#insert fics

And it has occurred to a lot of us older writers, especially now with the prominent use of the AO3 tagging system, is that younger writers seem to have trouble grasping the difference between the kinds of 'insert' fanfics.

So, as someone who has written all the variations there off, I've decided to try and write a reference sheet for what the differences between an OC-insert, a Self-insert, and a Reader-insert.

The OC-Insert

"I have created a character and will put them in a situation."

Everyone has an OC or a dozen, whether or not you've done anything with them. It's a right of passage of sorts for young artists and writers to create their cringe angsty OP character for their favorite show/game. We've ALL done it, it's how we learn how to make better characters for later projects, or practice new ideas.

In writing, the OC-insert fanfic will often have hallmarks of:

Wish fulfillment often in the form of a fix-it of some form, expansion of Canon, or the proposition of a Canon divergence idea (especially in the case of the OC being related to a Canon Character)

The OC having very little to no (known) traits shared with the author, and is often heavily described or even given a character reference sheet

The OC often is already a part of the world they're made for with taylor made powers or skills, or, in the case of a particular kind of wish fulfillment often seen in younger writers, an OP OC meant to allow the author to do what they want

However, the OC is often still limited in knowledge of events as with the rest of the characters, even if they might find out faster than in canon

Often written in the Third Person (he/she/it/they), occasionally in First Person, and almost never in Second Person

The OC-insert is the creation of a character to allow the author to present their idea. OCs are often ways to practice writing traits or scenes a writer isn't used to writing with a character they know 100% about in a world they mostly know.

Think D&D, you make a character and make them react to situations they are presented with. This is the OC-insert.

The Self-insert

"I am putting myself in a situation."

The Self-insert happens nearly as frequently as the OC-insert, if not more. It is the Author placing themself, or in the case of the SIOC, a very close apprximation of themself, into the show/game of their liking.

The hallmarks of a Self-insert fic include:

Also often wish fulfillment, but in the form of escapism and occasionally power fantasies. Often fix-its when in regards to canon story.

The Author proxy usually enters the world from our own via any sort of means. Reincarnation after death, magic, making deals with deities/demons, anything.

The proxy usually has most of the knowledge of the world they are entering, or on the rare occasion, very little to none. There is often no in between.

The proxy may or may not gain skills or power native to the world. In the case of SIOC, the proxy may already have some minor helpful skills. The proxy can become OP, but doesn't often start like that.

Self-inserts are often more realistic looks into the world they are inserted into, expanding on many issues and hidden scenes that might have occurred in canon

Most often written in First Person (I, Me, My), occasionally in other povs. I personally write Kal in Second Person as a stylistic choice.

The Self-insert is for the Author, to show how they personally would have reacted, or helped, or gone about something. It is a catharsis for some authors in some ways, a way to deal with emotions or situations that they can't IRL.

Think games with player inserts, particularly RPGs with branching paths, or old Pick your Adventure type stories where you pick an answer at the end of the part and then go to the corresponding page of that answer. These are how you, the author, are reacting and choosing.

Most fanfics that follow the story for games/shows like Twst are one of the above two; LiT, for instance, is an SIOC.

The Reader-Insert

"I am putting you, the reader, in a situation."

Reader-inserts are all over, but they most frequent in places where there is a high level of Fandom interaction, like here on Tumblr. Reader-inserts are generally very short, and often only about how canon characters react to presented situation. These are your "x reader" blogs and tags.

Reader-inserts often have hallmarks of:

Almost always prompt based wish fulfillment of the highest order. 98% of all reader-inserts are simply for readers to love on a character of their choosing without consequence

Most have no basis in canon, or only have canon as a setting and are very minorly reactionary to Canon events

There are very, very few reader insert fics that are well written to follow along with a Canon story, and even then, the "reader" character will gain definite traits and can break immersion and even eventually be considered an OC

The "reader" will almost never be described unless it's part of the prompt to help with immersion, and may occasionally be referred to by a nickname of some kind, but otherwise will have a blank space ("____") or (Y/N) to show where your own name may be placed, or any other traits in some case.

It is also often headcanon central, with a lot of authors' ideas as to how a Canon Character will react to a given prompt.

Almost always written in Second Person (You), very, very rarely anything else.

Reader-inserts are often.... poor quality, as stated, because they are wish fulfillment and do not often undergo any rigorous editing like a story based fic. But they can be used to practice how an author can write their idea of a particular character or a specific (often romantic) scenario.

Think otome games and imagine blogs here on tumblr. Most of the time, it's less you, the player reacting and them the characters reacting to your choices.

None of the above things are bad to write. Hell, I was a mod for an imagine blog for years, and it did indeed help with how I write. They all have ways to help a writer grow, but they are all very different forms of fics. You can't look at a self-insert and call it a reader-insert because it's not you, the reader being inserted, it's the Author. It's not an OCxCharacter story if it's the reader who's supposed to fill in the details.