How to Write a Mary Sue
UPDATE: I'm really sorry about the rings section. A big thanks to Christina who brought light to that matter. I've changed it. Narya (Gandalf's) is fire. Elrond's (Vilya) is water. And Nenya (Galadriel's) is air. And I've added some more stuff in the Mary Sye Smith section.
After reading the last chapter and all my evil comments, you probably think, what's she doing writing a chapter on how to write a Mary Sue? The truth of the matter is, Mary Sues aren't as bad as authors make them out to be, and they are in fact, quite truthful.
For example, if you were a normal teenage (or older) girl and you were magically transported to Middle Earth through a rift in the fabric of the universe, then wouldn't you want to join the fellowship? Wouldn't you want your favorite male canon character to fall in love with you?
Mary Sues are simply these romantic, and slightly absurd, fantasies brought to life through pencil and paper...or rather the computer and your keyboard. And in fact I have read some acclaimed "Mary Sues" that were really rather good. It's a lot like comparing a well-written romantic, fantasy novel to a trashy Harlequin fantasy.
Also, I've seen many "Mary Sue Lists" on Lord of the Rings websites. These hold all the criteria for a Mary Sue, but I think that the Mary Sue they criticize, and the actual Mary Sue is quite different.
My criteria for a "Mary Sue" is either a headstrong, strong-willed, LotR-lover, teenage girl who is transported through time (and not space, because Tolkien meant Middle Earth to be some alternate TIME of regular Earth, not alternate space. Arda is not on a different planet) to Middle Earth, where she either meets the Fellowship (in other words they're already on their quest) or she ends up in Rivendell where she goes to the Council of Elrond and is permitted to go on the quest or a girl (also around "teenage" years, though this doesn't really count for en elf, its always implied) who is met by a canon character and the two fall in love.
(Because there are two sub-categories of a Mary-Sue, I like to name the girl-who-gets-transported a Mary-Sue Smith and the girl who is already there, a Mary-Sue Brown. Now this sounds a little confusing, but it's easier to divide them into categories.)
So...yeah, back to the topic. It's perfectly all right to write a Mary-Sue, because we all know how great it is to see our romantic fantasies on paper...argh! I mean computer! Hehe, I'm not old-fashioned or anything, its just people always use that phrase and now I'm babbling!!! Ok. I'm calm.
But it a romantic fantasy will seem much less pleasant if it's tedious, repetitive of other fics, and if the two main characters fall in love too soon. Here are a few criteria for a Mary-Sue Brown and Mary-Sue Smith:
Mary-Sue Brown -
Choose ONE Middle Earth species. And by that I mean Elf, Human, Hobbit, Dwarf, Orc, Goblin, etc. And if you do want to make her half and half, make sure it makes sense. For example, don't make a Hobbit-Human or Hobbit-Elf or Elf-Human-Orc and PLEASE no Elf-Witch-Fairy or Human-Angel or anything like that. It just takes away from the story and when people read something like that they'll go back and look for another fic.
Don't describe your character and what she's wearing too much. Here's a good description of a character:
Mary-Sue Smith pushed back her long, mahogany-colored hair and looked curiously at the rune on her back porch. 'When did it get here?' she thought, squinting her deep blue eyes. She stood up, and stretched, her thin, flexible body twisted this way and that. It was too early to be up. (Notice how I described how she was skinny with mahogany hair and deep blue eyes without acting as if I cared to much about her appearance. This will interest your readers more)
Mary-Sue Brown's Elven ears picked up a rustling in the bushes. She tiptoed there, the harsh wind blowing her white-blonde air into frenzy. She thanked the Valar that her long black eyelashes somewhat shielded her eyes from the wind. They sparkled gray- green in the dimming sunlight. She withdrew her dagger. (Notice how much more interested your character becomes if you describe her extraordinary features like this. Appearing to be focused on her hearing the rustling in the bush rather than her looks. Compare this to a "Her features were unusual and extraordinarily beautiful, even for an elf. She had white-blonde hair and gray- green eyes that sparkled in the dimming sunlight and were shielded by long black lashes. The reader immediately thinks MARY SUE)
1. Do some background research before determining her heritage. Elves don't have illegitimate children. Humans might, but not elves. They are a proud and honorable people and wouldn't do something like that before marriage. And probably not hobbits either.
1. If you plan on doing an After The War fic, take in mind what actually happened after the war. First of all, Elrond, Galadriel, and Celeborn all departed to Valinor. And Elrond's wife, Celebrian is already in Valinor. Glorfindel is an elf-lord that has come back from Valinor and probably wouldn't have any children born in Middle Earth. And Aragorn and I think Legolas' mothers are both dead. As are Frodo's.
