All about the Personality Crisis
Mary Sue/Gary Stu: An 'original' character in fanfiction that is more perfect, lovable, beautiful, smart or fantastic than any normal person could ever be. May also describe the beautifully flawed, the brilliant, damaged, bitter, stand-offish character that no one should like but for some reason everyone is drawn in a groovy kind of mosquito to bug zapper kind of way.
A good writer will not insert a Mary Sue into a story-as it is an onanistic and fully self-aggrandizing sort of thing. There's a handy dandy little test to see if your OC (original character) is a Mary Sue. Curiousity being a hobby of mine, I went aboutfilling out the test as if I was a character in a story.
Brace yourself.
I am a Mary Sue. I'm the Sueiest Sue that ever Sued. On a scale of 1-100 I'm 84% Sue.
Lengthy exploration of this discovery (warning-this may sound deeply self-absorbed, but it's for science and it's a fucking blog, of course it's self absorbed)
Character
-has an unusual spelling of a somewhat common name
- has a name that describes personality or trait (I am in fact the child of a wise person)
-has a name that is unusual for era in which she grew up
-foreign name
-People (including stoic and chaste characters-'Real Men Love Jesus' guy anyone?) are attracted to the character
- has exceptional eyes that reflect hidden depths or sorrow
-dresses in a manner I find particularly cool (OK-that's obvious)
-is smarter than the average bear
- has been estranged from some or all of family
-was forcibly banished from country or tribe (well, job actually-but it was the suburbs so the mall was like a tribe)
-has angst issues
-has suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse/rape
- considers skill a curse (transcription isn't exactly being the only person that can defeat Voldemort but the test didn't specify...and other stuff too)
-suffers extreme guilt for something that happened in the past despite overwhelming proof that it was not his/her fault
-has worked willingly for an evil regime (*$)
-is well traveled
-collects intellectual/esoteric things
-is irreverent without repercussions
-just knows things
-has a handicap that is not a serious hindrance (dang bad knee!)
-animals and children love him/her
-has 1 or more addictions that he/she revels in to the point normal people would be incapacitated or in rehab
-has a significant personality flaw (misanthropic, reclusive, bitter) that causes said character trouble but never lasting harm
-avoids learning from mistakes
-character is extremely knowledgeable in one or more areas (particularly areas that are not everyday knowledge)
-has photographic/phonographic memory
-has the power of seduction (in this case, seducing random guys in the drinks line at bars to buy me drinks when I'm not even flirting, esp when I'm not flirting)
-everyone significant to the plot has heard of the character
-everyone likes, respects, fears character (but there's not nearly enough fear)
-doesn't change ways but instead waits for the world to adjust for her/him
Now my entire image of myself has come crashing down. I've just realized that the reason my life is so dull for such extended periods of time and then suddenly full of events and bright flashes of color and excitement and events is because I'm being scripted. I bet that if I went through my blog I'd realize these events appen at regular intervals, right on some kind of schedule. I'm a poorly crafted character study.
It feels like this only with fewer mobsters and no cigars.
Read the link and tell me that I'm insane and talentless or whatever the other option is and make my day. Thanks for being all rock'n'roll in that way.
The only way to deal with this is to go play with my dog (who also has a very interesting name and unique characteristics and has overcome great difficulties in his life---Coupland's a Gary Stu!) Then, listen to some independent label music that defies genre boundaries, drink Shiner Bock whilst reading Sherlock Holmes mysteries and round the evening off with one of the multitude of painkillers one can find in every cupboard in my apartment.
posted by Piece_of_Work @ 9:50 PM
8 Comments:
Insane. But most of the world is insane to me. Anymore I fail to understand the attention and devotion folks give to entertainment that "babysits the brain" and distracts from reality. However, in this case at least it has sparked one to use their own imagination, which is useful and somewhat productive. I have a lot of "weird" views I thought I'd never have. Anyhoo, it is good writing.
muchas gracias my dear hidden by a cloak of secrecy reader.
Oh good I thought youd be offended - hard not to sound snarky with such an unpopular POV. Cloak? Didn't those go out of fashion oh...in the 1600s or so?
Not liking TV doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me,I might go on as to why at some point but not now But then-if many people shared my views then I would have much less respect for myself.
There are things that interst the vast majority of humanity that bore me into a coma. So it's groovy.
C'est la vie. You saw something good in the writing so I can't complain.
You'd have to be away from it for an extended period of time to understand. I never did. I thought all those people campaigning for families to "unplug" even one day a week were irrational tree-hugging bible thumping crazies. I knew a guy locally that had had it off for 8 years. I'd read his and found his random anti-television comments just shocking. But that was why I read it...it was so shocking. Now here I am with the same views, but I acknowledge that no one could possibly understand unless they've done it (or in my case it's been done to them, in my case financial reasons). A few weeks ago I spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon indoors (passifying the significant others need for the tube)watching Martin Lawrence "hoodify" a colony from the Middle Ages (Black Night), and I was furious inside. What a waste of valuable time, I thought. I'd better stop I could go on for ages...actually I have a blog post on "save as draft" that I'd started on the subject...maybe some day I'll get around to finishing/posting it.
The 5th sentence is missing the word "blog".
Still yakking...I DO see 4hours of television a week. Sundays L&O on TNT or Bravo and Mondays The Closer and Whose Line (although "Saved" wasn't half bad either)...at any rate, those 4 hours are "snuggle time in front of the tube".
Last thought for now-Of course you hate TV/movies if Martin Lawrence's creative oeuvre is what you get to experience. That guy is everything funny and talented isn't. He makes Sweet Baby Jesus cry.
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