tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post6418415326179363635..comments2023-11-22T06:35:25.251-05:00Comments on POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS: A Case of PNS (Perfectly Nice Syndrome)Julia Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-22525918639092302122010-10-16T15:43:08.615-04:002010-10-16T15:43:08.615-04:00Great solution, Liz! In the Neel series, the detec...Great solution, Liz! In the Neel series, the detective is always struggling with various moral dilemmas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-32487801529358195322009-05-29T09:41:49.104-04:002009-05-29T09:41:49.104-04:00Jennifer, I hadn't run across the Mary Sue before...Jennifer, I hadn't run across the Mary Sue before. Thanks for that. SharonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-82093776778585787972009-05-28T13:39:30.717-04:002009-05-28T13:39:30.717-04:00Great entry !!!
This reminded me of a very funny t...Great entry !!!<br />This reminded me of a very funny term I came across in my blog reading: a Mary Sue. It's a term from fan fiction (or as Sharon would say, fen fiction) that means you've created a protagonist who is basically an idealized version of yourself.<br />Here's a link to a quiz. Is your MC a Mary Sue?<br />http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htmJennifer Gatesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-11293271790386609642009-05-28T13:32:56.123-04:002009-05-28T13:32:56.123-04:00It's not only in unpublished novels that PNS crops...It's not only in unpublished novels that PNS crops up--a lot of mine has developed as a result of learning more about the craft of writing mysteries, rubbing up against real-life cops and PIs (some of them writers) in MWA and SinC and on DorothyL, and entering the world in which I get the occasional fan email--and would rather it's not a rocket. :) Both the problem and the solution are more Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-70747298303621696362009-05-28T10:06:15.088-04:002009-05-28T10:06:15.088-04:00Thanks Liz and Sharon. This link gets filed under...Thanks Liz and Sharon. This link gets filed under "Assorted Mystery Advice."Susan Dhttp://www.susandaly.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-54769765165768617882009-05-28T09:31:45.645-04:002009-05-28T09:31:45.645-04:00I'm blushing, Liz. Thanks for the compliment. I, t...I'm blushing, Liz. Thanks for the compliment. I, too, have been guilty of PNS, but thanks to Sherry, I now revel in making life tough for my clients (grin)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-75306646073654747042009-05-28T09:06:13.912-04:002009-05-28T09:06:13.912-04:00Thanks for a great post, Liz. I'm going to roughen...Thanks for a great post, Liz. I'm going to roughen the edges of my protagonist tomorrow.<br /><br />EdithEdith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-21079604270221078472009-05-28T08:33:10.282-04:002009-05-28T08:33:10.282-04:00An excellent point. If our characters are too nic...An excellent point. If our characters are too nice (color inside the lines, are polite to their elders, finish all their vegetables), they are flat-out boring and we as readers lose sympathy for them. They need to make mistakes--that makes them human.<br /><br />You make your cop figure sound interesting--she's caught in that classic squeeze between wanting to do the right thing and wanting to Sheila Connollyhttp://www.sheilaconnolly.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-81003812565188827562009-05-28T08:12:43.550-04:002009-05-28T08:12:43.550-04:00I think PNS afflicts a lot of unpublished manuscri...I think PNS afflicts a lot of unpublished manuscripts. Over the (many)years I struggled to get published, I was a critique partner with a number of other unpublished writers, and I saw this all the time. They would not allow their protagonists to do anything unethical. If a character was a lawyer, she did everything by the book and wouldn't dream of acting otherwise. If she was a cop, she was Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.com