Give in, give in to the dark side. Resistance is futile. Go with the muse. Lay back and think of fandoms. ... possibly these are not the best metaphors to convince you with, but still, you should definitely try.

And everyone writes Mary Sues, or at least thinks about them. The good authors just realize that it's a bad idea to let anyone else read them. Plus, I can't imagine you haven't grown up a bit since 7th grade.

Come on, come into my parlor... drat it, not that metaphor either. But just give it a try. It'll be fun. And a learning experience... and doing the world a favor...

Tempt, tempt, tempt...