Self Insert Week 2022
Six years ago, Tumblr user @the-alligator-queen-blog began an annual tradition called Self Insert Week: a weeklong challenge/jam/etc where participants are encouraged to make fanworks with themselves as the main character.
This year, this storied Tumblr festival will begin on Sunday, May 8th, and last through Saturday, May 14th.
Why participate? Well, in its founder’s own words, it’s “a fun reason to make ourselves into the awesome characters we daydream up while going about our normal lives”.
But it’s also a strike back at the common tendency to see fanwork – and creative work more generally – as such Serious Business that it’s not allowed to be openly self-indulgent. People worry so much, these days, about whether their artistic endeavors are “good enough”, or are a credit to their Brand, or whatever. I think that’s sad. Maybe even a little unhealthy, if we do it all the time. What’s the harm, really, if not everything we write is Serious Literature? Who said it had to be? Why can’t we embrace the cringe every now and again, so long as it sparks joy?
So this event is an excuse – carte blanche and imprimatur – to indulge in all the silly fandom escapism you’ve been holding in. Go smooch that Netflix pirate you like in Photoshop. Tell us about the wacky adventures you got tangled up in when you fell into the Dark World. Go wild! There’s no sign-up to participate, no masterpost, nothing like that. Just write, draw, and post your stuff under #self insert week 2022 so that we can all cheer each other on. :)
