Ten 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 10th, and last through Saturday, May 16th.
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, in my view, 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, if that's what sparks joy?
So this event is a "feast of fools" for creative works: an excuse – carte blanche and imprimatur – to indulge in all the silly fandom escapism you’d eschew in a more normal week. Go smooch your favorite Digital Circus denizen in Photoshop. Go write about the drama you and your Miis got up to on that island. 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 2026 so that we can all cheer each other on. :)
