# Self-insertion > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Self-insertion > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Self-insertion.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-insertion > Source revision: 1355999981 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Literary device where the author writes themself into their fictional story}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Globalize|article|Western culture|date=February 2017}} [[Image:Botticelli - Adoration of the Magi (Zanobi Altar) - Uffizi.jpg|thumb|[Sandro Botticelli](/source/Sandro_Botticelli)'s painting of the ''[Adoration of the Magi](/source/Adoration_of_the_Magi_of_1475_(Botticelli))'' has an inserted self-portrait at the far right: the position in the corner and the gaze out to the viewer are very typical of such self-portraits.]] '''Self-insertion''' is a [literary device](/source/List_of_narrative_techniques) in which the author writes themselves into the story under the guise of, or from the perspective of, a fictional [character](/source/character_(arts)) (see [author surrogate](/source/author_surrogate)).{{cite web|url=https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-insertion|title=Self-insertion meaning|access-date=20 February 2022}} The character, overtly or otherwise, behaves like, has the personality of, and may even be described as physically resembling the author or reader of the work. In [visual art](/source/visual_art), the equivalent of self-insertion is the '''inserted self-portrait''', where the artist includes a [self-portrait](/source/self-portrait) in a painting of a narrative subject. This has been a common artistic device since at least the [European Renaissance](/source/European_Renaissance). Among [professional writers](/source/Professional_writing), the intentional, deliberate use of first-person and third-person self-insertion techniques are commonly considered to be an unoriginal action on the author's part, and represents a paucity of creative thought in their writing.{{Cite web|url=https://jezebel.com/tv-writers-self-insert-brunson-fey-waller-bridge-kaling-1850077191|title=I Love When Women TV Writers Write Themselves Hot Love Interests|date=17 February 2023|website=[Jezebel](/source/Jezebel_(website))}}{{Cite web|url=https://confluence.gallatin.nyu.edu/context/interdisciplinary-seminar/triggering-manhattan-the-ethics-of-self-insertion|title="Triggering" Manhattan: The Ethics of Self-Insertion – Confluence|date=28 October 2021}} == Literary forms == Similar literary devices include the author doubling as the [first-person narrator](/source/first-person_narrator), or writing an [author surrogate](/source/author_surrogate) in the [third-person](/source/Narration), or adding in a character who is partially based on the author, whether the author included it intentionally or not. Many characters have been described as ''unintentional'' self-insertions, implying that their author is unconsciously using them as an author surrogate.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/13/fan-fiction-fifty-shades-grey|title=In the beginning, there was fan fiction: from the four gospels to Fifty Shades|first=Ewan|last=Morrison|date=13 August 2012|newspaper=The Guardian}} Self-insertion can also be employed in a [second-person narrative](/source/Narration), utilizing the imagination of the reader and their [suspension of disbelief](/source/suspension_of_disbelief). The reader, referred to in the second person, is depicted as interacting with another character, with the intent to encourage the reader's [immersion](/source/Immersion_(virtual_reality)) and [psychological projection](/source/psychological_projection) of themselves into the story, imagining that they, themselves, are performing the written story.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-22|title=The A to Z of Fan Fiction|url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/380736/the-a-to-z-of-fan-fiction/|access-date=2021-10-30|website=Inquirer Lifestyle|language=en-US}} While examples in published fiction of second-person self-insertion are rare, the use of such is common in [fan fiction](/source/fan_fiction), in which the reader is paired with a fictional character, often in an intimate setting. ==Examples== {{More citations needed section|date=August 2023}} *''[Money](/source/Money_(novel))'' by [Martin Amis](/source/Martin_Amis) * ''[The Razor's Edge](/source/The_Razor's_Edge)'' by [Somerset Maugham](/source/Somerset_Maugham) * ''[Slaughterhouse-Five](/source/Slaughterhouse-Five)'' by [Kurt Vonnegut](/source/Kurt_Vonnegut){{cite book|last=Mason|first=Fran|title=The A to Z of Postmodernist Literature and Theater|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJRJKXy3_cgC&pg=PA338|access-date=22 September 2014|year=2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780810868557|pages=338–}}{{cite book|last=Klinkowitz|first=Jerome|title=Structuring the Void: The Struggle for Subject in Contemporary American Fiction|url=https://archive.org/details/structuringvoids0000klin|url-access=registration|access-date=22 