Mary and Me

Meta
Title:	Mary and Me
Creator:	Merlin Missy
Date(s):	January 24, 2008
Medium:
Fandom:	multifandom
Topic:
External Links:	Mary and Me
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Mary and Me is a 2008 essay by Merlin Missy.

The topic is her disappointment that her 1997 essay, The (Original) Mary Sue Litmus Test (which she refers to as "my little screed") had been so widely read and referenced, and that it has been used in ways she did not intend.

Series

This essay is part of a series called Dr. Merlin's Soapbox.

A Term Used, Reused, and Bigger Than Life

Merlin Missy claimed copyright for the term and practice of Mary Sue Litmus Tests, and was a gatekeeper to fans who wanted to create similar tests in other fandoms. See the author's rules and stipulations at the 2001 essay, How Do I Go About Writing a Mary Sue Litmus Test?.

The author had a love/hate relationship to her use and description of the term "litmus test." It had become bigger than expected, escaping Gargoyles fandom, essentially went viral in the wild.

Promotion of The (Original) Mary Sue Litmus Test was heavy and relentless, especially after the author posted it at Firefox News where had even higher viability.

The promotion and gatekeeping regarding this term is not unlike Paula Smith's original 1973 creation and (relentless) her promotion of the term, Mary Sue. Smith very much wanted her term and theory to be a topic of conversation, and, for better or worse, it became bigger than life.

Some Topics Discussed

• the author's unhappiness about the litmus test being the thing she is most know for
• the original litmus test was created for one small fandom, and meant for writers rather than readers
• the test was mostly for sixteen year old writers going through the stage of writing only self-insertion fic
• giving a friend, Mandolin , permission to make a litmus test for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
• "A few iterations later, my friend LJC wrote up her own test, discarding my format entirely and instead coming up with questions from scratch, specifically geared for ST: Voyager fandom. Again, it was way cool and exactly what needed to be done."
• "Lots of folks don't like the litmus tests because they say real people flunk them." -- Like Bono.
• discussion of Canon Sues, "Sues in canon are a completely different beast than other Sues. Normal Mary Sues change the shape of the universe in which they're dropped. Sues in canon have the fabric of the universe designed around them."
• Samantha Carter is NOT a Mary Sue, Wesley Crusher IS a Mary Sue
• just because you don't like a character, doesn't mean she is a Mary Sue, and vice versa
• "There is nothing wrong with being in love with your own creation."
• "The only problem with Mary Sues is when you bring them out in public."
• writing Mary Sues as cathartic, a stage everyone goes through, immature, and something to grow out of

From the Essay

The single most annoying thing about being me is that despite everything else I've written, I am best known for writing an annoyed essay about the most common stereotypes of Mary Sues. It doesn't matter what fandoms I've written in, or what ficathons I've run, or what charity events I've organized, or even how much I've beta-read through the years. My fannish name is most recognizably linked to the least-admired character in fandom. It is to weep.

I'd received some complaints about the scoring, so I went back into my test, tweaked some of the questions, and weighted certain questions to be more important than others (naming a character after the author is far more significant for the self-insertion problem than simply sharing a gender with the author, for example). Then I rescored the test with the same characters I'd used to create it, and found out that the breaks between "Not a Sue," "Could Be a Sue," and "Oh My God Kill It Now" happened at the same places. Go me.

At some point, that changed. People started using the tests --- not just mine but all the daughter and granddaughter and so on tests --- to mock and poke at the writers they were supposed to be helping. That's not cool. I've argued with people about the trend before, and always get the same lame "just blowing off steam" excuse. Worse, instead of helping people who might otherwise become better writers by realizing that Mary Sues are just a stage that everyone goes through (and they do, even the ones who claim they never have, and if you're reading this, you know who you are) they just make it a bigger problem. Writers get defensive and angry, deny their characters are Sues, bemoan the lack of sophistication of their antagonists, and then go lick their wounds among their supportive friends. (see Fandom Wank, keyword lulz) It's sad, not only for the hurt feelings, but also because it means those writers are going to take that much longer to catch a clue.

