Hey, it's like the title says. I haven't written about any plus-size characters yet so I'm in foreign territory and need help from real-life people because google will probably mention something about cancer or something crazy like that. It's a guy, and the romance is LGBTQ+, so he falls in love with a guy. Pointers? They don't even have to be related to the actual topic itself. Also, having a hard time actually starting the dang thing. Help?
I would say that representation for everything is important, body types included. That being said though, try not to stress it too much. Like, don't make it the main point. Put it in little details, whatever those may be. Body image can be very challenging for people, so maybe your character is insecure? Maybe they got bullied for it throughout their life. Maybe you could bring it to the reader's attention in simple, nonchalant ways. Depending on what perspective your story is being told from, there will be different ways to approach that. Also, being the softie I am, the first thing that came to my mind was your plus sized character talking about his insecurities and his lover reassuring him.. Anywayssss if you need anything more specific, let me know.
👍👍tanx
does he get winded going up stairs? i do
does he ever try to count his calories due to insecurity?
does he notice when he's bloated from eating something salty or greasy or needing water? drinking too much water?
these are common, if not universal, things that a lot of plus size people–myself included–do. as mentioned by are you stapling a banana above, decide how he feels about it, as that will build heavily into his characterization. a character who's insecure about their weight might avoid eating in front of others, feel guilty about eating too much, or dress a certain way. if you decide to go with insecurity, im plus size and have battled with it(insecurity) for most of my life and would love to offer more info here or in PMs.
ooooh thank you so much and it'd be great if I could get more advice (because I'm sure this isn't going to be the last time I write about a plus-size character. also PMs… idk what those are tbh 😅
private messages! it's an option on this site where, if you click someone's user(so you'd click where my username is) you can scroll to find 'message' and hit that. or, if you have an @, i can make the chat!
great, thank you so much that would be a big help!
Is he just soft, or more of a "musclechub" type? Is he short, chubby, and cute; is he like one of the "big rugged construction-worker type" male leads from one of Jessa Kane's FFA novellas; or is he somewhere in between those extremes? Has he been a big guy all of his life, or did he put on weight more recently?
If he's insecure: does he hide in baggy clothes that succeed mainly at making him look bulkier? Does he try to suck in his gut whenever another attractive guy might be looking; does he order caesar salads easy on the dressing on dates; does he flinch when lover-boy touches his love handles, even if it's clearly appreciative? Or, conversely: is he anything but insecure, showcasing his belly in fancy tailored weskits that support it and emphasize its outline (or at least owning an Alca Fashion t-shirt or five)?
Case in point: my dude Kieron is a huge jock musclechub. He was outright fat when he was younger; while he's a lot less soft now, his exercise routine has been mostly football (he was an O-tackle) and strength sports (meaning that he's a big eater), so he's still bulky and undefined (heavy, sleek musculature; big, well-upholstered powerbelly; full face and not much of a neck, as per Eddie Hall or Toniu Fonoti) and sees no real reason to try to change that as long as his health is holding up. (Although he probably uses a CPAP just in case.) His insecurities about not having an aesthetic physique were mostly smacked out of him on the field and in the gym (although he's still not entirely sure what to make of the fact that he attracts chasers and sthenos alike); for an idea of some size-related gripes that he does have, look at videos of very large people navigating such obstacles as small cars and lightweight furniture.
While I doubt he's well-off enough to own a three-piece suit, much less a tailored one: he would likely get himself fitted for one if he ever were to get the opportunity. And he probably does own Alca Fashion shirts.
But enough about my boi. We want to hear about yours.
My boy is soft and sweet and shy, with muscles under the soft because he's a massage therapist(and a good one, too) it's kinda complicated because he is actually a little more than 300 years old (this story fantasy btw) and he has grown up in a culture where he was among people who were curvy like him, so he hadn't interacted with other people with a different body type until he left, but at that point he wasnt all that self conscious about himself, more because he had bigger problems to deal with. As a result (and to broaden the amount of impactful character development) I think I'm going to be writing him having a crisis with himself and his body later on in the story, which is more towards the foreign territory I need help navigating through, as well as other things I may overlook. Btw the guy is named Keoni and looks 20 or 21. If u want more info I can send u his profile separately because its still a work in progress. You've already been a big help thnx
I am liking Keoni so far! Part of that may be because I have a bit of a tender spot for selkies; even so. (By the way: long-time advocate for chubscular selkies says thank you.)
No prob but truly thank you. Also I'm having a bit of a hard time starting the dang thing. Any tips?
Wish I did, but I'm having difficulty with beginnings myself. 😓
I gotchu. The woes of a writer