Help me kick this character out of the spotlight, please!

Bubastes · Jul 26, 2007

Sorry for all the newbie novelist questions!

I based one of my characters in my WIP on some experiences I had as a teen. The problem is, she starting to become a major character, and the last thing I want is to create a Mary Sue. Should I just let this character run free in the first draft or kick her out of the spotlight right now? I've been trying to avoid writing from her POV, but my story is already stalling without it.

Thanks!

Raiyah · Jul 26, 2007

Let her run free, see where it takes you. You can always come back and pull the plug on her.

Soccer Mom · Jul 26, 2007

Let her run wild. She may surprise you yet. Since you already have a horror of letting her become a Mary Sue, just keep that in the back of your mind as you write. It's okay to base a character on yourself, as long as you don't let the novel become one long ego stroke.

ie: She's a runway model and a neurosurgeon who translates ancient Chinese texts in her spare time and plays drums in a famous rock band.

Bubastes · Jul 26, 2007

Soccer Mom said:
Let her run wild. She may surprise you yet. Since you already have a horror of letting her become a Mary Sue, just keep that in the back of your mind as you write. It's okay to base a character on yourself, as long as you don't let the novel become one long ego stroke.

ie: She's a runway model and a neurosurgeon who translates ancient Chinese texts in her spare time and plays drums in a famous rock band.

How did you know?

"Horror" is right. I stopped writing personal essays early on because they seemed so self-indulgent (so you'll never see a memoir from me either). This character is giving me the same oogy feeling. But you're right, she may surprise me as I go along. It's still early in the WIP.

mscelina · Jul 26, 2007

Just write what the muse tells you to write. When you go back as an editor is the time to decide whether she's oogy or not.

Mel · Jul 26, 2007

First drafts are where you allow your characters to run wild. Follow along and see where they take you. Might even open up a sub plot you hadn't thought of before. You can rein them in on rewrites.

ccarver30 · Jul 26, 2007

Raiyah said:
Let her run free, see where it takes you. You can always come back and pull the plug on her.

Yeah!

Jack Nog · Jul 26, 2007

Horrific deaths work really well. I usually do this to get rid of them.

Though I write a lot of horror and thriller stuff...so it tends to be the norm. Hell, you don't even have to go into detail...

Murder your darlings.

javili · Jul 26, 2007

Do I understand that you have a character that is showing energy and growing more interesting, but you consider that a bad thing?

Because I don't understand that at all.

Stew21 · Jul 26, 2007

Sometimes you don't know what will happen and what a character will reveal. I had a scene that changed the course of my whole ms. Let it go. KTC and I call it "building bridges." Then go back and tear them down if you don't need them. Build the bridge with this character, see where it takes you, you might like where you end up, it might become a new starting point, or tear the bridge down and build a different one in your next draft.
Remember that Writing is fun.

Write it, let her go crazy. Worry about where she's headed when she gets there.

Bubastes · Jul 26, 2007

javili said:
Do I understand that you have a character that is showing energy and growing more interesting, but you consider that a bad thing?

Because I don't understand that at all.

Energetic, interesting character = good
Mary Sue = not so good

julie thorpe · Jul 26, 2007

Forgive my ignorance but who (or what) is 'Mary Sue'?

Stew21 · Jul 26, 2007

work hard on not making her A Mary Sue, but consider that it might just need to be something you get out of your system before you can focus your writing outwardly.

shakeysix · Jul 26, 2007

famous quote

there is a quote by a famous author, and before my senility set in i could name that author. however the gist of the quote is that he/she never trusted an author who would not let his characters push him around. any one less senile able to pin a source on this?--s6

Stew21 · Jul 26, 2007

julie thorpe said:
Forgive my ignorance but who (or what) is 'Mary Sue'?

here's a thread that discusses it.
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48770&highlight=mary+sue

JoNightshade · Jul 26, 2007

I am having this issue as well! Not so much that my character is taking over, but that it keeps seeming more and more plausible for this character to share some of my experiences and views. I'm not going to say she's a complete Mary Sue, since her personality is quite different than mine and she looks and acts nothing like me, but she keeps hijacking some very personal issues and making them her own. At the moment I'm wondering, "Is this just me needing to get some stuff off of my chest?" But then another part of me thinks, "Hey, this actually fits really well."

I guess I'll know when I finish the first draft.

TheIT · Jul 26, 2007

Just because a character might be based on you doesn't automatically make the character a Mary Sue. Your readers won't know you and probably won't care if the character is based on real experiences as long as the character is interesting. A Mary Sue is a wish-fulfillment character who's better/brighter/prettier/smarter/stronger/faster than everyone else in the entire story. If your own experience is making the character more interesting, then go for it.

Danger Jane · Jul 26, 2007

Like Soccer Mom said, if you're writing this character just to indulge yourself, letting all your dreams come true through her...THAT's a Mary Sue.

But if it flows naturally and you aren't writing it to self indulge but to enhance the work, then go for it. Even the Mary Sue test admits that just because the character meets the criteria, that doesn't make them a Mary Sue by default.

Write what feels right and then edit till you know it's right.

javili · Jul 26, 2007

I had to look up "Mary Sue" myself. It doesn't sound like what the poster is concerned with, which is a character that is starting to become more prominent.

Just because a character might be based on you doesn't automatically make the character a Mary Sue.

This seems obvious from the definititions I read. Unless, of course, you are yourself a cliche.

Soccer Mom · Jul 26, 2007

:smacks javili, but only in a very civil manner:

Meow is no cliche, but a dynamic individual.

And my wonder twin.

javili · Jul 26, 2007

It's good to avoid cliches and sterotypes. It really pisses me off to see Mexican's depicted as simple, child-like people wearing sombreros.

JoNightshade · Jul 26, 2007

::Glances significantly at javili's av::

Soccer Mom · Jul 27, 2007

Yeah, I hate it when people say I'm like a cute little puppy.

tlblack · Jul 27, 2007

I agree that you should let the character run wild. Sometimes the ones you think are just side line players, really make the story better. You can always edit her out later if you think she needs to go.

necia phoenix · Jul 27, 2007

You know, I have several characters who have 'appeared' out of the dark depths of my subconsious and threatened to take over the story. Depending on the story I will either:

1)let them roam, if they try to take the mc out of the limelight then they get a 'task' which usually takes their energetic butts to another location which (of course) doesn't usually get much attention.

or 2) seriously tell them to take a number and I will get to their novel IN DUE TIME

strangely enough #2 doesn't always work

.
or the energetic character becomes a redshirt....

but that is just my methods.

Help me kick this character out of the spotlight, please!

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