Jo Grix's Blog, page 2
July 23, 2013
So, I'm trying a new format, the video blog. At the momen...
So, I'm trying a new format, the video blog. At the moment, I'm not planning to upload to YouTube, although in the future, as I get more confident, I will.
July 2, 2013
Novellas versus Novels
Two years ago, I started writing a novel and published it in late August. It was just over 50,000 words and entitled A Killer Best Friend. While I have worked on ideas that could become novels since, I've only published short stories and a novella since. Why, do you ask? Because the shorter format seemed to be easier, stories that I would have to twist and stretch to reach that 50,000 word minimum settled perfectly at just over 25,000 or 7,000.
Could I have strung series together to reach that lofty goal? I could. But why should I?
My novella, A Prince's Pride, has sold better in the past month than A Killer Best Friend did in two years. I've gotten reviews on two of my short stories that were highly positive.
My family bought copies of A Killer Best Friend, complete strangers bought A Prince's Pride.
That, to me, means that A Prince's Pride had a better chance of actually working as opposed to A Killer Best Friend.
That's why I chose to say that my three current projects, A Warrior's Rage, Midsummer's Oath, and The Ruby Quest will be novellas, although A Warrior's Rage is almost to the half-way point of my ideal word cout and not quite a third of the way through the story.
That's the fun thing about saying it will be a novella over a novel, you aim for that minimum of 25,000, and then when it runs over because the story needs more words, you can run as far as it needs, and if it tips over into novel territory it becomes a nice surprise.
I don't know how Midsummer's Oath or The Ruby Quest will work out.
Midsummer's Oath is currently in the backstory stage of things, meaning that I've been doing research into the mythology I'm going to borrow and rework into the story as well as character development and history, and a brief overview of what the story will be like. I'm taking planning to tell the story in four parts, to represent the four season, as a background to each step the characters have to go through.
The Ruby Quest is currently a paragraph of intent and five characters that appear first in Ancient Power and then in the follow up of It Is Defended. I plan to let the story build as I explore the five main characters and any auxiliary characters, and I'll start it later.
My current statement of intent is to finish A Warrior's Rage this month, and to start Midsummer's Oath while I work on the rough draft of A Warrior's Rage alone and with a friend, and then to start The Ruby Quest later after I have the kinks and plot twists worked out.
Should I get tired of those three stories, I can always throw words at Daniel Anders: Agent of Earth, Blog of an Ex-Teenage Superhero, Fighting Fate or any one of my other little projects. Those three just happened to have my attention at the moment.
June 23, 2013
Welcome To DHI
A very long time ago, I said that if I ever became a book publisher, I would name my company Dragon Heart Ink for a variety of reasons that made sense at the time. Today, I am launching the Dragon Heart Ink website because I am, when all is said and done, a writer who is self-publishing her work. This means that I could be considered a publisher, therefore I am using Dragon Heart Ink for my website. DHI is meant to be a place where people can comment on my work, but without the addition of fanfiction/fanart/fanvids or anything else fan related.
I'm not sure how long that idea will last though.
It is my intent to use this blog to share glimpses into the stories I'm currently working on so that people know what's coming up.
For instance, I have submitted another short story to Amazon.com called "It Is Defended" which is a follow up to Ancient Powers, making this a series that I've titled Warders of Fyla. I have some sketches for another story, possibly a novella, which will add to these stories called "The Ruby Quest" for reasons.
I also have more stories about other Warders and their associates the Operators. I call that particular verse 'The Technomancer's War' verse, because through these shorts, novellas, and eventually novels I will explore many different aspects of the war.
I am preparing to release a shortstory collection entitled 'Tales from the Scrapbox' (working title, subject to change) which includes bits and pieces of stories I've been working on, including one particular short that has already announced it's desire to have a novella follow after it.
I intend to work on the novella, MIdsummer's Oath slowly becuase I also have a deadline for a different piece, "A Warrior's Rage" the sequel to my previously published "A Prince's Pride".
And that's where I stand in terms of writing.
October 21, 2012
Mary Sue: Conclusion
For the moment, I cannot find anything else to suggest to prevent, adapt or fix your Mary Sue. Just remember that there is SCIENCE behind appearance, conflict is good for the plot, not everyone finds your character beloved, and if the world works for the character, go for it. That one is probably the most important of all.
In the meantime, I'm going to polish up these blog posts, bring them together into a .pdf with some supplementary pages, stuff like worksheets to help you determine if your character is, in fact, a Mary Sue, and links to places where you can check the SCIENCE of appearance.
