Here’s what’s going on: you’ve created an amazing main character, and they are absolutely perfect! They have no flaws! Everyone loves them, and those who don’t… well, they just don’t know perfection when they see it. Yeah, this is actually a problem.
I don’t mean to crush your dreams or anything, but if you have a character who has no flaws, you may have (knowingly or not) created a Mary Sue or a Gary Stu. This is a character who is so perfect as to be boring. Believe me, I understand: I’m struggling with that right now. So how do you know for certain that you’ve written a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, and how can you fix it? Let me give you seven key factors of a Mary Sue/Gary Stu and how to counter them in order to strengthen your characters and their journey in your story!
Problem #1: Unrealistic Competence
Have you ever watched a movie or read a book where the main character was instantly good at the first thing they tried? This is the sign of a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. They are instantly amazing at everything they try, usually with no prior experience or logical explanation. Think of Rey from the Star Wars series. She’s never been in a starship before, and yet somehow she is able to fly the famed Millennium Falcon. She’s somehow a master of the Force and combat with minimal training, even besting characters with years of experience.
The Fix: Give your characters genuine struggles and the need to learn and grow. Show them failing and putting in the effort to develop their skills. Make their success feel earned and not given.
Problem #2: Lack of Flaws or Weaknesses
“Oh, she was just helping out her grandmother. And then her neighbor’s cat got stuck in a tree. Oh, and did I mention that she had to help a little child walk across the street? Yeah, that’s why she was late for school.” Yeah, that’s Mary Sue in a nutshell. He or she might have a token “flaw” that makes them endearing or doesn’t hinder them in any way. I would say that Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel would fall into this category. Yes, she is a free-spirited, strong-willed woman, which would make her endearing, except that she also tends to be emotionless and bland when it comes to interacting with other characters and her overall character development.
The Fix: Give your character a significant weakness that your readers/viewers can relate to. It could be physical, emotional, or even moral. The flaw or flaws that you give them should create real obstacles and influence their decisions and the plot.
Problem #3: Universally Liked and Admired
“Every girl falls for a bad boy at least once in her life.” I believe that this stereotype came about because of the slew of Gary Stus that we have in literature, especially romance. For a Mary Sue or a Gary Stu, everyone they meet is instantly drawn to them and thinks they’re amazing, even characters that are cynical and brooding. Unfortunately for fans of the Twilight Saga, this would be Edward Cullen. He is considered to be overwhelmingly attractive and fascinating, even though he stalks Bella Swan and is a generally brooding and cynical character.
The Fix: Introduce genuine conflict and dislike for your character. Have other characters be threatened by them, unimpressed, or have conflicting goals. Not everyone needs to like them.
Problem #4: Dramatic and Tragic Backstory (that doesn’t actually hinder them)
This is the part that I’m struggling with in the character that I’m writing currently. Sure, giving them a rough background or a dark past might look good on paper, but unless it does something to impact their actions, there’s really no reason to include it in the plot. This could be seen as one of the fatal flaws of Batman. Yes, the murder of his parents when he was a child is a tragedy, but it only really serves as a source of motivation for him rather than an ongoing hindrance to his life as a vigilante crime fighter and a billionaire.
The Fix: Give their backstory genuine, lasting consequences. Explore how their trauma shapes their relationships, personality, and decision-making. If they have a dark past, it should be a burden, not a badge of honor.
Problem #5: Solving Problems Too Easily
Mary Sues and Gary Stus have a tendency to figure something out almost without meaning to. Why? Because they’re just that perfect! Actually, it’s because these characters have the innate ability to figure out the solution to a problem with little to no effort or logical reasoning. Unfortunately, sometimes even super sleuth Sherlock Holmes falls into this category. In some of his more fantastical portrayals, he can deduce insanely complex information with near-impossible leaps in logic in half the time it takes the other characters to figure out the same things.
The Fix: Present them with a problem that requires effort, collaboration, or even failure before they find a solution. Let them experience mistakes and the consequences that follow.
Problem #6: Being the Center of the Universe
When you watch a TV show or read a book, have you ever noticed that sometimes there’s a character that the plot often bends around? Yep, that’s a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. The plot often revolves around them and the resolution of their conflict, making it the most important thing in the larger narrative. I really hate to admit this as a fan of the Gilmore Girls series, but Rory Gilmore often falls into this category. Yes, the story is about her coming of age, but the vast majority of the show’s storylines revolve directly around Rory’s experience, and usually when conflict arises between other characters (particularly her mother and grandparents), it stems from Rory’s decisions or challenges.
The Fix: Make your character a part of a larger world with their own conflicts and stakes. Their actions should have consequences that extend beyond their personal journey, with other characters having their own significant arcs as well.
Problem #7: Overly Perfect Appearance or Abilities
It isn’t necessarily bad to make your character attractive or to give them awesome abilities, but when you can’t explain why they’re so beautiful or where they got their powers from, you might have accidentally created a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. They are often described as breathtakingly beautiful or possessing rare abilities with little to no explanation. In certain cases, Wonder Woman can be stuck here. I’ll admit, I am a fan of Wonder Woman (I loved the movie with Gal Gadot!), but many adaptations focus on her Amazonian beauty, and oftentimes her powers seem to be limitless.
The Fix: Ground your characters’ appearances and abilities in reality (within the context of your world). If they have skills, show the dedication and training it took to acquire them. If they’re attractive, demonstrate that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that it won’t solve all their problems.
I know that this might have been a hard post to read for some of you, but listen, this is something I’m struggling with too. It’s okay to make mistakes when it comes to writing, but we have to be able to learn and grow from them just as much as anybody else. The key to fixing these issues is to put vulnerability, genuine struggle, and meaningful flaws in your characters. Make them relatable and human (even if you’re writing a fantasy or a sci-fi) by showing their imperfections and the effort they put into overcoming those challenges. It’s in the struggle that your characters become better versions of themselves, and it’s the same thing that makes us great writers!
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