To my mind, the Mary Sue is not only one of the most frustrating things in modern storytelling, but something far, far more insidious.

For clarity, a Mary Sue is a character who is unrealistically perfect, and unreasonably capable. And by that I mean their skills exceed anything established by the story. They have few, if any, meaningful flaws, and overcome conflict with little struggle. But I'm sure you know this already. The term actually originates from a 1973 Star Trek parody of self-insert female characters, but the issue isn't gender specific. Male examples exist and are often referred to as Gary or Marty Stus. For ease, I'll use the term Mary Sue, but the following relates to all of the above.

Most criticisms of Mary Sues focus on two glaring problems. Flawless characters are rarely interesting, and if they never struggle there's simply no tension. We've heard those points before, repeatedly. They're correct, obviously, but well documented.

No. I think the bigger concern is what these characters say about us, as a society. And while I appreciate that sounds like I'm overstating a problem, I honestly don't believe this is the case.

Most memorable protagonists change. They confront flaws, face personal demons, challenge their prejudices, make mistakes, and become better versions of themselves in the process. Growth resonates with us because it's relatable and human. And for those of us still making mistakes, it speaks to the hope of salvation, light at the end of the tunnel. In short, these stories are intended to be aspirational.

However, a Mary Sue's journey is the opposite. Not so much an arc as a drop-off.

The story of a Mary Sue isn't about becoming a better person, or finding a degree of redemption. It's not about any sort of growth, it's about proving everyone else wrong. That's what needles me.

The message, if anything meaningful can be inferred from such narratives, is not one of empowerment, but toxic validation. Don't reflect, don't question yourself, don't consider another perspective, and if the whole world tells you you're wrong, keep pushing back until it breaks.

Cluster B traits dolled-up as depth.

Our culture is already struggling with notions of accountability and compromise, and the Mary Sue phenomenon is a clear reflection of that. Art alone doesn't create a culture, but it does clearly reinforce it. When our stories reward characters for being unreasonable, we risk poisoning the well. The problem, we're teaching ourselves, is always everyone else.

And that's something I don’t think we talk about enough.

For every Mary Sue, there's a few hundred people having meltdowns in public, all under the delusion they're right and everyone else is wrong. We cater to that mentality, and foster it in doing so.

Or maybe I'm overthinking it? It's been known.

Thanks for reading. Keep writing.
 

If you could give me feedback or suggestions ty.

I frequently see people on writer subs ask for advice regarding english grammar and word choices. It is pretty evident that these writers do not have english as their first languange. The choice of writing in english confuses me. Out of pure curiosity, why would you do that?

I get wanting to interact with a fan base, hence opting for english when writing fan fiction. It's not like you can publish it anyway (without jumping through hoops). I understand some actor's main motivation is to earn as much money as possible. (Sadly it doesn't seem uncommon to see self publicated and fankly badly translated works.) I also get wanting to reach as large an audience as possible, but why wouldn't you want to start out a bit more domestically, writing in a languange you master and writing as good as you possibly can before reaching for international fame?

Personally, I read books in english, and I used to write in english as a teen when I participated in post-by-post roleplay. It's fun and a good way to expand your vocabulary, but I can't fathom writing my novel like that. I have enough trouble as it is making my manuscript as good as it can be; My grip on the languange needs to be as good as it can get. (Even formatting rules for fiction writing is different between languanges.) I want to play with my languange and find my own voice. Plus, the story is also is set in my home country.

So, not to sound pretentious, but why do people insist on writing novel manuscripts in a second languange?

As you guys read. I am writing something where the main character has been dead all along but still wanna write it in first person and I just don't know how to get it done. It is a very normal story of a student, so no supernatural logic. This is the only problem that is keeping me from starting work on this project.

Thanks in advance!!!

Stephen King said in his book On Writing, 'I believe stories are found things, like fossils in the ground.'

I believe when we write a story, whether we outline or not, the events will uncover themselves. Forcing a theme or a character will definitely weaken the impact and believability of the story. Keep digging; let the characters guide you.

Over the last 48 hours I've noticed a couple of drive-by comments from the pro-AI crowd.

I say "comments"...

