Writing Treatise #1

The following is something I wrote on my fanfiction.net profile when I feel the need to explain practices or aspects about writing fanfiction or writing in general that I feel need to be discussed.

Anti-Self Insertion Treatise:

If you or someone you love writes Self-Insertions into your favorite fandom. Here's a word of advice:

Stop!

Or stop them.

I'm serious. Stop.

I'm talking to you. Yes, you. The one with the hair. You know whom you are.

Why should you stop? Well, ask yourself the single most important question that any and all SI authors should ask themselves before the embark on this madness:

What makes you, John or Jane Q. Public, more interesting than the characters in the fandom you are writing in? And be honest. Really.

The answer, for all intents and purposes, is nothing. And that's not a searing indictment of your person. You, like I, am a regular person, with problems and strengths that do not, and will not, fit in a world of fiction, ever. Unless you are one of the screaming masses that runs helplessly as the giant monster attacks the city.

The franchises that you insert yourself into, regardless of how little or much events are changed by your presence, would murder you dead in your sleep. And for a normal person like you or I, to insert themselves into a story, such as Mass Effect (A fandom littered with SIs), and pretend that you would have an effect on events or, Heaven Help Us, be able to romance any of these*FICTIONAL* characters is egotism and wankery of the worst kind.

Again, this is not meant as a criticism of you as a person. No. This is a criticism of the *idea* that you are more interesting than Commander Shepard, or Link, or Harry Potter, or Bella-whatsername.

It's ok. You can join a support group when you come to the realization of the horrible, horrible thing you did. Then, you can pick yourself up, analyze yourself, and get to writing new stories involving your favorite characters either saving the world, getting it on, or just being friends. Never give up, folks. You can do it! And if you ever feel depressed about your ability to write, just take some advice from Destructoid's own Jonathan Holmes.

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