~Michan's Psycho Journal~ Current Trades
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[link] There's still time to enter my 10 Free Sketches Challenge! See link for details. ^^
I've been talking to a few fellow artists and friends about the touchy subject of "Mary-sues," and I thought I'd give my humble opinion. If you don't agree with me, that's all right, but PLEASE don't send me flames or hate messages n' such...cuz that's just mean, yo. O.o
Me, personally? I'm really tired of the whole "Mary-sue" witch hunt that's been going on. I'll admit, sometimes people make original characters that are a bit ridiculous, with limitless superpowers, perfectly styled sparkly rainbow hair and no flaws who make their intended fall in love instantly and without hesitation. And I'll admit, there ARE a lot of them out there. But some of us actually work quite hard on our OCs, and I happen to be one of them.
I'll admit, a lot of my OCs are self inserts, but I work very, very hard to make them believable and entertaining. I don't make uber-powerful, uber-perfect supermodel characters who make their intended instantly fall for them at first sight. All of my original characters have weaknesses and flaws (without being "emo" or overly tragic) and when I do introduce romance with a Canon character, I write it out very carefully, making sure to keep as true to that Canon's character as possible. If that means it takes almost the entire story for the romance to develop, so be it.
Perhaps my characters and stories may fall under some folks "Mary-sue" category, but I've honestly stopped caring. It's gotten nearly impossible these days to design an original character that isn't automatically labeled "Mary-sue," so I just follow my heart and do the best I can.
There are folks out there who assume that ANY OC is automatically a "Mary-Sue." Some argue that any character that is a self-insert (An original character modeled after yourself) is a "Mary-sue." The truth is, the definition for what "is" and what "isn't" a "Mary-sue" varies from fan to fan, and is often not clearly defined.
Personally, I think the whole thing is just really petty and elitist. I mean, honestly, who cares if our characters are Mary-sue or not? We're not making any money off this wish-fullfillment, guys, it's purely for our own enjoyment and fun. And surely you've got better things to do with your time than hang around waiting to pounce on people who don't meet your standards of fandom. We're ALL fans, guys. As my favorite cliche' quote goes, "Can't we all just get along?" I suppose not...
NOW...that being said, If you're going to make up an OC, I'd advise you to try and avoid some common mistakes. Watch for making your character overly powerful and perfect. Don't spend entire paragraphs describing your character's hair. Give them flaws! Avoid overly tragic backgrounds and personalities, if you can. If you write a romance with a Canon character (and many of us do, it's fun!) stay true to who THEY are. Don't just have them fall for you at first sight (unless they happen to be Takeshi aka Brock from Pokemon) without conflict or hesitation. Really take time to think about what they would really say and do, and how they'd react to your character.
O-kay, that's all I gotta say for today! ^^
*feebly holds up umbrella to shield herself from flames*
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Fwiends!
Clubbage!
About Michan Starfire, or "Who The Heck Is The Pink-Haired Cat Girl?"[link]
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