I've moved on to working on my trans character's profile and realised that I have no idea how to write a trans character, specifically a male to female transition. I know about dysphoria and how that works but I know thats not the full extent of it so if there is any information I should know or sources you can link me to that would be amazing. The last thing I want is to assume what I know about transgender folks is true and then screw it up so help would be coolio.
Are you writing about the transition or just including a trans character?
I'd say more including a trans character. I've always imagined her as being fully transitioned or at least almost fully transitioned with her wanting to go through a top surgery to have breasts. But educating myself a bit more on what she could be like due to her transition and backstory elements rather then assuming seems like a good choice.
If it helps I think her family would have been mostly accepting, like they wanted her to follow through but had a pretty tough time adjusting.
Well, as the local nonbinary trans girl~ Your dont wanna focus too much on her transness, though it will always be key to the character. For backstory on transness, there's mostly a list of don'ts (ie. Don't use things like "girl trapped in boys body" and don't say "back when I was a boy") but do what you would do with any other character! If it's a backtory on surgeries and hormones, use things like medical anxiety. As for dysphoria, that's a really deep topic. Dysphoria can lead to depression and self-loathing, but usually not when your parents and surroundings are accepting, so maybe use it for some hurt/comfort moments!
Also, if you have any questions about specific trans MTF experiences, feel free to DM me~
Thank you so much! I mean the only question I really have is if saying "trapped in the wrong body" isn't the best way to explain knowing you're trans, then what are some ways that my character would be able to figure it out? I know its not the same for everyone but still probably worth noting rather then just saying "and then she was trans"
It usually comes more as a realization, like "when she realized she was trans" or, in the case that she's always known so you could also use "when she came out"