7 Signs Your Character is a Mary Sue

Mary Sue is a character we all know and hate. Flat, emotionless, good at everything she does, and incapable of fault or defeat, Mary Sue takes the spotlight in many popular books, movies, and TV shows, making us roll our eyes at her flawlessness.

The 'Mary Sue' archetype is so overused and unlikeable that readers everywhere are tired of seeing flawless characters like this. But how do you know if you’re writing a Mary Sue into your story? In this video, we will explore the SEVEN SIGNS that your character is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, and what you can do to fix these problems so that your readers will fall in LOVE with your characters and cheer them on.

Comment below and join the discussion! Who's a Mary Sue that gets on your nerves?

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🎥 C H A P T E R S 🎥

00:00 What is a Mary Sue?
01:28 #1: They have no flaws or weaknesses
02:37 #2: They’re naturally better than everyone at everything they do
04:46 #3: They don’t make active decisions, they just get pushed around by the plot
06:19 #4: They don’t know how divinely attractive they are
07:02 #5: They don’t practice what they preach
09:07 #6: They have no likable charms, but everyone likes them
11:20 #7: They never admit when they make a mistake
13:02 What’s your favorite example of a Mary Sue?
13:44 Subscribe for weekly writing videos :)
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MORE VIDEOS YOU WOULD LIKE:

→ WHY I HATE STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS

→ THE ULTIMATE CHARACTER PROFILE

→ HOW TO SHOW (NOT TELL) INTERNAL CONFLICT

→ MY CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER OUTLINING METHOD

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[sassygallop]

You know... A few of these Mary Sue personality traits are better suited for a villain: not owning up to their mistakes, putting down others, taking credit for success they had little to no part in. That's not my idea of a hero. It sounds more like a high school bully.

[jarmoliebrand]

It’s honesty kind of an interesting paradox that a character that’s liked by everyone (or at least every ‘good’ person) in the story is generally hated by the audience.

[chalonhutson]

Thank you for showing clips from the Mulan live action remake. That Mulan was born with "chi" (or is it "qi"?) and is amazing from birth. The 90s cartoon, Mulan had to struggle and earn her skills, and was successful for using her brains and whit over braun and fighting ability. The fact the producers and writers didn't realize this was such a major flaw that resulted in a super boring remake baffles me.

[JMeganSnow]

"No flaws or weaknesses" includes having "weaknesses" that are total b.s. like being "clumsy" or "awkward" in an endearing way that brings her to the attention of the male lead.

[louzivqx]

people who write mary sues probably say that their biggest weakness is working too hard and caring too much at job interviews

[YourFavoriteCamper]

I think the worst part about Mary Sues is the fact that the story and plot itself doesn’t ever view them in a negative light.

[CesarGameBoy.]

Oh my goodness, number 6 is the exact epitome of the new Velma.

She’s not conventionally attractive, she doesn’t take care of her own body, she constantly insults others, she believes she’s better than everyone, and she literally eats from the garbage despite living in a middle class home. Yet for some reason, several characters crush on her when there’s literally no redeeming qualities about her.

Original Velma was the nerdy character, but you could still tell how people found her attractive despite Daphne being “the hot girl.” She was smart, she was funny, she was cute, *and she wasn’t an a-hole to everyone.*

To literally quote Fred from the Scooby-Doo movie, “dorky chicks like you turn me on too.”

[Video]

Don Quixote was the ultimate non Mary Sue. He was crap at everything and clueless. But we loved him because he was optimistic and kept trying.

[colbyreader]

Not Abbie calling out every main character on the booktok radar

[patrickstewart]

In Ancient Greek stories Hubris (excessive pride) was the most fatal of flaws. Now it’s treated almost as a virtue.

[claricesilva]

It's so interesting how "damsels in distress" and "strong female characters" are both in this "Mary Sue" trope. I think people don't realize how alike they actually are.

[louiscypher]

"Too proud to ask for help" is actually an interesting flaw that I rarely see fully utilized. That way you hit points 1 and 2 at the same, and you can grow your character in two different ways: in skill, and in humility.

[spacebananajam]

To me, it's always been that Mary Sue characters can be arrogant, but no one ever tells them they're wrong. They never have to face the consequences of their actions, and no one ever calls them out because even though what they do is bad, others perceive it as good. I feel like I'm being manipulated (even gaslighted).

[Rosahmina]

I hate when there's nothing to like about the character BUT EVERYONE LOVES THEM. It makes me want to throw the book across the room 😭

[SharkaOfSea]

About point 1:

I was really struggling with how to add "character flaws" in practice. I didn't want to just mark a checklist, because sometimes it made no sense to add a "random negative" quality to a character.

Then, some time ago, under another video, a commenter said: difference between "character strength" and "character weakness" is situational. Just give characters attributes and then figure out in which situations and how would these attributes cause conflicts. Which completely flipped this "character flaws" thing on its head and it makes sense!

For example: you have two characters, the first one trusts other people, the second one doesn't. Which one of those attributes is a character flaw? Well, that depends on who the character is dealing with. If they're dealing with someone who genuinely wants to help them, the second one causes conflict. But if they're dealing with an asshole, who plans to betray them, the first one causes conflict later on.

Real life example - me at work. My biggest strength and weakness is "attention to detail". Why it's strength? I often notice details that others miss. Why it's a weakness? I might get stuck on details and miss the big picture.

So, if you're stuggling with the "character flaws" too, ignore "flaws". Go for "attributes" and make those attributes cause "conflict".

[ykJuliaMM]

0:11 Putting Divergent and tris there actually hurt my mentality considering my obsession for years😭

[BrBobMackeSJ]

Mary Sues also tend to warp the world and characters around them to behaving in ways that are not consistent with their own established character traits. The brooding male counterpart who hates everybody and never gives anyone an inch of leeway suddenly bends over backward for the Mary Sue for no reason, etc.

[rainx]

It would be fun if the character who was a "mary sue" realises the absurdity of it all and is very quickly loosing their mind cause the plot wont let them die, fail, or live as a "normal girl, with a normal life".

TLDR: Everyone around me is a certified idiot, and I'm slowly loosing my mind.


After a careful 2 months of re-evaluation and cool down time. I've come to the conclusion that Mari is a partial marysue. No ive not watched the new instalation yet. Yes i admit i got a bit too heated.

[JoeBurgettMusic]

You forgot the classic 90's and early 2000's trope of a woman being so frumpy and unattractive to the characters in a film. But the moment she takes her glasses off, fixes her hair, and IDK wears things that show off her body more....she's automatically so much more attractive to everyone in the movie. This has got to be one of the funniest tropes that movies clung onto for way too long.

[-.._.-_...-_.._-..__..._.-.-.-]

3:51 "Let your character struggle with some things, okay? Let her not be perfect at something the first time she tries it. It's okay; she can be crappy at something and then get better, and actually have to, like, put in effort, and time, and blood, sweat, and tears to get better at a thing. I have more respect for a character who suffers to get better at a thing than a character who is just like, 'Step aside. I'm gonna do this better than anybody.' True strength does not mean knowing 100% of everything 100% of the time. True strength actually means having humility—right?—not being too proud to ask for help when you need it, and not being too proud to admit that you're a beginner at something, and laughing at your mistakes, being okay with failure. It shows that your character is strong because they're willing to learn and grow."