Any Chance you can do a Self Insert Main character without....

[Naruzeldamaster]

All three of us have one or two. Sometimes an author can make one without knowing. That's how I accidentally made my dad into a gay Viking Vampire King. Big noise makers, the both of them.

The two that belong to me and my wife are going to start having brief cameos in Book 4 and then Book 7 they crash the party.

That's an interesting thought, I've probably unintentionally made characters based on Relatives without even realizing.
Though I haven't properly been keeping track of them so it'd be hard to tell who's who.

 

[Marscaleb]

What I will chime in and say about the subject is this:
The problem that most writers have with a self-insert character (which people seldom realize) is that you will instinctively believe that everyone will care about this character. When you write about this character, you will care about them because they reflect so much of yourself. And with that alone, you will think that you have created a character that is worth caring about and someone whom readers will get invested in. But yet you will likely not establish any real reasons why other readers will like/care-about/invest-in this character. You wind up wearing blinders because you yourself already like the character, and when you review the story, you think you have done enough to make others like him/her already.

In truth, this is the real problem with Mary-Sue's as well. It may be easier to recognize issues like undeserved success, but readers will accept the character having success if they actually want the character to have success. You could get away with having a self-insert Mary-Sue if you can somehow manage to make readers like and care about the character.

So if you're writing a character who is effectively a self-insert, the real task is to manage to break off your own view of the character and find a way to get readers to care about this character, regardless of how much you already like them.

 

[Mad Swede]

What I will chime in and say about the subject is this:
The problem that most writers have with a self-insert character (which people seldom realize) is that you will instinctively believe that everyone will care about this character. When you write about this character, you will care about them because they reflect so much of yourself. And with that alone, you will think that you have created a character that is worth caring about and someone whom readers will get invested in. But yet you will likely not establish any real reasons why other readers will like/care-about/invest-in this character. You wind up wearing blinders because you yourself already like the character, and when you review the story, you think you have done enough to make others like him/her already.

In truth, this is the real problem with Mary-Sue's as well. It may be easier to recognize issues like undeserved success, but readers will accept the character having success if they actually want the character to have success. You could get away with having a self-insert Mary-Sue if you can somehow manage to make readers like and care about the character.

So if you're writing a character who is effectively a self-insert, the real task is to manage to break off your own view of the character and find a way to get readers to care about this character, regardless of how much you already like them.

Coupled to this is the problem of characterisation. One of the issues with a self-insert character heavily based on the author is that the characterisation lacks depth. Because the writer knows so much about the character a lot of the background and details about the character get forgotten simply because the writer so familiar with it they assume everyone else will (like their friends and colleagues) know too.

 

[Joe McM]

My main character has some traits that I do. Although, his story is very different from mine, including the family in which he was raised. I also don't have the experiences he has, like being threatened by a greedy lord or kidnapped. And I've also spread out some of my traits or idiosyncrasies to other characters.

 

[LittleOwlbear]

Uhm... I have dyspraxia, also bit of asthma and another chronical illness.
Realistcally, me going on a fantasy adventure, I would die right away. ^^"
Maybe I could be a side character in a city, I don't know.

If we are just talking about shared traits, train of thoughts etc... I have absolutely no issue including these into my main characters in some ways.
They are still people on their own and I also use some characters to give characteristics, but also struggles of mine. If you are honest about them, these characters won't feel too idealized.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Uhm... I have dyspraxia, also bit of asthma and another chronical illness.
Realistcally, me going on a fantasy adventure, I would die right away. ^^"
Maybe I could be a side character in a city, I don't know.

If we are just talking about shared traits, train of thoughts etc... I have absolutely no issue including these into my main characters in some ways.
They are still people on their own and I also use some characters to give characteristics, but also struggles of mine. If you are honest about them, these characters won't feel too idealized.

I have some medical stuff that would like me have me dead at the first slime. And not even a Metal one! (Those usually run away in a few turns too.)
In real life I'm fine (for the most part) but in a fantasy setting is a whole other ball game, even ones based on modern times like RWBY.
Nothing stopping me from adding 'bits' of myself to a character if I think it makes them interesting.

For the most part I keep it to personality traits, but occasionally I'll have other similarities. But only a very surface level. One of my characters is about as obsessed with video games as I am, but in her world there's no 'mario' 'zelda' etc because it's not based on earth. (I'm not sure it is anyway although it is very earth adjacent ) she has a few ticks of mine, but otherwise she's the exact opposite of me both socially and energy wise.

 

[Marscaleb]

Uhm... I have dyspraxia, also bit of asthma and another chronical illness.
Realistcally, me going on a fantasy adventure, I would die right away. ^^"
Maybe I could be a side character in a city, I don't know.

I don't think you need to go all-in for a self-insert character. Besides, a self-insert character (especially the kind that triggers readers) is usually a "perfected" version of yourself. They aren't really you, they are the you that you want to be.
"I look like you wanna look. I f**k like you wanna f**k. I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not." — Tyler Durden

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I don't think you need to go all-in for a self-insert character. Besides, a self-insert character (especially the kind that triggers readers) is usually a "perfected" version of yourself. They aren't really you, they are the you that you want to be.
"I look like you wanna look. I f**k like you wanna f**k. I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not." — Tyler Durden

You wanna know the funny part? My female characters are a lot more knowlegable about the 'technique' than my Male ones.
Even the ones just getting to 'that age' where it's reasonable to start doing that.

Depending on the male character in question, he might now 'a thing or two' but still be inexperienced.

 

[LittleOwlbear]

I have some medical stuff that would like me have me dead at the first slime. And not even a Metal one! (Those usually run away in a few turns too.)
In real life I'm fine (for the most part) but in a fantasy setting is a whole other ball game, even ones based on modern times like RWBY.
Nothing stopping me from adding 'bits' of myself to a character if I think it makes them interesting.

For the most part I keep it to personality traits, but occasionally I'll have other similarities. But only a very surface level. One of my characters is about as obsessed with video games as I am, but in her world there's no 'mario' 'zelda' etc because it's not based on earth. (I'm not sure it is anyway although it is very earth adjacent ) she has a few ticks of mine, but otherwise she's the exact opposite of me both socially and energy wise.

The parts of me I write into my characters are not on surface level.
My protagonist has to deal with being poisoned and while I never got poisoned thankfully lol, it's of course an illness they have to live with and it will never fade completely.

Other than: different characters who are neurodivergent, interests etc ... an another character is on the aroace spectrum.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

The parts of me I write into my characters are not on surface level.
My protagonist has to deal with being poisoned and while I never got poisoned thankfully lol, it's of course an illness they have to live with and it will never fade completely.

Other than: different characters who are neurodivergent, interests etc ... an another character is on the aroace spectrum.

I have a couple neuro divergent coded characters (But it isn't directly stated) partly because I am on the spectrum and that part of me sneaks into my characters in some way/shape/form regardless of my doing. (Usually in the form of hyper fixation on one particular thing) I never go out of my way to 'force' it though. And in most cases it's never stated in the story what they have or if they have it. For this kind of thing, especially in a high fantasy setting (where the 'science' of discovering/help taming it isn't really there yet) I think it's genuinely better that the 'paper trail' is there for the reader to discover.

There's a game in Xenoblade series I really like, and it has quite a few Neuro Divergent coded characters, but it's never stated what they have or if they have it in game. But for those that have those conditions or know people with said conditions, they love those characters and I love them too.

I do have some characters who lived a similar family situation to me, but due to the setting and story it's not an exact copy.