>>38003736I dont want this to sound like "self inserts are for those who dont know how to RP" thing but it takes experience and understanding to go outside your comfort zone and do it effectively. It is definitely something you should do if you're particularly inspired to make a separate character; but at the same time there is value to self-inserts, it comes easier to stay in character and you have a hopefully better understanding of your character, their personality, motivations, and how they react under pressure. Just know yourself, and be honest, a character's faults are just as important and compelling as their strengths.
The problem, and I feel a lot of stigma, around self inserts is that people are dishonest, and they make "self inserts" that are actually idealized versions of themselves, and they don't feel comfortable acknowledging weaknesses and shortcomings. They don't want themselves, as their characters, to fail, or show weakness, or fear, or incompetence. We also end up with the boring, overdone "friendly and happy and generally easygoing with a heart of gold but turns into a protective mama bear/papa wolf if you threaten their friends!" bullshit, because thats how people see themselves, and anything less than 100 percent fearlessness is playing a coward which to them is uninteresting.
Start off with it by all means, but still put effort into it, and always strive to reach a point where you can divorce your fictional character from yourself. Accept that it will fail, get its ass kicked, etc. and don't take this personally, and don't take other character's actions, even if antagonistic towards you, as personal representations of the intent of the player behind them. Even if you always play a self insert you benefit from keeping this kind of distance
