𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖳𝗂𝗉𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖫𝗈𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝖲𝖾𝗅𝖿 𝖨𝗇𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗍𝗌, 𝖢𝗅𝗂𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖥𝗈𝗋 𝖥𝗎𝗇

I get asked a lot about how to write interesting and unique characters and how to avoid the "dreaded" self-inserts and Mary Sues. Obviously, writing unique OCs is rewarding in its own way, but it's definitely not the only way to enjoy writing, especially if your main goal with writing is to have fun. Might be hypocritical for a prompt blog to argue this, but so-called self-inserts, cliches, and Mary Sues are fun to write, actually. In fact, allowing myself to be "uncreative" helped me redevelop my love for writing and break through my years-long writing block.

(ruminations on how I learned to enjoy writing again, some advice, and backstory under the cut cause hoo boy y'all didn't sign up for this)

So this is by no means an original ~hot take~, but something I didn't actually take to heart until fairly recently. And to be perfectly clear, this is just about what works for me and specifically about writing for your own enjoyment, not necessarily for publication. This is not something that everyone will agree with, but I'm sure at least some of you will agree and/or need to hear this.

For most of my writing career, I wrote with the assumption that someone would read my work eventually. Submitting fiction to literary magazines, writing essays for class and articles for work, discussing worldbuilding with writing buddies, etc. I love getting constructive criticism on my writing and all (I always tell my editors to just absolutely rip it apart lmao), but it screwed with my enjoyment of writing as a whole. My motivation to write was the gratification of knowing that other people liked my work, and I tricked myself into thinking that I liked what I wrote because other people liked it.

So when college happened and sapped the creativity right out of my system along with time and energy, I lost all motivation to write. I felt like I was competing with much better writers and that my ideas were too embarrassingly basic to share. I tried too hard to make my characters and plots "interesting" and "smart" to the point where they were no longer relatable nor realistic. (side note: my quest to avoid this is a large part of why I started this blog. Yay, backstory!)

It took a few false starts, but for the past several months, I've managed to consistently write most days and even look forward to writing, a feeling I hadn't felt in AGES. How, you may ask? Well, I started writing out my cheesy daydreams! I have a cast of characters and a basic plot that have been ruminating in my brain since around middle school. Here's the thing about this particular plot: it's full of cliches and plot holes, the main character is an obvious self-insert, and the supporting cast is two-dimensional at best. Left in its original iteration, it's objectively not a story I would want to read, let alone show other people. But I figured that, hey, if I've had this silly story in my head for half my life, I might as well write it down. It's not like I have to show anyone anyway.

That became Rule #1: Don't show people your unfinished writing. This one rule took a little bit to internalize for me, but once I managed it, it changed how approached the creative process. I became less obsessed with how "good" my writing was and focused more on my own enjoyment of writing. Knowing no one could ever judge what I was writing gave me the freedom to write whatever the hell I wanted, which interestingly, actually boosted my creativity. I still brainstorm a bit with friends in hypothetical terms and there is a slight chance I might show them when it's complete if I'm comfortable enough, but for now, I am working with the expectation that no one will ever read this, and it feels so liberating.

Then comes Rule #2: Don't be afraid to write about yourself. I injected so much of myself into my new stories, something I was scared of doing in the past for fear of someone extrapolating some deep, dark secret about me by reading it. I gave a voice to the (many) insecurities and the (sometimes embarrassing) fantasies I have, and I don't have to worry about anyone learning about them. It's oddly therapeutic. One example: When I was a repressed middle schooler, I struggled with letting my self-insert have a romantic relationship with a female OC. I still believe the act of making the relationship "canon" in my daydreams is the moment I accepted that I was bisexual. Nowadays, my OCs are all essentially personifications of some fracture of my personality, whether it be actual, perceived, feared, or aspirational.

And finally, Rule #3: Tropes are tropes for a reason. I get it, as writers, we try to avoid cliches at all costs (like the plague, if you will) (and before someone says anything, I know tropes   ≠ cliches. I'm just using them interchangeably here). But when you're writing solely for fun, do you really have to worry about how "original" your story is? I'm not suggesting to straight up plagiarize a pre-existing story and publish it, claiming full credit. What I mean is, say, you want to write a love triangle where the mc has to choose between a tall/dark/handsome newcomer and gentle childhood best friend. Cliche? Definitely. But should that stop you from fitting your OCs in those roles if that's how you wanna envision it? Of course not! It's a popular trope not necessarily because it's a lazy plot device, but because lots of people enjoy this particular dynamic and the drama it causes. It's a cliche and it's interesting; the two aren't mutually exclusive. Not all tropes are everyone's cup of tea, but you don't have to cater to them. Pour your own tea.

You don't have to agree with my opinions and my rules to writing for fun. I am by no means an expert, but I think we can all benefit from shifting the focus from what you think your readers want to read to what you actually want to write. With NaNoWriMo coming up, I hope this will help with at least some of your motivation. I know it has helped mine!

TL;DR: Be self-indulgent. You'd be surprised at what you can come up with when you don't have to worry about impressing other people.