Perfection Makes You a Victim in Your Life Story
Don’t be a Mary Sue
In fiction and screenwriting, a main character needs a “central flaw” to make the story work.
I didn’t know this for a long time while working as a screenwriter. I assumed the characters’ flaws were just elements of variety and color. Eventually, I learned from Jill Chamberlain that a flawless character (often referred to as “Mary Sue”) cannot make the mistakes that are essential to create conflict and drive the story.
Protagonist vs Victim
When a character cannot create the main conflict of their story, the problem has to come to them from outside. This means the character loses the chance to be responsible, act, and drive the story. Instead, they react to whatever comes their way. They become a “victim of circumstances”.
A strong protagonist must have some responsibility for what’s happening. So they can learn from their mistakes, change their ways and grow, and finally fix the problem.
Stories are about change, and the best stories are about characters who get over their initial flaws and transform like butterflies who break their cocoons. We call this a character arc.
When characters are “perfect” and blameless, they only get dragged through the story by…