I'll post the download link on the blog, and it'll be available on both of my websites as well, for free.
I'm not sure where I'll go from here, with NaNoWriMo looming near, as well as the Election Season in full swing at my day job. (American politics...season ends Nov. 6). All I know is, I intend to keep working on this blog. It's rather fun, don't you know?
In the meantime, I'm going to polish up these blog posts, bring them together into a .pdf with some supplementary pages, stuff like worksheets to help you determine if your character is, in fact, a Mary Sue, and links to places where you can check the SCIENCE of appearance.
I'll post the download link on the blog, and it'll be available on both of my websites as well, for free.
I'm not sure where I'll go from here, with NaNoWriMo looming near, as well as the Election Season in full swing at my day job. (American politics...season ends Nov. 6). All I know is, I intend to keep working on this blog. It's rather fun, don't you know?
October 17, 2012
On Mary Sue: Universe
I've mentioned this over and over, but the universe or world your character is placed in has a great deal to do with whether or not your character is a Mary Sue. In a lot of ways, making a character fit into the world they find themselves in is your plot. Take superheros, for instance. How many of them do we have running around here on Earth?
None.
How do you put superheros to work on Earth?
You make their existence make sense. For instance, the superheros are given battle suits to fight in, or they have special training in advanced technology. Or even pseudoscience.*
Another thing you have to watch in world building are the laws of the universe. While in most case you are using the laws of our universe, and you don't need to define them. Water will be wet, air will be breathable and things you drop will fall to the floor. On occasion, however, you will defy, bend, or even break the laws of the universe as we know it. That's ok, it happens. The trick is to make sure your story works. DO what you will with the laws of the universe, just make sure you are consistent, and that your unconventional methods explain why your character works.
I think building a universe is the most difficult aspect of fixing a Mary Sue. Probably because I say universe to indicate how big of an effort that is. From who your character is to the people around that character, to the world they live on and the laws they live by.
If the world is wrong, then the character you've created is a jarring anomaly instead of a valuable piece of the puzzle. I have personally never run across a character that doesn't work, period, only characters that don't work in the universe they've been placed in after creation. That takes time though. It's best to start by writing the character and practicing making the world work around them. The better the world works, the better the story will work and the easier it will be to present the story as best suits your ambitions.
So the universe is a pretty big place, and it involves a lot. It's people, it's places, it's accepted rules. It's all the things that create a culture and a society, the things your characters take for granted and the things outsiders have to learn because everyone assumes they know what's going on when nobody really knows anything. It's the notes and half finished thoughts and scraps where you've scribbled down everything from a new word for God to a new word for a mile.
It's books filled with highlighter marks from tracking down this thought or that. It's webpages that are bookmarked and visited so frequently that they're practically your homepage. It's all these things and it centered on one concept. It's centered on the idea of making your character believable.
I was editing a friend's story and we ended up in a bit of an argument over that fact. While her character was possible and there was proof that such people exist, it was a little jarring to run across such a character in a book as a secondary character. I still think that if the character had been the main character, with the story centered on that one's pov and perspectives it would have carried, he was little more than a vague side character at the time and he was jarring and out of place there.
It might even be said that he was too much to accept given the state of things for the main character.
Before I end up rambling even more, I leave you with this.
The Mary Sue is a jarring and out of place character in most worlds, but in the right world, she can fit in just a little bit better.
Next, Mary Sue: The Conclusion
*Pseudoscience: in this case, it's fake science that pulls just enough from real science that it sounds plausible even if it's really not. Can also be used for made up information that has no bearing on real science. This should be used with caution.
None.
How do you put superheros to work on Earth?
You make their existence make sense. For instance, the superheros are given battle suits to fight in, or they have special training in advanced technology. Or even pseudoscience.*
Another thing you have to watch in world building are the laws of the universe. While in most case you are using the laws of our universe, and you don't need to define them. Water will be wet, air will be breathable and things you drop will fall to the floor. On occasion, however, you will defy, bend, or even break the laws of the universe as we know it. That's ok, it happens. The trick is to make sure your story works. DO what you will with the laws of the universe, just make sure you are consistent, and that your unconventional methods explain why your character works.
I think building a universe is the most difficult aspect of fixing a Mary Sue. Probably because I say universe to indicate how big of an effort that is. From who your character is to the people around that character, to the world they live on and the laws they live by.
