Re: Sue, 2

My friend Jon (currently staying the week with the Abigail and I) just pointed out this neat Salon article about the Mary Sue phenomenon. Salon's main point? Mary Sueism is bad because it's self-indulgent and therefore alienating to the reader. Writing is about communication, and you don't want to leave the reader feeling like an outsider to your self-congratulatory story.

In case you haven't noticed, I think it's a neat article, agree with it, and think you should read it, too.

Interestingly, the article points out several iterations of Sue I hadn't thought of, including "blameless survivor of vicious divorce Sue" and "balding and middle aged yet irresistibly sexy Sue." The latter I've always had some sympathy for - being male and therefore perhaps one day doomed to male pattern baldness - but the former has always annoyed me. I even saw it in an otherwise nifty Escape Pod story once.

Anyway, I will leave you with these thoughts and an article to read, for now.