Self-Insertion (SI)

I write predominantly SI, not because I'm unable to create my own original characters or because I constantly fantasize about shipping myself with Logan Henderson, but because I enjoy exploring myself as a character. I feel like each of my SI fics focuses on a different aspect of who I am as a person, and since I've started writing SI, I can definitely say that I've become more comfortable with myself.

I mean, it just feels more honest and genuine to me to write SI as opposed to "creating" a character that has the same personality as me but has a different name and looks like a supermodel I feel like a lot of people get the impression from my writing that I think I'm just the shit because I write so much SI, but I'm really not that obsessed with myself. I don't think I'm perfect, but I am real. I by no means look like a supermodel, and I'm certainly not without my flaws.

And I don't think just because I don't write about how I used to cut myself, how I was buliemic in high school, or how I grew up in a house where both my mother and my older brother did drugs in front of me means that I'm "writing out my fantasies." Just because I choose to write something more romcom than tragic or angsty doesn't mean I'm glamorizing myself. Despite my past, I'm not an angsty person. I've always been more upbeat, and my writing tends to reflect my personality by being more light-hearted and humorous.

I used to write horrible SI's all the time when I was younger. It was just from me wanting to be with my favorite anime or story character or something but now that I've grown up a lot more and have actually matured as a writer, I can accept my flaws, my strengths, and my weaknesses. But like all types of stories, SI's can be a hit and miss. It depends on the author and their writing style mainly.

Well, I've haven't read that much SI but I know authors that constantly use them and their same circle of friends as the main characters for each story they write. And it does get annoying.

However, for my writing, I don't know if it counts as SI or not, but I do create totally different character but sometimes make them act and think how I would in a certain situation.

I find self insertions to be terribly awkward to read. I always cringe a little when I get them in story swaps or something. They just make me uncomfortable. I'd be fine with it, if I didn't know the person, but it's odd reading about a user having sex with a celebrity or something and associating that with their name/face.

Kurtni:

I find self insertions to be terribly awkward to read. I always cringe a little when I get them in story swaps or something. They just make me uncomfortable. I'd be fine with it, if I didn't know the person, but it's odd reading about a user having sex with a celebrity or something and associating that with their name/face.

You wouldn't like my Shawnee stories then.

Except I'd never write sex scenes. How awkward.

I love self-inserts when the author is honest about it. Like if someone flat out says "this is a self-insert, period" then it gives readers the opportinuty to walk away if it bothers them. It's to me more awkward when someone denies frequently that it's a self-insert when in reality it feels very obvious that it is.

Bella writes a lot of self-inserts, I have a whole own category for them, and even some chaptered stories. x]

^ I agree. I mean, I don't flat-out have a disclaimer on any of my SI fics, but that's only because I feel like I shouldn't have to warn people that I'm writing about myself. I'm as much of a character as any other character, but at the same time, I don't try to pretend it's not SI. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to look on my profile, see that my name's Kandi, and put two and two together

Personally, when I started writing smut pieces, they were SI because I felt more comfortable writing about myself sexually because I know what I like, so I was able to focus more on the actual writing for my first smut pieces instead of having to get into another character's head and decipher what motivates them sexually. Then when I became more accustomed to writing sex, I was able to write smut pieces centered around different characters and pairings.

If people don't want to read it, that's fine, but I don't feel like I should have to feel ashamed/be made out to be less of a writer for writing pieces involving me fucking Logan Henderson I should be able to write whatever I please, and honestly, I get a substantial amount of readers and feedback on my SI smut pieces, so obviously, it's not that strange.

^ I think there's a difference between not having "THIS IS A SELF-INSERTION" in the summary and denying it, so I hear you. At first when I started writing Shawnee/Me stories I always had a disclaimer. By now I think anyone who even remotely knows me will figure out that if it's about Shawnee Smith it's also about me.

I don't know. Maybe the sex thing is because I've actually met Shawnee and for me to write a sex scene about us... even the thought is making me cringe.

^ Yeah, I mean, I can understand personal preferences and not wanting to write a sex scene between you and Shawnee, but I don't like the sort of general mentality that it's okay to write SI, but if you write smut, then you're somehow crossing the line and suddenly it's "oh, you're only writing out your fantasies, so you're a shitty writer," if that makes any sense.

I guess I don't get why it's okay to write a sex scene with a celebrity and an original character or two celebrities, but once it's a celebrity and yourself, that's taking it too far. I mean, it's all fiction. There shouldn't be any boundaries.

I've only read one and it was still good. But the difference was that the person was already famous before writing, plus she wasn't the main character. She was a supporting character and she was always busy throughout the story. I looked at her as a character the whole time, though, and not the author.

i saw sparks:

^ Yeah, I mean, I can understand personal preferences and not wanting to write a sex scene between you and Shawnee, but I don't like the sort of general mentality that it's okay to write SI, but if you write smut, then you're somehow crossing the line and suddenly it's "oh, you're only writing out your fantasies, so you're a shitty writer," if that makes any sense.

