Editing Author surrogate (section)

==Usage==
===Fiction===
Frequently, the author surrogate is the same as the [[main character]] and/or the [[protagonist]], and is also often the [[narrator]]. As an example, the author surrogate may be the one who delivers political diatribe, expressing the author's beliefs, or expound on the strengths and weaknesses of other characters, thereby communicating directly the author's opinion on the characters in question.
Philosophers and writers may use author-surrogates to express their personal positions, especially if these are unpopular or run counter to established views.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://thanetwriters.com/essay/characters/narrative-techniques-author-surrogates/ | title=Narrative Techniques: Author Surrogates | date=7 June 2017 }}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=essay is on the same subject but does not support all of the ideas presented here, for example: no mention of unpopular views in the source|date=September 2022}}

British writer [[David Hume]] used the author-surrogate 'Philo' in the ''Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion''. Philonous was the author-surrogate of the Irish philosopher George Berkeley in his work ''Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous''. Novelist [[Michael Crichton]] used his character Ian Malcolm to express views on catastrophic system failure in his novel ''[[Jurassic Park (novel)|Jurassic Park]]''. Perhaps the best-known philosophical author-surrogate is [[Socrates]] in the writings of [[Plato]].

A surrogate's life may be very similar to that of the author. Like his creator, Peter Marlowe—a character in [[James Clavell]]'s novels—wrote about his experience as a prisoner of war with the Japanese during [[World War II]], became a Hollywood writer, and visited Hong Kong to research a book on its [[trading company|trading companies]].<ref name="bernstein19810913">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/13/magazine/making-of-a-literary-shogun.html |title=Making of a Literary Shogun |last=Bernstein |first=Paul |date=1981-09-13 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2018-03-15 |language=en}}</ref>

Most stories have an author surrogate, insofar as the author is usually capable of pointing to one character (major or minor) whom he or she identifies with to a much greater degree than any other character. This can take the form of a realistic depiction of the author ([[Benjamin (Animal Farm)|Benjamin]] in ''[[Animal Farm]]''), or a negative ([[Woody Allen]] in many of his films) or positive depiction of the author.

[[Steve Gerber]] depicted himself saving the universe in his final issue of ''[[Man-Thing]]'' for [[Marvel Comics]], and [[Chris Claremont]] did the same, while Gerber's act was passive and Claremont's had him merge briefly with the title character.<ref>Man-Thing #22; Man-Thing (vol. 2) #11</ref>  In both cases, the authors had other characters that were more traditional author surrogates, [[Richard Rory]] and Jonh Daltry.

In ''[[Animal Man (comic book)|Animal Man]]'', [[Grant Morrison]] appears as the author who controls the title character's actions. For example, they tell Buddy Baker that the next writer could have him eating meat (which in fact did happen, in a bizarre set of circumstances), and Buddy says, "But I don't eat meat," to which Morrison retorts, "No, '''I''' don't eat meat."<ref>Grant Morrison. ''Animal Man:  Deus Ex Machina'' DC Comics</ref>

Colombian author and [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel laureate]] [[Gabriel García Márquez]] appears near the end of his own book, ''[[One Hundred Years of Solitude]]'' as a minor character in the novel.

American economist and political advisor [[Peter Navarro]] created a fictional economist named "Ron Vara" (an anagram of his own name), whom he quoted extensively in several books about China. Vara was described as a Harvard-trained China hawk, often making provocative or Sinophobic remarks. Navarro later admitted that Vara was fictional and served as an author surrogate to express his own critical views on China.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/771396016/white-house-adviser-peter-navarro-calls-fictional-alter-ego-an-inside-joke | title=White House Adviser Peter Navarro Calls Fictional Alter Ego An 'Inside Joke' | last=Horsley | first=Scott | date=October 18, 2019 | website=NPR | access-date=April 11, 2025 }}</ref>

===Fan fiction===
{{main|Mary Sue}}
[[Fan fiction]] critics have evolved the term Mary Sue to refer to an idealized author surrogate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Segall |year=2008 |title=Fan Fiction Writing: New Work Based on Favorite Fiction |publisher=Rosen Pub. |page=[https://archive.org/details/careerbuildingth0000sega/page/26 26] |isbn=978-1404213562 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/careerbuildingth0000sega/page/26 }}</ref> The term 'Mary Sue' is thought to evoke the cliché of an author who uses writing as a vehicle for the indulgence of self-idealization, to create a character that is so competent or perfect that it lacks verisimilitude.<ref>Chander, A., & Sunder, M. (2007). "Everyone's a Superhero: A Cultural Theory of 'Mary Sue' Fan Fiction as Fair Use." ''[[California Law Review]]'', 95(2), 597-626. Retrieved from [http://www.jstor.org/stable/20439103 JSTOR]</ref>  For male author surrogates, similar names such as 'Marty Stu' or 'Gary Stu' are occasionally used.<ref>{{cite book|author=Luc Reid|title=Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781582974231|url-access=registration|access-date=30 July 2013|date=4 September 2006|publisher=Writer's Digest Books|isbn=978-1-59963-375-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781582974231/page/300 300]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Steven Harper|title=Writing the Paranormal Novel: Techniques and Exercises for Weaving Supernatural Elements Into Your Story.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y80Cr__mKlkC&pg=PA76|access-date=30 July 2013|date=18 February 2011|publisher=Writer's Digest Books|isbn=978-1-59963-301-5|page=76}}</ref>
In fan fiction, an author surrogate is more commonly called a "self-insert".