Can your protagonist be based on yourself?

[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.

[Ambat]

Well I mean TBF like I said in my OP like you can have a self-insert character with bad writing or a self-insert character with good writing. IIRC To Kill a Mockingbird and Pride and Prejudice had lead characters heavily influenced by the authors (don't quote me on that though because I don't have direct sources, but I remember discussing it in some of the classes I had in school where we examined these books.) These two books are wildly renowned even today.

Upon further exploration, Homestuck apparently also features a self-insert lead character--and of course, as we all know, Twilight's lead character is a self insert character. People may argue that Homestuck and Twilight are bad series', and to be honest, I'm not into either of those series' myself--but both are WILDLY successful in mainstream media and internet culture. Homestuck especially should strike a chord with us here in the webcomic community.

Again, I really think the source inspiration for your character doesn't matter--whether it's an experience you've had, another character you like from another series', a person you know/knew, or even a direct mirror of yourself--if the character is written well and the story is captivating, why does it matter?

[thomasfallaeriksen]

Yes. In your story, you decide everything.

[SpavVy]

I think it's fine, a good chunk of my cast have a piece of me in them, even some of my villains.

[Kitty_Rin]

I tried to think up reasons why it would be bad to base a protagonist on yourself, and I guess maybe because it will be harder to put the protagonist in difficult situations that you yourself would never ever want to be in? Or say you give the protagonist a romantic interest, but the romantic interest isn't like the person you are currently dating. xD Yet while these problems may bother you, ain't nobody can tell you how to write your characters, since they're yours afterall.