@kat_i_am @quietquirks I'm writing a story right now where the mc is straight at the start of the book, as he is living with his abusive father who wants to 'keep' his son. This is a dystopia, and when sleeping in a truck, a guy accidently kidnaps him. As the story goes on (to not spoil anything) he starts realising who he is, who he can be, and who he wants to be, not who is father wants him to be. More people group together to survive, but he's in a safe place. He lets himself feel more without judging himself and he realises he loves the guy who accidently kidnapped him - Alastair. This is a really bad explanation of the plot cause, I really like it. I think it's something I needed growing up. The mc, Alex, is biromantic like me so it feels good to write for who I used to be.
I think one of the best pieces of advice I ever got growing up was to write for you. Write what you need or needed to hear. Look at your kid self and whatever you wish that you could tell them, write to them, then make a story out of it.
@kat_i_am @quietquirks I'm writing a story right now where the mc is straight at the start of the book, as he is living with his abusive father who wants to 'keep' his son. This is a dystopia, and when sleeping in a truck, a guy accidently kidnaps him. As the story goes on (to not spoil anything) he starts realising who he is, who he can be, and who he wants to be, not who is father wants him to be. More people group together to survive, but he's in a safe place. He lets himself feel more without judging himself and he realises he loves the guy who accidently kidnapped him - Alastair. This is a really bad explanation of the plot cause, I really like it. I think it's something I needed growing up. The mc, Alex, is biromantic like me so it feels good to write for who I used to be.
I think one of the best pieces of advice I ever got growing up was to write for you. Write what you need or needed to hear. Look at your kid self and whatever you wish that you could tell them, write to them, then make a story out of it.
That story sounds awesome. I always saw the saying, "write for you", but I never quite put it to use. This is a good push to go and do it. Thanks!!
PS I rly hope you get published bc GIRL THAT SOUNDS SO GOOD
hi can we have some trans representation that's a thing I haven't ever really seen in most mainstream media thaaaaanks
and can it be decent representation while we're at it? also thanks
And can I pleeeeeeeease have my trans characters? I want them so bad but I can't write about transgenderness without it becoming just another self-insert so can someone else do it please? thanks
Also can they be happy? Like, for the most part? Can trans people please be happy and mentally stable that's a thing i'd like to see. Not tragically depressed transgender people because yeah its tough but it doesn't make life not worth living. thaaanks
also can this trans character not just be fetish fuel? thanks.
Also can being trans not define them? Can they be things other than trans? But also trans? Like adventurers, artists, spies, detectives, gods, dragon-tamers, royalty, etc. thaaaanks
also can we stop queer-baiting? it's not representation. Its just manipulation of a representation-starved demographic and it's immoral and cruel. thanks.
@quietquirks Idk how to start a direct message lmao (I've got worse tec skills than my 89-year-old grandmother who bearly speaks English) but if you know how, hit me up!
@amayon's-missing-soul Hey! To be honest, I love self inserts. Most of the time when you read a book you don't know it's a self-insert until you find out about the author more, and any time that I've done that and found out that a certain theme, character etc. is based on a person's action experiences or personality, I love it. It's like watching a tv show and finding out that it's an exaggerated documentary. It makes your story more reliable. At the same time, writing about characters or experiences without actually have been through that is great too, it just takes some research some times. Nobody was alive when the Moses story actually happened (if it did, but that's not important rn), but the creators of the Prince of Egypt movie worked with individuals from many faiths to get the story as correct as they could. Write what you want to read, and/or what YOU want to write.
Can we get some characters that don't get harassed for their gender or sexuality? I mean, I want to read about characters who are LGBTQA but it doesn't define them, aka I don't want to just read about the gay best friend again and again. For my realistic fiction WIP, the MC is a bi girl, but it isn't all there is to her character. She's also a nerd, into Shakespeare, and obsessed with Hamlet. Her friends are a sporty and excitable pan girl, a quiet ace girl who does nail art, an ace boy who loves solving and reading about mysteries, and his twin sister, a lesbian who plays lacrosse and acts in Shakespeare plays. I chose for the book to be more of a 'slice of life' type story than a 'however will they survive HIGH SCHOOL!?!?!' story because I want LGBTQA teens to be able to read their story and not have to deal with insults and harassment being flung at Della and Co. because I don't know about y'all, but if I'm reading a book and a character insults or mocks a trait or characteristic I have, it makes me feel a bit depressed and uncomfortable, and I know people read books for a safe journey to another world.