1. The Three Elven Rings lost power after the One Ring was destroyed and they don't come back to life. If you want to use them in your fic, Vilya (Elrond's ring) symbolizes water and is gold with a blue jewel, Narya (Gandalf's ring) I have no description of, but it symbolizes fire. The other ring, Nenya (Galadriel's), is mithiril with a white, opal-ish jewel called adamant and symbolizes air.
1. Don't make your character a super duper warrior. No one's perfect. They can't shoot off fifteen arrows and make perfect targets. Remember that.
Mary-Sue Smith 1. Do to modern-day conveniences; it is possible to have sun- streaked hair and violet eyes. And perfect nails. So its alright to say that in the eyes of the peoples of Middle Earth she was beautiful, but don't make her naturally so. She must have SOMETHING wrong with her! And don't make it a dark and mysterious past either.
1. Most everyone describes their character to have waist-length hair, big eyes, long eyelashes, perfect figure.don't do this! I've read so many Sue-fics with characters like that and the one word that comes to my mind is BORING. I've never seen a character with a chin-length bob or a pixie cut, save in a few stories.
1. If she knows about LotR and all, and you want her to go with the fellowship, keep in mind that Elrond would not allow a stranger, and especially a female, to go traversing off with nine guys to destroy a ring in the most terrifying part of Middle Earth. First of all, he'd probably think that if one of the guys, or more, fell in love with her, they'd put her life in front of Frodo's, hence making the ring-bearer more susceptible to danger. Also, Middle Earth is supposed to still be in about the Middle Ages. They've never heard of feminism and would most likely think she's a witch if she can fight well.
1. Don't let her have any connection to Middle Earth. It is no way possible for her to have come from Middle Earth because Middle Earth is in another time not place. Even if her parents had come through a portal or something, then they'd be vulnerable to disease and would die quickly leaving her to die as well. And they probably wouldn't hop into a portal that magically springs up anyways to begin with.
1. Keep to the story line. You can make her change things in subtle ways 9how could she not?), but don't change it in big ways as in saving Gandalf or Boromir or going with Frodo and Sam to Mordor and keeping them away from Shelob. Or warning Theoden of Helm's deep. Things like that are just not liked.
1. First of all, your character will usually be vulnerable to hard living. Unless they've gone to some survival camp or something, but don't add that in because it makes the story much less interesting.
1. Don't have the two characters fall in love at first sight. Especially not with Legolas because Elves usually keep to themselves and don't get into relationships quickly. Also, remember that the Fellowship, especially Aragorn, will want to leave her at safety, like Lothlorien, or with King Theoden, etc.
One big Boo Boo that author's have made is making Boromir the bad guy. ALWAYS the bad guy. As in he always tries to get jiggy with the Mary Sue and the author's canon love interest saves the Mary Sue. Then the canon love interest and Mary Sue have a good talk. Yeah...it always happens. Now I'm not a fan of Boromir or anything, but he's not evil!! Sure he wants the Ring, but doesn't everybody? Even 'perfect' Galadriel. Just don't make him a bad guy!
Another big Boo Boo, don't leave canon characters out of the conversation just to give your character some spotlight. This usually happens with Gimli, and he is given fewer parts than Legolas who speaks very little. That's so ironic because Gimli always complains and talks about this and that whereas Legolas just prances around, every once in a while saying something about how the weather is faring and about what they should do next.
Read some other Mary-Sue fics before writing yours. Make sure that your plot hasn't been repeated. And if it has, make yours have an unexpected twist that makes it more appealing. The more original a fanfic is, the more someone will want to read it. Also, don't post your first draft. Ask some authors to Beta read it and give you their critique. That way, you can make your story better and better.
Another thing, is that most fanfiction.net users like to read lengthy stories and no one likes to wait a long time to read the next chapter. When you start writing a story, don't post the first chapter until you have at least five chapters completed. Then, when you are happy with your final product, post the first chapter. Then a week later, do the second. And the next week, the third. It'll keep your readers on the tips of their toes in anticipation and you'll get more reads! Don't get discouraged if you don't have any reviews, and keep writing. Most often people immediately search for stories with 5,000 words or more. Once your story reaches that, you'll get more reads.
And finally, I know that many women like to put a part of themselves into their OC. If you write more than one Mary Sue fic, then don't repeat your character (unless it's a sequel). No one likes to read an amazing story about a girl name Veronica who is sent to Middle-Earth and right after that read a story about a girl named Vicki who bears a strange resemblance to the other OC.
