I just got done with a novel, and I won’t tell you what it was called or who wrote it. It was a dissatisfying read. Not because the story wasn’t interesting–it was. It was fast-paced and imaginative. The problem was with the protagonist. He was tall, good-looking, debonair, brave, well-spoken, humble, resourceful and a chick magnet. During the course of the book he never: got hurt, lost an argument or a fight, backed down, made a mistake…
I think you see where I am going with this.
I got the impression that the author might have been writing about a perfect version of himself.
Face it, we all make mistakes. That is how we learn and grow. To have a main character who never puts a foot wrong takes all the interest out of the book, at least for me. We want our characters to be engaging–to be human. This guy was just annoying.
Has anyone else encountered this, and if so, did it bother you?
April 22, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I thought this post was about me!
I’m not sure how to write a character like that because he’d make me sick and I’d find something really vicious to happen to him.
April 22, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I was wanting something really vicious to happen to him as well! But basically, in the end he got the girl and they lived happily ever after. Boooooring…
April 23, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Typically, they’re called Mary Sues. Gary Stu, in this case, because it’s a guy– usually they’re female, and there’s far too many. Wesley Crusher from Star Trek (next gen) is a classic example of this.
Half of the problem is the character’s lack of depth and realism. The other half of the problem is that the other characters react to said hero in unrealistic ways. It’s the bane of all character creation.
April 23, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I work hard to make my heroes and heroines the imperfect creatures that they are! They do realistically dumb things (I hope) and they definitely fall prey to unsavory emotions like jealousy and greed. I wouldn’t have them any other way…
April 24, 2008 at 11:08 am
I’ve never heard them called Mary Sues. How funny! Love the term.
Suz, I don’t blame you for not enjoying the book. A character like that is like eating the same flavor of ice cream all day every day. It’s great in the beginning, but before long you’re starving for real meat.
Susan