CalliopeMused

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since	: 01-20-05, id: 742890, Profile Updated: 11-26-11
country	: USA

Author has written 31 stories for Fairy Tales, Spider-Man, Teen Titans, Redwall, Greek Mythology, Bartimaeus Trilogy, Will of the Empress, Chronicles of Narnia, Protector of the Small Quartet, Immortals, Tamora Pierce, Avatar: Last Airbender, and Song of the Lioness.

Is she living or is she dead? Living, with a story in progress.

Current Titans projects: Paved Paradise (Friends Like These is very close to being finished, and I'm waiting on Logan before working through the pre-set plot in Crystal.)

Current Tamora Pierce projects: Lady Lioness, an alternate universe where Alanna did go to the convent and Thom went to the palace. Another story with Briar and Tris may follow.

A Crash Course in Original Characters
So, your story has a bit part that can't be filled by a canon character. Instead of using a nameless security guard/scientist/police officer/victim/cashier #2 at the mall, you want to put in a character that will make a few small additions to your story. This is good. Developing Cashier #2 until she single-handedly saves the day with her spunky personality and unexpected genius-level IQ behind her size-00 (with curves!!) beauty is not good. Why? Because, no matter what you call Cashier #2, your readers will recognize her as Mary-Sue, that dreaded usurper of stories, third wheel on relationships, and general annoyance.

How do you avoid a Mary-Sue, and Marty-Stu, her just-as-attractive-but-in-a-masculine-way smart, rugged, athletic, and charming long-lost twin brother? Common sense, a little planning, and these easy tips.

1) Interaction
Your original character (OC) will have a reaction to the other characters in the story. That reaction should not (let me repeat: should not) be identical to your own. They might be impressed, cynical, distrusting, or fanatic. Whatever it is, that impression will change over time. An OC is not your cue to start waxing poetic about your favorite character(s). If your OC sounds like you, talks like you, and looks like you (but taller, with longer hair, martial arts know-how, and designer clothes), you don't have an OC. You have a self-insert Mary-Sue. Your readers will know, and will not share your opinions about Ms. Mary-Sue.

2) Role
Your OC is not there to save the day, play a pivotal role in the story that will earn the Most Valuable Character nod, or end up romantically involved with a canon character. If she or he is, then you aren't writing a story about (insert fandom here). You're writing a story about your character, and the canon characters seem to be participating. Your OC should be there to further the plot, provide something canon characters cannot, be more fun for the readers than Cashier #2, and get out of the way when the created role is over.

3) Career
You might need a scientist, police officer or Cashier #2. While your OC can certainly be qualified for the job, and very good at it, please respect the limits to suspension of disbelief. Suspension of disbelief is that old phenomenon that happens when you start watching a movie or a musical. If you go to see Wicked and keep wondering how everyone knows the steps and chords, you won't enjoy the show. If you refuse to listen to a donkey talking, you won't enjoy Shrek. Do you see how this works? Your readers do this for you, too, but you can't push them too far. You can have a microbiologist. You can even have a brilliant microbiologist who hardly puts two minutes into brushing her hair for lab, and then looks quite the sight when dressed for a night on the town. However: when you end up with Dr. Hensley, 22-year-old prodigy Ph.D. in microbiology, nationally renowned, runs her own lab, constantly solicited to appear on talkshows, brilliant, bombshell brunette with a whole lot of attitude, the most advanced research in the country, and a go-get-'em attitude- the audience is confused, because you just ended up with a very (very) bad case of Mary-Sue.

By doing your research, you will realize that earning your Ph.D. normally takes seven to nine years of very hard work beyond high school if all goes perfectly, especially in science. Doing it in four years total (bachelor's, master's, and doctor of philosophy degrees) means that you have a work-driven nutcase on your hands, in the best case. Owning a lab takes quite a bit of cash on its own, and the equipment required is enough to exhaust a bank. One tiny machine necessary for microbiology work, the faithful PCR machine, can be eight inches high and 8,000 dollars, easily. Last but not least- celebrity scientists are famous for something besides science. Typically, they have a crack team of experts to back them up, a brilliant orthodontist, a grade-A hairstylist, and connections to a talkshow host and/or a best-selling book.

