Somewhere, J.R.R. Tolkien's soul just had a heart attack.

[Anti-Klim]

crying That came out of absolutely nowhere.

I can't say that I don't like warping the plot and making the characters OOC because I tend to like random in a funny way fanfics.  

[TRICKERYY]

My gawd!
Poor J.R. Tolkien.
"a hawt grul shows up shew is a vampieWA"
Something like that?
Oh well.... emo <---|Oh no a llama| |LyK waZZZ up me BUDD!! n00 w@y!! y0u n0ub!!|---> dramallama

What...
I'm really trying not to shoot them, ok?  

[wild4matt]

I must say that I have come across quite a few of those disgustingly vapid fan fictions in my searches for well-written, thought provoking stories. It is a blatant assault on the corneas, not unlike the shrill shriek of nails on a chalkboard to the ears. It is painful in the extreme for me to have to wade through this drivel in order to reach the shores of a more intelligent writer's perspective. I, too, write fan fictions in my spare time; however, mine are more like what you would see in a novel from a reputable book seller. Yes, they are romantic in nature. Yes, they do have some very steamy intimate moments between the characters, just as any good romance novel should. Yet unlike most of the other so-called "fan fiction writers", I take my time to come up with what I hope is a story which is more pleasing to those of us with more imagination and intelligence. There is, to my mind, nothing worse than coming across one of those insipidly stupid fan fictions in which every other word is "Like" or "Um". I still have nightmares from some of the more horrid ones I've had the misfortune of reading over the years.  

[Dreaming in the Theatre]

To be perfectly honest, there's a lot of types of Mary Sues...;;

And if you think hard about it, a lot of accepted movie/book/anime/manga/TV show characters ARE Mary Sues/Gary Stus. YES, they have a dark past. Why? Dark pasts make for interesting characters who are more moral and often persevere. I personally know someone who is a perfect example.

As for the extremely beautiful thing--well, if the OC is being paired up with dear "Leggy," she has to be better than average-looking is my reasoning. I mean, I don't think Legolas would go for someone completely average. This goes for strength and personality. Amazing people tend to pair up with amazing people; it's nature. (No, opposites actually don't attract. What they taught you in science was a LIE.)

Though, there is a point of "beauty" and "okay--this is stupid." If every character in the book suddenly fell in love with this OC--well, that's a problem. And that is often what happens, which is where the Mary Sue element comes into play.

And I'd assume--that for this type of fic, Legolas would be interested in someone smart, yes? Or a little more thoughtful.

And strength--what annoys me most about this trait is when this "girl" goes and beats all the warriors. Hello, these people only fought their way through battles and saved the world. A single girl can't stop them. It's not a sexist statement, it's just...Well, let's see how well YOU'D go up against a guy like Legolas. But I'm sure she has to be strong enough to defend herself.

As for sweet and kind, generically,those are desirable traits. It's just the easiest way to go when deciding on character design, which in turn only proves the level of this author's thought into this character.

But yes, while most characters are already Mary-Sues, writers do go overboard nowadays.

On a completely off-hand note, I hate fanfiction dot net. I was exiled from there in the great Reader-Insert Movement. xD; -headdesk-

Also please note: I hardly know the first thing about Lord of the Rings. I only started on The Hobbit a little while ago, but schoolwork has driven me overboard and I have no time other than when I'm falling asleep in bed. I apologize for any inconsistencies I had about characters. I based my statement off anime fanfiction I have read of late.

 

[Ceribri]

yourr

u don't know how important txt talk is 2 ppl...

Surely you jest.  

[darkrose_eve]

yourr

u don't know how important txt talk is 2 ppl...

I came on this guild to get away from that...  

[Yavie Feels Pretty]

I tend to like canon, book-verse stories more... I believe that Tolkien was an amazing author, and if you're going to use his world, then at least respect him. I probably wouldn't mind Mary Sues 'n' the like as much if there weren't so many of them. It's just the same plot over and over and over again.

 

[Starry Phoenix]

Wow, that sounds horrific! I bet he's rolling in his grave with utter horror!  