If the world is wrong, then the character you've created is a jarring anomaly instead of a valuable piece of the puzzle. I have personally never run across a character that doesn't work, period, only characters that don't work in the universe they've been placed in after creation. That takes time though. It's best to start by writing the character and practicing making the world work around them. The better the world works, the better the story will work and the easier it will be to present the story as best suits your ambitions.
So the universe is a pretty big place, and it involves a lot. It's people, it's places, it's accepted rules. It's all the things that create a culture and a society, the things your characters take for granted and the things outsiders have to learn because everyone assumes they know what's going on when nobody really knows anything. It's the notes and half finished thoughts and scraps where you've scribbled down everything from a new word for God to a new word for a mile.
It's books filled with highlighter marks from tracking down this thought or that. It's webpages that are bookmarked and visited so frequently that they're practically your homepage. It's all these things and it centered on one concept. It's centered on the idea of making your character believable.
I was editing a friend's story and we ended up in a bit of an argument over that fact. While her character was possible and there was proof that such people exist, it was a little jarring to run across such a character in a book as a secondary character. I still think that if the character had been the main character, with the story centered on that one's pov and perspectives it would have carried, he was little more than a vague side character at the time and he was jarring and out of place there.
It might even be said that he was too much to accept given the state of things for the main character.
Before I end up rambling even more, I leave you with this.
The Mary Sue is a jarring and out of place character in most worlds, but in the right world, she can fit in just a little bit better.
Next, Mary Sue: The Conclusion
*Pseudoscience: in this case, it's fake science that pulls just enough from real science that it sounds plausible even if it's really not. Can also be used for made up information that has no bearing on real science. This should be used with caution.
October 14, 2012
On Mary Sue: Names
It may seem a little weird to devote one chapter of the Mary Sue series to names, but I think I can tell you a few things you've never thought of before.
First of all, with a Mary Sue, the name tends to be exotic, like Angel or Raven, or has an odd spelling like Myshel, usually in a world were Mary, John, Sue, and Amanda are common names. An exotic name is meant to convey that the character is special or worth noticing.
There is nothing wrong with Angel, Raven or Myshel. In the proper universe, of course.
I keep coming back to the proper universe, and I will explain more on that as it's own thing later on.
The thing about names is that there are people who dislike their name for one reason or another. I know I prefer not to use my first name when I can. When we name our characters, we give them the names we wish our parents had given us. In this, our characters are our children. The only difference being that most characters will be indifferent to love their names and our children would probably disown us if we named them Princess Raven Margretta Kristina.
Another thing is spelling of a name, while 'Myshel' might make since to me as being pronounced like 'Michelle', someone else might read it as 'My-Shell'. An unusual spelling of a name tends to lean more towards being a personal headache than being a cool idea. Especially in a world with Mary, John, Sue, and Amanda. Of course there's always Sean versus Shawn. Believe me, that one trips me up ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
The trick to a name is to make sure that it fits in with the culture and race of the character. If you have a girl from Russia a name like Natalia will play better than a name like Chang Li.
Nicknames don't really have the same constrictions. They're either short versions of the character's name (Tam for Tammy, Mike for Michael) or they play some meaning on the character as a person (Pocket Rocket, he's short and fast). While they can be cultural in nature, they don't necessarily have to be, like a Japanese-American teen being called Deke because he's the fourth born, only son who loved Mighty Ducks as a kid. (Live-action movie, the triple deke was a hockey move, three fakes and the score if I misremember correctly).
To find a good name, there are numerous sources, particularly baby name sites. My personal favorite for name hunting is called
In short, you can call your character any name you want, but the less exotic to the character's culture, the better. A name will work, in the world it's intended to work in. An outlandish name in a mundane world does not work.
Up next, the Mary Sue Universe
First of all, with a Mary Sue, the name tends to be exotic, like Angel or Raven, or has an odd spelling like Myshel, usually in a world were Mary, John, Sue, and Amanda are common names. An exotic name is meant to convey that the character is special or worth noticing.
There is nothing wrong with Angel, Raven or Myshel. In the proper universe, of course.
I keep coming back to the proper universe, and I will explain more on that as it's own thing later on.
The thing about names is that there are people who dislike their name for one reason or another. I know I prefer not to use my first name when I can. When we name our characters, we give them the names we wish our parents had given us. In this, our characters are our children. The only difference being that most characters will be indifferent to love their names and our children would probably disown us if we named them Princess Raven Margretta Kristina.
