The best ways to avoid making a Mary Sue character?

As well as the obvious (exposing the characters flaws) what are the best way to avoid getting a Mary Sue or a 2D character?The best ways to avoid making a Mary Sue character?
I think we naturally write characters fairly black and white. i.e. you may have the bad boy, the gentle/musical boy, the quirky/hyperactive boy.


I find the best way to make such a character believable is to have a basis for your character (i.e. troubled alcoholic) and then add things in that are not typical of a person who fits that description.


i.e. maybe the person loves kids or old people, cries when he watches sad movies, likes making daisy chains etc.


Don't worry too much about flaws - if you have a basic understanding of your character, the character will become real and the flaws will manifest. Even how a character converses with another character in one scene may be enough to give them flaws.


Think of your story as one long, grey road. Not one made up of separate blacks and whites.





I recommend reading wally lamb. His characters are the most compelling and real I've ever come across. They are neither good nor bad, but both. And you understand them all by the end of the book as well as you understand a friend; you understand them completely, yet there are things you don't understand or don't know, as with real people.





Anyway - READ READ READ. If you're really stuck maybe start off visualising an already made character with whom you feel an affinity. As your story progresses it's very likely the character will shift and grow to become somebody unique. If not, keep writing :):)The best ways to avoid making a Mary Sue character?
One of the things that makes me consider a character a Mary Sue is if she gets her way too easily. So if your character has a goal, make her have to work for it, so the readers will feel like she deserved it.





Also, flaws are important for making a believable character. But to be more specific, they should be treated as actual flaws. Too many Sues I've read have some sort of flaws, but they're usually all justified so everyone else excuses them.





Another thing that differentiates a Sue from a non-Sue is how the other characters interact with the character. If everyone loves the character despite how she insults them and treats them like dirt, just saying she's got spirit, that's a ';Tsundere Sue';. Have the other characters treat your character realistically.
A way to avoid a Mary Sue character is, as you rightly pointed out, is by exposing her flaws to the readers. With my characters, I like to ensure that these flaws cause conflict. Other ways to avoid Mary Sue characters are to make sure that not every male character in the book is in love with her (like in the novels of VC Andrews, or Stephanie Meyer), that she has problems she struggles to overcome and that some of the bad things that happen to her are her own fault. Also don't give her all the characteristics that you think you would like top have.
The flaws are actually the most important pitfall to avoid. Give her real, honest-to-God faults (clumsiness does not count). Maybe she's selfish, pessimistic, or a kleptomaniac. Whatever. The point is that we shouldn't always like her. Also, don't make her too powerful. It's one thing if she exists in a universe where the main characters all have a power and so does she. But her power shouldn't automatically trump everyone else's. If you can stay away from those two things and not treat your characters as an outlet for your own personal desires, you should be fine.
Your Answer:


Give them physical and personality flaws.And these flaws shouldn't appeal to your character more,it should be a turn off.Let's say your character is smart.Don't make them be good a every subject(eg:your character is good at Math but isn't good at English subject).It's okay to make your character beautiful but make them realistically beautiful(eg:have zits,ave thin hair,large forehead etc).If your character is skinny,gve them a flat chest instead of a C cup.





Hope I helped you.








Source(s):


Researching the net cuz I'm working on a story myself.