(no subject)
If you have ever written a self-insert fanfiction, or thought about doing so, this is for you. It doesn't matter if your character was a Mary-Sue, Marty-Sam, both, or neither. Just that you wanted to.
If you wrote and posted it, you may have been told many things about it, from praise to flames and everything in between. But you probably weren't told this: I know why you did it.
I know why you wrote that. I know why you copy-pasted yourself into that universe.
Do you want to know why?
Your life probably goes something like this. Depending on how old you are/what point of your life you're at, you get up in the morning and go to school or work. You come home and spend time with your friends, significant other, and family. You eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day.
But when you're not doing that, you read, watch tv and/or movies, play video games. You are exposed to a story that is unlike anything else in the way that it touches you. You look at your life, your boring little existence, and you think, "Why am I doing this? I don't want to do this anymore. I want to do that with people like them." And you get to thinking how your life would be so much more exciting/enjoyable/fulfilling/whatever if you could have an adventure like that, or friends/family like them. Or how you and a certain character are OMG PERFECT SOUL MATES, LIEK TOTALLY.
So you sit down and write the story that you saw, only differently. The difference is that there's one more character. Or a character has been replaced. Who is this new person? Why, it's you.
... Except it isn't you, not really. That's because you are human and have faults. You are too skinny or too fat, not blonde enough, strong enough, powerful enough, etc. So this you-but-not-you has all of these things fixed. So now story-you is six foot eight, with blonde eyes and blue hair, breasts the size of beach balls, and magikal powerzz the likes of which the Internet has never seen.
What about your other faults? You know, your fear of the dark, your insecurities about your weight, your need for loud noises and crowds to distract you from yourself. But of course, silly me. Your character doesn't have those, either. He/She's strong and independent, doesn't need anyone except his/her faithful animal companion, and isn't afraid of anything.
So you've got your character. Now you're ready to join the adventure. To go on the quest to save the world. To be a part of the team. To make friends at a new school. To fight evil. To be part of something greater than yourself.
Because that's the heart of what I've been getting at. Writing self-inserts is partly escaping the daily grind of reality, but it's also a way to connect to something greater than ourselves. Unless you're a police officer, firefighter, doctor, part of the military, or directly involved with (a) the higher echelons of government or (b) some organization that works directly to make the world a better place, it's incredibly easy to feel as though your life is meaningless. I'm not saying it is, or that you shouldn't be finding that connection through fanfiction. Find it however you want. I just hope that you do.
If you wrote and posted it, you may have been told many things about it, from praise to flames and everything in between. But you probably weren't told this: I know why you did it.
I know why you wrote that. I know why you copy-pasted yourself into that universe.
Do you want to know why?
Your life probably goes something like this. Depending on how old you are/what point of your life you're at, you get up in the morning and go to school or work. You come home and spend time with your friends, significant other, and family. You eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day.
But when you're not doing that, you read, watch tv and/or movies, play video games. You are exposed to a story that is unlike anything else in the way that it touches you. You look at your life, your boring little existence, and you think, "Why am I doing this? I don't want to do this anymore. I want to do that with people like them." And you get to thinking how your life would be so much more exciting/enjoyable/fulfilling/whatever if you could have an adventure like that, or friends/family like them. Or how you and a certain character are OMG PERFECT SOUL MATES, LIEK TOTALLY.
So you sit down and write the story that you saw, only differently. The difference is that there's one more character. Or a character has been replaced. Who is this new person? Why, it's you.
... Except it isn't you, not really. That's because you are human and have faults. You are too skinny or too fat, not blonde enough, strong enough, powerful enough, etc. So this you-but-not-you has all of these things fixed. So now story-you is six foot eight, with blonde eyes and blue hair, breasts the size of beach balls, and magikal powerzz the likes of which the Internet has never seen.
What about your other faults? You know, your fear of the dark, your insecurities about your weight, your need for loud noises and crowds to distract you from yourself. But of course, silly me. Your character doesn't have those, either. He/She's strong and independent, doesn't need anyone except his/her faithful animal companion, and isn't afraid of anything.
So you've got your character. Now you're ready to join the adventure. To go on the quest to save the world. To be a part of the team. To make friends at a new school. To fight evil. To be part of something greater than yourself.
Because that's the heart of what I've been getting at. Writing self-inserts is partly escaping the daily grind of reality, but it's also a way to connect to something greater than ourselves. Unless you're a police officer, firefighter, doctor, part of the military, or directly involved with (a) the higher echelons of government or (b) some organization that works directly to make the world a better place, it's incredibly easy to feel as though your life is meaningless. I'm not saying it is, or that you shouldn't be finding that connection through fanfiction. Find it however you want. I just hope that you do.