Please, do your research. This applies to characters who are scientists, cops, zookeepers, firefighters, nurses, mail carriers, cartoonists, magazine editors, mechanics... You get the picture. If you want to add more to your story, know the background information.

That's it.
This is a crash course, written because profiles are boring when empty and I didn't have the right answer for "how do you write non-Sues?" before. If you want to test a character, I recommend a Mary-Sue litmus test for pure fun. Don't treat it as the gospel truth, but answering the questions honestly will give you a good idea where your characters stand. It's not always right, but it can give you a ballpark idea.

There are exceptions to the above rules, but I've never read a good OC that could break all three.

Mary-Sue Test

It's as easy as clicking boxes. That website even adds for you.
Note: link valid when the profile was updated, but searching "Mary Sue Test" in any search engine should find an alternative.

Updated November 26, 2011.
Status: Psychiatrist analyzed, psychiatrist approved. Actual writing set to resume soon, thanks for your patience.

Sort: Category . Published . Updated . Title . Words . Chapters . Reviews . Status .

1. From Scanra With Love » reviews
Seventeen-year-old Daine Sarrasri thought that she would never leave Snowsdale. Then the golden eagle came, and everything changed. Daine/Numair AU
Immortals, Tamora Pierce - Rated: T - English - Humor/Adventure - Chapters: 11 - Words: 46,041 - Reviews: 54 - Updated: 4-20-12 - Published: 2-2-12 - Daine S. & Numair S. - Complete

2. Season Six: Burning Bright » reviews
After Things Change, some things stayed the same. Canon-inspired, canon hints toward pairings, no Trouble in Tokyo
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Humor/Drama - Chapters: 5 - Words: 18,747 - Reviews: 31 - Updated: 4-12-12 - Published: 3-12-12

3. Lady Lioness » reviews
Alanna never went to Corus to learn to become a page. When Lady Alanna makes her debut at sixteen, the entire world has changed, and she will be the one to put things right. Alternate Canon
Song of the Lioness - Rated: T - English - Adventure/Romance - Chapters: 20 - Words: 60,124 - Reviews: 201 - Updated: 2-6-12 - Published: 4-14-11 - Alanna & George

4. Paved Paradise » reviews
Raven didn't instantly regain her age at The End of the fight against Trigon, but the most reclusive of the Teen Titans will be back to normal before anyone notices she's gone. Right? Unrepentant kid-fluff
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Humor/Friendship - Chapters: 10 - Words: 35,332 - Reviews: 139 - Updated: 12-21-11 - Published: 11-15-10 - Raven & Beast Boy

5. The Emperor's Mage » reviews
AU. Daine is sixteen when she travels to Carthak with her teacher, Lindhall Reed, and the Tortallan peace delegation. She's there to heal the emperor's birds. She didn't mean to make a dangerous friend in Arram Draper, the emperor's right-hand man.
Immortals, Tamora Pierce - Rated: T - English - Friendship/Drama - Chapters: 40 - Words: 59,485 - Reviews: 254 - Updated: 6-16-11 - Published: 10-1-10 - Complete

6. The Courtship of Domitan of Masbolle » reviews
Neal, Yuki, Raoul, and Buri's double wedding is be the perfect time for Domitan to ask Keladry about something more serious than a dance. At least, it will be if Dom could talk to Kel for sixty seconds at a time.
Protector of the Small Quartet - Rated: T - English - Humor/Romance - Chapters: 4 - Words: 13,915 - Reviews: 38 - Updated: 6-16-11 - Published: 6-3-11 - Keladry & Domitan - Complete

7. The Avatar Project » reviews
An ambitious scientist brought bending back into a world that had forgotten the elements, but had no idea what he had started. Four years after the first of the new firebenders, and twelve years before the story begins, an Avatar was born.
Avatar: Last Airbender - Rated: T - English - Drama/Sci-Fi - Chapters: 7 - Words: 25,821 - Reviews: 12 - Updated: 1-4-11 - Published: 11-24-10 - Aang & Sokka

