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mandolinSo in my search for fic that needs work but has potential (read: a critical review might be taken into account), I've come across a Mary Sue trend that drives me absolutely bonkers.
I call this the Inserted Sue: when the author doesn't bother to introduce the Sue to the canon characters, but inserts the character into their clique and tells us that she/he's been there for a while. Even when they attempt to rectify the situation with flashbacks, it still drives me nuts. (The exception: You're writing a story Memento-style where the events of the past must come out in a different order. But that's about it.) Even if said character is well-developed enough to avoid the Mary Sue trap, I want to scream.
Regardless of the quality of their character, writers who pull this stunt are essentially cheating us out of a crucial part of the story. Especially if he/she is in a relationship with a canon character. The readers are cheated out of their meeting, cheated out of seeing them fall for one another and cheated out of the fun that is a developing relationship. Yes, it's the hardest part of such a story to write and writers are tempted to skip it in order to get to the meat of the story. Right?
Newsflash: that introduction and development ARE part of the meat of the story, folks. Some of the best parts of Shansue* fic are watching the character meet and interact with the canon characters and BELIEVABLY become a part of their circle. And in most romantic stories, let's face it, the relationship is the most fun to watch in its developing stage, not when they're hip deep in True Love and have worked out their issues. Why bother to write a pairing if you're not going to take the time to write the good stuff? (And the answer is not "I just wanted to see [insert character here] happy." You don't have to have that person jumped by a Sue or Stu to do that. And it's more fun to watch them achieve that happiness.)
Okay, glad to have gotten that one out of my system. I'll have the answers to the "spot the lie" meme up once I've confirmed something. :)
*Shansue = A term borrowed from the No Cookie for You: Bad Buffy Fic boards: the mystical process whereby a Sue or Stu who has undergone genuine character development becomes a Genuine Original Character.
I call this the Inserted Sue: when the author doesn't bother to introduce the Sue to the canon characters, but inserts the character into their clique and tells us that she/he's been there for a while. Even when they attempt to rectify the situation with flashbacks, it still drives me nuts. (The exception: You're writing a story Memento-style where the events of the past must come out in a different order. But that's about it.) Even if said character is well-developed enough to avoid the Mary Sue trap, I want to scream.
Regardless of the quality of their character, writers who pull this stunt are essentially cheating us out of a crucial part of the story. Especially if he/she is in a relationship with a canon character. The readers are cheated out of their meeting, cheated out of seeing them fall for one another and cheated out of the fun that is a developing relationship. Yes, it's the hardest part of such a story to write and writers are tempted to skip it in order to get to the meat of the story. Right?
Newsflash: that introduction and development ARE part of the meat of the story, folks. Some of the best parts of Shansue* fic are watching the character meet and interact with the canon characters and BELIEVABLY become a part of their circle. And in most romantic stories, let's face it, the relationship is the most fun to watch in its developing stage, not when they're hip deep in True Love and have worked out their issues. Why bother to write a pairing if you're not going to take the time to write the good stuff? (And the answer is not "I just wanted to see [insert character here] happy." You don't have to have that person jumped by a Sue or Stu to do that. And it's more fun to watch them achieve that happiness.)
Okay, glad to have gotten that one out of my system. I'll have the answers to the "spot the lie" meme up once I've confirmed something. :)
*Shansue = A term borrowed from the No Cookie for You: Bad Buffy Fic boards: the mystical process whereby a Sue or Stu who has undergone genuine character development becomes a Genuine Original Character.
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Date: 2003-10-15 07:27 pm (UTC)Not that I myself haven't been guilty of that, but it's not a good thing. It's a hard thing to develop a believable OC - trying to do that myself right now on one fic and it's hard.