Can your protagonist be based on yourself?

[nothing09876]

I'm not sure if it's bad to make a main character based on your own personality. I've read a YouTube comment that says that if that's the case, then it's just a persona, you should make one from scratch.
Now I was thinking, how can I make a main character's personality out of blank? Then, of course, otherwise, I would refer to other people's personality.
I might not gain inspiration in writing my story if I don't have something to refer to.

[uhokhjol]

I think it's okay. It shouldn't be necessary your entire copy, you can just use a few of your features, it'll help you to understand your protagonist, his motives and how he should act in different situations. Or you can mix your features with features of your relatives/friends, it's all up to your fantasy! And one more thing - to make other people interested in your characters and story, you need to like and understand your characters in the first place, and make them real. And if you base your protagonist on yourself, I think it definitely helps you.
(my two protagonists of This little world inherited a lot of my character features, lol. Especially Avner, he's just as clumsy and shy as I am )

[punkarsenic]

short answer: yes. it can be you in a funky hat even, its all fair game

long answer: i think all main characters end up based on ourselves one way or another. not always explicitly, sometimes people take creative decisions to make a character very different from themselves - but its the protagonists thought process youre focusing on closest, and you only know your own mind, so to an extent they will think like you. you can only write what you know.
also, among other things, you write / create comics to enjoy yourself. especially if youre not getting paid. if you want to write a 600 page escapist fantasy where youve got cool hair and fall in love with the dashing prince and save the universe multiple times then why the fuck not? george lucas did it (minus the cool hair). john green did it (minus the cool anything). actually john green keeps doing it and i wish hed stop but thats besides the point. having an mc based on yourself, even a blatant self insert, doesnt stop the story from being compelling, interesting, and exciting - so long as the mc is a 3 dimensional character.

and yeah, i dont think any character pops out of blank. even if peter parker isnt stan lees uncle in a mask, hes still cobbled together from the writers personal experiences, archetypes, and people he knows. referring to real life people and places in your stories makes them richer and more interesting to real life people, so fuck that youtube comment. make yourself a persona. make your aunt a persona. make your mum a persona.

[Devika]

I'll just throw in what I know here:

First of all, all your characters will be "you" to differing degrees. Even if you don't straight up share their personality, the way you present them in the story reflects your views. Your own experiences will flow into them, and main characters especially tend to represent something vital to the author. That's why they're the main characters! Creating a character from nothing without putting anything of yourself in them is, as far as I'm concerned, simply impossible. I believe that's how flat cardboard cutout characters happen -- look at movies where minorities (PoC, women, etc.) are shoehorned in. They're not characters, they're pure tropes and cliches.

Now the execution varies based on what kind of story you're writing - an autobio comic will by nature straight up feature the author! But if you're aiming to write a decent story, and you want to make a character similar to yourself, what you should be vary of is creating a Mary Sue. In other words, you make the character pure wish-fulfillment, free of flaws, because you can't distance yourself from the character enough. (My personal fear, tbh) But as long as you make sure to give every character motivations, fears, flaws, redeeming traits, and a proper character arc, you shouldn't have to worry too much. If you're still feeling unsure, find a trusted beta reader!

Now for an example of both personas and basing characters on yourself done right!
(Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack, what else would I bring haha /is smacked by people sick of my Tezuka refs)

Black Jack, the grumpy genius surgeon without a license, is a kind of wish fulfillment for Tezuka, who gave up on becoming a doctor and became a comic author instead (and aren't we grateful for that). He never lost the wish to help people the way he wanted, outside a corrupt medical system.

But at the same time, Back Jack is very much his own character, and a very complex one at that. That becomes even clearer when Tezuka inserts himself into the comic as a doctor(!) and directly interacts with him. It's not frequent that Tezuka shows up, but when he does, he might do it in a more serious way, here as a friend, helping the plot along: (Tezuka is the one with the glasses)

Or in a funnier way to break the fourth wall for comedic effect (he even brought in the editor too):

Basically, you can insert yourself however you want. Just make the characters interesting people.