8. Twas the Night Before Christmas reviews
"'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Tower, Not one Titan was safe from a half-demon's glower." Utter crackfic in poem form. You have been warned.
Teen Titans - Rated: K - English - Humor - Chapters: 1 - Words: 500 - Reviews: 8 - Published: 12-3-10 - Raven - Complete

9. Emotions » reviews
Raven said that she doesn't feel emotions. She lied. Series of oneshots
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Drama - Chapters: 5 - Words: 3,335 - Reviews: 38 - Updated: 10-14-10 - Published: 1-10-07 - Raven

10. Squires and Overlords reviews
Either the gods were displeased with Jon for making his champion do his paperwork, or George called in a favor with Kyprioth. Either way, Alanna's having a great day. Set somewhere in Keladry's third year as a squire.
Protector of the Small Quartet - Rated: T - English - Humor/Friendship - Chapters: 1 - Words: 8,380 - Reviews: 20 - Published: 9-21-10 - Alanna & Jon - Complete

11. Friends Like These » reviews
.AU. Victor Stone just wanted a chance at the career he deserved. He didn't know his shot would come with a genie, a car accident, an alien, a demon, and an inconvenient hostage crisis. Rookie and Desert Phoenix remix.
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Humor/Adventure - Chapters: 11 - Words: 37,322 - Reviews: 74 - Updated: 8-7-10 - Published: 5-26-09 - Cyborg & Jinx

12. Lullaby reviews
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird…" There's always a cost. Who's going to pay for that mockingbird? ..An odd little fic about Raven and Beast Boy..
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Supernatural/Suspense - Chapters: 1 - Words: 6,889 - Reviews: 18 - Published: 6-15-10 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

13. The Fifth » reviews
AU The Titans saved the world again by defeating Trigon. Business as usual, even if demons are new. Not one, however, knows what to do when the villain leaves without his daughter.
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Adventure - Chapters: 24 - Words: 67,567 - Reviews: 246 - Updated: 3-16-08 - Published: 3-21-07 - Raven & Beast Boy

14. Never reviews
Raven knows you can learn some things through books, and that it's never too late for a change. BBRae
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Chapters: 1 - Words: 3,371 - Reviews: 40 - Published: 3-26-07 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

15. Jade » reviews
Deathstroke is in Jump City, something is wrong with Raven's powers, and that isn't even the weird part. Follows events of Red
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Suspense/Drama - Chapters: 5 - Words: 16,851 - Reviews: 71 - Updated: 3-23-07 - Published: 1-16-07 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

16. Red » reviews
AU Four metahumans, four red ID cards, two years of the Metahuman Acts, and the one human crazy enough to think about forming the Titans.
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Adventure/Romance - Chapters: 12 - Words: 47,130 - Reviews: 179 - Updated: 1-16-07 - Published: 9-17-06 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

17. Raven and the Beast » reviews
AU. When Trigon's only daughter threatened to visit the abandoned old castle, she had no idea what she was getting into.
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Humor/Romance - Chapters: 5 - Words: 18,982 - Reviews: 174 - Updated: 1-7-07 - Published: 1-20-06 - Beast Boy & Raven - Complete

18. Summertime » reviews
Trisana Chandler is tired of hot nights, but called breezes bring images she would rather not see. "Sensible Tris" knows that something needs to be changed. TrisBriar
Will of the Empress - Rated: T - English - Fantasy/Romance - Chapters: 5 - Words: 14,483 - Reviews: 158 - Updated: 10-29-06 - Published: 9-9-06 - Complete

19. Promise reviews
Kitty remembers old promises. So does Bartimaeus. Oneshot Spoilers for Ptolemy's Gate.
Bartimaeus Trilogy - Rated: T - English - Humor/Drama - Chapters: 1 - Words: 1,500 - Reviews: 11 - Published: 10-7-06 - Complete

20. Dance of the Skeletons » reviews
.AU. Five teenagers were in detention on the second day of school. It looked like a bad start to their senior year but that was before five Titans set out to change the town. By the end of the year, Forston will be changed, one way or another.
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Drama/Romance - Chapters: 64 - Words: 323,948 - Reviews: 1542 - Updated: 9-17-06 - Published: 9-17-05 - Beast Boy & Raven - Complete