I guess I don't get why it's okay to write a sex scene with a celebrity and an original character or two celebrities, but once it's a celebrity and yourself, that's taking it too far. I mean, it's all fiction. There shouldn't be any boundaries.

Oh I definitely agree. Like, in general I don't have anything against it. For example if you write SI with sex between you and a celebrity. Like, if I don't want to read it I won't just like how I don't read Avenged Sevenfold fanfics. But yeah, personally I'd find it awkward to write about myself and someone I've actually met, who is a celebrity, but that's my choice and so I don't.

I agree that if SI is okay there shouldn't be a massive line drawn between just writing romance and writing smut. If one is ok the other should be too, I think.

^
I agree. Most of the time my SIs don't contain sex because I hate writing het sex scenes, but I have before I didn't feel like I was writing down sexual fantasies. It naturally happened in the story. Now, I'd be lying if I said some of my SIs weren't my fantasies, but all my stories are my fantasies. I fantasize/imagine all my stories and my SIs are stories just like my others, so they're created in the same way.

I do it, but I mostly kind of use my personality as like a uh, what's the word? Like kind of a spring board to get ideas for the character's personality. I mostly use my physical features or my family. My characters usually have a mom, a dad, and a step-dad and an older brother like I do (though I don't really do it that way anymore but I used to) I wouldn't go as far as using my own name because then I just feel weird hahaha

@ the pusher.
I think that you should be allowed to write what you want how you want, those that bashed you...forget them you write for yourself, and that's all that matters :) <3

I can't read SI without picturing the author (obviously) and it just makes it so awkward to read. I usually skip over them.

Self-insertion gets so much unnecessary hate in the online writing world, which blows because it's one of the things I'm the most passionate about. I'm at that confusing stage in my life where I'm still trying to find myself, and self-insertion is a great tool for that. I feel like in the years that I've been writing predominantly SI, I've become much more self-aware, and I appreciate that.

I don't write SI because I'm narcissistic or because I want people to love me or envy me or because I'm secretly living out this fantasy life/have lost touch with reality. I really don't give a shit what people think of me, whether it be personally or as a character. I write SI because it's what I love to write and what I'm passionate about.

Frankly, if someone's not going to read my story based solely on the fact that it's self-insertion, that's their loss. I just find it somewhat amusing that a lot of the people I see making blanket generalizations about self-insertion on both this and the Things I Hate in Stories thread are the same people who have recommended and/or left comments praising my work on my SI pieces, so obviously, it's not all garbage.

From what I gathered I have an SI story Last Hope

I'm not sure if it counts or not but I'm the main character and I have myself and my friends in it as well as my boyfriend. I didn't write this to be narcissistic but simply because I wanted to write about what it'd be like if me and my friends were in a post-apocalyptic scenario and my friends enjoyed reading about themselves.

I personally don't mind SI stories as long as it's not centered around an author who's made a mary sue out of themselves.

silk tea.:

I don't get what's the big deal. You're putting your name as the main character, that's it. Who cares?

My thoughts right on the spot.

The first co-written series I ever wrote DraMarian Genesis is SI. There are three stories in the series till now, and I also wrote a oneshot for a contest a month ago.

Hoping to not get yelled at for this, but in my opinion, there's something to be said for fleshing out an original character as opposed to an SI one. You have your set personality. You know what you would do in any given situation. I don't think it allows for the exploration of a new personality like creating an original character would, since you can't just change yourself based on a given story (because that wouldn't be SI - just you using your name and face as a character). I just don't see how there can be that many versions of one person that a new character can be developed in each story, and that would get boring for me, both as a reader and a writer.

@ Katie Mosing

No offense, but with your argument, writing a fanfiction character would also be somehow easier and lesser than writing an original character. Writing a character that is a self-insert is really no different than writing a character from fandom. Neither are the same process as writing an original character, but at the same time, writing a fandom character or an SI is no less work than writing an OC. It's simply a different kind of work. Writing an original character would be the same as building a Rubik's Cube in which the panels are already perfectly aligned, whereas writing a pre-established character (either FF or SI) would be the same as taking a skewed Rubik's Cube and sliding the pieces into place so that they line up. One's no more inherently challenging than the other, they just require different skillsets.

In any given fandom, there are a gazillion different stories written about a specific character, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's boring or that it's the same story over and over again. For example, if I wrote Panic fanfic, I could write countless stories centered around Brendon Urie, set in an endless possibility of universes, choosing to bring out or play up any variety of characters traits based on the situation at the time. There's really no difference with SI; I'm as much of a walking, talking, breathing person as Brendon Urie is.