Edit: Holy shit this turned into another long post. Back to studying...
Edit 2: What happened to the pictures? D:

[dan]

As long as you are aware of Mary Sue/Gary Stu tropes and avoid them (as they weaken the characterization), having your characters BASED on you and your experiences isn't necessarily bad. Having an "author insert" character often is, as writers often end up writing the character to be their best self who doesn't make the same mistakes and everyone loves them and they're so cool and life is so great, etc. Weak characterization at best.

[shazzbaa]

I don't think it's across the board "bad" to make a character that's basically you, but I think there are things to think about.

If your character is entirely based on you, then what happens if someone doesn't like your character? A lot of times my characters do things, and readers will comment saying that the character is making a stupid mistake. Because my characters are separate from me, that doesn't feel like they're insulting me -- it's okay if my readers think one of my characters is being dumb, or don't understand where that character is coming from, or think they're a bad person. The problem with making a character that's just a version of you is that it can be hard to make this you-character make really bad mistakes and be wrong, it can be hard to let other characters dislike the you-character without acting like they just don't get it, and it can be really hard to be okay with the audience not agreeing with that character.
When audiences have problems with "self-insert" characters, it's usually because that character is not really allowed to be wrong, or they're always portrayed as cool or funny or smart, or any character who dislikes them gets treated like an idiot who doesn't know better, or like a bad person. It can make the author very defensive of the character, and it can make the story feel very shallow if it falls into that trap.

---

When people talk about making a character from scratch, that doesn't mean the character has to pop into existence out of nothing. That just means you put different ingredients together to make a character. You wouldn't just put Iron Man straight into your story, but you might figure out some of the things you like about Iron Man and give those qualities to your character. In the same way, you can make a character who has some of your own insecurities, but has your father's outlook on life instead of yours, and maybe has a lot of an ex-significant other's quirks and habits and sense of humour -- and if you put all those things together into one person, you'll get a character who's going to be fairly distinct from all three sources.

[Wumbl]

I'd say don't make them too much like you.
However, starting with traits that you have, or that a friend has is okay.
Looking at real people is a good way to find traits for characters.
Basically, drawing from 1-4 things about yourself as a starter is absolutely fine. However, if you try to make the character a LOT like you then you can run into problems.

[screensaver]

Ok if I lined up all my characters I would be able to point out at least three things I have in common with them. Of course it's also possible to base a character off others too! Whether it be a friend, a family member, or just a random guy you saw at the shops last week. A character might not even have to be based off just one person, they could be a mix of like ... three interesting strangers you saw in the park + your best friend + the temperament of a cat.

You are the creator of your character, so every character you make will always have a little bit of you in them.

[demthorshie]

I don't think there's anything wrong with basing your protagonist off of yourself. I personally don't do this because frankly, I'm not that interesting! I'm sure I have a thing or two in common with some of my protagonists but I like to create characters that have different experiences from my own, but can still be relatable to myself and others.

[J.Z.Castillo]

All my characters (at least for BioHazard) are based on real people. Jon, the BH's MC is based on me, his name is Jon my name is Jon we share the same birth date and the same hobbies and have similar personalities. I don't think theres anything wrong with basing your characters on yourself as long as they don't become a wish fulfillment type of thing (Bella Swan I'm looking at you).

[spadesart]

bruh all my comic characters are self inserts (especially william)

[joannekwan]

Having self-inserts is fine, as long as you don't hold yourself higher than character flaws and make yourself Jesus or something.

[TheHerald]

It isn't really a bad thing, though you do want to watch out that you are not crossing the line. I have seen some webcomics where some go all out on naming the protagonist after themself (username or irl name). The reason for this is that it runs the risk of turning off the reader or simply alienating them, making it a bit difficult for them to get invested into that particular person and the story. What creators usually do is base a character off of a certain aspect, a situation they had to face in the past, or even base a character off of someone they know really well. So for example, in my comic that I am working on, the protagonist is based off a situation that I was in during a particular time of my life. Although he does share a trait or two that I have as well, the way he view things and how he goes about handling situations are completely different from how I handle things. Not to mention, I do not share the same name as him.

So overall it is not bad, you just gotta be careful you do not cross the line into mary-sue/gary-stu territory.

