Also: harsh litmus test! But it's difficult to test non-fanfiction-related original characters by these critera in some ways. For example, one assumption in the test is that a Mary Sue will come in and steal the attention of major characters, make them act out of character, and generally wreak havoc on the roles established for them in canon. In original work, you have to build those relationships in the first place, so questions like how many major characters your character is attracted to, how many are attracted to him/her, how your character interacts with the hero, and so forth, can turn up as false positives. Some are Sueish anywhere, others only in fanfiction.
An original character cliche litmus test that weeds out or rephrases the fanfiction-centric questions or a more generalized version might be more helpful for OC work. I've seen several, actually. :-)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-05-04 03:45 pm (UTC)An original character cliche litmus test that weeds out or rephrases the fanfiction-centric questions or a more generalized version might be more helpful for OC work. I've seen several, actually. :-)