Writers! Come and Talk About Writing!

Impossible to say as it depends on the work. It can be To Kill A Mockingbird or Eragon. Granted the latter is inexplicable between elves and dwarves and is likely just because Tolkien did it first, but it's an example of a poorly-handled example. The former is a classic for applying the concept in the plot.

If your story requires racism, then throw it in there, but make sure it's believable. Doesn't even have to be tasteful; look at the Tarantino movie Django Unchained. It took place in the antebellum south and had so many n-words you lose count before a half hour is up.

If not so central as that, you might be able to get away without so much as mentioning it unless it's deeply ingrained in the setting.

 

If it has to be there, then it has to be there. The story is crucial. If you can't tell the story you want without bringing it up, then do it.

For me, it is best to handling the topic by telling it as it is. Don't swept it under the rug and pretend it never happened, of course, but don't go overboard and demonizing the racist to the point they became comic villain that no one can take seriously either.

It is most chilling and impactful if you reminds the reader that anyone can be a racist, even that seemingly nice old man down the street might have rather strong and hurtful opinion about people of different races. It makes them realize that there is always that darkness in people that blinds them and make them believe in certain things, whether it is racism, homophobia, transphobia, religious fanaticism, and so on. That way readers may come out of reading your story reflecting their own thoughts and beliefs, and think about what it all means.

 

I love writing! It's my way of unwinding.

 

I love writing, I write best when I'm angry. I'm usually angry, at the world, it's rubbish. Don't alienate me with the good stuff, the good stuff can wait. It's very easy to write dystopias when we're living in one.

 

I have been writing for a long time. My current book that I am working on is about an immortal being who is essentially a vampire, but they don't drink blood. I write in the sci-fi, supernatural, kind of a Doctor Who meets Dark Shadows meets Star Trek meets Anne rice and Stephen King. Yes I am a fan of all those!

Also like to write the occasional nonfiction biographical.

On my wall I have pasted to write 500+ words per day, I try to do it. It seems to flush out any and all emotional issues that I am having, even when it doesn't turn into a book or story. Being a female IN?J I have a lot of pent up emotions sometimes.

 

Yes! I love writing. I'm working on a story right now, well sort of working on it but I'm one of those people who take forever to work on a personal project. The story is probably in it's 10th version? I mean I've been writing it and then rewriting it since I was 15. I'm not sure what version it is now to be honest.

Anyway, I cut out the former plot which I thought was too general. But now it has some basic ideas. There are faeries, elements, and a faerie world which I gave a name to.

Three characters, all girls, one bisexual scottish girl, one lesbian african american, and one pansexual with Native American heritage. I think it's the Oneida tribe I gave her but I'm not sure. I'm trying to find one that fits in with her element, which is air/wind.

The reason why I'm writing the story like this now is because I think there are too many lgbtq+ books that are either centered around a dead partner or coming out. Or some odd variation of the sort. So this story is not focused on them. Two of the girls happen to be girlfriends but the story is focused on the main plot, which I'm still kind of figuring out.

Lately though, since I got a new sketchbook for Christmas, I've been drawing my characters. I don't know if I"m allowed to put up pictures of them on my blog or something so I'm not sure I'll be able to show you guys. But I like having a sketchbook for drawing my characters coz I'm kind of using it to plan out my story in a way. It's really fun!.

 

Got a new short story idea that I intend on starting at some point in the next few days. Playing a game the other night and got the idea to do a short story from the point of a young goalkeeper who just got his butt kicked for the first time. I've been there, it'll be an easy character to relate to, so it shouldn't be too hard.

You can post them to your album on EC. I do that with all my art.

And I draw all my characters. I'm putting the finishing touches on one right now, as a matter of fact, in between posting on here.

 

I really like writing stories with LGBTQ characters. Almost everything I write has them in it. I write a lot of fanfiction, but am working on some original stories as well. There aren't enough LGBTQ characters in published fiction. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is a very good book though.

