Curiouser and curiouser...

Ignore this blog post if you were waiting info on my stories.

Here is a question that's been bugging me for a while: Why do we- the authors, the writers, story creators and artists- like to create so many self-insert Mary Sue stories?

I mean, why so much of them? I know that to many the act of writing stories is somewhat therapeutical process, a way for them to express their inner desires and seeing their wishes granted, even if only on the pages of a story. There are many who would write Mary Sue stories- namely, stories where the protagonist, a "normal" person, suddenly finds him/herself gaining something fantastical, and to whom everything goes well, or after some minor hardships everything ends up going well. A story that basically takes a regular person, and changes them into some idealistic, heroic Gladstone Gander. (google it, if you don't know who this is.)

These kinds of stories are usually self insert stories, where the author identifies himself as the main protagonist, and so only wants good things happen to him. This is a "safe" way to the authors to see their wants and desires realised. These usually involve going on adventures, gaining great wealth, acquiring some fantastical, magical abilities, gaining respect, and finding love in some idealistic, passionate relationship.

This concept is nothing new, and it may have existed for centuries for I know. With the rise of the fandoms and the internet, people from all walks of life have been able to create and share their own stories, many of which are in this streak. Even more surprising, some of these types of stories have even found themselves on the bookshelves, and on sale across the world. Heck, some have even become so popular that they have become the source for movie adaptations.

*goughgough* TWILIGHT AND ERAGON *goughgough*

Another kind of Mary Sue I have seen first time myself here on fimfiction, which I personally call "the Justified Mary Sue". (Don't know if someone more qualified has already come up with a more fitting term.) This is a regular Mary Sue with a twist: Something bad and horrible has happened to them before or right at the beginning of the story. I know, quite a surprise, isn't it?

This horrible whatever gives these Mary Sue's a justification for all the good things that will come their way later in the story. Sometimes these Mary Sues actually have some hardships during the story, to make the story seem a little more believable to the readers. Everybody knows that bad things happen in life, and sometimes those bad things happen to you. So when we see a story written by someone else in which nothing bad happens, ever, we become quite easily morally indignant, and we point at the thing that has caused this reaction in us.

The thing is, some authors are blind to this when it is their own story that causes this reaction. Many of those who write Mary Sue stories can, sadly, be blind to the very thing they are them self creating. I know that there are a number of authors who create these stories to deal with the horrible things that has happened to them, and even greater number who write these stories to deal with things they them self see as horrible. These are basically just vent up stories, writing to deal with the emotional distress. (the clever or perhaps the trollish amongst you will at this part point their finger on me and declare my own writing as this very same thing. I am getting to that, hold your ponies.)

I myself have indulged in this very same thing. My first story here was going dangerously in this very direction, and I am currently struggling to make certain the same doesn't happen to my other story. I also imagine and write a number of self-insert Mary Sue stories to vent up my emotions and distress. Even this blog post can be seen as such.

But why you, the readers, never see any of them? Because they are horrible. Seriously, I use every single bad trope in those writings, every cliche, every dumb move, and it all ads up into this bland literal gruel which comes with it's very own spice rack of sprinkle and sparkle that any reader is allowed to use. They are bad, and I quite rightfully feel bad. Heck, they aren't even useful as a collection of trollfics, they are that bad.

I don't show you them, because, against all evidence that the general internet provides, I think you readers deserve better. I absolutely refuse to create anything to you that I myself wouldn't want to read. At this very moment I am thinking of ways to write better, and I wonder if I could make the previous writings better.

Oh, by the way, I've been a bit busy, but I have been able to make some more background to my second story. I hope it will be helpful to me and that it will help me stay consistent with my own writing. The next chapter is underway, but don't expect it to be ready any time soon.Sorry.