Thread by @JoshuaLisec

Rey. Galadriel. Captain Marvel. Bo Peep.

Why are modern female heroes so unlikeable?

And what does that mean for us professional writers?

It all starts with Mary Sue...

All four characters are a variation on the Mary Sue trope.

A "Mary Sue" is a female protagonist who can overpower foes with ease -- but without the backstory to explain her personality, values, agenda, or those abilities.

Mary Sue-ing a character is how you botch the Hero's Journey.

In a typical hero's journey, the protagonist is weaker than the villain in every tangible way.

That's important when you're considering the odds of who's going to win.

But the hero is always set apart from the antagonist by one important quality:

The hero does NOT believe the ends justify the means.

The antagonist always DOES believe the ends justify the means.

That's the fatal flaw of the antagonist.

And that's why we root for the hero.

In every timeless story, the hero becomes great by overcoming their tangible weaknesses.

Man or woman, doesn't matter; the hero or herione's journey dictates this change must occur.

But Mary Sue?

She starts at the END of the hero's journey!

We see a character who has completed her arc -- but at the start of the story.

Ben Solo trains in combat his whole life. Rey is a mechanic.

The first time they fight -- she slays his ass!

That's not how an antagonist VS protagonist's first battle is supposed to go.

These Mary Sues are depicted as unlikeable but strong.

That's the OPPOSITE of how a story should start.

Any new protagonist must be introduced in a hero's journey story arc where they're likable yet have weakly behaviors; or they're dedicated to a sickly extent to their values.

Not so for Mary Sue!

Consider Galadriel from the Rings of Power debacle.

She and her elven friends find a troll, in one particular scene.

The troll starts killing her friends (whom she must have known for hundreds of years, maybe thousands).

And Galadriel . . . waits.

She stands back all stoic while her friends are butchered.

Then, with little help from her posse, she hops up there and cuts and chops the troll with stupid Hollywood ease.

No risk to her. Victory without effort. Dead friends everywhere.

Compare that scene to when the fellowship of the ring confronts the cave troll in mines of Moria.

Everybody fights; nobody quits.

And only by working together can the (weaker) heroes defeat the (stronger) enemy.

Working together to defeat a powerful enemy that would otherwise vanquish the heroes?

Modern female heroines don't do that.

They don't even act like real human beings.

NO commander in combat holds back and watches as her underlings are crushed by a monster.

That doesn't happen -- unless it's the villain. 👀

Yep, that's what the villain does.

Watches and waits. No empathy.

Remember when Darth Vader takes Princess Leia's ship?

You know Vader is the bad guy -- he sends his stormtroopers in to kill and be killed.

Then he saunters in to torment anyone in his way.

Mary Sue starts off like Darth Vader -- full-fledged antagonist.

We don't get to see who they could have become.

We can't relate to them because they're perfect (or perfectly evil).

Where can your story go if you begin with the end?

Your story can only go backwards if you start off with a "perfect" character.

And so the character arc requires the female protagonist to act like the villain.

You have to let your friends die when you could have saved them.

For the plot!

What we love about female heroes is their uniquely feminine perspective, in addition to their heroism, courage, sacrifice, and empathy.

But the Mary Sue?

That's all gone.

They take everything we love about great women and trash it.

Consider a well-written heroine mentioned earlier.

Princess Leia holds the moral high ground while menacing Darth towers over her.

She'll do anything to protect her people.

And yet she falls for the bad boy even though she knows she shouldn't.

That's . . . a real woman.

How do we know Princess Leia is a good, strong female lead?

Recall when Grand Mof Tarkin makes her watch as her planet is smithereened out of existence.

She is the maiden in distress, tortured by the machinations of an evildoer.

But she doesn't give up.

The end of her planet and her people doesn't crush her.

No, she grows stronger from her pain and goes on to lead the Rebels to victory.

Understand this:

A feminist character from the 1970s does MORE to celebrate the heroic feminine than female protagonists written today.

We the public are DONE with flat Mary Sues who are unrelatable and do nothing but regress into ugly villains.

At the same time, audiences also don't want to watch one-dimensional "trad" wives who submit to their husband's every demand.

That's a Mary Sue inversion. Also boring.

We want and need female heroes women can aspire to be and that audiences of all ages can enjoy.

We need more heroines like Éowyn.

She's torn between devotion to her family and the duty she feels for her people.

She's courageous and fights with what strength she does have.

She can't fisticuff like Legolas or Aragorn, but she does what she can with honor.

She's a real woman, and we love her for it.

What have we learned, anon?

That Mary Sue is the antithesis of a real woman -- and a good person.

Her ubiquity in pop culture makes audiences dislike female antagonists in general.

Instead of admiring them (like we do Princess Leia or Éowyn), we find them unlikeable (at best).

And now I have more bad news.

You know who the worst purveyor of the Mary Sue trope is?

It's not Hollywood.

It's you.

If YOU write your own story ... own experiences ... even your own BOOK like you are a blemishless hero, born perfect in every way . . .

You just Mary Sue'd yourself.

No one will relate to you.

No one will like you.

And no one will buy your high-ticket offer.

Anyone can say they have all the answers.

And thousands of con (wo)men and charlatans do every day.

What's harder to fake?

The Journey.

I hear cope and excuses like, "I can't talk about when I was weak because then no one will trust me."

You have it backwards.

No one will trust you if you *don't* share your journey, your Before VS After.

My client Dr. Ovadia tells of being a fat doctor -- then losing 100 pounds.

Another client, Bushra Azhar, shares what it's like starting a business in a literal closest -- then becoming a household name.

Their books win big. They show their work, not just their results.

Sharing your entire journey is part of the Hero's Journey template I use when I write bestselling memoir mashups.

So this thread isn't my gut instinct talking out of turn.

This is the storytelling process that has worked across all people for all time in all places.

Your book must create the strongest possible emotional response in your readers.

You want results like @ifixhearts here.

I see this all the time with my clients who use my templates.

And now...

You are convinced that the Mary Sue trope hurts female protagonists and society in general.

You are convinced that "perfect" is a terrible idea for how to portray yourself in your book.

Great news:

I can help you avoid the Mary Sue trope trap.

I can help you tell authentic stories that capture your entire journey.

I can help you tell them in a way that shows when you were weak but leaves you looking strong.

I can help you tell stories that get people to CRAVE your services so they can be a hero -- like you.

If you are ready to become relatable hero with a profitable book, schedule a call with me at entrepreneurswordsmith.com/book/

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