wanda walker

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a witch hunt craze for Mary Sues a few years ago, and suddenly EVERY character was a Mary Sue. There were "tests" your character could take that would determine whether or not your character was a Mary Sue, so that if your character were not stupid, untalented, miserable, mean, and one-legged, he/she would be labeled a "Mary Sue". It would drag characters out of the complicated contexts of their stories and try to proclaim that any character with a special power or secret lineage HAD to be a Mary Sue and therefore terrible. Luckily we've moved beyond that witch hunt, and I think it's mostly a fanfiction problem, because when you're 15, your characters tend to lean in that direction (guilty as charged, aha). But I have found much more prevalent (and annoying) character tropes in original fiction that don't have much to do with Mary Sues, so I worry more about those instead.

You know, I'm really glad I started writing when I was eight, because I don't think I'd be brave enough to try it now. Kids aren't self-conscious, and it was that lack of self-consciousness that help me keep doing it. So I'd say in the beginning, never compare yourself to other people. Almost every author does it, but I imagine it's got to be kind of scary to do it when you're starting out. One of the most important things while writing is confidence in yourself, so I'd say that whenever a voice crops up saying "You aren't as good as So-and-So, you just shouldn't bother", nip that thing in the bud. Even if you don't think you're writing is as strong as you think it should be, strong writing must be built upon something. No one becomes a genius overnight. Also, I'd make an inventory of tropes and stereotypes that you notice or dislike, because I've found avoiding those tropes makes my writing better. For example: a character who wakes up in the morning to the sound of his alarm clock, and (if he's in high school), tells his fretful mother that he's getting up for school, please don't remind him. I've found this trope in my own old writing, and it makes me cringe. Anyway, most importantly, have fun. If writing becomes a chore, put it down and go play outside.

I always draw my characters, and if they aren't fun to draw, then they're not fun to write about (for me, personally). I'm also really specific about what they look like, if not in the text than in my own head. XD It's really hard for me to find celebrities or models that match up, because I try to keep my characters pretty average in the looks department and let's be honest, celebrities are usually the cream of the crop when it comes to attractiveness. I prefer Average Joe types. Model Mayhem is a great resource for people searching for "look alikes", since there's such a wide range of appearances (plus you can specify race, eye color, hair color, weight, etc). It's also good for drawing references! I also like to draw characters for my audience, because I want them to imagine them at least in a similar way as I do. For example, it's pretty common that people assume the characters are white unless stated otherwise. Hence why I drew this book cover: For this, I used actual fashion models (Dominique Hollington) since the younger men are supposed to be really attractive, but the lower one was based on a picture I found on Model Mayhem, since he's supposed to be older and average. He kinda ended up hotter than he should have been. >_> Of course, now that I've used these references, this image is canon, and later I described my characters with these guys in mind. It's kind of a chicken-and-the-egg argument, because I don't know if the character description is based on the reference or if the reference is based on the character description.

The fight's not over, but this is a definite step in the right direction. Congratulations to all that this ruling affects, and may ya'll have a gay old time.

I am incredibly awkward with introductions (am I the only one who hates doing those in class/work/etc? I just want to get in, do my thing, and get out) but I suppose a hello is in order. I'm actually coming from Fictionpress, so I have much more experience with the stories and audience over there (very different from the audience here). I've stopped by briefly a few times and found at least one of my favorite stories here, so when I thought about expanding my empire (mwaha) I thought of this place (and for reading, of course). I'm still trying to find that niche where my stories fit. They may not work here either, but I guess you don't know until you try? Anyway, I've found that the longer I run my mouth, the more people I antagonize, so I'll just shut up now and just say hola.