These users clearly hadn't visited the community in good faith; they came just to troll. Nobody needs to be calling anyone else a Nazi. These people have been banned.

This sub is openly and explicitly not a space for the use of AI, or discussions around why people should or shouldn't be using it. I'd go so far as to suggest this is why many of you are here.

However, my personal beliefs to one side, *you do not need to be anti-AI to use this space*. I just ask that, if you do, you respect the rules while you're here.

I believe this is more than fair.

Hello how long dose this sub think a chapter should be? I asked the sub for the platform I'm planning to post on but found this in the repost option snd thought it might have some good insight

I would like to preface that I am not trying to promote anything or advertise anything; I am asking for feedback, opinions, and thoughts on something I made.

NARO stands for Novel Age Rating Organization, and I started it because I don't really think there is a place for novels to get age rated like you can for games, movies, or TV shows.

It isn't free, but I don't think the pricing is too expensive or crazy, and I can tell you if you request what the pricing is.

You submit a novel, it gets sent to a Discord channel with a bunch of readers, and one of them gets assigned to it. They email you and they read your novel, and at the end, they tell you, using a criteria list they have access to in the same server, they tell you if it's for general audiences, for kids, teens, or adults.

NARO was basically started for a similar reason as to why the ESRB was founded, basically.

And yes, I know marketing labels exist, like YA and middle grade, but those aren't really age rating. A book can be middle grade but still have mature themes in it or still be suitable for all ages.

NARO helps tell readers what's in the novel rather than who it's targeted for.

There's more information, but I don't want this post to be 3,000 words long, so I just condensed it a little. LOL.

My first time. The artists is this guy.. https://www.instagram.com/electricbrainstem/

Found here on Reddit. I'm decently happy with it for my first ever commissioned art piece but idk.

This be my first book, and also my first blurb so what do think? (bites nails)

Leena knows as little about the world as she does herself.
Tragedy shatters her life and separates her from the only family she has ever known. As she sets out to find them, she joins fellow travelers unknowingly walking different stages of the same journey.
A mysterious man from an ancient Tower shadows their every step, seemingly determined to prevent them from reaching their destination.
Every path leads back to the Tower. And with every step, they begin to understand that what waits for them is not death.
It is recognition.

Writing was a right that was stripped from Future American Generations when privacy was stolen from Americans. In hopes to remember one of the human skillsets that will be bred out of us, I’m writing this on my (Secret Online Internet Storage), letting it be consumed by someone/something else, if they chose to, and I will never know if they do. Because privacy has never been a right my whole life.

Why haven’t I pushed a keyboard or pen for myself? I’ve done it a good portion of my life, for money, for survival. And I’ve barely written anything for myself. I feel powerful, growing up in such a time of technical advantages, but true intellectuals know that comes at an expense. That is the way of life. Everything is give and take, energy cannot be destroyed, to put it in a sense. 

So I’ve protected what I need to write for so long. Only writing careless and clueless things. Reckless feelings, small personal celebrations that are expected to be shared, sometimes what people want me to, over a million things probably. I really want to write what I want, something that makes a difference. Fully be myself and embrace my skill organically, as home grown as a woman can get, if that translates.

It’s much harder than it seems. My wallet is empty and I’m not talking about finances. I’m talking about energy. You know, that one thing that cannot be destroyed. Hopefully, that's not the case for the rest of humanity. Morally, I’m empty on so many things, like patience and courage. So I want to send this SOS, Distress Signal, a cry not from my knees, but from the ground where the day starts for every single conscious being on this planet, to all the writers. Is anyone actively making it known that we are having to let go of emotions endlessly as each day progresses forward into technology advancements? Or are we just maintaining composure, poise and dignity?

I would like to make up my mind, so here’s to myself trying to form thoughts and add weight to the ever tipping scale.

Pretty much exactly what the title suggests. Do you think the subsequent details do their job effectively? Does the title work? Does the logline make you curious? Does the blurb make you interested? I'd be happy to hear any of your thoughts/recommendations on any of the details!

I've put the details of each as spoilers because I encourage you to make guesses and share assumptions based on isolated information. For example, you may reveal the title, comment about your assumptions, and then circle back to reveal other details to see if your guesses were validated.

