Shouldn't we get exposure to all on the spectrum though? I feel like people would appreciate the diversity, especially if they are one themselves. Although, if it isn't an accurate representation and just stereotypically then there will be criticism
No problem @Allatron
now that i think about it, i don't think i have any straight main characters haha
In most all of my stories, no one's sexuality is stated or easy to tell, because it's completely unrelated to the story. Am I the only one who's afraid that some of their straight characters are about to get lost in a fire of LGBT+? I mean, they're all wonderful, and I have a few characters that are LGBT+. But, I Don't think each story Has To have one. I think stories can be fine without.
@Baby Fairy Can you explain the difference between bi, pan, and poly? I’m not entirely sure which is which.
I am currently writing a book where the protagonist is gay and he is trying to get out of an arranged engagement. There also is a prince, whom the protagonist falls in love with, who is polysexual. I hope that it turns out good. This book is mostly about love but I also want to write another story where the character isn't straight but it isn't the main focus.
The two biggest romantic subplots in TMB both are relevant here
Zaura, the 2nd protagonist has a crush on Angelica but Angelica is straight and engaged. This leads to some tension between Zaura and Jackson (Angelica's fiance) Angelica never directly talks to Zaura about her feelings as she dies in the beginning of the final book. But Zaura and Jackson cope with Angelica's death by leaning on each other and becoming good friends throughout the book.
The other is between Cameron and Carissa. Throughout the first two novels Cameron quite openly expresses his feelings for Carissa. (Carissa is asexual) Carissa let's him express himself by going into a relationship ship with him in the second novel. This does not last long as she betrays the group only 12 chapters later. Their relationship goes through a lot throughout the end of book two and the majority of book 3.
It all comes to a head after they fight in the pocket dimension (context? what's that? XD) Carissa defeats Cameron and uses her power to bare his mind to all of her experiences. Cameron understands Carissa, the way she feels about the rebellion and other humans in general, after a long talk, they make peace. Cameron openly says that he accepts Carissa the way she is and that all he ever wanted was for her to be happy.
Yeah Carissa dies to like 3 chapters later and the page I wrote it on is all messed up because I always cry when I read it. Yep. Yeppers. Representation is nice.
My only advice is don't write about the experience of it unless you have experienced it yourself. But feel free to make your characters anything you want.
I don't really think about my character's sexuality when I make them, or really at all until I decide for whatever reason they need a love interest. It isn't brought up, and I don't make a big deal out of it if a character is gay (For one I'm in no position to write about the struggle of being gay, and for two I don't want being gay to become the character. I'd rather them be remembered as "that character who was really shy but also had super cool powers and did all this cool stuff" than "The gay one"). Since it's not actually decided until I'm involving them in a romantic relationship my general rule is "Pansexual Until Stated Otherwise" that gives me freedom to pair them with whoever I see fit if I realize someone matches them (which is really how it normally goes, I like to pair by whether I think they're cute together and if I think their personalities meld). I actually have only a few characters with an explicitly stated sexuality.
My characters are almost always LGBTQ+ just because it makes me (as an LGBTQ+ person) relate to them and I feel like there isn't enough representation for the community. I'm with @Dallas, my characters are always "Pansexual unless stated otherwise" and have very few characters who have actually canon sexualities. Harvey is Demi-Homosexual and Kaden is Bisexual but, other than that, my characters are all basically "idk, bro, they date ppl" mostly because I'm indecisive. xD
Nothing bugs me more than when a character’s LGBTQ+ and that’s basically the only trait they have, or all of their personality stems from that.
I kind of knew I wanted Quinn and Kellan to be together the moment I sorted out the team's dynamics and how the characters balanced each other out. But I made sure to solidfy their personalities and their characters before deciding that they would both be attracted to guys. So, for me, it's important that it fits the story and the characters before I commit to anything. I do have one lesbian character and she is wonderful, and especially with writing a sci-fi story where anything is possible, I think it is important to take advantage of the freedom of the genre.