[digitalvalium1]

Do you remember the show, "Gilligan's Island"? The man who created it, and several other sitcoms in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's said he used personality theory to define the characters. If you know this show, then you know it's incredibly corny, but at the time, it was groundbreakingly popular, and remains one of the longest running TV shows in syndication. As silly as the show was, he obviously did something right.

As for me, I use some theory, some details from me and others, some research. It's a mish-mash really. I avoid using real people, or basing characters off of real people for the same reason that I won't write real fiction. There's too much real life there, and whether you know it or not, people can get hurt by what you put on paper. After all, you don't really own your interactions with other people. They deserve a say in what's done with their likeness, their words, their moments.

Should one base their characters on themselves? I think that if you want a character to feel human, you almost have to, in a way. Theory or archetypes will only get you so far. Even personality theory, empirically validated, has been shown to be mostly bunk. More like it's a way of understanding general rules about people that sometimes don't, or only somewhat apply. One's own experience has to fill the gaps.

What is it they always say? "Write what you know." Well, that would be my advice. Write what you know.

[hushicho]

I generally find the best characters and the most engaging in any work are usually something like an aspect of myself, but allowed to be a distinct person, developed into an actual conscious personality. They're different from me because at my core, I'm a different combination of feelings, thoughts, and central motivations. Usually I feel that this sort of development is actually a good one in writing and tends to lead to characters I can understand and engage with, as well as engage the audience with, because I know them well enough to do that.

It can sometimes lead to overcautiousness or even feeling that a character being vulnerable makes you as the author vulnerable, so be aware of that. I find that it's usually unfortunate when creators become skittish about everything because they've reflected too much of themselves in a character -- enjoy the experience as you can!

[Ambat]

I mean like literally most classically acclaimed novels have literal self-insert lead characters. It is obscene to think that anyone would create any character, lead or otherwise, and have their own experiences, preferences or opinions not have even the SLIGHTEST influence.

There used to be a big hullabaloo about having charas reflect your own traits back when I was young on the internet--the Mary Sue stuff, anti-self-insert stuff--honestly, screw that? LOL Like why does it even matter if your character is like you or not?

Everyone bases their characters off of something--either another character they like from other media, people they know, themselves--often times its a conglomerate of all of these things. If your character is well-written, balanced and interesting, why does anyone give an actual heck if the character resembles or reflects the creator? Self-insertion and bad writing are not tied hand in hand.

The lead character in my comic is a lot like me. She's chubby like I've been my entire life, she has a similar familial background, etc. In a lot of ways she's very different from me--she's violent, aggressive and weird about being touched. This is true for pretty much all of my characters.

Vespyr is like me because he likes to dress up, play with makeup and is extroverted in crowds. He is unlike me in that he is extremely egotistical and catty.

Brandi is like me because she has firm goals and aspirations. She is unlike me in that she's a bit more responsible/collected than I would be in her situations.

Etc.--literally all of my characters share traits with me that are very personal, either personality wise, experience wise, etc., because I want to tell stories from my perspective and experiences! I think this is the way to create a very genuine, personal, interesting and unique piece of fiction--nobody's personal experiences are exactly like another person's so lets show the variety of our lives through our stories!

[azureXtwilight]

I think that's what @TennaShoe did with her comic, 2-Sides Cassette. Which is a great one, as they put bits of themselves and life experiences in the characters, you should check it out.

[Devika]

I mean like literally most classically acclaimed novels have literal self-insert lead characters.

^^THIS! Ahem, Franz Kafka, ahem. Pretty much anything by him. Or The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe, that one's said to be autobiographical too. The list is pretty much endless.

There used to be a big hullabaloo about having charas reflect your own traits back when I was young on the internet--the Mary Sue stuff, anti-self-insert stuff--honestly, screw that? LOL Like why does it even matter if your character is like you or not?

Interesting you say that, I got the impression it was a more enduring universal thing to not like self-inserts. Because goodness knows our class had enough of Kafka and Werther's Sorrows pretty quickly. Good thing to know xD

[kyupol]

Not just the main character... Even supporting characters and even villains have aspects or former aspects of myself.

[j001]

Yeah. Althought in my comics there are several characters, I come to the conclusion they are all parts of my personality.