21. It Should Be Fair reviews
Susan wonders. Oneshot
Chronicles of Narnia - Rated: K+ - English - Spiritual - Chapters: 1 - Words: 2,921 - Reviews: 20 - Published: 9-12-06 - Complete

22. The Only Good Magician reviews
The only good magician is a dead magician. Bartimaeus knows that for a fact, and no last summoning is going to change that. Oneshot Spoilers for Ptolemy's Gate.
Bartimaeus Trilogy - Rated: T - English - Humor/Tragedy - Chapters: 1 - Words: 2,314 - Reviews: 18 - Published: 9-5-06 - Complete

23. Rookie » reviews
There will be no further updates. No amount of asking is going to change this. My cousin died while the final parts of this story were in draft, and any attempt at going back to this story brings me back to losing Ryan. Please stop asking me to update.
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Adventure/Romance - Chapters: 13 - Words: 25,937 - Reviews: 149 - Updated: 7-13-05 - Published: 6-14-05 - Cyborg & Raven - Complete

24. Medusa reviews
Medusa. The girl with the snakes for hair, right? There is more to this tragic heroine than her looks. Yes, heroine. Don't believe me? You haven't heard her story.
Greek Mythology - Rated: T - English - Drama/Tragedy - Chapters: 1 - Words: 7,166 - Reviews: 30 - Published: 7-8-05 - Complete

25. Bubbles reviews
Sometimes, a relationship needs the oddest catalyst to get it going. Something completely innocuous. Something like bubbles. Oneshot BBRae
Teen Titans - Rated: K+ - English - Romance/Humor - Chapters: 1 - Words: 3,174 - Reviews: 69 - Published: 7-5-05 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

26. Wisp reviews
She is someone who did something somewhat important. When she haunts the infirmary of Redwall, she finds a mousemaid who may have the answers. Oneshot
Redwall - Rated: K+ - English - Supernatural/Drama - Chapters: 1 - Words: 6,060 - Reviews: 16 - Published: 7-4-05 - Complete

27. Judgment Day reviews
It's Raven's eighteenth birthday. Everyone knows that Trigon is due for a visit. Raven knows she has to fight him alone. Can she? Oneshot BBRae
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Drama/Romance - Chapters: 1 - Words: 6,257 - Reviews: 38 - Published: 6-30-05 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

28. Ten Things I Hate About You reviews
Raven writes a note, one detailing ten unforgivable annoyances about Beast Boy, the reasons she hates him and the reasons she has the propensity to throw him from windows. Number one on her list? Read to find out. R&R. BBRae, oneshot
Teen Titans - Rated: K+ - English - Romance/Humor - Chapters: 1 - Words: 5,669 - Reviews: 135 - Published: 6-27-05 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

29. In the Bleak December » reviews
Raven has defeated Trigon, and realized a new power. She can feel the emotions of others around her, now that her own are free. This new talent has one major consequence, one that takes years to unravel. BBRae Complete
Teen Titans - Rated: T - English - Drama/Romance - Chapters: 18 - Words: 50,775 - Reviews: 302 - Updated: 6-13-05 - Published: 5-21-05 - Raven & Beast Boy - Complete

30. Precognition reviews
Oneshot Rosie had a feeling that something wasn't right. She just had no idea how right she was, or that women have an intuition that some spiders share. Movieverse.
Spider-Man - Rated: K+ - English - Romance/Drama - Chapters: 1 - Words: 8,578 - Reviews: 10 - Published: 5-20-05 - Complete

31. Sunrise » reviews
IP again A pair of blooddrenched ballet slippers. A girl who loves someone from afar. A spoiled boy, termed a man only by his age. A witch who hopes to rid herself of a threat. Not all stories end at midnight. For the Little Mermaid, it was Sunrise.
Fairy Tales - Rated: T - English - Supernatural/Romance - Chapters: 15 - Words: 48,826 - Reviews: 62 - Updated: 4-1-05 - Published: 2-26-05 - Complete

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