You? Good grief, I'd be looking for a shotgun because if I ever looked at something you wrote and went 'uh, wait a minute' - it would be because you'd become a pod person or something. Yes, it would only be possible AS an insult and I'd be angry too.
I would only consider it as a possibility in a learning environment...and never with other people present. Way too many times this was a total gang-bang at too many conventions just because some nasty girls could. (We've talked about people who are mean simply because they can get away with it, right? A lot of stories didn't get written that way - who would, with that waiting for you?)
And very, very often - 'learning environment' can include dealing with people who write as therapy, not as a profession yet. If you can't be Good (and I'm talking about being a plaster saint here, I knew too many who were, that schooled me instead of spat on me) going into that, you have no business being there at all. 'Self-insertion' may be where it started - but if you can take that interest and direct it toward building that character where they make the story flow outward, rather than inward? Oh my, I rarely see anything with less passion invested in the end result. It's worth it.
People are showing you what really matters to them - not just a desire to be the center of attention - with the very beginning of the beginners. You don't piss on that. It *is* an indication of maturing into the craft - and if you are asked, key point - it's not time to throw someone under the bus.
Hence, the rule. The term is off-limits - let's talk instead.
...And never, ever 'just' a Mary-Sue/Marty-Stu. If that's all someone offers me as a review, they get thrown in the pool. With prejudice. Lazy butts. That's all me and I'll cop to it. Grumble.
no subject
I would only consider it as a possibility in a learning environment...and never with other people present. Way too many times this was a total gang-bang at too many conventions just because some nasty girls could. (We've talked about people who are mean simply because they can get away with it, right? A lot of stories didn't get written that way - who would, with that waiting for you?)
And very, very often - 'learning environment' can include dealing with people who write as therapy, not as a profession yet. If you can't be Good (and I'm talking about being a plaster saint here, I knew too many who were, that schooled me instead of spat on me) going into that, you have no business being there at all. 'Self-insertion' may be where it started - but if you can take that interest and direct it toward building that character where they make the story flow outward, rather than inward? Oh my, I rarely see anything with less passion invested in the end result. It's worth it.
People are showing you what really matters to them - not just a desire to be the center of attention - with the very beginning of the beginners. You don't piss on that. It *is* an indication of maturing into the craft - and if you are asked, key point - it's not time to throw someone under the bus.
Hence, the rule. The term is off-limits - let's talk instead.
...And never, ever 'just' a Mary-Sue/Marty-Stu. If that's all someone offers me as a review, they get thrown in the pool. With prejudice. Lazy butts. That's all me and I'll cop to it. Grumble.