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Nov. 29th, 2003
The taint of Mary Sue-ism (rant-ish)
Nov. 29th, 2003 03:25 pmWhen was the last time you saw a good female original character in a fanfic, anyway? Or do you just stop reading once a female OC appears?
This came to my attention today. See, I've been posting my OUATiM fics to the Pit of Voles recently, with a pretty positive response (including one piece of feedback that had me going O_o ... !!!!!! because HER liking a story of mine is just... unbelievable), but one I received today for Back in the Fold, the first story in my "Sands strikes back" series, got me thinking. It was very positive, but there was this one line.
"I think I might be able to tolerate Davis as well- if she can deal with Sands she may be worth watching"
"Davis" is Carmen Davis. In the story, she gets all of three lines of dialogue and exactly five words of description, one of which is "female". There are two other original characters in the story, both of whom get much more description and dialogue. The catch? The other two are male.
Satan's sake. Why is it that you can write all the male OCs you want, make them villains, love interests, friends, bystanders, what-will-you, but the moment you make an original character female, everyone's Mary Sue warning bells go off? I don't blame the reviewer at all: I get the same reaction, and it saddens me. The thing is, sometimes the thing you're aiming for has to feature a female OC. Like if you want to show a character's reaction to a damsel-in-distress situation (Sands or Kamui or Hisoka unwillingly pressed into the role of a gallant knight, anyone?), you need a damsel. But many people won't write that story at all, for fear of having it cried off as a Mary Sue. I know I'd think three times before attempting it.
This - limits the artistic expression of fanfiction writers. A lot.
(And, um, Carmen's not a Sue, is she? She has a grand total of eight lines over four stories, and basically plays sidekick to Sands the same way Bellini did, only with less onscreen time. Hell, in First Blood she and Lorenzo mirror each other's roles the way Sands and El do. She's just someone who can react to a situation to up wordcount or throw Sands a gun if he needs one.)
*sigh* Nothing to it, I guess. Back to my Nano I go. I want to win this thing.
[EDIT] Just got another review, this time for Things to do in Sinaloa when you're dead. "I thought the woman was an original and I'm glad to be proven wrong". Unfortunately the reviewer didn't leave her e-mail - I'd very much like to ask her why it's a good thing she's not an original character. Are original characters the mark of a bad fanfiction writer and it's just that I didn't get the memo?
This came to my attention today. See, I've been posting my OUATiM fics to the Pit of Voles recently, with a pretty positive response (including one piece of feedback that had me going O_o ... !!!!!! because HER liking a story of mine is just... unbelievable), but one I received today for Back in the Fold, the first story in my "Sands strikes back" series, got me thinking. It was very positive, but there was this one line.
"I think I might be able to tolerate Davis as well- if she can deal with Sands she may be worth watching"
"Davis" is Carmen Davis. In the story, she gets all of three lines of dialogue and exactly five words of description, one of which is "female". There are two other original characters in the story, both of whom get much more description and dialogue. The catch? The other two are male.
Satan's sake. Why is it that you can write all the male OCs you want, make them villains, love interests, friends, bystanders, what-will-you, but the moment you make an original character female, everyone's Mary Sue warning bells go off? I don't blame the reviewer at all: I get the same reaction, and it saddens me. The thing is, sometimes the thing you're aiming for has to feature a female OC. Like if you want to show a character's reaction to a damsel-in-distress situation (Sands or Kamui or Hisoka unwillingly pressed into the role of a gallant knight, anyone?), you need a damsel. But many people won't write that story at all, for fear of having it cried off as a Mary Sue. I know I'd think three times before attempting it.
This - limits the artistic expression of fanfiction writers. A lot.
(And, um, Carmen's not a Sue, is she? She has a grand total of eight lines over four stories, and basically plays sidekick to Sands the same way Bellini did, only with less onscreen time. Hell, in First Blood she and Lorenzo mirror each other's roles the way Sands and El do. She's just someone who can react to a situation to up wordcount or throw Sands a gun if he needs one.)
*sigh* Nothing to it, I guess. Back to my Nano I go. I want to win this thing.
[EDIT] Just got another review, this time for Things to do in Sinaloa when you're dead. "I thought the woman was an original and I'm glad to be proven wrong". Unfortunately the reviewer didn't leave her e-mail - I'd very much like to ask her why it's a good thing she's not an original character. Are original characters the mark of a bad fanfiction writer and it's just that I didn't get the memo?
40,042 words. 30 hours to go.
Can I write 10 thousand words in a single day? I don't know.
Will I do it? Hell yes.
Can I write 10 thousand words in a single day? I don't know.
Will I do it? Hell yes.
