Yeah, it really is an interesting thing to think about, because even doing this I was seeing how all the characters are me, of course--too much so, really. I'm going to have to do something about that, I think. So it even seems strange that this character would seem any different from the others!
I think the bad Mary Sue can be a sort of creeping thing, where you realize that in any situation she's going to turn out to be right or to look good. I still remember how much I loved reading that article about Madeleine L'Engle and hearing how her editor told her that the main character of the Archer series was just insufferable the way she was always right and everyone else was always wrong. She changed it, but it was hysterical to think of a famous writer creating what sounded like a Mary Sue straight out of ff.net!
But I'm sure otoh literature is filled with really interesting negative Mary Sues like you describe, where someone is sort of celebrating the horrible parts of themselves.
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Date: 2004-08-23 06:53 am (UTC)I think the bad Mary Sue can be a sort of creeping thing, where you realize that in any situation she's going to turn out to be right or to look good. I still remember how much I loved reading that article about Madeleine L'Engle and hearing how her editor told her that the main character of the Archer series was just insufferable the way she was always right and everyone else was always wrong. She changed it, but it was hysterical to think of a famous writer creating what sounded like a Mary Sue straight out of ff.net!
But I'm sure otoh literature is filled with really interesting negative Mary Sues like you describe, where someone is sort of celebrating the horrible parts of themselves.