avalonsmistress.com

Last week a writer ‘freind’ of mine (I use freind loosley around anyone that believes thier primary role in life is to belittle and attack other writers because they don’t conform with thier ideal - and in turn, makes thier ideal look about as…well…ideal as a pickaxe to the spine) was commenting on the private writers list that we all ran (it eventually closed after this argument) that her writing was so much more ’supremely betta’ than anyone else’s because she writes her characters as herself.

When we explained, gently of course, that its called ‘mary-suism’ she got very snotty, and claimed that anyone NOT writing themselves into thier own books or stories didn’t really count as a real writer.
It kinda deteriorated from there.

So here’s my thoughts on Mary Sue (or Martie Stu).

They exisit everywhere - JKR has reportedly claimed that Harry is a bit of her. I can quite believe that too.
Anne Rice goes on about Lestadt and how he speaks like her - and in fact I think in more of her unhinged moments she claimed he was actually her.
Or maybe I’m wrong - she might have been totally serious when saying it.
I’m pretty sure Stephen King has done it at least once, but in a very self depreciating way (the Dark half). So it happens.

And there’s no harm in putting a LITTLE of yourself into the story you’re writing. There is after all, a need for connection, for the drama and spark that pulls your reader in.

As for my own experiences with Mary Sues.
Possibly not the same concept, not QUITE, but I’ve been in larps where the characters were so stupidly similar to the people that were ‘playing’ that it was obvious you were killing a vampire version of them. There’s slightly more to life than playing yourself and adding fangs, or a sctick, but not much. I’m very guilty of ‘playing’ myself in games, just more violent, more psychotic….ok…that’s a lie. I play myself.
Back to fiction though….
Elliot, my character, killed ME. It was kinda purging to write a character like me into the story and have my main protagoinst kill her. You can read that short story (the Wall) later in the week, when I fix my archives.

Anyway - just some thoughts on Mary Sue’s.