September 2014|year=1992|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822312055|pages=[https://archive.org/details/structuringvoids0000klin/page/52 52]–}} * ''[Breakfast of Champions](/source/Breakfast_of_Champions)'' by [Kurt Vonnegut](/source/Kurt_Vonnegut) * ''[The French Lieutenant's Woman](/source/The_French_Lieutenant's_Woman)'' by [John Fowles](/source/John_Fowles){{cite book|title=The Encyclopædia Britannica|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1102665/The-French-Lieutenants-Woman|access-date=17 November 2014|year=2014|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}} * [Stan Lee](/source/Stan_Lee) is depicted as himself in different [Marvel](/source/Marvel_Comics) comic books and [movies](/source/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe) * [Clive Cussler](/source/Clive_Cussler), author of [Dirk Pitt](/source/Dirk_Pitt) novels, has inserted himself as a [deus ex machina](/source/deus_ex_machina) character in several of his books{{Cite web|url=https://clive-cussler-books.com/dirk-pitt-revealed/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120020252/http://clive-cussler-books.com/dirk-pitt-revealed/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=20 November 2015|title=Dirk Pitt Revealed | An Official Web Site for Bestselling Adventure Novelist | Author Clive Cussler|date=16 June 2015}} * In ''[Gargantua and Pantagruel](/source/Gargantua_and_Pantagruel)'' by [François Rabelais](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Rabelais), Rabelais takes over the narration of the story and personally describes [the enlarged tongue of one of the protagonists](/source/Vorarephilia) as if he was physically in the story''Gargantua and Pantagruel'', Francois Rabelais, chapter "How Pantagruel, With His Tongue, Covered a Whole Army, and What the Author Saw In His Mouth". * [William Blake](/source/William_Blake) is said to depict himself in the novel ''[Milton: A Poem in Two Books](/source/Milton%3A_A_Poem_in_Two_Books)'' * The ''[Divine Comedy](/source/Divine_Comedy)'' by [Dante Alighieri](/source/Dante_Alighieri) features the poet Dante himself as a character, visiting [Hell](/source/Hell) through [Heaven](/source/Heaven), where he meets people he does not like being punished, and his friends and famous historical heroes having eternal rest * In ''[Don Quixote](/source/Don_Quixote)'', by [Miguel de Cervantes](/source/Miguel_de_Cervantes), the novel ''[La Galatea](/source/La_Galatea)'' by Cervantes himself is mentioned among the books in Don Quixote's library; then, one of the characters adds "that Cervantes has been for many years a great friend of mine"{{Cite web |last=Cervantes |first=Miguel de |date=1605 |title=Don Quixote |url=https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Don_Quixote/Volume_1/Chapter_VI |website=[Wikisource](/source/Wikisource)}} * In the ''Rush Revere'' series of books, authored by [Rush Limbaugh](/source/Rush_Limbaugh), Limbaugh uses himself as the narrator, who is exploring various American historical settings and concepts and explaining them to readers * ''[I Am the Messenger](/source/The_Messenger_(Zusak_novel))'' by [Markus Zusak](/source/Markus_Zusak) * [Andrew Hussie](/source/Andrew_Hussie) used himself to recap story beats of his [webcomic](/source/webcomic), ''[Homestuck](/source/Homestuck)'' * ''[JPod](/source/JPod)'' by [Douglas Coupland](/source/Douglas_Coupland) is said{{who|date=December 2025}} to employ the author as a character * A character in ''[The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah](/source/The_Dark_Tower_VI%3A_Song_of_Susannah)'', by [Stephen King](/source/Stephen_King), is thought to be directly based on King himself * ''[Handbook for Mortals](/source/Handbook_for_Mortals)'' by Lani Sarem * ''[A Series of Unfortunate Events](/source/A_Series_of_Unfortunate_Events)'' by [Lemony Snicket](/source/Lemony_Snicket) * ''[The Map and the Territory](/source/The_Map_and_the_Territory)'' by [Michel Houellebecq](/source/Michel_Houellebecq) * John Barth in the [Dunyazadiad](/source/Chimera_(Barth_novel)) segment of John Barth's novel ''[Chimera](/source/Chimera_(Barth_novel))''. * Louis, the caretaker in ''[Wayside School](/source/Wayside_School)'', is based on author [Louis Sachar](/source/Louis_Sachar) * [Rudyard Kipling](/source/Rudyard_Kipling) writes himself a cameo in ''[The Man Who Would Be King](/source/The_Man_Who_Would_Be_King)'' ==See also== * {{anl|Cameo appearance}} * {{anl|Self-parody}} * {{anl|Self-portrait}} * {{anl|Self-reference}} * {{anl|Mary Sue}} * {{Annotated link|Author surrogate}} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Fiction writing}} {{Fan fiction}} {{Branches of the visual arts}} {{Aesthetics}} {{Humanities}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Self-insertion}} Category:Self-portraiture Category:Narratology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Self-insertion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-insertion) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-insertion?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.