At 02:42 PM 8/8/98 EDT, NewtonSean@aol.com wrote:

In a message dated 98-08-08 04:00:23 EDT, Omicron@sprynet.com writes:

	Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a magnificent author whose works include the
every popular 'Slaughterhouse 5'.  Read one of them, why don't you,
and you'll discover that the protagonist in each of the books always
meets with Kurt at one point in the novel.  You insult Self-Insertion
in the Anime Fanfic level, what do you have to say about
Self-Insertion in the big time bestseller novels list? 

For that matter, Clive Cussler does the same in his Dirk Pitt adventures,

with

Cussler making a cameo in each.   Perhaps an even better example is Isaac
Asimov's "Murder at the ABA", in which Asimov appears as a major character in
the novel.  Also, Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin appears briefly in "Encounter with
Tiber", the novel he co-authored with John Barnes.  Inserting yourself into a
story is not a sign of immaturity.

Another point.  When Tom Clancy was asked at the National Press Club Thursday
"Who was Jack Ryan based on?" he answered that Ryan was in many ways based
upon himself.  He also added that, when one writes a character over a long
period of time, its hard NOT to put yourself into that character.  Just some
food for thought.

And then there's Alfred Hitchcock. One of his trademarks was to put himself
somewhere in each of his films. So it isn't just writers who
self-insert/cameo appear.




Jeanne Hedge



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