'So which one is you?'

[ArtGremlin]

So I have this one character that stemmed from a joke with a friend in my Spanish who is literally just me me except I’m a genetically engineered superhuman weapon (literally just named “The Weapon”) who is super powerful but only knows how to fly. I also have mind controlling sunglasses so the evil person can use me. But this character is a minor part of the “book” I’m writing atm and I literally just wrote myself getting bopped upside the head and thrown 30 ft while on fire um I’ll be fine

[SwordSong]

Same. I don't think it's even possible to write a character who has absolutely no similarities with you, unless you're making a caricature/flat character (which is also fine. Not every character in a story have to complex and nuanced), and some life experiences are so universal that no two people would be completely devoid of common ground, regardless of culture and upbringing.

As for myself, I tend write characters & protagonist in with this question in mind: "What kind of journey, developments, and/or self-discovery do I want to see this person go through?"

I've mentioned several times that most of my writing experience came from forum roleplays. I've always loved filling those character creation forms, trying to come up with interesting combinations based on the parameters given by the OP, then seeing how they fare in the world. In that sense, it's kind of like playing a role in a film. I never write deliberate self-inserts, but I might project a lot of myself on them depending on how invested I am in their journey.

[TheSingularitySeed]

The responses are varied, but it seems making a specific self insert is less common.

I've heard this question enough that I wondered if it was the opposite.

I wonder if because audience stand-ins are common, people assume most creators must also have a stand-in? Idk I've been thinking about this too much maybe haha