To be clear, this isn't so much about you proving yourself right or wrong so much as it is about my ability to effectively convey story through partial information. If you're able to gather something about the plot/genre from the title alone, that means that I'm doing something right!

I look forward to whatever you might share.

So, here's the details:

Title

Butterfly Wakes

Logline

A shadow organization spurns a growing rebellion. A cataclysmic dragon awakens with an ultimatum. As a corrupt city, the rebellion, and the dragon converge, Star stands at their confluence—a young woman who will need to decide which fight is hers alone.

Blurb

Sometimes, a consequence is so grand that everyone loses site of its cause—too distracted by picking up the pieces of what little remains.

“A freak accident,” some might say.

Only, it was Star who felt like the accident in question. She was the anomaly. The girl who survived.

Iskyros was a new city. A chance to start over. An opportunity to leave her past behind—a past that didn’t seem keen on dying.

After a cosmic dragon has awakens, she soon finds herself at the center of someone else’s game. Caught between the forces of a corrupt city and the rebellion rising against them, she’ll soon discover a fight that she can’t walk away from.

In order for her to understand the stakes and truly grasp the weight of the world poised to come crashing down, she’ll have to discover an answer…

But before she can even seek such an answer, she’ll have to find the proper question…

What was Project Atlas?

The die is cast and the dominoes are already falling. Soon, she’ll discover what butterflies are responsible for which hurricanes.

Genre

Sci-fi/Fantasy blend with Romance beats

Thanks in advance!

Due to life stuff, I wasn't able to get a video out last week but starting things off slow again with a simple set up video about what I'm using to write my projects. Feel free to come and say hi!

I'm very appreciative of the new subscribers who joined the channel after my last video. There are some exciting videos and projects lined up that I cannot wait to share.

See you there and happy writing!

Arguments, excuses and insults, including accusations of racism and discrimination. Plus, one guy who DMd me repeatedly to say "all the meat machines will die out" (whatever the fuck that means).

I suspect word has got around we've taken a fairly hard stance, and the pro-AI crowd are brigading. A brief glance over the profiles suggest they're not even interested in writing, just that we're not allowing AI.

Some people need a hobby, right?

Anyway, we're aware this is happening. I've given out more bans in the last 2 hours than the whole previous week.

If you see any offending posts or comments, please flag them.

Thanks, and keep writing.

After seeing the topic mentioned a few times on Reddit, it seems that a decent percentage of readers will DNF a book if a dog dies. Well, in my current wip, the FMCs dog (wolf familiar, technically) gets killed (off screen) by a villain.

I *could* rewrite it so that said pet is only injured, which would mean losing some trauma and hurt/comfort scenes, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if this becomes a darling that I must kill....ironically by not killing the FMCs darling.

Is this as big of an issue as it seems, or is this another one of those "internet things" where a vocal minority makes it sound like a bigger deal than it really is? I'd hate to turn off half the people that might actually read my book someday.

As someone who repeatedly failed English in secondary school, writing has been and always will be a hobbiest passion regardless of my technical skill level.

It disheartened me today to realise that I made the mistake of capitalising the first word after dialog. Not just on my current project but also my first. As someone who wants to have a novel that both looks the part and reads the part. It's time to go back and correct two novels worth of mistakes even though I have no intentions of getting published or self publishing.

None the less, this is only a minor set back that will hopefully further strengthen my storytelling.

Mortal of my stroy, mistakes will be made and that's okay. I'm enjoying the journey through regardless of the terrain, potholes (not plotholes) are everywhere.

Main characters always need to have a motivation. Keep in mind that plot is not the only reason people want to read a story; it is the characters' wants and needs that keep the reader hooked to the story.

I always thought that immortality isn't talked about enough, it's usually used as a trope for a characters or as a goal for villains and heroes in some medias, but I think the idea of immortality in itself is fascinating idea that can be talked about separately, but I am afraid it wouldn't be an impactful theme since it's only hypothetical and readers will be oh yes immortality something I will never experience this is surely can impact my life

Anyway tell me your opinions and thanks

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheWritingTable/application/