Mary Sue/Gary Stue

FACT!: A Mary Sue/Gary Stu is a character that often shows up in literature and does very bad things to everyone involved in the reading process.  Mary Sue/Gary Stu isn't their name, it's their identity.

You can tell you are reading a Mary Sue/Gary Stu character when you come across someone who is beautiful, unique, powerful, immensely talented, loved by everyone, and has a tragic past.  Her/His faults are minuscule, if she/he has them, and no one really cares about them anyway because the person is so great.

This is bad for literature because Mary and Gary hurt the hearts of the people. They can't relate to anyone. No one in the world is actually like that.  We all kind of wish we were like that sometimes, but no one actually is, and when we come across that character, we know that we are being lied to.

Most writers tend to accidentally write them anyway, because the Mary Sue is often the person they long to be.

However, if this is you, there is help:  http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm

THE CHALLENGE!: In 300 words describe the perfect teenager.  Bonus points to whoever can use the word "effulgent" the most amount of times without growing redundant