You know what? I'm going to make an antonym to the Mary Sue.

I'm going to make a character with absolutely no redeeming qualities, that is ugly as ugly can be, that can't even talk coherently, that can't even drive the plot forward without outside help, and that is incapable of being developed. He won't be the 'so bad he's good' or the 'so bad he's tragic' type of character. I will make a character that no one would ever even want to be, that no one would ever want to read about because he's such a horrible character and a waste of their time.

Basically a deadbeat. It's going to be great.

Isabella is not an exotic name. I know 5 people named Isabella.

Very clever. I hope that people take this to heart.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to follow this completely by the book. I'll try, I guess, though I think I can manage. I'll have tonsee, though. Who knows? I'm pretty sure my early days involved Mary Sue OCs who were never actually written down. I still like them, though, so I revised them in my head. Not sure if they'll ever be written down, though.

There's one thing I have to say that I disagree with, though;

'remember that only Disney will have an adventure occur and the good guys all live'

LIES. ALL LIES. GIVE ME A GOOD EXCUSE FOR RAY THEN. (Now that I think about it, though, that's probably not what you actually mean...)

Well... I'm a bitch! (my name's Savannah)

lol, I liked it, it is rare that someone understand the actual meaning of a mary sue. A lot of time people just accuse any original character as a mary sue. And no matter how you explain it, they refuse to accept it. While I personally don't have trouble with writing mary sue's, your types for making one better help, I will most certainly be making a mental note of those. The numbering system reminds me of something... but I'm not sure what.

Though I haven't look at all your stories yet, have you considered writing about mary sues in creative writing? (Original) That, I think, would be helpful.

I love your conclusion... I often think my self as a god over my characters and worlds (For fun a lot of times, if there is a religion in one of my stories the main god will aways be female.) You make a lot of wonderful points and examples. So thanks!

Happy days!

Savannah

I am not good with words, so I will review via (?) bullet points:
•Very thought out and thorough
•Clear and to the point
•Very good examples
•None of this was offensive nor meant to be taken as such
•Excellent points that should be remembered (ie, playing God for another world, put yourself into characters, research, etc.)

Things I did not agree with:
The point system. It is probably just me, but I found that the characters you described sounded a little too perfect. Not Mary Sue/Gary (I prefer this name) Stu, but still a little too much. I do not quite know how to describe it, but the woman and man definitely reflected a stereotypical "perfect" story character persona. *shrugs* No sé...

I think the point system has too many opportunities for leeway (?) and loopholes. Or that it is too constricting. Maybe there is a better point system to go by? One that allows for more in depth characterization. For example, maybe make the point system out of 15, with 6-8 being neutral and numbers below or above are negative or positive respectively. Also, for abilities that don't require fighting (such as a slice of life romance). You only stuck to the action adventure, which makes it difficult for others who aren't for the adventure genre. How would you craft a character that was stuck in a horror/suspense novel or who's trying to solve a perplexing mystery. Just a thought, I hope I do not offend you in anyway.

Lovely work.

Let me just say, I love you right now.

How many times have I read this...?

*slow clap for TA Maxwell

oh. my. gosh. you just became my hero. this was a brilliant analysis, you used the right tone, the right layout, but then I also loved your examples. it's takes a very good writer to write such a structured, terrible story. Thats quite a talent to be that diverse. cutos to you my friend!
cheers
freddie

Outstanding.

This needs to be posted on every writing site EVER. With credit to you, of course. This has made me a little paranoid. I never intend for my stories to be Mary-Sues (I think I'm less at risk, because I don't write fan-fiction), and after reading this, I'm a little scared.
A lot- in fact, almost all- of my characters share traits of myself or my friends, albeit sometimes exaggerated. I sincerely hope I haven't unintentionally written any Mary-Sues...
Kill me with a spoon and put my remains through a blender if I ever do.
Anyways, loved this. Many people need to see this.

Great advice. Now I know what not to do! :)

This was brilliant. I liked it. I'm sure I've learned a lot from this even though my characters are not Mary Sue's though people say they sometimes border to that territory.

Good going!

This was really informative. I learned a lot. The humour gave it a more eased back feeling.