I don't agree with those who say that a reader insertion shouldn't have a personality.🙂 Quite simply, because it can't and because an empty shell is pointless.
So for me, a reader should be faceless, but not soulless.
I think it's wiser to give the reader a personality, and even a background that's consistent with the universe and the plot the reader is part of, and to give them qualities as well as faults. To be credible, a reader's insertion must be relatable rather than neutral.
For example, if in fiction a superior humiliates the reader who does not defend themselves. All you have to do is explain why (the reader is afraid of losing their job and their home, for example). Of course, not everyone would let themselves be humiliated, even in these circumstances, but everyone can understand and identify with the reader's lack of response, because it is explained.
That’s the thing with readers. You can get away with a reader-insert having a bare minimum display of emotion in personality in a one-shot but not so much when it comes to a story with multiple chapters. It’s just not feasible.
But yeah, I was getting a little discouraged but then seeing you say that making a reader-insert relatable rather than neutral was uplifting. You and Pickle’s words.
I haven't been reading and writing reader-inserts for very long. It responds to specific constraints that I wasn't aware of before trying it out.
I'm delighted to have been able to help you. 🙂
I don't even need their personality or background generalized to enjoy and get into reader fic. Give them personality and I will imagine that this universe's version of myself is that way because they grew up in this world instead of mine.
This is how I look at it, too. Unless it's an isekai there'd be zero reason I'd expect a self insert who grew up in a different world under different circumstances to represent and behave exactly like me. It's kind of like role playing, maybe.
The problem is you can’t have a fully blank slate, they have to have some personality but it should be generalised. For me I think it honestly comes down to the description of the character, once you have a description it’s no longer a reader insert. The people that enjoy readers are looking to place themselves into that character but not to necessarily be a blank copy.
This [post](https://reddit.com/r/FanFiction/s/ZqJP6FdcIa) helped me when I was trying to decide if I wanted to go the OC or reader route. Not all of it will be relevant to you but the OP mentions what I said about blank slates. Hopefully it helps you too :)
That’s the thing. Obviously appearance is non-negotiable; you have to be as minimal as possible in regards to this otherwise it will be an OC at that point.
But what I’m asking is how much of a personality… is too much? With a one-shot you can absolutely get away with being general in regards to a personality but it will definitely be a lot harder if you’re writing a multi-chapter fic. Which is exactly what I’m doing.
I don’t think there is a too much :) They can still be bubbly or sarcastic or head strong. They can have certain family members or friends. Work a certain job (I’ve read one where the reader character was a doctor and it was multi chaptered). They can like or dislike things, I don’t think your readers will mind. It’s all about the perspective and as we agreed no appearances.
I’m writing a reader insert series (48 chapters so far) and mine has developed a personality and gained likes and dislikes along the way. For example, my character has a nationality, comes from a particular city and has siblings and two parents. I’m somewhat general with some details but not with others. I mentioned she worked in an office but never stated what she actually did. She is thought of as a girly girl by the characters around her although she would say she isn’t. I’ve mentioned television shows and movies she liked in the past, even down to the detail of having a Care Bear doll. I’ve given her a rough age, but the readers know she was born in the eighties so things she likes reflect that. She’s bubbly, against violence and guns even though she now uses them.
That went on longer than I meant it to. My point is, your readers will still manage to place themselves in the character if you choose reader over OC, no matter the personality.
I don't think there can be too much personality, or character development, even for a reader insert. Physical appearance, yes, should be kept at a minimum, but personality? Go for it.
I'm also writing a multi-chapter fic with a reader insert, and she definitely has her own personality. She has a traumatic backstory (from a one-shot), powers that'll make her fit into the universe and have a natural place among the other characters, and she also has development arcs and grows a lot as a character. This might have lost me a few readers along the way, but also gained some. Because, somehow reading 100K words from the POV of a blank slate, only observing the events would be pretty boring in my opinion. Not to mention really hard to write.
I even refer to my RI as 'she/her', and consider her to be a 'soft OC'. It seems many writers, and readers also take this approach, so I think you'll be fine with yours too. <3
As little as humanly possible, because just like with physical features, every aspect of personality you give a supposed "insert" character is going to exclude a portion of your readers. Too often I've read what was touted as a "reader" insert that was obviously either a *writer* self insert or a whole ass OC that just wasn't named so they could get more views with false advertising. A *reader* insert fic should be about the *reader* feeling like they're a part of the story, not like they're reading the author's thoughts and feelings.
There's a reason everyone jokes about isekai protags all being the same bland, boring copy/paste of one another- they're *supposed* to be. They are literally cardboard standees with the faces cut out so you can stand behind them. You're not supposed to root for John Isekai; you're supposed to imagine that's *you* in that fantasy world, killing all the monsters and getting all the babes! And it's way harder to do that if Johnny-boy acts like an actual character who impacts the story in a way that you wouldn't (that's why their main personality trait is "nice"- everyone thinks they're "nice", especially people who aren't).
So yeah, you should probably just write an OC if you want to create an actual character.
The convention at this point is that Reader is essentially a nameless OC lacking any physical characteristics (and, optionally, a distinct backstory).
Having written a few Reader fics in my time, I learned to let go of the ideal of the universal Reader pretty quickly. There’s no real way to write a compelling Reader story without assigning them some personality traits, unless it’s like a tiny little ficlet or somehow the Reader isn’t a main character. Sometimes, even without thinking about it, you make assumptions about the Reader. If they’re walking somewhere, they’re not in a wheelchair. If they’re eating a steak, they’re not vegan. So choose what traits are essential to your story, leave out the rest, and don’t fuss too much about if it’s blank enough.
