Sally Manton wrote:
But do Mary Sues (the real thing) represent or encourage anything of the sort? Not in my reading experience - quite the opposite. She's even more strictly defined that a badly-written comp tech <g> and - what is much much worse - has an appalling effect on the writing of the characters that I already know and like.
In my experience, the average MS story doesn't just shriek "isn't this creation of mine wonderful?" but also "wouldn't Avon/Vila/Tarrant be so much better off with Wonderful Creation who understands and appreciates him properly and who he can confide in and trust than that these stupid insensitive Nearthandal types he has to put up with on the screen?" *That's* the thing I most hate about them - not that they're Wonderful, but the way that said wonderfulness ladled on at the expense of the regulars.
What she said.
Besides which, so many of them are Avon/OCF romances that they aggravate my 'poor damaged Avon' gag reflex - as if Avon just needs to find the right woman, and he'll suddenly be 'whole'; implying of course, that he's not already - Faugh!!!
Mistral