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/lit/ - Literature

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[ERROR] No.2100212 [Reply] [Original]

Why can't I make a mary sue character? So what if I want the character to be all powerful and have no flaws at all. So what ever other character revolves around the mary sue one and can not find any faults. What is so bad about this?

>> No.2100217

So blond blue eyed beautiful woman who is 6 feet tall and also concealed carries a pistol chambered in 10mm auto?

>> No.2100215

Readers will think the character is a stand in for you, a fantasy version of the author. Think Bella Swann from Twilight or whatever the fuck her name is.

>> No.2100245

A mary-sue is technically a character in a fanfiction who is introduced exclusively for that work and who outshines all of the original characters. A mary-sue may be an author self-insert, though that is unncessary.

Recent usage has generalized the term to any character who is "overpowered" but I dislike that usage, because I think there is a place in literature for unrealistic hero characters. It's a viewpoint born of the modern obsession with antiheroes and in my opinion it's counterproductive.

>> No.2100271

I'm totally okay with a Mary Sue character as long as he/she is not the protagonist of the work. Sometimes a character doesn't need to be relatable or believable. Sometimes they should just move the plot forward or be a foil to the main character. Honestly, I tend to enjoy stories that follow the format of an average Joe sort of protagonist experiencing events in parallel with or in the shadow of a Mary Sue. It just seems like a simple, effective plot device.

If the Mary Sue is the main focus, though, fuck that noise.

>> No.2100307

The problem with Mary Sue is that everyone has faults. Notice the plural. We as a race a riddled with fault.

For that reason, the characters just aren't believable, and it is a job of the author to present things convincingly. Mary Sue is just not convincing. It is career suicide.

>> No.2100327

is boring...
is like eating a bag of sugar instead those two liter Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dews that you like so much.
Is the sugar without the Pepper or the Dew
.is why people like Batman and not Superman.

>> No.2100431

I want to write a story where there's a Mary Sue and the real hero wants to feed her to a wood chipper, but he can't touch her because she's just that awesome.

>> No.2100435
File: 70 KB, 382x787, mary sue.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
[ERROR]

The real problem is that no story a Mary Sue inhabits can ever be entertaining.

The drama will either be forced or non-existent.

>> No.2102012
File: 30 KB, 450x450, useless-is-more-by-joevelluto-5sedia-parziale_partial-cha.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
[ERROR]

>>2100431
so you have no conflict. which breaks the first rule of story...but that's okay...maybe it will be experimental like a Philip Glass opera or "Waiting for Godot"?
Probably it will just suck, though.
Pic related. "IT'S A CHAIR!"

>> No.2102016

>>2102012
but Waiting for Godot does have conflict.

the conflict is that they're waiting.

>> No.2102268

Mary Sue's can be done well. If the point of the book is wish fulfillment and fun, it can be enjoyable with an awesome protagonist whom everybody loves.

But it's very hard to write a very serious or thought-provoking story where one character is portrayed as flawless. Especially if that character's morality is fucked up. See: The Sword of Truth.

>> No.2102281

>>2100431
So, you want to write the plot for pretty much every episode featuring Willy E. Coyote and The Road Runner.

>> No.2102559

>>2100271
Dr. Manhattan comes to mind.
The only marry sure i can remember that didn't fuck the plot up, but was helpful

>> No.2102580

>>2102559
Dr. Manhattan isn't really a Mary Sue. There are people that truly hate/terrify of him. He can't feel emotions. He's mostly just Omnipotent which don't truly make him a Mary Sue.

>> No.2102583

>>2102559
whoa, whoa whoa, Dr. Manhattan was not a Mary Sue.

His biggest character flaw being that he was unable to relate to humanity or feel empathy towards anyone. Not to mention that pretty much everyone thought he was a complete jerk or outright hated him or they were terrified of him.

Just because he was all-powerful doesn't make him perfect. He was far from perfect. He was almost inhuman.

>> No.2102590

>>2102580
>>2102583
You are right. I made the mistake of confusing "overpowered", with "Marry Sue".
That said, Dr Manhattan was a very beautiful part of the story.

>> No.2102593

>>2102590
Everything about watchmen was beautify written. But I did highly enjoy Dr. Manhattan parts. So sad but worked so well.

>> No.2102762

sup Rothfuss