Another thing is spelling of a name, while 'Myshel' might make since to me as being pronounced like 'Michelle', someone else might read it as 'My-Shell'. An unusual spelling of a name tends to lean more towards being a personal headache than being a cool idea. Especially in a world with Mary, John, Sue, and Amanda. Of course there's always Sean versus Shawn. Believe me, that one trips me up ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
The trick to a name is to make sure that it fits in with the culture and race of the character. If you have a girl from Russia a name like Natalia will play better than a name like Chang Li.
Nicknames don't really have the same constrictions. They're either short versions of the character's name (Tam for Tammy, Mike for Michael) or they play some meaning on the character as a person (Pocket Rocket, he's short and fast). While they can be cultural in nature, they don't necessarily have to be, like a Japanese-American teen being called Deke because he's the fourth born, only son who loved Mighty Ducks as a kid. (Live-action movie, the triple deke was a hockey move, three fakes and the score if I misremember correctly).
To find a good name, there are numerous sources, particularly baby name sites. My personal favorite for name hunting is called
In short, you can call your character any name you want, but the less exotic to the character's culture, the better. A name will work, in the world it's intended to work in. An outlandish name in a mundane world does not work.
Up next, the Mary Sue Universe
October 11, 2012
On Mary Sue: Interpersonal Relationships
While this particular section could also have been referred to as popularity, I find 'interpersonal relationships' lends itself better to the topic.
When people talk about Mary Sue, they use phrases such as "everyone loves her" and "all the (appropriate gender) were attracted to her".
This is how people want their relationships to be. In this case, it's a falsehood. When I was in college, I thought that I had managed to be, if not friends, then at least friendly with my classmates, specifically those in my major. I went to a small junior college and if there were fifty of us in my major, then I would have been very surprised. Anyways, in my major, I thought I had at least a positively ambivalent relationships with the others until one of the girls rather casually mentioned that she didn't like me. I was floored, because she had always seemed passively friendly.
Not long after that, I had another unusual and highly upsetting experience. My dorm mate was switching dorms leaving me with a future dorm mate to move in. I hadn't heard anything about who the new person would be, but figured it wouldn't be long before they showed up. I had gone out for a while one afternoon and when I came back to the dorms, I was planning to change, grab a bite to eat and do homework right up until a complete stranger stormed up to me and started yelling at me for talking bad about a person I had never met. They didn't explain, or give me a chance to defend myself.
This is real life. Two incidents wherein people I didn't know displayed that they actively disliked me when I had never sought out to create such a feeling in them.
Characters need the same thing. You don't like everyone you know, and it would probably surprise you to realize how many of them don't like you either.
Disliking people, and being disliked, is part of what makes us real. There are characters we all know and love that wouldn't be half as beloved without antagonists, or rivals. The friction of personalities is a treasure trove of interactions. You can reveal so much in a conversation that you can't any other way.
I know the old adage is "show, don't tell", but using dialogue to give an impression of interpersonal relationships does not violate that rule.
There are various levels of interaction, various stages of relationships, and while you may not need to use all of them in the actual story, having an awareness of them can be useful in dictating how your character interacts with others.
Some examples of relationships would be the Best Friend, Mentor, Sibling, Parent, Romantic Interest, Rival, Nemesis, Archenemies, Archival, and Enemy.
There are some other phrases people use, "Brother From Another Mother", "Heterosexual Life Partners", "Soul Mate".
Sometimes, you just have to make up something to define a relationship because that makes it unique and special.
Remember, emotions are key underpinnings to relationships. How a character feels around another character, how they've interacted before, what's happening around them, all of these dictate how a relationship will fall out.
Because of emotional balances, not everyone will get along all the time. That's ok, friction and fights are natural, AND they provide you with opportunities to move on the plot. An argument between the MC and his best friend could lead to said best friend storming off, thus being in the perfect place to see a clue to the villains' ultimate plot.
And what about romance?
Mary Sues are infamous for loving, and being loved by the writer's favorite character. Or any character the writer chooses whether they are suitable and available or not.
While everyone wants and deserves to have a love of their life, as a writer, your responsibility is to show why a relationship works and how it could possibly work.
In fact, you should consider that as an urge, you write the story to explain the relationship. With a little effort and polish, you can convince people that this relationship or that relationship can work.
Here's the thing though. Having a variety of relationships take work and effort. As a writer, your job is to keep track of how your characters are interacting, especially as it furthers the plot. Pulling out the "beloved by all" card for your main character is, in my honest opinion, a cheat. If there's no strife, then there's no challenge in it, because everyone gets along.
Mary Sues are in some ways easy to write, because of their premise. In some ways, they're the perfect way for a lazy writer to create content. Taking the time to throw in some people who dislike, loathe, hate, or antagonize your character gives the story some depth. Even having a fight between best friends gives you something to work on.
