The Original Fiction Mary-Sue Litmus Test

http://www.onlyfiction.net/marysue.html

Keep in mind, some of the things on this list are bound to happen in any story — the problem is when they all start happening in the same story. Obviously, no test can take every contingency into account, and we can’t promise you that every character who scores high on this test is a Mary-Sue, or that every character who scores low isn’t. Heck, Bono from U2 scores a whopping 72 points! That doesn’t mean he’s a Mary-Sue; it just means he has astonishing number of romanticized traits — and although he’s a real person, he might not make a very believable character. It’s up to you as the author to decide, as objectively as you can, how your results really apply to your story. This test isn’t meant to tell you how to write your characters; it’s just a reference list of points to think about when developing them. If you have any suggestions for how to improve it, feel free to let us know.