Writing Your Inner Self

     Sometimes when an author is writing a book or a movie, he will insert him/herself into the story. This can be literal, like Stan Lee or , or it can be more discreet.

     Often times a character based on the author appears in the book. Even if the character doesn't outwardly seem like their real-life counterpart, they may reflect the author's inner-self. What does this mean? Maybe it's the author at a different point in his life, or maybe it's a persona adopted by the author's mind. M. Night Shyamalan frequently gives himself nigh omnipotent roles in his movies, for example.                                                                                                                                     21 18

     Dante and other writers (like Stephen Colbert) take this a step further by using their own names. For example, Dante the Florentine writer wrote Commedia, starring a Florentine writer named Dante. They are essentially the same person, only the real Dante probably didn't vacation in Hell.