For those of you interested in fan fiction, here is an interesting article on "Mary Sue," the most reviled character type in the genre. "Basically, she's a character representing the author of the story, an avatar, the writer's projection into an interesting world full of interesting people whom she watches weekly and thinks about daily. Sometimes the projections get processed into interesting characters, themselves. Usually, though, they don't." Even if you're not a fan fiction fan, it's an interesting look at character (especially if your protagonists bear an uncanny resemblance to yourself, minus ten pounds of course.)