See the pretty flowers? See how they all look the same and you can’t really tell them apart? Well, that’s one of the major problems with Mary Sues. The other is that not many people like them. But first, let’s address what a Mary Sue is.

A Mary Sue is basically a too-perfect character, usually female and usually the way the author wishes she could be. Most everybody writes Mary Sues to begin with - I know I certainly did - because it’s natural to want to make your heroine perfect and beautiful and smart and talented and special. However, people don’t like reading about perfect characters, because they’re difficult to identify with - we’re not perfect and fearless and brilliant, so we can’t understand people who are.

If you want to check if your character is a Mary Sue, try this test. It’s not a perfect indicator, but it’ll give you a general idea of what you might want to keep or change.

Here are eight of the most major problems with Mary Sues and advice on how to avoid them when creating your characters.

Problem One: Name - Mary Sues tend to have names like Selene Ophelia Lovelock and Angelique Moonlight Evenstar. I know they sound pretty, but unless Angelique’s parents are hippies, her middle name is not going to be Moonlight. How about something nice and normal, like Anne or Karen or Sophie?

Problem Two: Heritage - Not everybody is a half-mermaid, half-angel who by some freak of genealogy is heir to the elf throne and by some freak of genetics can speak to wolves. Human characters can be just as interesting as rare hybrids, and even if your character is a hybrid, make sure it causes her some problems, not just benefits. Perhaps a half-mermaid, half-angel would have fish scaled wings instead of feathered?

Problem Three: Appearance - Mary Sues are invariably gorgeous. And they don’t just have blonde hair and blue eyes - they have waist-length cascades of shimmering golden curls and liquid azure eyes that shine with love and kindness. Purple prose is extremely flowery descriptive language; watch out for it. And even if your character is beautiful, just say so - we don’t need a paragraph-long description of her. I find that the longer a description of a character, the less of it I read, actually.

Problem Four: Clothing - One of the easiest ways to spot Mary Sue. If you notice a beautiful young female character wandering around a fantasy land yet sporting the latest clothing from Hollister, Hot Topic, or Fill In Name of Trendy Store Here, watch out. Other good warning signs are beautiful dresses (watch for long descriptions again), corsets, and anything made of leather. Just dress your characters practically and appropriately for whatever place or time period they inhabit.

Problem Five: Abilities - Mary Sue, as we have mentioned, is extremely talented. She can be a seer, a shapeshifter, and an amazing singer, all at once. She can also fly, fight with the strength of twenty men, and talk to animals. Is this starting to sound unrealistic? It’s fine and even great to give your character powers, talents, and abilities, but just remember to limit it to a realistic amount. Nobody can do everything.

Problem Six: Love Interest - The Love Interest Problem is especially bad in fanfiction, because often, one or more of the major canon characters (that is, major attractive male characters) will fall head over heels in love with Mary Sue - often at first sight, despite already having a girlfriend or not wanting one. It happens in original fiction too. It’s all right to have an attractive guy fall in love with your character, but give him a reason to, and limit the number of guys who love her.

Problem Seven: Significance - If there is a rebellion, Mary Sue is either the princess or the rebel leader (or both!). If there is a prophecy, Mary Sue is the chosen one. If there is a school play, Mary Sue gets the lead role. Don’t hesitate to give your character her fifteen minutes of fame, or even more - but remember that other people are important, too, and watch out for making her more important than someone in her situation would realistically be (i.e., a teenager elected leader of a group of adults).

Problem Eight: Flaws - The Problem being that Mary Sue has none. They don’t even have to be big flaws - just give your character big feet or a fear of the dark or a dorky obsession with science fiction. It’ll make her more human. :)

So there they are - and if you want a more in-depth explanation of any of them, I have a fanfiction in the works in which our dear friend Professor Lupin from Harry Potter explains them (and how to avoid them) more thoroughly than I have here. ;)