 

Not until fairly recently, about a year ago. Now I include LGBT characters in every story I write! xD I'm sick of never seeing LGBT characters in any books so I make up my own.

I challenged myself to write 13 prompts (that I found on another website) by the beginning of April. I've already written my first one! :3

Spoiler

Prompt 1 - Dialogue
(Use the phrases 'I'm not in a "save the day" kind of mood today', 'I love that color on you', 'Would I lie to you', 'If I had a dollar for every time you say that', and 'when I grow up I want to be like (star or character)')

[Also Cam is Sonja's brother. You'll see why I explained that in a second]


Lounging With A Goddess


It was light outside. Sonja’s room, light gray adorned with posters and ribbons and pictures on the walls, was open and fresh with sunlight filtering through the curtains. It wasn’t summer, though it would look like it, but the San Diego sun was always misleading. Sonja and Ruby, for as long as they could remember, have always experienced warm weather during autumn months.

Ruby laid on Sonja’s bed, lightly stroking an old teddy bear that the dark brunette had named Teddy (oh so cleverly) long ago, when childhood innocence was taken for granted. Sonja was trying on dresses she had in her closet to see which one she should wear to the wedding her family was invited to.

“I wish you could be my date,” the dark brunette said from behind the door. “My mom’s making me take Brennan with me because Cam opted out.”

“Why did Cam get out of it?” Ruby asked, tucking a lock of her light brown hair behind her ear. At Sonja’s request, Ruby looked away from where she was changing, becoming invested in the teddy bear she was holding. The heat in her cheeks fluctuated higher every second; she wanted to look but she didn’t want to violate her girlfriend’s privacy. They weren’t quite ready for that step yet.

“He has a play performance that Saturday,” Sonja answered simply. “He always says ‘when I grow up I want to be like Tom Hanks’. Not a bad dream for him to chase after, at least he doesn’t want to be like Kanye West or anything. You can look now, Ruby.”

Ruby looked up, her hazel eyes taking in the beauty that was Sonja. Her Sonja. The dark brunette stared at her expectantly, blushing a little in a dress that Ruby had never seen her wear before.

It was dark blue, strapless, the top simply dusted in sequins. The dress reached just past her knees. A dark sash wrapped around her waist, showing off Sonja’s fairly petite, yet soft, body. (Years of skateboarding and gymnastics though left her legs strong and toned, and her arms full of muscle)

“I love that color on you, Sonja.” Ruby said, flushing about as red as some of the lipstick Sonja left out on her vanity. Sonja giggled as she saw Ruby turning red, kissing the light brunette on the cheek.

“Are you just saying that because you get kisses when you say nice things about me?” Sonja laughed as she said so, blinking and smiling in a way that made Ruby heat up even more.

“Would I lie to you?” Ruby said, smiling like a fool. She slipped two fingers down the top of Sonja’s dress and pulled her forward, kissing her deeply on the lips. (The gesture made Sonja sweat, though she’d never tell Ruby how enthralled she was in that moment)

“If I had a dollar for every time you said that-” Sonja murmured to herself when she and Ruby broke apart from their kiss.

“-you’d be a millionaire.” Ruby finished, giggling. Her smile made Sonja feel bright and calm, free of worries.

Their hands found each other and fingers weaved together, in a way that made them feel even more connected to each other.

“How did I ever find you, Ruby? You’re like my superhero or something,” Sonja whispered to Ruby, pressing her forehead against the light brunette’s.

“Me? Superhero? Sonja, you’re my goddess.” Ruby kissed Sonja again, wrapping her arms around Sonja’s waist. The dark brunette smiled into the kiss, bringing Ruby closer to her.
They broke apart before things became too heated. Ruby grinned at Sonja and sat back on her girlfriend’s bed.

“You should change and come lie here with me,” she said, smile turning goofy as she laid back on the bedspread.

