101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer

LGBTQ+

Dear Readers,

So, the first rule about writing LGBTQ+ characters?

They don't need to know their sexuality from when they are three years old.

Kind Regards,

A 22 Year Old Gal Who Genuinely Doesn't Know Her Own Sexuality

Anyways.

I already covered diversity in the last chapter, but I have been asked to be a bit more specific with LGBTQ+ related advice! So, yeah. We'll launch straight into it. This won't be a funny chapter, unless you're one of those people who find the word 'hullaballoo' funny.

In which case...

Hullaballoo!

1. Sunshine's Golden Advice.

Regardless of sexuality or gender, your character is a human.

Unless, of course, they're an alien. Or dragon. Or bumblebee. Or a sexy bottle of water.

Literature can be weird like that.

Hullaballoo!

However, nonetheless, think about it this way:

You are not writing LGBTQ+ characters. You are simply writing characters who happen to identify with the LGBTQ+ community, the same way you may write a character who happens to be straight. The same way you may write a character who happens to have no feelings except complete disdain to every member of the human population because they realised that the world is cruel and insufferable and unfair and torturous. The same way you may write a character who is turned on by sexy water bottles.

This means a few things:

- They don't just announce their sexuality to the reader straight away.

Y'all.

I'm serious.

The number of times I've met a side character, and the protagonist goes, "That's my gay best friend, Gaybriel The Gay. He is super gay. He made out with the seven dwarves on the way to my house just now. He also is married to Mark Zuckerberg. Have I mentioned that he is gay yet?"

Y'all.

People don't just go up to you and say, "Hi, my name is Aquium and I'm sexually attracted to water bottles."

They don't!

If someone identifies with the LGBTQ+ community, you don't have to tell us straight away unless there is good reason to. You can show us. We can connect the dots. Your readers are not that dumb. Usually.

- They should be real people.

This means that they have goals. They have ambitions. They have dreams and quirks and interests. They have a personality that is more than just their sexuality or gender.

Similarly, their plot should not just be about their sexuality or gender.

Obviously, if you are writing a story about the hardships of coming out or transitioning, then it makes sense to make that the sole focus. And that's great! However, remember: they'll probably have more purpose than that. They will still have other dreams and hopes and ambitions.

Shout out to my friend who was literally kicked out of her house when she came out, but when asked what the hardest thing was about her teenage years, she said, "Choosing a degree that I would actually want to study and resisting the urge to buy ten pet rats."

I love her.

While, obviously, being kicked out of a house due to your sexuality would 100% be a focal point of any story and a giant conflict, it's important to remember that your character will still have hobbies and thoughts about their future and all other things that make us human.