Yes, I have said in another entry that it's okay to write a Mary Sue,
That's not what I'm talking about.
What I'm talking about is where the judge obviously knows the character is you, the writer, which typically involves - well, you know - sharing the same name as your character.
And, this is an issue that every so often for a contest, a younger writer will have, I'd say, more often with fanfic than original fiction.
I bring it up because one of the writers I know was joking around with wording that indicated an obvious self-insert for a prompt. I almost said something, going, "Lol - but avoid this for the judge's sanity", but then thought to myself - this writer knows better. They're not the writer I'm worried about.
No, it's the younger ones.
And yeah, this kind of story does try a reader's sanity because obvious self-inserts are very uncomfortable to read as they reveal things the writer doesn't want us readers to know.
And yeah, I do get that for younger writers, it can be difficult to avoid that obvious self-insert that isn't named after you, but at least don't have one that shares the same name as your pen name.
