So About Self Inserts

Sprites by Skill:Draw

Since Velma is often accused of being a self insert of Mindy Kaling, I thought I would take a look at the trope itself and compare it to shows that I think handled the trope well.

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[maenad]

“I relate so much to Velma.”
**Makes her think, speak, and behave nothing like Velma**

[Dragonkid]

A good self-insert requires having enough self-awareness to let yourself be flawed and admit you still need to develop

[WOTVE-CW]

“We love Scooby doo, we want to do our best to capture that”

*doesn’t even put the dog who the whole franchise is named after in the show*

[domfour]

"Rich people bad!" Says multimillionaire mindy who owns frank sinatras old house priced at about 10 million. So relatable, very hip.

[TheVojvoda]

How to get away with a self insert:
1. Be likeable
2. Make it make sense

[vinnietheprinceofboredom]

“Characters shouldn’t be defined by their skin color!”




“Why isn’t the smart character indian?”

[vetarlittorf]

Ben Bocquelet, creator of The Amazing World of Gumball, used Gumball as a self-insert in a clever way. Basically, Gumball embodies everything Ben was as a child that he later became embarrassed of. As a child, Ben was a hyper-active and chaotic motor-mouth and Gumball is all that times a million.

[chrimsonphantom]

For gravity falls, Wendy was based on the traits writers found cool in people. Wendy was a cool character, better written than most modern female characters. Maybe writers need to hang around people outside their personal echo chambers.

[spongeboymebob]

"How could a character so smart and skilled and accomplished NOT be literally me and only me???"

[someguyontheinternet]

I love that none of the characters can explain WHY they love Velma so much.

Kindness? No. Velma's as mean as a wasp

Intellect? No. She got Norville's dad and Fred into trouble because she accused them of a crime they didn't commit. A smart person would've had real evidence and a more convincing argument than just "he's white"

Likes and interests? No. I don't think Velma at any point talks about the things she enjoys Movies, games, books, she talks about these things in her "meta" humor but she doesn't seem to enjoy them.

Beauty? No. The show reminds us over and over she doesn't have any good looks going for her


What is there for anyone to fall in love with?

[Shiirow]

she loved Velma so much that she essentially deleted everything Velma was except her name and created a brand new character to slap the name on.

[pastelpirate]

Back in my day we kept the self inserts in our rp chats

[JIreland]

It baffles me that they would make their self inserts so unlikable. Do they hate themselves that much.

[AHersheyHere]

It's not truly a self-insert until Velma sexually harasses an employee, and then laughs it off on a late-night talk show.

[koolkat]

As someone studying Creative Writing in School, I hear a lot of writers saying they tend to base their characters off people they know and even themselves, so "self-insert" is actually a very common practice though to varying extents. You just don't hear it talked about like this because it isn't used solely as escapism, venting or a mouth piece. Two of the pieces I'm working on (slowly) right now have main character based on myself (one based on an actual event and another based on a series of daydreams I had as a teenager where I was the main the character). Write what you know is a very common piece of advice after all. But to make things like this work, I think you need to make sure the character is well rounded and not just some perfect character everyone likes no matter how cruel they are, face consequences for their actions, can grow, and is more than just a venting mouth piece.

One of the pieces mentioned above very much started as a vent. Being on exchange was a hard experience, with some of the worst moments of my life, but also some of the best. I started writing a story called "Home" out of my loneliness and desire to return home after starting exchange (and to get over writer's block for a school project). But as I began writing and as I started to make friends and settle in to my new life, "Home" turned into an exploration of independence, growing up, and what home truly means. In a way, it is still a vent. Put out into the world all the thoughts that were running through my head at the time, but I also know I'm not the only one to have gone through something like this. I hope to publish it one day and perhaps comfort someone who was in a position like me. To show them in detail a scenario where it all turns out fine. Because it's one thing to say "Oh yes I've been there, you'll be fine, just give it time" and another to break it down and show that experience.

[RobotShlomo]

Ever notice just about all of these self insert stories take place in high school. Seems they're trying to retroactively correct their experiences.

[kieran]

They destroyed the entire gang, dude, fred was my favourite, the leader that was kind and that loved misteries and they turned him into a dumbass...

[oceanrandomness]

As an Indian
This is not how most Indians act
Thank you

[ZayJayPlays]

Possible solution: Insert yourself as the villain.

[havelthejock]

this goes beyond character assassination. this is character "killing and skinning them so you can wear them like a suit and pretend to be them"