“Okay, I’ll be over there in a second.” Sonja smiled in her shy, eloquent, feminine, very Sonja-esque way and walked back into the closet. Inside she changed back into a tank top and shorts, tying her plaid overshirt around her waist. (It was her lucky plaid shirt. She always wore it when she was with Ruby or when she was taking a test)

Quickly, Sonja ran over to the bed and pounced on top of Ruby, causing the light brunette to make a sound close to a squeal. (But Ruby never squeals. Just makes high pitched noises similar to an aggravated cat)

“Got you!” Sonja laughed, her body splayed out over Ruby’s, taking over most of the bed. The dark brunette’s eyes tracked onto Ruby’s hazel ones and she was distracted in the moment. (Those eyes. You could see the clocks turning and ticking within them. Sonja always knew Ruby was an old soul)

Ruby, mischievous as she always was, decided to take advantage of this moment and roll Sonja over, effectively splaying herself playfully out over the dark brunette. Sonja yelled out in protest.

“Ruby! I thought you were my superhero, not a villain!” Sonja pouted playfully, still giggling a little.

“I’m not in a ‘save the day’ kind of mood today. Besides, the villains are way more interesting anyway.” Ruby said with a smirk. Sonja simply laughed in return and pushed Ruby over to the side, so that they were laying next to each other. They stayed silent for long moments, fingers winding together, keeping the girls anchored to each other.

“I love you,” Sonja blurted out, flushing a lovely shade of pink (at least Ruby thought so) as she turned to the light brunette. Ruby couldn't believe it for a second. Sonja said she loved her.Love.

She said I love you

Ruby turned to Sonja, happy tears in her eyes. She smiled tucking a piece of Sonja’s dark hair behind her ear. (Sonja heard the clocks again, saw them in Ruby’s eyes)
“I love you too,” Ruby pressed her forehead against Sonja’s.

And she sealed it with a kiss.

 

Don't think I ever answered this question...

Yes, I do have one character who is gay; I've only alluded to it once so far in a short story I'm still working on. It's part of his character, but it's not really a central part of his story (I'm not writing romance novels here). For the longest time I saw him as bisexual, until I realized one day that I just can't see him with a woman at all.

 

I don't know where to pick up on in this thread, but I mostly write angsty poetry, romance stuff, and short stories. I usually incorporate LGBTQ characters into my writing because I feel like I can relate to them (?). Being LGBTQ is usually not a central plot to the story, but I enjoy writing about it anyways.

 

I think it just depends on what works for the story. I never like to force LGBT issues into my book but because I am LGBT, a lot of my characters naturally end up being LGBT. In my latest work-in-progress, the protagonist is a gay trans man who falls for a cis male fashion designer. Naturally, a lot of my protagonist's friends are transgender too because he's somewhat involved in the transgender community, which was important for me to touch on, especially with the setting (Portland, Oregon) factored in.

The setting, of course, affects how you treat LGBT issues if you do happen to touch on them. If it's Oklahoma in the 1970s and you're writing about a gay couple, they'll face a very different set of circumstances versus, say, the gay couple in Victorian London or the couple in the early '00s in New York.

And I should also mention that you don't necessarily have to touch on LGBT issues if there's really no reason to or none of your characters seem like they're LGBT. I'd rather an author just write whatever story comes naturally to them instead of trying to force inclusion of LGBT characters that may or may not really fit in the story. I'd love to see representation but I'd also like that representation to be organic, you know?

One of the worst examples I've seen of an author forcing in an LGBT character for the sake of representation has to be the House of Night series by PC Cast. In the first book we're introduced to the character Darren, who's a gay man. Not only does the character virtually have no real character traits except "he's gay", but he's treated in a very stereotyped manner. And his sexuality, since the authors really want to emphasize it, is practically spelled out on every. single. page. this damn character appears in.