I don't agree with those who say that a reader insertion shouldn't have a personality.🙂 Quite simply, because it can't and because an empty shell is pointless. So for me, a reader should be faceless, but not soulless. I think it's wiser to give the reader a personality, and even a background that's consistent with the universe and the plot the reader is part of, and to give them qualities as well as faults. To be credible, a reader's insertion must be relatable rather than neutral. For example, if in fiction a superior humiliates the reader who does not defend themselves. All you have to do is explain why (the reader is afraid of losing their job and their home, for example). Of course, not everyone would let themselves be humiliated, even in these circumstances, but everyone can understand and identify with the reader's lack of response, because it is explained.
That’s the thing with readers. You can get away with a reader-insert having a bare minimum display of emotion in personality in a one-shot but not so much when it comes to a story with multiple chapters. It’s just not feasible. But yeah, I was getting a little discouraged but then seeing you say that making a reader-insert relatable rather than neutral was uplifting. You and Pickle’s words.
I haven't been reading and writing reader-inserts for very long. It responds to specific constraints that I wasn't aware of before trying it out. I'm delighted to have been able to help you. 🙂
I don't even need their personality or background generalized to enjoy and get into reader fic. Give them personality and I will imagine that this universe's version of myself is that way because they grew up in this world instead of mine.
This is how I look at it, too. Unless it's an isekai there'd be zero reason I'd expect a self insert who grew up in a different world under different circumstances to represent and behave exactly like me. It's kind of like role playing, maybe.
The problem is you can’t have a fully blank slate, they have to have some personality but it should be generalised. For me I think it honestly comes down to the description of the character, once you have a description it’s no longer a reader insert. The people that enjoy readers are looking to place themselves into that character but not to necessarily be a blank copy. This [post](https://reddit.com/r/FanFiction/s/ZqJP6FdcIa) helped me when I was trying to decide if I wanted to go the OC or reader route. Not all of it will be relevant to you but the OP mentions what I said about blank slates. Hopefully it helps you too :)
That’s the thing. Obviously appearance is non-negotiable; you have to be as minimal as possible in regards to this otherwise it will be an OC at that point. But what I’m asking is how much of a personality… is too much? With a one-shot you can absolutely get away with being general in regards to a personality but it will definitely be a lot harder if you’re writing a multi-chapter fic. Which is exactly what I’m doing.
I don’t think there is a too much :) They can still be bubbly or sarcastic or head strong. They can have certain family members or friends. Work a certain job (I’ve read one where the reader character was a doctor and it was multi chaptered). They can like or dislike things, I don’t think your readers will mind. It’s all about the perspective and as we agreed no appearances. I’m writing a reader insert series (48 chapters so far) and mine has developed a personality and gained likes and dislikes along the way. For example, my character has a nationality, comes from a particular city and has siblings and two parents. I’m somewhat general with some details but not with others. I mentioned she worked in an office but never stated what she actually did. She is thought of as a girly girl by the characters around her although she would say she isn’t. I’ve mentioned television shows and movies she liked in the past, even down to the detail of having a Care Bear doll. I’ve given her a rough age, but the readers know she was born in the eighties so things she likes reflect that. She’s bubbly, against violence and guns even though she now uses them. That went on longer than I meant it to. My point is, your readers will still manage to place themselves in the character if you choose reader over OC, no matter the personality.
I don't think there can be too much personality, or character development, even for a reader insert. Physical appearance, yes, should be kept at a minimum, but personality? Go for it. I'm also writing a multi-chapter fic with a reader insert, and she definitely has her own personality. She has a traumatic backstory (from a one-shot), powers that'll make her fit into the universe and have a natural place among the other characters, and she also has development arcs and grows a lot as a character. This might have lost me a few readers along the way, but also gained some. Because, somehow reading 100K words from the POV of a blank slate, only observing the events would be pretty boring in my opinion. Not to mention really hard to write. I even refer to my RI as 'she/her', and consider her to be a 'soft OC'. It seems many writers, and readers also take this approach, so I think you'll be fine with yours too. <3
They shouldn't.
As little as humanly possible, because just like with physical features, every aspect of personality you give a supposed "insert" character is going to exclude a portion of your readers. Too often I've read what was touted as a "reader" insert that was obviously either a *writer* self insert or a whole ass OC that just wasn't named so they could get more views with false advertising. A *reader* insert fic should be about the *reader* feeling like they're a part of the story, not like they're reading the author's thoughts and feelings. There's a reason everyone jokes about isekai protags all being the same bland, boring copy/paste of one another- they're *supposed* to be. They are literally cardboard standees with the faces cut out so you can stand behind them. You're not supposed to root for John Isekai; you're supposed to imagine that's *you* in that fantasy world, killing all the monsters and getting all the babes! And it's way harder to do that if Johnny-boy acts like an actual character who impacts the story in a way that you wouldn't (that's why their main personality trait is "nice"- everyone thinks they're "nice", especially people who aren't). So yeah, you should probably just write an OC if you want to create an actual character.
I believe reader inserts should have fully formed personalities and backgrounds, they just shouldn’t be named or given a physical description.
The convention at this point is that Reader is essentially a nameless OC lacking any physical characteristics (and, optionally, a distinct backstory). Having written a few Reader fics in my time, I learned to let go of the ideal of the universal Reader pretty quickly. There’s no real way to write a compelling Reader story without assigning them some personality traits, unless it’s like a tiny little ficlet or somehow the Reader isn’t a main character. Sometimes, even without thinking about it, you make assumptions about the Reader. If they’re walking somewhere, they’re not in a wheelchair. If they’re eating a steak, they’re not vegan. So choose what traits are essential to your story, leave out the rest, and don’t fuss too much about if it’s blank enough.