Subject: Defining Mary-Sue.
Author:
Posted on: 2013-05-14 15:57:00 UTC
I've seen a few quotes about this in the last few days (there's a thread on the way in the middle future), and what I've taken away from them is this:
We have to be very clear on what makes a Mary-Sue. And for me - and I think for the PPC - one key component is that she is badly written. I don't believe there is such a thing as 'a well-written Mary-Sue', because that's like saying 'a brand-new scrapheap'. It's an oxymoron. Mary-Sues are a product of bad writing.
How does this reflect on your question? It means that summary, if accurate, can be rephrased like this:
'this is a badly-written story--if you don't like badfics, don't read'
Now, it may be that the author in question is using a different definition of 'Mary-Sue'. Some people do that. Some people, I'm sorry to say, use it to mean 'female character I don't like' - or even, 'any original female character'. I disagree vehemently with those definitions, and I don't think many people (any?) in the PPC would use them. For us, 'Mary-Sue' has always been about writing quality. That's why we have charge lists.
So, the fact that the author says she's a Sue doesn't mean she fits the PPC definition. If she does fit the PPC definition of a Sue - if she is a 1-dimensional character who warps everything around her to make her story work, and doesn't manage to make it sound realistic by decent storytelling - then (if you can make it funny) she's mission-killable.
hS