Which sounds more interesting to you?
The friendship created out of a partnership founded on the belief by one man that the other would one day find the button to end the world and press it.
Or
The friendship created by two people who just happen to be in the vicinity for no particular reason.
Which of these friendships would you rather write?
Coming up next, we have Mary Sue's name, a discussion.
[image error]
When people talk about Mary Sue, they use phrases such as "everyone loves her" and "all the (appropriate gender) were attracted to her".
This is how people want their relationships to be. In this case, it's a falsehood. When I was in college, I thought that I had managed to be, if not friends, then at least friendly with my classmates, specifically those in my major. I went to a small junior college and if there were fifty of us in my major, then I would have been very surprised. Anyways, in my major, I thought I had at least a positively ambivalent relationships with the others until one of the girls rather casually mentioned that she didn't like me. I was floored, because she had always seemed passively friendly.
Not long after that, I had another unusual and highly upsetting experience. My dorm mate was switching dorms leaving me with a future dorm mate to move in. I hadn't heard anything about who the new person would be, but figured it wouldn't be long before they showed up. I had gone out for a while one afternoon and when I came back to the dorms, I was planning to change, grab a bite to eat and do homework right up until a complete stranger stormed up to me and started yelling at me for talking bad about a person I had never met. They didn't explain, or give me a chance to defend myself.
This is real life. Two incidents wherein people I didn't know displayed that they actively disliked me when I had never sought out to create such a feeling in them.
Characters need the same thing. You don't like everyone you know, and it would probably surprise you to realize how many of them don't like you either.
Disliking people, and being disliked, is part of what makes us real. There are characters we all know and love that wouldn't be half as beloved without antagonists, or rivals. The friction of personalities is a treasure trove of interactions. You can reveal so much in a conversation that you can't any other way.
I know the old adage is "show, don't tell", but using dialogue to give an impression of interpersonal relationships does not violate that rule.
There are various levels of interaction, various stages of relationships, and while you may not need to use all of them in the actual story, having an awareness of them can be useful in dictating how your character interacts with others.
Some examples of relationships would be the Best Friend, Mentor, Sibling, Parent, Romantic Interest, Rival, Nemesis, Archenemies, Archival, and Enemy.
There are some other phrases people use, "Brother From Another Mother", "Heterosexual Life Partners", "Soul Mate".
Sometimes, you just have to make up something to define a relationship because that makes it unique and special.
Remember, emotions are key underpinnings to relationships. How a character feels around another character, how they've interacted before, what's happening around them, all of these dictate how a relationship will fall out.
Because of emotional balances, not everyone will get along all the time. That's ok, friction and fights are natural, AND they provide you with opportunities to move on the plot. An argument between the MC and his best friend could lead to said best friend storming off, thus being in the perfect place to see a clue to the villains' ultimate plot.
And what about romance?
Mary Sues are infamous for loving, and being loved by the writer's favorite character. Or any character the writer chooses whether they are suitable and available or not.
While everyone wants and deserves to have a love of their life, as a writer, your responsibility is to show why a relationship works and how it could possibly work.
In fact, you should consider that as an urge, you write the story to explain the relationship. With a little effort and polish, you can convince people that this relationship or that relationship can work.
Here's the thing though. Having a variety of relationships take work and effort. As a writer, your job is to keep track of how your characters are interacting, especially as it furthers the plot. Pulling out the "beloved by all" card for your main character is, in my honest opinion, a cheat. If there's no strife, then there's no challenge in it, because everyone gets along.
Mary Sues are in some ways easy to write, because of their premise. In some ways, they're the perfect way for a lazy writer to create content. Taking the time to throw in some people who dislike, loathe, hate, or antagonize your character gives the story some depth. Even having a fight between best friends gives you something to work on.
Which sounds more interesting to you?
The friendship created out of a partnership founded on the belief by one man that the other would one day find the button to end the world and press it.
Or
The friendship created by two people who just happen to be in the vicinity for no particular reason.
Which of these friendships would you rather write?
Coming up next, we have Mary Sue's name, a discussion.
[image error]
October 5, 2012
On Mary Sue: Personality
Probably the most defining traits of the Mary Sue is her personality.
Mary Sues can be sweet, kind, bubbly, and perfect. They can be any extreme of personality, in truth, although most of them tends toward sweet and naive to be honest. They're the type of person most people hate. Although there are people out there who are sweet, kind, or bubbly, they also have flaws, which Mary Sue does not.
