On Writing Characters Like Me (Or: For the Love of God, Another Author Surrogate?!)

If I am guilty of anything in my writing (which I am), I would say the two things I can think of are: odd dialogue (I'm working on this) and author surrogates. Now, unlike the linked definition, I don't create these characters because I think I'm so damn awesome or because I want this author surrogate to jump in and say something about my beliefs. Nah, for some reason, I happen to make characters that are a lot like me.

Actually... *stops for a moment to count*

I only have three characters that I can safely say are the closest in terms to being like me. Now, it's never 100% , 'cause really, show of hands of who wants to see me become a fictional character.

*brief pause* Thought so.

But why do I do it? Really, I wish I knew. Perhaps it is the adage "write what you know", but one of the characters is half-Japanese (which I am not) and another is bisexual (which I am not also). So, if that's not the complete case here, do I secretly harbor the feeling that perhaps I am awesome? Well, not really. I do have traits that could be interesting, like my passion for music and random knowledge of trivia, so I throw in what would make the character human. And last I checked, I am human, so it makes sense to draw from there.

But the thing is, when it comes to character creation, you draw from everything and everywhere. I can't begin to tell you the characters I have created that are loosely based on people I know, from bosses to friends to random strangers I met at the mall. For Pete's sake, my parents were the basis for about four characters! So I am just another source, that's all.

As for those three characters, my literary "twins"? Do they do anything special in their stories? Not really. They struggle, fall in and out of love, have stupid jobs, have bad days at the grocery store, and do not possess super-special powers. I do my damnest to make them as anti-Mary Sue as possible. I owe that, not just to you fair readers, but to myself and to the characters. Not like they'll kick my ass for getting them wrong, but I feel I'm not honest if I write willy-nilly about them.

So, I just happen to have these three characters (all from projects I've mentioned on the blog: Blues, Invisible, and Dolls). Their similarities: tall white girls with German ancestry that love music and reading. Wow, such spectrum. :P

What are your feelings on this topic? Should authors stop using themselves as character idea wells? Is there a way to write an author surrogate that doesn't want to make you punch the author in the face? Am I just being silly? Should I find better things to write about? Let me know what you think in the comments!