You know what, I've been outlining my story, and I think that I'll have to change my main characters (the three who's point of view I am writing from) and I think that I will actually have to write them all as asexual, or just show their romantic side, cause I actually can't view somebody like that. Two of the mains love each other, and I can write about how Alex's soft giggle warms Alastair's chest and flushes his cheeks, forcing him to almost mimic Alex's laugh. A bad imitation but it only makes Alex giggle more, forcing Alastair to cover his mouth to avoid any more embarrassment. Alex notices this and feels guilty, thinking that he's done something wrong and so, he suddenly stops laughing. His body seems to stiffen as he draws his arms to his stomach. Alastair smiles softly, moving towards him and wrapping a long arm around Alex's back. "I know this sounds… kind of sadistic considering the world right now, but I think this is the happiest I've been in a very long time." Allie says, pressing his lips to Alex's brown, scruffy hair and holding them there for a moment. Alex freezes as he feels the soft warmness of Alastairs breaths; fighting the cold night breeze to touch his skin. He can feel words forming and collapsing in his mouth. Feeling them out and swallowing each. Alastair's mouth falls into a line as he holds Alex tight, and lets go, quickly standing and walking back towards the light of the caravan. Alex watches the fire, listening to each leaf crinkled and twig snapped from his steps. "I love you too…" He barely whispers to the flames as cold tears escape his eyes, wetting his smoke-stained cheeks.
Ok… that weirdly got sad but I can't write sex scenes or even sex thoughts just things like that (but happier too haha)
@Twitchy I don't want to write about my own experiences. They're not good experiences and I don't want to force myself to relive them for the sake of a story
@amayon's-missing-soul Fair doos, do what you want. I feel the same, and so a lot of the stories I right have deep moments or, are overall quite sad, but personally reliving experiences with the ability to change them helps me a lot. Whatever you do or write, you should enjoy yourself. Sorry if what I said sounded forceful before, I didn't mean it to.
Can we get some characters that don't get harassed for their gender or sexuality? I mean, I want to read about characters who are LGBTQA but it doesn't define them, aka I don't want to just read about the gay best friend again and again. For my realistic fiction WIP, the MC is a bi girl, but it isn't all there is to her character. She's also a nerd, into Shakespeare, and obsessed with Hamlet. Her friends are a sporty and excitable pan girl, a quiet ace girl who does nail art, an ace boy who loves solving and reading about mysteries, and his twin sister, a lesbian who plays lacrosse and acts in Shakespeare plays. I chose for the book to be more of a 'slice of life' type story than a 'however will they survive HIGH SCHOOL!?!?!' story because I want LGBTQA teens to be able to read their story and not have to deal with insults and harassment being flung at Della and Co. because I don't know about y'all, but if I'm reading a book and a character insults or mocks a trait or characteristic I have, it makes me feel a bit depressed and uncomfortable, and I know people read books for a safe journey to another world.
F. YES. Get published because I want to read some pure, wholesome LGBT+ stuff!!
That's my goal, but I'm putting Della and Co. on my backburner so I can focus on my other story right now.
Hello, I just stumbled across this thread! I myself am ace, so it would be super cool to have representatives in more media. Other awesome things would be characters that have more traits than their just their orientations. For example, Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows does awesome with this, the whole set up with the characters flows perfectly, it doesn't stop they story and say "hey, look this token character is gay." Her short story book Language of Thorns has some awesome original fairy tales that feature a few non-straight relationships, which is always a cool addition to see.
I just read Six of Crows and was going to comment on how it has great LGBTQA+ representation that isn't direct to character's personalities. That series is also a great way to connect with my non-LGBTQA+ friends. One of my friends actually introduced me to the series because of a ship in the series that is two boys.
