The concept of Mary Sue was originally intended to refer to fanfiction, however, and every attempt I've ever seen to apply it to original fiction has been flawed at best. So regardless of whether the section for fanfic characters sucks or not (and make no mistake, I'm sure it does), I'm confident that the section on original characters would be less-then-useful.
I've said before that these tests do much more harm than good.
I disagree. I think that for newb writers like myself, they can give an idea as to what people have seen done a million times before, and (hopefully) get the test-taker thinking about how to spice up the execution of the different character traits.
I do find that they are often pretty bad at handling some of the more "out-there" characters or villains, though.
https://soundcloud.com/rich-justice-hinmen Too white for the black kids, too white for the white kids.
But as mentioned earlier, they focus on the symptoms of a Mary Sue and not what one actually is. As such, they have a very strong tendency to give people the idea that what differentiates a Sue from a good character is long lists of external traits rather than anything to do with actual good writing (not having the character warp the story around them and so forth). Even if this doesn't outright lead to the creation of an Anti-Sue, it's going to give them a mangled view of how to write good characters.
For the most complete amateurs who have never written anything in their life before, the tests might come in handy - but they might equally warp their view of writing. For anyone with the slightest self-awareness about their work, they're at best a time-waster.
edited 23rd Apr '12 5:46:11 PM by nrjxll
Yeah, the tests can be a warning, but they are by no means authoritative and if you ever find yourself optimizing for scores on one of these tests then burn with fire and restart.
Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)I occasionally run characters through this test for lulz, but tbh, Mary Sue litmus tests will never be able to capture "context" which is the critical factor, in my opinion, in weighing the value of character traits. They can help a tiny bit in determining whether you need to be particularly careful of how you portray your character to avoid making them come across as a "Mary Sue".
If you're concerned that a character you've made might be, or rather might come across as a Mary Sue (or rather, whether said character will have the reaction that the stereotypical Mary Sue provokes), ask a real person. If this character is going to be limited to a text based medium, then its fine to ask over the Internet, since you'll only be able to portray the character in text in your final product.
edited 26th Apr '12 10:01:53 PM by Archereon
This is a signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.![]()
If anything, that's a point in its favor.
Although pretty much any of the tests from this particular branch suck, to be honest. The only one I've ever seen that's remotely reliable is the one I linked to before, and that demands enough self-awareness that people using it might not really need it anyway.
I ran a character of mine through this one
and got a 19. Despite that being a good score, I have to admit that there were quite a few things about the character it just didn't have questions for. Perhaps the worst part is that it doesn't really have a lot of questions about how your character interacts with other characters outside a few popular archetypes.
edited 29th Apr '12 3:16:09 PM by TheGunheart
Have you tried the one linked in this post?
. That one should be more reliable.
I actually found that test offensive. Apparently a character who has surgical reconstruction of their hymen after losing their physical virginity to a rape gets Sue-Points. Actually, any rough past tends to get you sue-points. As does any skill out of the ordinary.
While the breath's in his mouth, he must bear without fail, / In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail.It's because unskilled writers have a tendency to pile those kinds of traits onto their characters in an attempt to make them more 'unique' or 'special'. They're fine on their own and in small enough numbers, it just turns into a problem when there's so many the character loses credibility.
edited 29th Apr '12 7:22:56 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."...ignoring the context from which such ideas rise up, I can honestly claim to have never seen such a thing mentioned in relation to Mary Sues before this, though I can see the logical connection ("virginity = purity, rape = violation and lasting corruption, reconstruction = spiritual healing"). Such a connection is... intensely despicable, but...
edited 29th Apr '12 7:25:53 PM by Flyboy
"Shit, our candidate is a psychopath. Better replace him with Newt Gingrich."Mary Sue tests speak to the newbie writer. If you're self-aware enough to know when to stop pelting shit at your characters' backstories and when it's okay to play a trait positively and when to play it negatively, you probably don't need a Mary Sue test to tell you that. There is a reason why I only use them for fun.
edited 29th Apr '12 7:29:46 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."![]()
One of the questions on the OP link was about the character, if they lost their virginity via rape, gaining it back somehow. The only measure of virginity is the hymen, or, theoreticly, if anyone on the planet can remember if the character/person had sex.
I ran my character, the Retriever, through another one and got this score breakdown.
Score Breakdown
- Do I Know This Guy? 0
- James Dean, James Dean... 19
- I'm Destined For What? 5
- Can't Complain 4
- Momma HATES Her! 3
- Total: 31
Im glad i dont "know this guy" since she is a cyborg warrior in a highly transhuman future where you can get your eyes replaced by snake eyes for a modest fee.
As a test, i also ran a real person i knew through that same test. Obviously all the stuff about name and fantastical past were out, but she scored suprisingly high.
Score Breakdown
- Do I Know This Guy? 0
- You Mean Plaid Is Out? 6
- Plain Jane 0
- Angst R Us 10
- Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child 4
- Total: 20
edited 29th Apr '12 8:05:42 PM by Stormthorn
While the breath's in his mouth, he must bear without fail, / In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail.I actually believe a practical test could work
Author is asked to write a short story 500 (letters max) about his character. The one that is testing the character acts like "a god" and decides what happens to the character and the author must writte acordingly.
ex your character is lost in a forest what does he do?
edited 29th Apr '12 10:09:37 PM by FallenLegend
Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love.You're confusing yourself. 'Real-world Mary Sue' is an oxymoron, because the term 'Mary Sue' refers entirely to how a character in a fictional work interacts with the rest of the work. If a person in reality has many of the traits associated with Sues, you'd call them 'popular' or 'very competent' or something like that; calling them Sues just makes no sense, it's like referring to someone as the hero. If a test that purports to measure Sue-ness returns high results for real people, that's no credit to the test.
Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)

And twelve-year-old was meant in terms of writing maturity, not literal age. Thought that would be obvious.
Never build a character piecemeal out of tropes.