***Phunke's guide to SUE BIOS
Aug 23, 2010 20:17:07 GMT -5
Post by phunke on Aug 23, 2010 20:17:07 GMT -5
This is my opinion on what makes a Sue. It'll be short, because honestly IMO a Sue doesn't give you much to work with.
I'll start off by saying that if you have a Sue, you're not alone brother! We all have 'em. At least I think so. I know I have a Sue; she was my first charrie.
I'll do it section-by-section, as an app.
EDIT:: All this writing, and I forgot to say what a Sue/Stu even is!
A Mary Sue or a Gary Sue is writing jargon for a character who is cliche, overdone, and lacks real or believable characteristics. These characteristics can be in all three areas of the character (appearance, personality, and history). For an example of a Mary-Sue, read Twilight. No, really.
[Nicholai, I deleted yours and Cinder's posts; but thank you for bringing it to my attention!]
My very basic definition of a Sue/Stu is this:
Average, but better!
In other words, they possess normal traits in moderation - ie strength, skill, attractiveness, intelligence - but it's on the upper end of moderation. They'll be pretty smart, pretty strong, nicely skilled, attractive but not always amazingly gorgeous. They often seem to have all of these traits in quantities that are seriously useful, but subtle! So that no one could possibly realize that your Sue/Stu is all of the above. Unless they get to know them, in which case they are SO lucky because they now have an amazingly loyal and awesome friend! Yaaaaaaaaay.
Sue's are easy. Easy to make and RP. But a Sue rarely speaks to you, rarely gives you a true feel that you know them inside-and-out. Making a character with real, significant flaws will improve your roleplaying an unbelievable amount.
--P[hunk]e
I'll start off by saying that if you have a Sue, you're not alone brother! We all have 'em. At least I think so. I know I have a Sue; she was my first charrie.
I'll do it section-by-section, as an app.
EDIT:: All this writing, and I forgot to say what a Sue/Stu even is!
A Mary Sue or a Gary Sue is writing jargon for a character who is cliche, overdone, and lacks real or believable characteristics. These characteristics can be in all three areas of the character (appearance, personality, and history). For an example of a Mary-Sue, read Twilight. No, really.
[Nicholai, I deleted yours and Cinder's posts; but thank you for bringing it to my attention!]
District: If your charrie is from District 12, that doesn't mean they're a Sue. But think about it - are you picking D12 because you're fascinated with coal and its economic impact, or because that's where Katniss is from? Hmm.
Appearance: Many Sues have OMG-SO-BRIGHT! blue eyes. Some Unique!Sues have green eyes, but this only makes them Suish if it's in a District where green eyes are unlikely to appear, i.e. District 12, where eye-color is mostly grey or blue. Also, Male!Sues, also known as Gary-Stus, often have green eyes. The eyes of all Sues/Stus will be fascinating, beautiful to the casual observer...
A Sue's hair can be any color; many have blonde hair. Stus often have medium-length brown hair which falls into their eyes and is 'sweeping' or something of the sort. Unique!Sues often have black or red. No matter what the color, this hair will be long and if it's a female, the description of the hair will almost always include some form of the verb 'cascade'. I've seen that word so much in the hair-part it's just ridiculous. Hair isn't a waterfall, but even if it were, there are so many other adjectives! 'Flows', 'falls', 'hangs', whatever. Just find a dang synonym, please.
A Sue is average height. She's on the thin side, but not emaciated. She definitely has some shape to her body; she also has light muscle, and little to no excess fat. If it's a Gary Stu, he has pretty good muscles and is tall.
That's pretty much it for appearance, other than the description of clothing. Sues generally tend to wear 'normal' clothing, i.e. jeans and a tee-shirt. Some Unique!Sues deviate from this; Sues from richer districts generally like to wear make-up and jewelry.
Personality: The Mary-Sue seems shy at first. She is cautious and doesn't trust easily (because of the History section, of course!). However, if you can penetrate this oh-so-intense shell, she is actually a very sweet girl! Sue is a very devoted friend and will never betray you. She is nice, but if you get on her bad side you better watch out 'cause she will CUT YOU. Seriously. This girl is so loyal and amazing that she will always fight for her friends.
Gary-Stu, on the other hand, often comes off as stony or mean at first. Like Sue, however, the moment you penetrate this shell he is a caring, kind, loyal friend. He is also at least a little flirty around the ladies. Even if his bio doesn't say he is a flirt, if you thread with Gary Stu he will flirt with your female character. He just will.
That's about it for personality.
History: Oh, the woes! Oh, the terror! Oh, the grief! What a life for a Sue/Stu. Either the Sue/Stu lost their father as a kid, or, if it's a Unique!Sue/Stu, they were a beloved child whose parents loved them. Then, between the ages of 5 and 12, their parents left or were murdered. Sometimes a sibling gets thrown in this death-fest just to throw you off. Either way, this loss of parental figures left the Sue/Stu devastated and feeling lost in their angsty world.
But do not fret! The Sue/Stu is so resilient, strong, intelligent, and awesome that they survived this hardship! To avoid the orphanageor whatever, he/she learned how to take care of him/herself and probably a younger sibling or two. Along the way, Sue/Stu developed awesome hunting/shooting/knife-throwing skills.
Sue/Stu now lives alone in their District but for a sibling or two and maybe a beloved dog. They have a hard time just getting through each day, but hey - that's life when you're a Sue/Stu.
My very basic definition of a Sue/Stu is this:
Average, but better!
In other words, they possess normal traits in moderation - ie strength, skill, attractiveness, intelligence - but it's on the upper end of moderation. They'll be pretty smart, pretty strong, nicely skilled, attractive but not always amazingly gorgeous. They often seem to have all of these traits in quantities that are seriously useful, but subtle! So that no one could possibly realize that your Sue/Stu is all of the above. Unless they get to know them, in which case they are SO lucky because they now have an amazingly loyal and awesome friend! Yaaaaaaaaay.
Sue's are easy. Easy to make and RP. But a Sue rarely speaks to you, rarely gives you a true feel that you know them inside-and-out. Making a character with real, significant flaws will improve your roleplaying an unbelievable amount.
--P[hunk]e
