One Direction Writing Guide

Characterization-Self Inserts Pt. One

So I told you what to AVOID. Now Iet's see how to make a good character. Now. I'll be honest here, I personally dislike self inserts, however it's hard to get away from them in this fandom. So I suppose I'd best start with them. I usually learn best by example, so I'm going to try this too. 

-----------------

Self Inserts are basically you or someone you know translated into fiction. This person is you, how you wish you were, what you wish you could do. And that's great. Some self-insertion stories are absolutely amazing.

But these characters are also the most dangerous. We are all insecure. We all have things we wish we could change. We try to add in little tidbits to correct these imperfections. And slowly, slowly, reveling in our new power, our character transforms into a Mary Sue, the bane of fanfiction (or any kind of fiction, come to think of it). 

Some Mary Sues are slight. Perfectly created characters with ridiculous names. Take Natalia Rosaline Diamond. She's a lovely character. Unsure, pretty, and sweet. But her name ruins it. Natalia Rosaline Diamond is immediately perceived as a Mary Sue because of her outlandish name. Out she goes, and with her goes a perfectly delightful story. 

Names have power. Learn to use them.

PICKING THE PERFECT NAME

While Natalia sounds exotic, Natalie would do just as fine. It really depends on where your character is from. If she was from, say.. Italy, Natalia would be perfectly good name, whereas Natalie would probably count as slightly Mary Sue-ish.

Even a common name like Emily could be a Mary Sue-ish name if the character lives in a place like Chile or Venezuela, while something like Analiese could be commonplace.

Do your research. 

That said. Don't do too much research. Does your character's name mean "Light in the Darkness" or "Saving Grace" or "Hell Warrior", and you picked it specifically because of that? That's a huge hallmark of a Mary Sue. 

However, sometimes, you can do things like that. J.K. Rowling does it all the time. But the way she does it, the world she's created, it all fits somehow. That's why we tend to admire her attention to details instead of mock it.

Don't judge a book by it's cover. We've all heard that line somewhere. And we really shouldn't. But we do.

Names are like the cover of a Wattpad story. One glance at a Mary Sue-ish name can steer a potential reader away faster than you can say, "I'll give you cookies!"

For my self insert, I'm going to take the easy route and name her Natasha.  I'm also Indian, so my last name has to reflect that. Kapoor. Simple and memorable. Natasha Kapoor. 

Oh, I almost forgot. This isn't as common as the outlandish names, but it happens. And it's annoying. Taking a normal name and changing it so that it looks outlandish. Like M'chelle for Michelle. Emalee for Emily. Jesika for Jessica, and so on. So avoid that, okay? Okay.

APPEARANCE

This. Is. Huge. In the previous chapter, I gave you an example of a physically perfect Mary Sue. She was heartbreakingly beautiful and just overall perfect. I exaggerated a bit on her, just to give you a good idea. 

I'm going to cover Original Characters later on, but this is for self inserts, so here it goes.

I'm Indian, so moderately brown skin, black hair, brown eyes, slightly taller than average.

If I went the Mary Sue, this is probably how Natasha would end up:

-Long, waist length, slightly curly black hair, with just a gloss of brown in sunlight. Never tangled, silky, just perfect to run fingers through

-Dark soul-searching orbs, sparkling with mischief, hardened with the pain and abuse of years before

-5'10 or 5'11, a perfect hourglass figure, completely fit, amazing metabolism

-etc, etc, etc

But I'm not going to go the Mary Sue way, so moderately brown skin, black hair, brown eyes, slightly taller than average height. 

Of course it's all right to correct some flaws. That's the magic of fiction, you know. I'll admit, i would probably have added a  couple extra inches to my height, maybe not 5'11, but maybe about 5'8. That's alright. Correct some things, but don't go overboard. I've said it before and I'll say it again,

Everyone has their flaws and everyone has their strengths.

--------------

I'm so sorry, but I need to stop here. I might write later today. I swear the delay won't be as long as last time (TWO months really is insane). I do hope you found this guide so far helpful, and please give me a couple suggestions on things I missed, things I was too harsh on, my atrocious sense of humor, etc...