Introducing Mary Sue and Gary Stu

If you're not familiar with these two famous characters already, then you should start learning about them. I'm sure you've already met them. They're the perfect characters that get everything they want, are beautiful, have no flaws, and usually have an animal companion and some abnormal magical power. Hey, we've all written them at one time, and it was most likely fanfiction. There's no escaping these two; they're everywhere.

Mary Sue is the female counterpart of Gary Stu. She'll have an unusual name, perhaps Japanese or Raven, and will have all the boys falling head over heels. She'll be the best at everything, learn things quickly, and be friends with everyone in the process. Unless, of course, big-baddy is jealous of her super popularity. However, in the end of the story, they'll end up defeated by Mary Sue's super-special-snowflake powers.

A good example of a Mary Sue is Bella Swan from Twilight. Though many of you may disagree, consider her name. "Isabella Swan" which means "Beautiful Swan". A lot of the students are fascinated by her. About four boys are into her, including a teacher who Stephenie Meyer admits has sexual feelings for Bella. Her only "weakness" is her clumsiness, which is a "Mo-weakness", used to make her seem cuter.

Gary Stu is pretty much the same. Edward Cullen from Twilight is a good example of one. He's beautiful, and everyone at his school wants to jump his bones. He has no weaknesses, for his blood lust is beaten pretty easily. He's constantly the knight in shining armor (literally) and saves Bella with his super-special-snowflake powers.

To avoid these characters, a great tool to use is The Universal Mary-Sue Litmus Test: http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm. Of course, it only treats the symptoms, and not the problem. Just be careful when creating your characters. Do they seem like real people you'd encounter? Do they have weaknesses and faults? It's very hard to create good characters, but the end product is well worth it.

P.S. Sorry for picking on Stephenie Meyer here, but her characters are good examples to use.