Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-30582209-20170214224204/@comment-30582209-20170215001338

My point is really more about the mindset rather than the specifics. While it's definitely important to avoid making a Mary Sue I personally feel that too many people ask "What can I do to avoid making a Mary Sue?" before they ask "What can I do to make a compelling or realistic character?". I'd say 10% of all OCs are really good, 20% are really bad and the rest are just mediocre and the advice "Don't make a Mary Sue" doesn't really help that 70% at all. They don't have Mary Sues, but they don't know how to really improve past that.