Think about the people you know, in general, you could probably list three things you like and three things you don't like about them. You could also find a mutual friend to make a similar list, but with completely different results. People react to each other differently, and it's the same thing with characters.
To avoid the Mary Sue, the truly dedicated could seek out advice from someone who they are familiar with, although a friend or relative is not recommended. Provide them with a concise character description and ask if they find the character to be too perfect.
For the less dedicated, another way to do this would be to consider your character, and what purpose you have for them. Sometimes, the character is a "self-insertion" character, that is, it is either the author themselves in the book or a person intended to represent the author's idealized self-image.
Now, I confess, I've written two short stories featuring a self-insertion. Both times, the stories were well received, and I didn't get called on it even though I admitted up front that I had done so. Why? Because I didn't over use my character-self. Instead, my pov was the vehicle of the story. It's an outsider's view of an inside world. There was nothing earth shattering about it. It was simply a young woman doing her job and encountering crazy people doing stupid things.
On the other hand, I do have a character that could be called a Mary Sue, believe me, she ticks a hell of a lot of boxes there in. In part it was because my muse abandoned me half way through and in part because I didn't plan things out when I came up with the story.
That's a part of the Mary Sue that I'll be getting to in another article. Back to personality.
Mary Sues are considered perfect. If they have flaws, it only makes them more attractive to other characters.
This is not real life.
In real life everyone has aspects of themselves that someone dislikes and things they don't like about themselves. Think of your own doubts, worries, and fears. Think of the times you've lost your temper. These are what make you human. A Mary Sue doesn't have these.
It's ok for a character to trip and fall or make mistakes. It's ok for a character to NOT be universally loved, because that makes them beloved to readers.
Don't think this means that you have to spend pages telling people about whatever phobias or character flaws your character has. Although it's a good idea to have those pages for your own reference. Instead, find ways to make that a part of the plot. Character afraid of stairs? Imply that their goal is at the top of a flight of stairs. Spiders give your character the shakes? Insert a moment of laughter on the subject.
A character shouldn't be taken too seriously, because then they become dull. It's just like people. You need to be able to laugh at your character, but only when your character deserves to be laughed at. There are characters out there that are known for being pompous, dull, or otherwise uninteresting that are still favored by fans, because they are written into rolls that take advantage of their nature.
A suggestion on working out a personality issue is to try writing shorts about the character, picture them in different scenarios and see how they react. Just take it slowly, and try to make sure that each layer of your character reacts well with each other layer, with the world you are building, and the other characters.
In fact, that's our next subject.
Mary Sue: Interpersonal Relationships
Mary Sues can be sweet, kind, bubbly, and perfect. They can be any extreme of personality, in truth, although most of them tends toward sweet and naive to be honest. They're the type of person most people hate. Although there are people out there who are sweet, kind, or bubbly, they also have flaws, which Mary Sue does not.
Think about the people you know, in general, you could probably list three things you like and three things you don't like about them. You could also find a mutual friend to make a similar list, but with completely different results. People react to each other differently, and it's the same thing with characters.
To avoid the Mary Sue, the truly dedicated could seek out advice from someone who they are familiar with, although a friend or relative is not recommended. Provide them with a concise character description and ask if they find the character to be too perfect.
For the less dedicated, another way to do this would be to consider your character, and what purpose you have for them. Sometimes, the character is a "self-insertion" character, that is, it is either the author themselves in the book or a person intended to represent the author's idealized self-image.
Now, I confess, I've written two short stories featuring a self-insertion. Both times, the stories were well received, and I didn't get called on it even though I admitted up front that I had done so. Why? Because I didn't over use my character-self. Instead, my pov was the vehicle of the story. It's an outsider's view of an inside world. There was nothing earth shattering about it. It was simply a young woman doing her job and encountering crazy people doing stupid things.
On the other hand, I do have a character that could be called a Mary Sue, believe me, she ticks a hell of a lot of boxes there in. In part it was because my muse abandoned me half way through and in part because I didn't plan things out when I came up with the story.
That's a part of the Mary Sue that I'll be getting to in another article. Back to personality.
Mary Sues are considered perfect. If they have flaws, it only makes them more attractive to other characters.
This is not real life.
In real life everyone has aspects of themselves that someone dislikes and things they don't like about themselves. Think of your own doubts, worries, and fears. Think of the times you've lost your temper. These are what make you human. A Mary Sue doesn't have these.
It's ok for a character to trip and fall or make mistakes. It's ok for a character to NOT be universally loved, because that makes them beloved to readers.
