Case (
case) wrote in
fandomsecrets2023-06-22 07:48 pm
[ SECRET POST #6012 ]
⌈ Secret Post #6012 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 08 secrets from Secret Submission Post #859.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

no subject
(Anonymous) 2023-06-23 02:54 am (UTC)(link)no subject
(Anonymous) 2023-06-23 04:01 am (UTC)(link)Maybe I just have too much of a divide between fantasy and reality to be able to get what makes it interesting to some people.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2023-06-23 08:06 am (UTC)(link)Shows tend to have a pretty limited range of what's going to make it onscreen, and more so with what kind of personality gets into the regular cast that screenwriters are having to come up with lines for. So, like ... if that's not you, sometimes watching the show can feel like wanting to say things or do things that literally never happen, and see how your favorite characters would respond.
Of course, as a writer, you can also control the plot in your story to an extent that tends to make self-inserts not that interesting for anyone who isn't getting to control which way the story goes. Too many people want the *effect* of something that they don't actually know how to do, so you have characters who are normally serious and reserved laughing uproariously and admiring the self-insert for being charismatic and witty, for instance, when the actual lines the writer managed to give their fantasy self were not that good. Just to pick on a very common example.
Nah, but I say this with all the affection in the world, because facing a blank page and trying to tell stories is hard. Doing it in such a way that other people follow along and feel like what you're making up really could have happened is harder. And failing and trying again over and over is literally how anyone gets good at it. But initially, all the stuff you can't do is frustrating as fuck. So in that light, self-inserts have an immediate payoff that's accessible to every fan who can give themselves permission to write them - it's like being able to face the characters directly, as yourself, and tell them whatever's in your heart. In your own words, but in a setting where they will understand you. And it's accessible regardless of skill level. People come to enjoy a whole bunch of other things if they stick with writing, but that particular thing is hugely motivating.