by M. Morrison

Created on: August 22, 2010

The very mention of the name "Mary Sue" makes both writers and readers cringe. What's so horrible about this name? Mary Sue, along with her male counterpart the Gary or Marty Stu, is one of the demons of writing, perfectly capable of killing an otherwise fine story. She can creep her way into any story and before you know it, the damage is done – unless you know what to look for.

Perfection

Mary is undeniably perfect, even if she's not perfect. Her flaws, if she has any, are small and insignificant. She is quite often unbelievably gorgeous and extremely talented in many areas. For example, she probably has a beautiful singing voice, is a gourmet chef, and is fluent in thirty-seven languages.

Drama

Mary attracts drama, plain and simple. Not only does she attract it, but she usually creates it. She will take any excuse to lash out and cause a scene so that she can be the center of attention. She's almost always throwing pity parties and fishing for compliments, and while she can't figure out her own love-triangle, she's incredibly persuasive and can make anyone change their mind about anything in less than ten seconds.

The Tragic Past

You wouldn't believe Mary's luck. She witnessed her family's brutal murder when she was only five years old, after which point she was sent to the orphanage where she was bullied to the point where she began to harm herself in some way. Eventually, she ran away and lived by her wits on the streets. Unfortunately for Mary, she was raped and impregnated when she was fourteen, but because she was noble and brave she decided to keep the child, but ended up losing it before she actually had to gain any weight. This was probably due to the fact that she was a slave to the royal family and was beaten for the slightest mistake and had to live in substandard conditions. As luck would have it, Prince Charming comes along and saves her, impregnates her, but is murdered on their wedding day. She loses this child as well, but that's okay, because she's strong and will keep it all inside until her next lover is around to comfort her after she inevitably breaks down in front of everyone.

Resilience

Mary is nearly impossible to get down (unless she's being dramatic, of course), but when she does, she bounces back in record time. Past experiences only affect her when it's convenient. She could have been abused by men for years, but you wouldn't be able to tell by her behavior. And the same goes for physical pain, too – she could have

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