[Ame Yuki Kaze]

Tell me about it! Mary Sues have practically taken over online fanfiction as we know it. The RK fandom suffers from the same thing. There's always some Mary Sue magically popping up in Meiji Japan and sweeping Kenshin, Sano, Aoshi and the others off their feet. As with yours, she usually has a bad past, is a vampire or has some magical powers. She invariably learns and masters Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu in a week, then resurrects Hiko whom she killed to gain the secret.

Or you get the high school fics where poor ugly, raccoon-faced Kaoru gets bumped off to the side by some gorgeous, perfect blonde with crystalline eyes. Did I mention she's a vampire?

As a writer and reader of fanfiction, I feel your pain.

 

[SilverBellsAbove]

Ugh. I would say 'fangirl smash', but that goes against the basis of the guild, no? wink

Oh! Yami no Hitokiri's a Kenshin fan too? That's wonderful! Brethren! But I should have guessed from the name. Stupid, that I am. sweatdrop

Now to take a deep breath before I go off on my spiel... *inhale*. Anyway, I am also a self-insert fan. Specifically when the genre's done right, that's when I become happy. I recently tried my hand at this...

With a billion flames from people who didn't even read. Argh!

There really ARE people out there who have some experience with certain fields. Being the daughter of two mega-nerds, someone who reads far too much on completely random useful fields, as well as practicing swordplay (My father is very good with longsword fighting; he used to win active competitions) I know quite a few useful things. Being addicted to 'Five Minute Murder Mysteries' is also a plus.

I really exist. I'm not very pretty, with hawkish eyes, fuzzy brown hair and big thighs. I guess I'm pretty nice, intelligent to an extent, hardworking and mostly sure of myself. But on the other end of that I'm stubborn, forgetful, and a little bit of a goodie-goodie.

Where in that is a Mary Sue? Apparently in the swordfighting part. Gah; KAORU outclasses me, and probably YAHIKO too! I'm not even writing any romance, for Mana's sake!

But in any case, it's the definition 'Mary Sue' that gets slung around too much. People don't even read or think before they use it anymore. It's all self-insert = Mary Sue.

And THAT'S what makes me retch. *exhale*

Last time I checked men tended to avoid me, not throng to my 'Marysueness' in droves. xp  

[Setsu-P has stepped out]

I developed a sort of defense against the bad fanfics early on. Now, I use them for entertainment. When things get really down and ugly, it's time to go looking for some fanfic MiSTings.

Mmmm.. there's nothing like making your coworkers wonder if you're insane.  

[sdfghjklsdfghjskldfghjkls]

I have yet to read/watch a story/book, movie, etc. that I like enough to write a fanfiction.
If I do, I MIGHT try to write a fanfic.
However, I prefer a little more originality, and am in the process of writing my own story.  

[SilverBellsAbove]

Indeed! Really, I'm gearing up to write a novel and I find it useful to practice certain aspects of writing through fanfiction. I already have characters, so that's done for me. I don't have to worry about finishing a real story or anything. Just start, work it out, go, and stop.

But then again, I shouldn't talk. The first bit of writing I typed out was a Mary Sue fanfic... not only that but a Middle School Mary Sue fanfic, the kind you make when you're 12 years old and have no idea how to do anything. I shudder even thinking about that piece of text rotting on my hard drive somewhere.

But you improve! I got this far through fanfiction! I'll get to publish my own yet! And then people will write fanfics of MY STUFF!

It's nice to dream, isn't it? sweatdrop

## Edited! I am an idiot for gallivanting about with a stuck 'r' key!**  

[sdfghjklsdfghjskldfghjkls]

Oui, bien sur.

You might want to fix your "r" key or something...
I saw "though" a couple of times where "through" was obviously what you were going for.  

[SilverBellsAbove]

Blah! The thing's been stuck for a while. crying What use is a grammar guild if my keyboard is running on duct tape?

*pops off to Circuit City*

Wait a minute.

*edits above post, THEN pops off to Circuit City* xd