Writing Blog Number 2

20240215 Mary Sue/Marty Stu (Gary Stu)

Mary Sue/Marty Stu (Gary Stu)

Following yesterday's post, I was asked what a Mary Sue was.

Simply put - this is a character to avoid. In general.

A Mary Sue/Marty Stu is a character who is a thinly veiled and idealised version of the author put into the story for one of three things – wish fulfillment, self-aggrandisement, and/or narcissism. There is not really a consensus of what actually makes a character a Mary Sue, but generally they are the best-looking (or have some minor flaws that they are later told are beautiful anyway), have something unusual about them physically or mentally (not like other girls is the trope here), have enhanced skill or knowledge or intelligence or wisdom, and are usually the centre of absolutely everything in the story.

Worse, they "fix" the bad boy. Against everything psychology tells us is possible.

A Marty (Gary) Stu is the male counterpart. He is good at sports, good at school, likes reading and doing things that other tease him about, but is generally liked by everyone. And he "fixes" the broken girl. Broken? Yeah, bad choice of words, but that is how it is portrayed, even though the girl might just be sad, depressed or just feeling lonely. I don't make the rules. Oh, the girl cannot sleep around because the Marty Stu would never help a "slut." And, again, I wish I was joking.

Famous Mary Sues include Bella Swan (Twilight), Anastasia Steele (50 Shades Of Grey - one of the worst), and Hermione Granger (Harry Potter books). Famous Marty Stus include Eragon (Eragon), James Bond (in the books), and Superman (the original comics). In some cases – Hermione, Bond and Superman – the creators have admitted they are author inserts. The others it feels obvious.

I will say, Hermione Granger and Superman overcame their Sue/Stu origins because of the skills of the writers. The other 4... not so much!

Now, if you want to write yourself into this situation (especially popular in fan fiction), then that is fine – it is your story. And, note, all the examples I have given come from very well-selling books or comics series. Just because a character is a Mary Sue/Marty Stu does not mean the story will fail to work. Just be aware that audiences are growing more and more wary of them, but they have worked in the past, and will continue to work in the future, if done well or combined with other story objects.

However, as a character... they are usually not good.