Since Mary Sue has become one of the biggest insults that can be leveled against a character, fans have placed the label on fanfic characters and canon characters alike. In fanfiction, Mary Sues are easy to spot because we know what to look for: a character who comes into the storyverse and takes over the narrative by being just that darn cool. A character who doesn't belong, who doesn’t fit in with the flow of the other characters, who stands out even in a group of outstanding characters, that's her. We dislike her in fanfic because we signed on to read about the characters we know and love, and while we don't mind and sometimes even seek out original characters who add to the universe, mostly we want to learn new things about the people we already know. Fanfiction Sues are the ones who stand up in the front row saying "Look at me!" while we're trying to watch the show.

Canon Sues are NOT Sues in canon. Characters you don't like are also not Sues in canon. Sues in canon are Sues. And there aren't as many of them out there are fans like to say there are.

Just because you don't like a character, it doesn't mean s/he's a Sue. Just because you like a character, that doesn't mean s/he's not. What makes a Sue a Sue is not one single trait on a test. Sues are born entirely in the mind of the creator. Any character too beloved by her or his creator has the potential to become a Sue; any character so beloved of her or his creator that the rules of the universe change for her/his sake is going to become one. That's it.

There is nothing wrong with being in love with your own creation.

Let me repeat that, because I'm going to get arguments: there is nothing wrong with being in love with your own creation. It's fun, it's easy to write, and it's great for your self-esteem to dress yourself up in the privacy of your imagination and become the coolest kid on the block with the most awesome powers. It's healthy to work through your fears and your emotions via fiction. It's cathartic.

There's nothing wrong with catharsis.

There's nothing in the world wrong with writing Mary Sues.

No, really.

What about the litmus tests and the pages and pages of natterings about Sues? They're advice. They're tips from writers who've been there on how to get through and out. Not everyone wants out, not everyone wants through, and again, there's nothing wrong with the catharsis this stage offers. But when you're ready to move on, they're here to assist you as you figure out where to go next and how to get there. They're not here (or they're not supposed to be here) to beat you over the head, to trumpet to your opposing 'ship that their favorite character is a Sue, or even to try to figure out if rock stars are real. They're here to help, if you want that help.

And when you finally do grow out of it, go easy on the kids still playing dress-up. If you can't, go play somewhere else. The playground is big enough for all of us.

Fan Comments

[dotfic]: Thanks for a terrific essay! In Supernatural fandom, I think the term "Mary Sue" gets misapplied frequently, until any (canon) character young, female, and competent by default gets criticized as being a "Mary Sue," whether she truly has those traits or not. The "OFC" label on fanfic scares off many who want to avoid reading Mary Sues, but the majority of OFC's I've read in spn fanfic have been believable, layered characters. There are Mary Sues out there, of course, but I wish the term wasn't so misused.

[LEEM]: On a recommendation from a friend, the first thing that I read before trying my hand at writing fan fiction was your original essay. It helped. A lot! I'll never be a professional writer (too anal about my work...) but I always think about what you wrote about "Mary Sue" characters. Thank you.

[unknown user]: Interesting. I've been wondering what Mary Sue Litmus Tests actually test. What they actually test is how cliche a character is. A character can be a bundle of cliches and a Mary Sue like Wesley Crusher, or a bundle of cliches like Harry Potter and not a Mary Sue. It's nice to finally see what Mary Sue Litmus Tests actually are. I suspect Mary Sue gets overused and misapplied by both people looking for Mary Sue objectively with a Litmus Test in hand, and by people looking for Mary Sue subjectively knowing a character can be a bundle of cliches without being a Mary Sue. I imagine there are people looking with the objective standards who admit no exceptions not even Harry Potter, and people looking subjectively who don't care how cliche riddled the character is or isn't only how unbelievable the character feels to them.

[unknown user]: I'm sorry that the test has gotten so much attention in comparison to your other writing. That being said I've only read it, and this. But I hope you know that the test is useful. I ran a few of my characters through a general MS litmus, with parts that were definitely based off of your original test, and now know what I can improve.

[ash]: Don't feel bad about the original litmus test. It's what drew me to this site in the first place. (Have also heard Superman described in wish-fulfillment terms but no surprises there.) PS. Bono's tears can cure smallpox, don't you know? Well, according to Bono they can. Well, I'm sure it's the kind of thing he would think, anyhow