forum Have you ever thought about your characters being gay, lesbian, bi, ect.?

Started January 17, 2018 by Mio

tune

I honestly never had, until I was role-playing with someone. Now my little Masukermeron is all confuzled. Luckily for her, she's in a very accepting place.

What about you guys? When/Why did/do you make your character(s) gay, lesbian, bi, ect.?

i think there's only one straight couple in my entire trilogy lol.

for me, it just felt natural (especially considering fairies tend to give their entire souls to people they fall in love with, regardless of gender, etc.).

through my first novel, nova struggled with her feelings towards certain people (because she'd been away from people for a very long time), and i thought she was bi, but she eventually did become lesbian.

in the second novel, i knew from the start that luna was different (even by fairy standards). she likes everyone (pan would be the best way to describe it). she likes to have sex with everyone.

also in the second novel, mason is a transgender fairy. that one surprised me.

Interesting. I guess, it's just something you discover with your characters.

Most of my characters fall under the spectrum, I think. Quickshot is nb, Yannick's demi, Magus is trans, and Roul is hella gay, to name a few, but it feels a lot more natural to me than having everyone be super straight.

Yeah. I just don't think about that stuff until I see two characters that would make a good couple. That, and I'm afraid my family and boyfriend would judge me for making characters in the spectrum.

I think sexuality can be a very important part of a character, but that it doesn't need to be the main focus of a story unless a romantic plot line is important. Many times the LGBTQ+ community (which does include myself!) appreciate even the mention of a LGBTQ+ character even if the story doesn't include a romantic story line for them! It can help them identify with a character, as many popular works of fiction shy away from the mention of non-hetero characters in the books (see: Harry Potter) to avoid controversy and outcry from parts of the population that would otherwise indulge in their writing.

Depending on the setting of a story, someone's sexuality might be of big importance to them or it might just be another part of them. For instance, in a novel set in a Victorian novel, being gay or bisexual or /anything/ other than straight would give them great reason to treat the subject of romance with great care to avoid revealing any details, as homosexuality was a criminal offense. However, in a dystopian novel where characters care far more about survival (or another trait that may divide the community), sexuality might not be a subject that would catch people off guard. In history, Catholicism/Protestantism divided communities, but nowadays in mainstream society most people (most, not all) don't really seem to care. Such could be the case in a novel or story where arguing against the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens could garner comments like "are you heckin' crazy?" or "are you serious tho?"

That's just my take on things; feel free to think otherwise :)

I understand and agree. Most of the time romance is just a side quest, never really the big picture.

All the time, the new story i'm working on has no love interest for the MC even though her sexuality is straight. This is actually my first straight MC, and i'm not even including romance.

idk if my input makes any difference, but I have a couple off LGBTQ+ characters, too. Their sexual orientation isn't the main plot of the story, but it is an important concept.
One of my characters is in a very accepting environment, but still struggles with his identity because he doesn't like being know only as "the gay kid".
Also, I'm not a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, but my parents and a few of my friends are. If it is something you would enjoy writing about and think would better your story, I wouldn't worry about people judging you.

Nice.

And, yeah. I don't even know if they'd notice. None of them even show much interest for my work.

My MC is lesbian because I am, but my Environment insn't very accepting, so I decided to create her a world where she can love anyone she wants.

nods Understandable.

Isla is bi and Tormod is gay. Don't make a big deal out of it- LGBTQ+ people are just normal people too. Treat them like you would any straight couple. Just do whatever feels right for that character.

Honestly, i started creating my story with the express intention of making my characters gay/bi. I wanted to do a kinda typical fantasy story where the main character falls for the guy, but then his sister turns evil, and the main character has to go 'save' her, and ends up falling for her instead. that is literally the entire basis for the plot. everything was built around that concept.

That's really cool.

The majority of my character's sexualities aren't important to the story, so I don't really address it. I do have a character that is a lesbian, though.

Same.

I don't really read much romance and I'm terrible at writing it but I'm considering making my character Riley lesbian. I'm not sure yet though so I'm just going to wait and see where the story takes me.

You gotta see where the story takes it. Whenever I write, it seems like the story has a mind of its own free will, and I'm just the translator! I'm writing a book where literally every character is LGBTQA+, and the straight homophobic people are the antagonists. It's great, and I think very frequently about how there are lots of books with straight characters and strong female protagonists… but then they go home and are obedient to a dominant male figure… basically what I'm trying to say is YES!! WRITE AS MANY CHARACTERS AS YOU CAN THAT ARE LGBTQA+!! It may take some research (I recommend this page - http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2013/01/a-comprehensive-list-of-lgbtq-term-definitions/) but lots of stories are lacking in a hot gay romance or a stressful, action-packed bi love story. One final note: I just finished a book called "Children of Eden" by Joey Graceffa - great book, has a fantastic sequel - but the narrating character is trapped between loving a guy and a girl, but he does a great job of making it normal. He never mentions that it's a bi romance, he doesn't make it weird, and it is great! Use that if you need help! Mwah!

If you really think about it, Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series is gay, but it is never even addressed in the books. It's just a fact about the character. It sort of just goes to show that a character's sexual orientation doesn't have to even be mentioned if you don't feel it even fits the plot line.

Cool. I'll use the website for reference.

And, let's please not make this a fandom post. I don't care if JK Rowling herself said Dumbledore is gay. I just want to talk about the characters in our stories. It is a good example of not having to even mention sexuality though.

Well, it depends on how you wanna play it out. Depending on the culture of whatever universe the character is in, they will have to be played out differently if they are part of the LGBTQ community.
Generally, when I'm creating a universe, I tend to make the culture accepting of LGBTQ. Hence, I have a chill bisexual Dullahan in a medieval fantasy.
LGBTQ charcters fit in everywhere, because they are everywhere. You don't have to have a reason for them to be gay. They just happen to be gay. Unless you're making a more Nico diAngelo character (the one character who we orphan, give a terminal disease, kill the love interest of, and then stab). In which case, their sexuality can be played out as a secret that they've tried to keep hidden to avoid the discomfort and pain caused by homophobia.
You can also play out their stereotypical personality (being LGBTQ) to your advantage. You can either go with the flow (having a promiscuous pansexual) or be ironic about it (manly-man is gay).
In general, be chill about it. Don't stress trying to MAKE your characters LGBTQ, but play it as a '50 facts about' thing, if your storyline is not romantic in nature.

Yeah, exactly.

yep