UPDATE: I'm really sorry about the rings section. A big thanks to Christina who brought light to that matter. I've changed it. Narya (Gandalf's) is fire. Elrond's (Vilya) is water. And Nenya (Galadriel's) is air. And I've added some more stuff in the Mary Sye Smith section.
After reading the last chapter and all my evil comments, you probably think, what's she doing writing a chapter on how to write a Mary Sue? The truth of the matter is, Mary Sues aren't as bad as authors make them out to be, and they are in fact, quite truthful.
For example, if you were a normal teenage (or older) girl and you were magically transported to Middle Earth through a rift in the fabric of the universe, then wouldn't you want to join the fellowship? Wouldn't you want your favorite male canon character to fall in love with you?
Mary Sues are simply these romantic, and slightly absurd, fantasies brought to life through pencil and paper...or rather the computer and your keyboard. And in fact I have read some acclaimed "Mary Sues" that were really rather good. It's a lot like comparing a well-written romantic, fantasy novel to a trashy Harlequin fantasy.
Also, I've seen many "Mary Sue Lists" on Lord of the Rings websites. These hold all the criteria for a Mary Sue, but I think that the Mary Sue they criticize, and the actual Mary Sue is quite different.
My criteria for a "Mary Sue" is either a headstrong, strong-willed, LotR-lover, teenage girl who is transported through time (and not space, because Tolkien meant Middle Earth to be some alternate TIME of regular Earth, not alternate space. Arda is not on a different planet) to Middle Earth, where she either meets the Fellowship (in other words they're already on their quest) or she ends up in Rivendell where she goes to the Council of Elrond and is permitted to go on the quest or a girl (also around "teenage" years, though this doesn't really count for en elf, its always implied) who is met by a canon character and the two fall in love.
(Because there are two sub-categories of a Mary-Sue, I like to name the girl-who-gets-transported a Mary-Sue Smith and the girl who is already there, a Mary-Sue Brown. Now this sounds a little confusing, but it's easier to divide them into categories.)
So...yeah, back to the topic. It's perfectly all right to write a Mary-Sue, because we all know how great it is to see our romantic fantasies on paper...argh! I mean computer! Hehe, I'm not old-fashioned or anything, its just people always use that phrase and now I'm babbling!!! Ok. I'm calm.
But it a romantic fantasy will seem much less pleasant if it's tedious, repetitive of other fics, and if the two main characters fall in love too soon. Here are a few criteria for a Mary-Sue Brown and Mary-Sue Smith:
Mary-Sue Brown -
Choose ONE Middle Earth species. And by that I mean Elf, Human, Hobbit, Dwarf, Orc, Goblin, etc. And if you do want to make her half and half, make sure it makes sense. For example, don't make a Hobbit-Human or Hobbit-Elf or Elf-Human-Orc and PLEASE no Elf-Witch-Fairy or Human-Angel or anything like that. It just takes away from the story and when people read something like that they'll go back and look for another fic.
Don't describe your character and what she's wearing too much. Here's a good description of a character:
Mary-Sue Smith pushed back her long, mahogany-colored hair and looked curiously at the rune on her back porch. 'When did it get here?' she thought, squinting her deep blue eyes. She stood up, and stretched, her thin, flexible body twisted this way and that. It was too early to be up. (Notice how I described how she was skinny with mahogany hair and deep blue eyes without acting as if I cared to much about her appearance. This will interest your readers more)
Mary-Sue Brown's Elven ears picked up a rustling in the bushes. She tiptoed there, the harsh wind blowing her white-blonde air into frenzy. She thanked the Valar that her long black eyelashes somewhat shielded her eyes from the wind. They sparkled gray- green in the dimming sunlight. She withdrew her dagger. (Notice how much more interested your character becomes if you describe her extraordinary features like this. Appearing to be focused on her hearing the rustling in the bush rather than her looks. Compare this to a "Her features were unusual and extraordinarily beautiful, even for an elf. She had white-blonde hair and gray- green eyes that sparkled in the dimming sunlight and were shielded by long black lashes. The reader immediately thinks MARY SUE)
1. Do some background research before determining her heritage. Elves don't have illegitimate children. Humans might, but not elves. They are a proud and honorable people and wouldn't do something like that before marriage. And probably not hobbits either.
1. If you plan on doing an After The War fic, take in mind what actually happened after the war. First of all, Elrond, Galadriel, and Celeborn all departed to Valinor. And Elrond's wife, Celebrian is already in Valinor. Glorfindel is an elf-lord that has come back from Valinor and probably wouldn't have any children born in Middle Earth. And Aragorn and I think Legolas' mothers are both dead. As are Frodo's.
