'So which one is you?'

[TheSingularitySeed]

I'm kinda surprised by how often I get this question about my characters.

There's nothing wrong with self-inserts imo, but I wonder if most authors/artists prefer having one?
I mean I technically have one for dumb lore reasons but they never appear in any story

So here's a poll--

• At least one character is me
• No characters are me
• They're all me I am everything everywhere--

Vote now!Show results

Personally I think I'm 3. No character is literally me but they all get something. Sometimes unintentionally!
What about you?

[SirCoockie]

None of them, generally, I don't find them good to the story.

I evade them like the plague, im not talking about the ones you give them specific traits of yourself, like being scared of insects or being shy with the boy or girl you like.

it's always the ones that ruin the immersion of the story being told, like if I see a guy with quirky personality in the middle of a zombie survival setting, a place where you can easily die, I know that's the self-insert.

Its a dark place, people die, people get sick, and other atrocities just happened on the story.

There is no place for a self-insert in an apocalypse, terror or even conedy. It just a character that doesn't belong with the tone of the story.

[kyupol]

Tricky question...

Older comics (Brood Knight and MAG-ISA) definitely had self inserts. Glaringly obvious even if you have low IQ you can easily tell.

Newer comic (AngHell Dela Blackpill) I have no self inserts. Maybe in a future arc I'll self insert as a villain. Still internally debating that.

[Lensing]

It´s a mix of 2 answers for me.

No character is 100% me but most of them have some percentages of me.
There are some characters who have 0% of me, at least I think so

[faisalhussein394]

To me, None. They are way too cool and interesting than I'll ever be.

[TheSingularitySeed]

Relatable

I'm not even interesting enough to be the main character of my own life. Never mind a story other people have to read lol

[KevinReijnders]

I don't explicitly make my characters resemble me, but I bleed through to the page and the screen, making them all have bits and pieces of me within them.

I think it's also virtually unavoidable as an artist. You are your own greatest reference afterall, and everything you interact with goes through your own subjective filter. You are your work as much as your work is yours.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

They can have bits of my personal likeness. It is very hard to not put a bit of yourself into a character, I think you cannot because you inevitably will whether you realise it or not.

I personally do not purposely insert myself, it has no point in the story I am making and I worry it would make my writing suffer even more. If I am making a y/n fanfic, some story that relies on power or romantic fantasy, a comedy making fun of myself, or something inspired by my life experience, then I would.

If I was asked the same question ("Which one is you?") I'd point to something absurd like the characters' pet cat or something (who wouldn't want to be a cat?)

[Leyelle]

I'm like you. All my characters have something in common with me, but they aren't straight up self inserts 99% of the time. The exception is probably the female lead from my short story Rain Dance. The characters around her are imagined or combinations of people I've met, by she herself is almost wholly based o me at age 14-15. But that's largely because the story is almost an autobiographical retelling of the tropical storms I endured throughout my childhood

[NickRowler]

None of my characters are me.

However, some of their personalities might be something that I deal with but maxed out. It is something that I relate to but I am not the same extreme as the character.

[Calculus_Homework]

I def don't try to make any character like me, so I'm of the belief that none of them are me. xD
If I look reeeaally hard, I can see some things... lol

[TheSingularitySeed]

I'm stealing this for the next time I hear this question.

It's probably technically true too!

[thepenmonster]

All art is the world filtered through an artist's brain. The characters and worlds they create are either a reflection of, or a reaction to, how they experience our world.

A character is born of the artist, but they are not the artist. Like the myth of Athena being born from Zeus's head (except now she comes out looking like an anime princess.)

Even self-inserts are not the artist. Robert Crumb, Joe Matt, and Seth were not as repulsive IRL. Grant Morrison is not nearly as cool. Much like your online persona it's all a construction based on how they think the world is and their role in it.

[ThunderChicken]

The MC in Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days is all me because he is literally me. It’s a true story.

The MC in Defining Daecon is partially me - he has my sense of humour and dry wit. He is also what I would like to be (young, attractive, rich, and can sprout frickin’ wings from his back).

[BoomerZ]

None of my characters are me as I wouldn't fit in the stories I wanna tell. I'm a dude that watches movies, reads, and does art. None of that would be fun to read. Plus I create characters to fit the story to make it interesting. They are sometimes inspired by people I know, but they all act to move the story along so I give them the personality to do that.

[mohdadeebace]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[ShidoDraws]

A couple of characters aren't based on me but you could say a majority are. Though, if I have to really say who is 99.99% based on me it would be my protagonist minus whatever happened on the first chapter.

[MohammadCamp]

I'm in the "no characters are me" camp, but I can see the appeal of having at least one character who's a reflection of yourself, even if they're not explicitly stated as such.

[applebun]

I’m another one of those who put a piece of themselves into every character they create. For me, it just helps me relate to them better. And if there’s a character who happens to be not like me at all, I base them on some attribute a friend of mine has. I always find a way to relate to my characters, even the villains. (Though I have to say, I draw the line at war criminals. I never give them anything from me or my friends. And almost all of the villains from the story I’m currently making are war criminals, so… there’s a lot of characters who aren’t me at all. But I don’t need to relate to them anyway, so it’s fine.)

[simplykit]

brilliant pole buddy, but i chose the secret 4th option:

*None of them are me yet All of them is me

see what i mean?