Also, consider using it as a sort of plot device. Readers will usually expect the boy to fall for the girl in main character trios, you would catch them by surprise if the girl fell in love with the other girl in the trio. Quite a few of my characters are in the spectrum, but I have a good deal of heterosexual characters as well.
this is old, am I late?-
but anyway! it's funny that the last comment mentions using them as a bit of a plot device.
I really want my bi boy to always platonically be with my lesbian girl, they're gonna be best friends you see.
and I want to try and trick everyone into thinking they're straight and that they like each other.
because I really just want to keep my readers as confused as possible, that's kind of an important part of the book, I want them to be as confused as my characters, and small things like that could help or distract them from seeing other things I'm using to confuse them. I have a few other not straight characters, and I'm trying to figure out how to write other relationships. ^^
Guys, so many of my characters are LGBTQA+. Like, let me count. Over ten of my main characters are not straight and/or cisgender, just in one of my series, and I have several other characters in several other stories. Overall, I have a lot. I think it's very important to have representation of these people because it's important for them to know they are perfectly normal and not alone. I love my characters with all my heart and I love seeing LGBTQA+ people in stories.
I am writing a book that takes place in a LGBTQ camp, so most of them are not straight.
tbh I actively try and make them LGBT and I’m not sure why
Maybe cause it just doesn’t feel natural unless I do? I have a lot of LGBT friends
A lot of my characters fall into one of the three. I have 20 characters currently, but some of them are not any of the three and some aren't super relevant in the main story so the most notable Bi/Gay/Lesbian characters are William , Lochlainn Chrysanthos, and Lockie Chapman (including last names for those two because their names are really similar but there's a reason outside immediate relation) are gay, Peter, Robert and Joseph are Bi and Renellys is lebian.
William and Robert date/marry, Robert and Peter date for a while, Lockie was engaged for like 2 seconds before he died, and Lochlainn and Renellys have partners in gen 2
“lockie was engaged for like 2 seconds before he died”
I love that sentence
I have a headcanon for three of my characters in the PJO universe (Freyja, Kyna, and Jude) that Freyja and akyna used to date at one point and they broke up but are still really good friends, and they kiss a lot anyways. Jude is mentioned because he is Kyna’s twin and Freyja sometimes randomly kisses him too
.jpg)
Okay, so I've been trying to include more LGBTQA+ characters in my writing, but it's acceptable to just leave that sort of stuff at a casual mention, yeah? I just want to set it up kind of like, "this character is the hero, has this super cool power, and an amazing personality, but she also happens to be a lesbian." So maybe later I show her with a girlfriend or something, or have her flirt with another woman, but her character isn't just, "she's a lesbian." I also don't know things about all sexualities and genders, so I'd really like to learn more about that so I can actually represent people beyond lesbian, gay, bi, and ace. If anyone would help me, I'd really appreciate it.
My main character is gay, but that's not his whole deal. He's Italian, 16, alone in the world, trying to survive. What I love most about building my character is that I live through them, immerse myself in their world.
Okay, so I've been trying to include more LGBTQA+ characters in my writing, but it's acceptable to just leave that sort of stuff at a casual mention, yeah? I just want to set it up kind of like, "this character is the hero, has this super cool power, and an amazing personality, but she also happens to be a lesbian." So maybe later I show her with a girlfriend or something, or have her flirt with another woman, but her character isn't just, "she's a lesbian." I also don't know things about all sexualities and genders, so I'd really like to learn more about that so I can actually represent people beyond lesbian, gay, bi, and ace. If anyone would help me, I'd really appreciate it.
Of course you can do that! No one really likes when a character’s whole being is set around their sexuality. Besides that, what questions do you have?
I guess it's more of a who else needs representation? I don't think all identities get representation, and I want to at least try to write as many different orientations and identities as possible.
https://amphithere-ace.tumblr.com/post/167969778266/sexualities-and-gender-not-a-complete-list
You could look into this link or surf the web for more ideas. Maybe try a few aromantic or lithromantic characters? Characters with no romantic subplot, or characters who are questioning how they feel?
Whoa, that's actually really helpful. Thank you!