How To Never Meet Mary Sue

Have you ever met someone who is completely perfect? No? Well, neither have I.

That is, except for this one girl. Can you guess what her name was? Mary Sue.

Mary is that one girl who's always there and is so perfect, it makes you want to vomit because that's not how real people work. Real people have flaws. Mary doesn't. Real people have to work hard for what they want. Mary doesn't. Real people aren't the best at everything. Mary is.

Beware of Mary Sue. She comes in many different forms and ruins your book. This is how you avoid her:

1. Give your characters flaws. 

I know this seems like an obvious one, but you don't realize that you have probably made the mistake in the past, are going to make the mistake in the future, and/or are making the mistake as we speak.

The number of people who hate Mary Sue outnumber the people who do. Nevertheless, every single one of them have flaws.

And remember, a character with one big flaw can be equivalent to a character with a bunch of small flaws, thus making them both pretty equal in that department.

2. Allow your characters to make mistakes.

It's okay. We all make them...except for Mary. Trust me, your characters will too.

3. Write diverse characters.

Why, might you ask? Because people are diverse. Again, Mary isn't. She's your stereotypical character that has been overdone.

Plus we need more diverse books.

I hope that helps you avoid her for the rest of your life.

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Keep writing!

- The Book Season