Excuse my ignorance; I've only been in fandom a few months, but can someone tell me about Mary-Sue? I guessed a while back that it was self-insertion, usually wishful thinking (going by the few stories I encountered her in), but was why Mary-Sue? Was there an original Mary-Sue who wrote one?
You're right in your definition of Mary Sue; Paula Smith apparently first used the name in a brief parody she wrote in Trek fandom years ago.
I wrote about The Dear Girl in an essay at http://www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.HTM
I've also come across Peggy-Sue Servalan in the Bizarro zines. Is this a variation on the theme? Mind you, the Bizarro stories seem to have a lot of fans and writers lurking lightly-disguised in them.
And, aren't they fun?
feste
feste@brandywine.net
"Figs are sweet, but fictions are sweeter." -- William Makepeace Thackeray