John saw her undying devotion every time he looked into those chocolate brown pools of perfection the rest of the world called eyes, and he loved her all the more for her attention to his every need and desire. She spoiled him and he knew it. He grinned to himself as he crossed the street.

"John!" cried his beloved, hurling herself into the path of the double-decker bus bearing down upon him –

(We apologize for the interruption. The author has left the keyboard and is threatening to do herself in over such an embarrassing piece of tripe.)

Ahem.

So, what is a Mary Sue, and why should you consider all the options before writing one?

A "Mary Sue" is broadly defined as a story with a flawless hero/heroine. She (or he, but almost always she) is beautiful, endearing, in command (or has a rather charming problem with authority) and everyone loves her more than life itself. Think "girl meets Beatle, girl marries Beatle, girl and Beatle live happily ever after." Notice the absence of conflict?

You might also have noticed that a disproportionate amount of Beatles fan fiction tends to follow that same basic premise. Let's face it, if you write Beatles fanfic, chances are you've dreamed of meeting your favorite Beatle... what's wrong with writing about it? Nothing - really! It's quite possible to write a good Mary Sue, but like any other genre, it takes good characters and a good story - not just one or the other -  to pull it off. See the Write Thinking archives, particularly "Writing a Believable Romance" and "Creating a Believable Character" for more ideas on how to write a Mary Sue.

The main disadvantage to writing a Mary Sue is simply that it's easy to fall into the trap of creating Mr. and Mrs. Perfect with their Perfect House and Perfect Children and Perfect Lives. And because that's so easy to do, it results in a lot of lousy fanfic. You can do yourself a favor as a writer by venturing into less trampled territory once in a while.

Before you start, a friendly word of advice: When you write, take yourself seriously. Have fun, by all means, because that's what writing is about... but be willing to put the time in to get things right, too. Find that spot of ambition somewhere between watching a few hours of late night infomercials (writing takes more effort than that) and writing the Great American Novel (an impossibly grandiose goal that you're not going to accomplish with Beatles fanfic!). Got it? Good.

First, remember the Beatles led real lives, with triumphs and conflict and good and bad days. The only appreciable difference between the Beatles and anyone else (from a writer's perspective) is that the Beatles have every last minute detail of their lives recorded for posterity. Take advantage! Research your subjects and get an idea of what makes them tick. If you read or see something about John, Paul, George or Ringo that strikes you as interesting, file it away. Think of this as a hands-on approach to brainstorming... if you do your research well before you dive in, it'll be easier to come up with fresh ideas later.

Once you've come to grips with how "your" Beatle(s) behave, put them in an unexplored situation. This is where all that research you did (you did do your research, didn't you?) comes into play. Pick an event, a quotation, even a picture, and build around it. What might have been going on at Twickenham when the cameras were off? Did a specific occurrence prompt John to describe Beatlemania as "like being in the eye of a hurricane"? Exactly what are the four of them doing in that photo?! You get the idea. If you'd rather go with an established genre of Beatles fanfic, you could write about what would happen if they were living in a different time or a different circumstance (sometimes called an Alternative History or Alt-His). Comedy, Sci-Fi and Fantasy are also directions you could take - you'll find great examples of all of those on the Rooftop site. And don't forget the post-Beatles era! There's a wealth of material to work with if you'd like to try your hand at the "what ifs" of their solo careers.

Let your imagination be your guide, and don't be afraid to try something that sounds a little off the wall. Often, off-the-wall ideas can develop into very good stories. The worst case scenario is you just won't hit your groove, so to speak, and your storyline will fizzle out after a few pages. So what? Shelve it and try again. Don't throw out any ideas - you can always come back to them later. In fact, that's one of the best ways to jump start your muse if you're having trouble: scribble down whatever you can think of, walk away and let your ideas marinate on the page for a while.

Once you've defined your basic premise, feel free to start dropping in your author-created characters. Maybe the "something" in his past Ringo is struggling with is a some one, for instance. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a little romance to spice things up, or a little "self-insertion" (a kinder way to say you took your best qualities and made a character from them)...variety is the key. If your characters are doing nothing but pledging everlasting love or you're doing nothing but stroking your own ego, reexamine your approach.

I hope I've opened your eyes to the wide range of possibilities Beatles fanfic presents and encouraged you to try your own hand at it. Don't be intimidated by the idea of writing. Anyone can do it, it's all about finding your own personal writer's voice. Be original and have fun!

Meg Kline has been a closet Beatles fan fic writer since the age of nine, when she vowed to stop as soon as it was "out of her system..." At age twelve, she won a state writing competition ("How Far I Was Willing to Go to See Paul McCartney in Concert") and a contest run by the newspaper Irish Voice ("What Being Irish Means to Me"). She has been planning for the decidedly un-writer-like career of pulmonologist for over a decade, and has finally come round to the fact that even med school isn't likely to eradicate her writing bug.

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