(hi Katastrophe! I'm guessing from your spelling that your name is also Kat! Hi I'm ace too and I just wanted to say hi because we're both ace and we have the same name okay that's it bye thank you for existing)
xD Hello fellow Kat, its always fun to meet awesome people
@kat_i_am and @Katastrophic I am writing a book where I want one of the characters to be ace but I really don't want to offend anyone or portray the character incorrectly. Could you please explain what being ace is like and how I could write a character that is ace and make it seem believable?
Okay so I'm v depressed and angsty rn and struggling with being ace (because my college has this hyper dating culture which I HATE but you know that's a thing for another day) so I can't give you a v balanced personal experience rn
but in general
Aces have little to no sexual attraction- there are different types of aces!
- demisexual: only experience sexual attraction when they know someone well, and already have an emotional bond
- gray-ace/graysexual- experiences sexual attraction rarely
these are just two!
Aces can experience aesthetic and sensual attraction. Aesthetic attraction is exactly what it sounds like. As I like to say… I'm ace not blind. Sensual attraction I'm still learning about, I just heard of it like a week ago. Then I think there's one more? But idk.
Aces have different feelings about sex! On one end of the spectrum you have sex-favorable aces, who enjoy/want to have sex, but on the other end, you have sex-repulsed aces (das me!!) who are disgusted by the idea of sex, and don't ever wanna have sex. In the middle is indifference, and it's really any ace's choice as to whether they have sex. Some will do it for their partner, because they love them a lot. So yeah. Not all aces are celibate.
That's all I can think of rn?
I'll come back if I think of more.
If you search the forums for how to write an ace character you'll get a few threads
or how to write an asexual character
one or the other
Thanks, this really helped!
Anytime!
Also sorry it took so long to respond- I'm closeted, and my roommate could've turned around and seen so I'm like…. Rather safe than sorry
I completely understand. I'm closeted too and it's a little risky having the pansexual flag as my profile picture but….oh well
ROMANTIC ATTRACTION
THAT'S THE THIRD THAT I FORGOT
I'M DUMB
who is your ace character attracted to?
For example, I'm biromantic, so I'm like…. Bisexual but minus the sexual part
Eg: homoromantic, heteroromantic, panromantic, etc
ROMANTIC ATTRACTION
THAT'S THE THIRD THAT I FORGOT
I'M DUMB
who is your ace character attracted to?
For example, I'm biromantic, so I'm like…. Bisexual but minus the sexual part
Eg: homoromantic, heteroromantic, panromantic, etc
She's attracted to boys, so I suppose she would be heteroromantic
I completely understand. I'm closeted too and it's a little risky having the pansexual flag as my profile picture but….oh well
You're v brave
Eh more like I would rather have someone just find out I'm pan than have to tell them myself
Yes everything that Kat said is pretty spot on. I myself don't experience sexual attraction or arousal, though I do enjoy physical contact such as hugs and cuddling (or other "romantic" interactions). My ideal partner is a best friend, which is always the goal of a partner I suppose. Depending on the ace, they may choose to have sex with their partner even if they don't necessarily enjoy it themselves. Another thing, though not really as important, is that some aces (like myself) just don't get celebrity attraction. Like other Kat said, some still know when a person looks good or they can still think someone is hot. Then there are people like me who look at those obligatory shirtless scenes and think "so what?" There's a lot of differences between every asexual person, but in general as long as the character isn't a token or "fixed" in the story, then it's awesome to have representation.
ooh yes to the physical contact for me too
I'm v into hugs and platonic cuddles and hand holding with ppl I know and love
Hi, biro-ace here. I agree with what Kat (both of them) said, and I'd like to add that just because a character is ace doesn't mean they're a sweet, 'Minnesota Nice' little angel who can do no wrong. That being said, they also aren't evil, soulless villains for not feeling sexual attraction. I feel like what ace rep I do see (not gonna lie, it isn't much) falls into those 2 catagories.
agreed, as a "FIGHT ME" type of person I can affirm that being ace doesn't really define personality, like any sexuality that stereotypes.
Kat are you sure we aren't the same person
