Mary Sue Slept Here

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about the concept of Mary Sue.  She is the much maligned self-gratifying character who shows up in fiction as a portrait (perhaps) of the writer, a wistfully near perfect creation who commands attention both of the reader and other characters within the story.
I am not an expert on Mary Sue, and will admit that my first story would  probably qualify, although it was a tad tongue in cheek.  I was ignorant of Mary Sue, but perhaps in that ignorance portrayed exactly how easy it is to follow her lead.
So, with that in mind I am thinking that it might be fun to follow this to a glaringly obvious call for some blatant Mary Sue fiction.  I had mentioned to mrua7 that we might even use some old pictures of ourselves to illustrate these stories.  That's up to you, and at present I don't have a date in mind for when we might begin to post these.  Perhaps we don't need a specific date, just the tag 'Mary Sue'.
Any thoughts?  I've listed some articles, and I believest_crispins ran something related to this a while back, so perhaps she will chime in on the topic and refresh our memories. 
Think about it: you can write a story where you are the embodiment of the perfect heroine... a super woman.  Napoleon's lips kissing yours, Illya's hands encircling your waist... 
What do you say?


Wikipedia  
TV Tropes 
Official Mary Sue Manual   

Comments

[rosywonder.livejournal.com]

I went through a real Mary Sue crisis the last time this subject was discussed and it very nearly made me give up writing fan fiction. I've just read the 'guide to Mary Sue' or whatever it's called and am now panicking again . . . .

I'm just wondering if this is the reason why some people won't read or write stories that involve long-term partners/wives. As I've said before on a few occasions, introducing life partners seemed such a natural thing to me, because that is the natural path that most people in RL take.

However, to exorcise that particular demon, a stab at deliberately writing a Mary Sue would be awful fun, in fact I have to admit I have written one already, hidden away from prying eyes of course, which features not just one, but four Mary Sues!

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

And it is all about the fun of doing it. I think if it's deliberate, the inclusion of the Mary Sue element will actually be a little more difficult. Still, the fun is in there. I look forward to your entry.