Don't think this means that you have to spend pages telling people about whatever phobias or character flaws your character has. Although it's a good idea to have those pages for your own reference. Instead, find ways to make that a part of the plot. Character afraid of stairs? Imply that their goal is at the top of a flight of stairs. Spiders give your character the shakes? Insert a moment of laughter on the subject.
A character shouldn't be taken too seriously, because then they become dull. It's just like people. You need to be able to laugh at your character, but only when your character deserves to be laughed at. There are characters out there that are known for being pompous, dull, or otherwise uninteresting that are still favored by fans, because they are written into rolls that take advantage of their nature.
A suggestion on working out a personality issue is to try writing shorts about the character, picture them in different scenarios and see how they react. Just take it slowly, and try to make sure that each layer of your character reacts well with each other layer, with the world you are building, and the other characters.
In fact, that's our next subject.
Mary Sue: Interpersonal Relationships
September 14, 2012
On Mary Sue: Exceptional Talents
I mean, I can't miss. ... I'm on a team with super-humans. And one god, in case you've forgotten. Even you...well, you climb walls really well. ... I gave up a lot for this life. I could have been happy with Mockingbir-- Bobbi. We could have had a good, simple life. But I wanted to play with the big boys. And if I miss it means I'm just another dude with a bow. It means I've been fooling myself this whole time. And that's why I never miss.
--Clint Barton (Earth-616)
If you're a fan of the Marval comic books or the movies, you know who Clint Barton is, he's Hawkeye, the world's greatest marksman and he never misses.
Not every character can be Hawkeye though. I'm not saying that they can't be the best at their job, I'm just saying that Hawkeye was unique because of his talent. Whatever else Clint Barton might have been, he was known for his skill as an archer.
I feel obligated to point out that Hawkeye works because his universe worked for him. Therefore, it is not that you can't have a character who is best at a talent, but that they have to exist in a world where them being the best works.
People need to learn, and to practice. We say that things are 'just like riding a bicycle', you never forget. That's not entirely true. Take archery, for instance.
An archer needs a specific set of muscles to do his job well, and he needs constant practice to be able to use those muscles well. Setting aside his bow and arrows for months will leave him out of shape when he picks the bow up again. He'll have to retrain his muscles to draw said bow, and to improve his aim. It takes time to be good at archery, and having been good once, it takes time to become good again when you take the skill back up.
Almost all physical activity is like that, and I only say almost because I'm sure that someone, somewhere, will point to something I don't think of. Unless you're a mutant, and in the appropriate universe to be a mutant, you don't just learn in a single lesson. You practice, you learn, and you get better.
Point in fact, training gives you plenty of oppertunities to write about your characters, you can do character development or even plot develepment. Or you can just write about training as a way to insert a laugh.
Conversly, unless your character is the aforementioned mutant, be aware of physical limitations. Body types, agility, stamana, all of these have a play in your character's activities. Bringing up Hawkeye, in fanfiction, I've read stories where Hawkeye spends hours, or even days at the shooting range and coming out just fine. This is not a realistic consequence. After a while, your muscles give out, your body will collapse, your mind will shut down. This is scientific fact and you cannot escape it.
What about other talents of the non physical manner?
Let's start with art.
Some people are natural artists. When you see their work, you know you are seeing something created by a person with talent.
Conversly, one can study and practice and produce art with the same level of talent. Guess which of these is more prevalent?
Take me, for instance. I can put together pictures in interesting collages, and I can trace with the best of them, but as soon as it becomes freehand, I tend to have more in common with Picasso than with da Vinci.
Music?
Not everybody can be Mozart or Beethoven. Not everybody is so dedicated that they'll cut the legs off a piano and compose by how the piano vibrates on the floor.
Musicians practice every day. Have you ever studied a musical instrument? I have.
I studied piano and clarinet. Now when faced with a piano, I could pick out 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' and 'Chopsticks' by memory but that's about it, and I haven't picked up a clarinet in fifteen years. I probably would make the kind of squeals that used to make my dog howl as opposed to actual music.
Singing:
Again, people have natural talent, but to properly use that talent, it takes training and practice. There's learning to read music, learning to breath properly, tone and pitch. That doesn't all come naturally.
There are people with perfect pitch, but think about it. How often would that talent be a good thing? I know one novel that plays perfect pitch for the laugh and does it well. Consider yourself challenged.
Writing:
Yes, it was going to come back to this. If you dare me too, I will find an original iteration of a story I wrote in high school and send it (mistakes and all), just to prove how much my writing has improved in ten years.
