Self-Inserts – Avoiding the Mary-Sue Trap

Fan-fiction often gets a bad rep, and there’s no trope more dreaded than romance with a self insert OC. They’re often overly indulgent, poorly written stories with characters and situations that make little sense. The self-insert is considered the worst aspect because of their tendency to be overpowered/idealized “Mary Sue” characters.

But you want to write a story about yourself anyway, don’t you?

Creating characters based on yourself is a valid and time-tested way to write great stories, even beyond fan-fiction. Thousands of professional novels are published each year where the main character takes traits from the author – and with great success! The problem is when you write a Mary-Sue instead of a well-rounded character.

Whether your fan fiction is a gooey romance fueled by the passion of 2D Love, or you just want to write yourself into the world of Pokémon, here’s some tips to make your self-insert shine!

What is a Mary-Sue?

One misconception out of the way: A Mary-Sue is NOT an incel phrase for a “strong female character.” (If it was, I wouldn’t use it.) Mary-Sues are weakly-written characters of any sex or gender who don’t fit in with other characters in their universe. To use classic examples from my teen years, Sasuke Uchiha and Edward Cullen are Mary-Sues.

A Mary-Sue generally has some of the following traits:

• Super-popular in-universe but thinks they are hated
• Superpowers so strong they can’t be defeated
• Appearance doesn’t match other characters (Neko ears and giant pink hair in Death Note)
• Needlessly tragic backstory
• Over-the-top attractive
• Flawless or gets away with everything
• Too many clashing colors in hair or on outfit

This makes them characters who are fun to imagine yourself as, but they’re not fun to read.

When writing a romance, it’s easy to want to make yourself a Mary-Sue. After all, how could Himeko Toga NOT fall in love with her cute, busty classmate with rainbow eyes, a god-tier Quirk, and a secret past with a mass-murdered family!? Well… how about because it’s not good writing?

The fact is, characters need to make sense. They don’t necessarily need to “be realistic” (nobody would bat an eye at a neko in Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary) but they do need to fit within the universe they’re in.

They also need to feel human. Unless if you’re writing a superhero show aimed at preschoolers, characters without small flaws and negative traits are very bad writing.

Here are some dos and don’ts for writing a self-insert while avoiding the Mary-Sue Trap!

DO: Base your character on yourself.

Got brown eyes and brown hair? Love all things horses? Have a twitch in your left eye? By all means, put that in your character! Adding the traits you’re familiar with, even ones you don’t like, will make your writing richer.

DON’T: Only add positive traits.

Insecure? Socially awkward? Too loud? Put that in your story, too. Remember, you’re writing yourself, not a God. You would probably have most of the same flaws in the fictional world as you do in this world. (That being said, it’s OK if you don’t want to include more sensitive real life issues in your self-insert)

DO: Tweak your appearance!

You don’t have to keep yourself completely the same. Writing about Sailor Moon? Give yourself giant hair! Splatoon? Make yourself an Inkling! DearS? Well, I’m the only one who knows this series nowadays so never mind that. My point is, this is a version of yourself who lives in a world that’s different than ours. Tweak yourself accordingly. And by the way – it’s OK to change your outward appearance completely if you’re writing for a series like Sonic The Hedgehog.

DON’T: Make a design that doesn’t fit.

Not every universe has colorful hair and Fox-eared girls. Know your world’s restrictions and work within them. It’s also advised that you don’t put rainbow stripes on everything you wear (the exception here is characters in Pride outfits).

DO: Hang out with your favorite characters!

This is the fun part where you get to interact with anyone you choose. Get creative! Have fun! Writing isn’t life or death.

DON’T: Make everyone act wildly out of character.

Goku is not soft-spoken and shy. Otacon is not overconfident in the face of danger. Not every character in Boku No Hero is going to love you at first glance. Your characters should act like themselves – and that goes for writing yourself, too. Don’t think of what you’d like to do in a situation, think of what you would actually do. This will make a story that feels well-rounded and realistic, even if you’re fighting giant robots together.

DO: Write yourself as a side character!

Not confident enough to write a story revolving around yourself? Add your self-insert as a side character instead! You can get a feel for how you’d act in a fictional world without the spotlight on you. You’ll get a lot of practice writing character interactions, too.

DON’T: Make your character the center of the world

Harry Potter (yes, even famous characters can be Sues) is an excellent example of what not to do with your stories. Everyone knows him. Mean people are meaner to him, nice people are nicer to him. And the whole Wizarding World revolves around what he does because for some reason the adults are all morons and only this gangly tweenager has any sense.

Lots of stories are written this way, even professionally, but they come across childish to older readers. To make your story seem more mature (without adding adult content) your self-insert character shouldn’t be a household name unless there’s a good reason for it.

Now, go forth and write!

For the story of how I met my S/O, click here.

For a story about a coffee date, click here.