of course. A quarrel with Malfoy results and he ends up being a snob who just kind of leads Ron and Hermione around by the nose (and gets away with it because, you know, he's HARRY POTTER THE BOY WHO LIVED). He gets top marks in all his classes without even trying because, you know, he's HARRY POTTER THE BOY WHO LIVED and if that weren't enough all the teachers simply love him and can't imagine a better student. He never has to do homework, because his professors will accept any excuse as to why he didn't do it. And when he finds the Philosopher's Stone, he escapes with nary a scratch because Quirrell is more afraid of him than he is of what Voldemort could do to him.
Now, which one would YOU want as a friend, family member, classmate, etc.? As I said before, the reason the characters (even the nastier ones like Snape and the Malfoys) are so endearing is because WE ALL KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS EXACTLY LIKE THEM. My best friend is a Hermione; I'm a cross between Luna and Ron; my old social studies teacher is like a cross between Dumbledore (wisdom) and Lupin (personality, age, and disability). The stories wouldn't be nearly so good if the characters weren't real, but along come the Fairy-Sues (the really, really bad ones who can do all and see all and be all) to wreck the world of fanfiction.
I HAVE A PROPOSITION: Let us call all smart, good looking, etc. OC's Mary Sues or Gary-Stus and have that be a badge of honor - look, they've created a great character who is fairly believable and whose psychology works.
Then, as a badge of shame for the stupid ones who know more than Dumbledore and can do all and see all and be all, we will christen them Fairy-Sues - too good to be trues.
And a suggestion to anyone on this board who is writing Fairy-Sues and doesn't know how to stop - think about the psychology of your character. I studied basic psychology for nearly a year in order to write my story "What There is in a Bottle of Ink" because I knew I'd have, most likely, hundreds of OCs by the time I was done, and I wanted them to be and see and feel and interact like REAL PEOPLE, not tin-foil dolls.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-07-12 04:19 pm (UTC)Here is Harry. Harry's mother is a Muggleborn. Nobody knows his dad's heritage, but it's been hinted that he may be pureblood. Harry grew up in an unloving home pulling spiders off his socks because he lives in a cupboard. All of his clothes are so big they practically fall off him. In the meantime, he gets to watch his cousin be spoilt to the point where he's bad as a rotted egg. Now Harry gets to go away to this awesome school and have all these amazing adventures. He'll make friends, do homework, fight trolls, get in trouble, develop favorites and least favorites, get in trouble, learn a few valuable lessons, get in trouble, get seriously beaten up by a crazy teacher who's being possessed by Voldemort, get in trouble, and discover that he's really not like everyone else, even though that's really what he wanted to be.
Now - here is Mary-Sue Harry (created by me). Mary-Sue Harry had pureblood parents who got killed and now he lives with relatives who are terrified of his powers, so all he has to do is say "jump" and they say "How high on a silver platter, master?" MS Harry is part veela, part phoenix, and part unicorn (yes, I know I said his parents were purebloods, but then nobody said Mary-Sues always make sense). When he discovers his Gringotts vault, he's not thrilled that he has money of his own - he's disappointed because there's not more, and why didn't he ever stay with the Dursleys even though they're stupid because then he could have SO much better than this? Harry falls in with Draco Malfoy but somehow gets sorted to Gryffindor because, you know, it's the best house, of course. A quarrel with Malfoy results and he ends up being a snob who just kind of leads Ron and Hermione around by the nose (and gets away with it because, you know, he's HARRY POTTER THE BOY WHO LIVED). He gets top marks in all his classes without even trying because, you know, he's HARRY POTTER THE BOY WHO LIVED and if that weren't enough all the teachers simply love him and can't imagine a better student. He never has to do homework, because his professors will accept any excuse as to why he didn't do it. And when he finds the Philosopher's Stone, he escapes with nary a scratch because Quirrell is more afraid of him than he is of what Voldemort could do to him.
Now, which one would YOU want as a friend, family member, classmate, etc.? As I said before, the reason the characters (even the nastier ones like Snape and the Malfoys) are so endearing is because WE ALL KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS EXACTLY LIKE THEM. My best friend is a Hermione; I'm a cross between Luna and Ron; my old social studies teacher is like a cross between Dumbledore (wisdom) and Lupin (personality, age, and disability). The stories wouldn't be nearly so good if the characters weren't real, but along come the Fairy-Sues (the really, really bad ones who can do all and see all and be all) to wreck the world of fanfiction.
I HAVE A PROPOSITION: Let us call all smart, good looking, etc. OC's Mary Sues or Gary-Stus and have that be a badge of honor - look, they've created a great character who is fairly believable and whose psychology works.
Then, as a badge of shame for the stupid ones who know more than Dumbledore and can do all and see all and be all, we will christen them Fairy-Sues - too good to be trues.
And a suggestion to anyone on this board who is writing Fairy-Sues and doesn't know how to stop - think about the psychology of your character. I studied basic psychology for nearly a year in order to write my story "What There is in a Bottle of Ink" because I knew I'd have, most likely, hundreds of OCs by the time I was done, and I wanted them to be and see and feel and interact like REAL PEOPLE, not tin-foil dolls.