Writing is a talent, story telling, non-fiction, it's a talent. You have to keep writing to get better at it, and you will make mistakes.
Please note that I have never said that perfection is impossible, it is simply impossible in mundania, and unless the universe lends itself to the character's perfection (RE Hawkeye plus Cap) then you've written a Mary Sue. Also, remember that it takes time and practice to master any skill, and it takes practice to improve and maintain that skill.
Also, remember the phrase 'jack of all trades, master of none'. Mastery takes a lifetime, but you can learn to be competent in many talents. Just know where your character is strong and where they are weak. Above all, have fun with the characters. Otherwise, what's the point.
See here, example of training for fun:
As the target presented itself, I shot my stinger. "Dammit Deke," Jessie howled, "will you stop?"
"I'm trying to help," I protested, unable to hide my grin.
Jessie yelped and turned back to Gaberiel, "I swear, I'm going to kill you." She rubbed her hip.
Target presented again, I fired a second time.
"Dammit Deke," Jessie said, "shoot me somewhere else!" And with a stamp of her foot, she vanished with a pop.
Next we will look in to Mary Sue's personality.
Appearance
I do not own Hawkeye, he is copyright by Marvel Comics. Quote is from the Marvel wiki, linked via the attribution line and here:
http://marvel.wikia.com/Category:Clinton_Barton_(Earth-616)/Quotes
September 11, 2012
On Mary Sue: Appearance
Think on this.
How often during the course of a day do you think about your appearance? What about other people? Do you constantly obsess over what everyone around you is wearing 24-7 regardless of whatever else you might be doing?
If you're a make-up artist, or a fashion designer or in a similar field you might get a pass on this, but is your character?
Most people might notice what someone's wearing if they're just seeing them for the first time, or if it's something particularly unusual, but unless you make an effort, how often do you notice more than 'jeans, shirt, button down, black pants?' What makes you notice what you notice?
If I had to guess, I'd say you notice when someone is wearing clothes with bright colors or an obnoxious pattern. You notice a shirt with writing on it. Once you've noticed it, you tend to let it go unless it's just so incredably unusual that you can't help but notice it.
Unless you're a boyfriend.
Boyfriends should always note what their girlfriends are wearing and comment on it.
The following is some research on appearance, to help explain why some concepts are more than likely filed under the Mary Sue catagory:
Eye color:
According to my research, brown eyes are the most comon eye color with blue being second most common. Hazel and amber, not to be confused with each other, are also more common than rare. Green and grey are the rare colors. This leaves red and violet. According to the reading I've done on the subject, red and violet eyes are found in cases of albinoism.
Unless your character is an albino or an alien, they can have blue eyes that look violet, but not true-violet eyes. Sorry, it's science.
Hair color:
Black hair is stated to be the most common hair color although there is technically no black hair, only very dark brown.
Brown hair is probably the easist hair color to work with, all you have to do is say brunette and people get that.
Blond hair is probably the most variable in color, ranging from white-blond to dark gold. The rarest form of blond is the strawberry blond, which mixes red and blond.
Auburn hair is the hair that falls under "reddish brown".
Chesnut hair, on the other hand, tends towards the darker red browns, but is considered a sepperate range of shades
Red hair, being the rares of shades in the world, ranges from the afformentioned strawberry blond to titian and includes copper. Often also refered to as carrot tops. 1-2% of the world has red hair, with the predominate number living in or being from Scottland and Ireland.
Grey and white hair is, in truth, the absence of pigmentation and not an actual coloration. It typically happens as a person ages although it can start as early as ten.
Skin tone:
I don't know that I can say much about this beyond saying that if you have blue or green skin on a permanent basis, you probably aren't Earthian human, sorry. Although if someone wants to disprove this theory, you're welcome to do so in the comments!
Features:
Mary Sues are known for being exceptional. Pretty, beautiful, ugly, it doesnt' really matter as long as it stands out seems to be the by word.
I feel that this can be unfair because some people are, to put it simply, beautiful. Beauty by itself should not be the byword for a Mary Sue because it invalidates a lot of characters that are otherwise well crafted.
The trick to handling a beautiful character, however, is to not flaunt that beauty at every occasion.
If you have a character who is a model, that's great, but they don't have to always be at the height of fashion and beautiful. Have fun, write a scene where they spend the whole time in a ratty pair of sweats and their dad's college shirt.
What I'm trying to say is to write your characters as human.
Next is my thoughts on Mary Sue: exceptional talents.
