"One cries because one is sad. For example, I cry because others are stupid, and it makes me sad."

[saywheeeee]

 Here's a question for the writing world: is it possible to tastefully pull off the dreaded Shameless Self-Insertion Fic? I hesitantly posit that it is. (Of course, if the general consensus comes to "no," I'll still keep writing it anyway, I just...won't...tell anyone...  I'll immediately abandon any hypothetical "plans" to "write" such a thing and

Comments

[tasty_kate]

Ya know... I've been tempted to do the same myself but it's more like this on-going fantasy I play out in my head. My fear is that if I write it down, I won't be able to play out the fantasy any differently, so I stop myself from writing it.
On that note, I'm pretty much convinced that anything you write is golden and it'd be difficult for me to read something and not love it to smithereens, so I say write away. Use that artistic expression of yours. Challenge the fanfiction world.

[saywheeeee]

My fear is that if I write it down, I won't be able to play out the fantasy any differently

Ohhhhhhh, don't worry, this is not the case. Trust me. XD

[ladymercury_10]

By the by, I love your new layout/theme.

Hmm...it's definitely possible to pull off a character that is a version of yourself or who functions as an audience/reader surrogate, at least in the world of fiction at large. I think it's a big trickier in fanfiction. Fanfiction already carries a strong element of wish-fulfillment. I'm wondering if maybe the line between something that would succeed and that would not is dependent on whether it fulfills a more wide-spread audience desire and not just a personal fantasy? I don't know....

[saywheeeee]

"Hmm...it's definitely possible to pull off a character that is a version of yourself or who functions as an audience/reader surrogate, at least in the world of fiction at large."

Yeah, we're...we're talking actually me here. Like, "What would happen if the TARDIS appeared outside of my dorm room?" kind of self insertion.

I mean.

Hypothetically.

*cough*

Glad you like the layout, isn't it gorgeous? There's a link in my profile to the comm that I got it from: they have some real gems.

[ladymercury_10]

That seems like it might be a bit trickier. I can see it going either way. I don't imagine it would end up being great literature, but I could see it being fun enough to share. You could always try to write it and just see how it goes.

Man, I wish the TARDIS would show up outside my dorm room. Haha.

[saywheeeee]

Yeah, what I have of it so far makes no attempt at being great literature. But I think if a story is acutely aware of its own absurdity, it can play out all right.

[define_serenity]

i say YES all the way, because i've done it (albeit in my original ficlets) and it's helped me develop techniques i never even knew i had the hang off :) plus, it's just insanely fun!

[saywheeeee]

This is very true. The amount of fun one can have with this is just ridiculous.

[noallu]

I'm mostly commenting, because of the title of the post... :D Sheldon Cooper, for the win.

I can't claim to be a very skillful, experienced writer, but hey, when has that ever stopped me? So I'll give my two cents anyway.

And no, I don't think anyone can "tastefully" pull off a Shameless Self-Insertion Fic in terms of making it into a piece of fine art that will leave the readers gasping for more. I certainly have never stumbled upon one. But so what? So what if it isn't a piece of magnificence? It's one of the reasons fan fiction is so awesome - it's what we want it to be. It's not written for anyone else, for monetary gain or glory. It's written, because we want to play with our favourite characters and worlds. It's a hobby amongst others and you should always enjoy it.

Based on what little I have written myself, I know that "Shameless Self-Insertion" is, if not possible to make into art, at least bloody good fun for the writer. (Krhm, this reminds me of a certain Word document still on my computer, in which I happily carouse

[saywheeeee]

Your icon for the win, as well. XD

I feel basically the same way as you. And, well, what I have seems to ME to be funny/clever/cute/worthwhile for a good laugh. If I post it and the general outcry is anything along the lines of "THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER, SET IT ON FIRE," then I may have to reevaluate my universe, but then again it's totally hypothetical and so there's of course nothing that I would actually ever be posting. Nothing at all. Nope.

(Dang it, it does sound dirty. There's another word lost to the gutter of my mind, just like "suspenders" and "playing cards.")