I wanna have a discussion about Self-Inserts within literature, and also other medias.
Is self-insertion in of itself a bad thing in story-telling? Many famous and renowned works over the years had writers self-inserting themselves to a degree (for example Stephan King with numerous of his protags as writers) and obviously can lead to the horrid path that is of Mary/Gary Sue.
When I'm thinking of story ideas, I self-insert as a temporary stand-in until I can think of a better character to fulfill that role. This lead me to further think on the concept of using self-insertion in stories. Is it more "acceptable" if it was completely told in a strictly 1st person perspective to also allow the reader to place themselves in the character's shoes. Would it be fine to self-insert if instead of a Mary/Gary Sue, it was the polar opposite where it was acknowledgement of one's own faults and trying to create a story or character development around it, though I feel that can also lead to a Mary/Gary Sue of the opposite spectrum (my life sucks, everything is my fault, etc).
What are your guys opinion on this? Is there any works you believe does it right?
Does Stephen King self-insert as Bev?