Luna Rose's Actually Useful Mary Sue Litmus Test by MissLunaRose, literature
Literature
Luna Rose's Actually Useful Mary Sue Litmus Test
Reposted from my blog
"Dear Miss Luna Rose,
I’m worried that my character is a Mary Sue. She has dyed purple hair and pretty blue eyes. She witnessed her dad’s murder at age 7 and it left her with some issues. She’s also bad at dancing and sometimes her anger flares up and she does things she regrets. Is she a Mary Sue?"
—Concerned writer #472
I get questions like this all the time. And I never can tell them a “yes” or “no.”
Why not? Because
I can’t possibly tell from a short description, andthis misunderstands what it means to be a Mary Sue.Honestly, I blame litmus tests.
What’
This is going to be the most meta thing I have ever written. I'm engaging my special interests by writing about special interests!
What even is a special interest?
You'll probably understand my excitement a little better if you actually know what I'm talking about.
Special interests are an aspect of autism that are pathologized as "narrow, obsessive" interests, but if you step away from the autism-is-a-disease mentality for a moment, you can consider the idea of them being pretty awesome. Special interests are sort of like a favorite subject or hobby, only they are way more passionate than anything a regular person would experience.
Specia
I can tell you this with near-certainty: Everything you think you know about autism and empathy is a lie.
"Lacking empathy" oversimplifies and distorts the truth. Autistic people have a much more complicated relationship with empathy than a simple two-word phrase can describe. Some of us claim that we have too much empathy. Others say that no, we truly are deficient in empathy. Who is right?
Both sides!
Let's look at empathy deficiency first. It doesn't mean what you think it means.
When Audrey integrates a conversation function with respect to pizza, you know things just got complicated.
When empathy is hard
Empathy is hard for me. So
My feet slap the rug again and again as I bounce. Jump, jump, jump. My hands wave up and down in loose fists. Jump, jump, jump. My left arm starts swinging in big circles, around, around, around. My breathing comes heavy and rhythmic. I slow down, pacing counterclockwise. My fingers tap against my thumbs: pointer fingers, middle fingers, ring fingers, little fingers. Little fingers, ring fingers, middle fingers, pointer fingers.What is this? Just a typical 5-minute writing break.
Stimming is short for self-stimulatory behavior, or behavior designed to stimulate one of your senses. When you rub your forehead, tap your feet, or pace in circles,
20 Character Building Questions by ML-Larson, literature
Literature
20 Character Building Questions
Here’s one that comes from the Wattpad forums (or “Clubs,” but whatever. It’s a forum). How to make your character likeable. And this seems like something that a lot of beginning writers get hung up on. Nobody’s going to like your story unless your character is likeable, right? Well, not necessarily.
And because it’s late, I’m going to bring up the same examples that I brought up in the thread: Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. Draco was an odious little brat, but that didn’t stop people from falling in love with him. Snape was an abusive ass, and look at his legions of Snapewives. Neithe
"Ella no puede hablar," says the cafeteria worker. She can't talk. This is false, but the young woman has learned to point to what she wants, instead of repeating herself over and over, uselessly ejecting quiet words again and again from her sparrowlike body. Her food is always the same: pink yogurt. Fruit crepe, strawberries, banana. A muffin, if she's hungry after that.She sits down and rocks stiffly, her back hitting the soft padded booth behind her. Wham. Wham. Wham. She sits in the same enclosed corner every time; the same seat, if possible. She wears thick headphones with the song of the day on repeat. Wham. Wham. Wham.She has heard sni
9 Traits that Readers Want in Your Story's Hero by DesdemonaDeBlake, literature
Literature
9 Traits that Readers Want in Your Story's Hero
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
9 Traits that Readers Want in Your Story's Hero
Today, I will conclude the trio of character types that I started with Villains and Antiheroes, by discussing what readers want from your story's Hero. Please note that I am speaking specifically about a heroic protagonist, not just any protagonist for any sort of story. Also remember that it could be the case that a story is about the protagonist BECOMING the hero. In this case, the story should be about learning or gaining these traits as they ma
5 Qualities Readers Want in Your Story's Villain by DesdemonaDeBlake, literature
Literature
5 Qualities Readers Want in Your Story's Villain
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
5 Qualities Readers Want to See in Your Story's Villain
A story is only as good as its villain. And while the antagonist of your story does not have to be a “villain,” they do have to live up to certain reader expectations if you want your story to be of any merit. So here are the top 5 qualities that readers want and need to see in your story's villain.
Quality 1: Your villain should be a dynamic, true-to-life character.
Remember, we are talking villains here, not monsters. And un