1. The Three Elven Rings lost power after the One Ring was destroyed and they don't come back to life. If you want to use them in your fic, Vilya (Elrond's ring) symbolizes water and is gold with a blue jewel, Narya (Gandalf's ring) I have no description of, but it symbolizes fire. The other ring, Nenya (Galadriel's), is mithiril with a white, opal-ish jewel called adamant and symbolizes air.
1. Don't make your character a super duper warrior. No one's perfect. They can't shoot off fifteen arrows and make perfect targets. Remember that.
Mary-Sue Smith 1. Do to modern-day conveniences; it is possible to have sun- streaked hair and violet eyes. And perfect nails. So its alright to say that in the eyes of the peoples of Middle Earth she was beautiful, but don't make her naturally so. She must have SOMETHING wrong with her! And don't make it a dark and mysterious past either.
1. Most everyone describes their character to have waist-length hair, big eyes, long eyelashes, perfect figure.don't do this! I've read so many Sue-fics with characters like that and the one word that comes to my mind is BORING. I've never seen a character with a chin-length bob or a pixie cut, save in a few stories.
1. If she knows about LotR and all, and you want her to go with the fellowship, keep in mind that Elrond would not allow a stranger, and especially a female, to go traversing off with nine guys to destroy a ring in the most terrifying part of Middle Earth. First of all, he'd probably think that if one of the guys, or more, fell in love with her, they'd put her life in front of Frodo's, hence making the ring-bearer more susceptible to danger. Also, Middle Earth is supposed to still be in about the Middle Ages. They've never heard of feminism and would most likely think she's a witch if she can fight well.
1. Don't let her have any connection to Middle Earth. It is no way possible for her to have come from Middle Earth because Middle Earth is in another time not place. Even if her parents had come through a portal or something, then they'd be vulnerable to disease and would die quickly leaving her to die as well. And they probably wouldn't hop into a portal that magically springs up anyways to begin with.
1. Keep to the story line. You can make her change things in subtle ways 9how could she not?), but don't change it in big ways as in saving Gandalf or Boromir or going with Frodo and Sam to Mordor and keeping them away from Shelob. Or warning Theoden of Helm's deep. Things like that are just not liked.
1. First of all, your character will usually be vulnerable to hard living. Unless they've gone to some survival camp or something, but don't add that in because it makes the story much less interesting.
1. Don't have the two characters fall in love at first sight. Especially not with Legolas because Elves usually keep to themselves and don't get into relationships quickly. Also, remember that the Fellowship, especially Aragorn, will want to leave her at safety, like Lothlorien, or with King Theoden, etc.
One big Boo Boo that author's have made is making Boromir the bad guy. ALWAYS the bad guy. As in he always tries to get jiggy with the Mary Sue and the author's canon love interest saves the Mary Sue. Then the canon love interest and Mary Sue have a good talk. Yeah...it always happens. Now I'm not a fan of Boromir or anything, but he's not evil!! Sure he wants the Ring, but doesn't everybody? Even 'perfect' Galadriel. Just don't make him a bad guy!
Another big Boo Boo, don't leave canon characters out of the conversation just to give your character some spotlight. This usually happens with Gimli, and he is given fewer parts than Legolas who speaks very little. That's so ironic because Gimli always complains and talks about this and that whereas Legolas just prances around, every once in a while saying something about how the weather is faring and about what they should do next.
Read some other Mary-Sue fics before writing yours. Make sure that your plot hasn't been repeated. And if it has, make yours have an unexpected twist that makes it more appealing. The more original a fanfic is, the more someone will want to read it. Also, don't post your first draft. Ask some authors to Beta read it and give you their critique. That way, you can make your story better and better.
Another thing, is that most fanfiction.net users like to read lengthy stories and no one likes to wait a long time to read the next chapter. When you start writing a story, don't post the first chapter until you have at least five chapters completed. Then, when you are happy with your final product, post the first chapter. Then a week later, do the second. And the next week, the third. It'll keep your readers on the tips of their toes in anticipation and you'll get more reads! Don't get discouraged if you don't have any reviews, and keep writing. Most often people immediately search for stories with 5,000 words or more. Once your story reaches that, you'll get more reads.
And finally, I know that many women like to put a part of themselves into their OC. If you write more than one Mary Sue fic, then don't repeat your character (unless it's a sequel). No one likes to read an amazing story about a girl name Veronica who is sent to Middle-Earth and right after that read a story about a girl named Vicki who bears a strange resemblance to the other OC.