If you want an LGBT character, be a little more subtle. Let your character feel like a real person. Who are they beyond their gender and/or sexuality? The character of Renly Baratheon, the brother of King Robert, in George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice Saga is a gay man. And while his sexuality is made very clear to the reader, his portrayal goes beyond that. We see that he's a charming, charismatic, and strong minded young man who's very passionate about the people in the lands his family owns. He's got a lover, who he fiercely defends and loves deeply. And Martin (and HBO's "Game of Thrones") series can convey this without screaming "HE'S GAY" every other page (even though his love of men is alluded to by multiple characters). The same goes for the bisexual character Oberyn Martell, a fan favorite.

Hope that helps.

 

I used to be such a huge writer and I've stopped. Now I wanna start again. I'm gonna be posting it online partially just to motivate myself through feedback. And there is gonna be so many LGBT themes in the next thing I write. It really couldn't be any other way right now and I want it to be that way.

But generally in response to Lyanna's question, I haven't written much with LGBT characters, though I can think of a handful that have been in my stories. One I remeber was about this depressed boy who's parents didn't seem to understand him and his feelings and this other boy who was the only one who helped him through it. They sort of fell in super innocent love but it wasn't a proper romance it was just implied. And I had one main character who had a lesbian friend, and they sort of bonded about having family that hated them for different reasons and thats how their freindship came about, but mostly it wasn't a big thing in the story.

My next story is gonna be purposefully super lgbt though. A lot of other stuff I've read online has been lazy build up to stupid romances though and I'm not going for that. It's just a story of this girl's self-discovery and journey from being shy and under-confident to a bit of an activist, all through being convinced by this radical lesbian to join her punk band at a new uni. I'm not even decided whether she'll have a love interest yet, but it definitely won't be the lesbian i mentioned because she sort of represents to me my first lesbian friend who i have no desire to be with but opened up my lesbian-fearing mind so hard... I'm excited to finally write something again OMG.

 

I love how much this thread has taken off. Yay, writers of EC! And you guys are all still answering my question almost a year later... I like you.

thepandaboss, your points are obviously very valid -- there's no point in "shoehorning" an LGBT character in for no other reason than representation. That's not really what I was thinking about when I posted the question. In many things I write, a non-straight relationship develops organically, when it wasn't my intention. In one of my more recent novels, I realized one of my characters was a lesbian and in love with her best friend. It added a lot of inner conflict to the story and characters without my having to change anything -- and her feelings and orientation are never explicitly stated --, except that her decisions and hesitations suddenly took on a new meaning.

I'm focusing on one novel at the moment, that I want to finish as quickly as possible. It'll take me several more months, but I'm enjoying the ride. One of the main characters is gay, and it is a major part of the storyline, which... isn't usually what I write, actually, but hey, it's fun.

 

Hey there! I mostly write fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. I've been on a hiatus from writing because of school and such. However, I'd like to start getting back into it soon. I always promise myself that I'm going to write a novel and then end up stopping really soon.

Does anyone have any advice for staying committed to a novel?

 

That can be hard for me to do too. I have dozens of ideas every month but over the past couple years I've seriously been writing, I've only managed to write one manuscript. That being said, what I've found helps is two things- a deadline and going into your manuscript with the idea that you're going to "fix everything in editing".

What always makes me give up on writing a manuscript is feeling like I've written myself in a hole or feel like what I've written is a mess. I'm a perfectionist. But when you're a writer, you have to learn how to turn off that urge to edit as you go, to have a perfect, publishable manuscript from the get-go. It's not as easy to switch off that mindset as I may make it sound but it can be done. No novel that you're picking up at the bookstore is a first draft. More likely, a published book has been revised at least two times if not more. Your first drafts are an opportunity for you to play around with ideas and discover the kind of story you want to tell. You have to edit anyway. Don't worry about it being perfect.

I also mentioned a deadline. This has personally been one of my best tools to stick with a manuscript. It can be a personal deadline or you can try out an event like Nanowrimo. I actually recommend having a friend keep the deadline in mind and pester you about the book. As a freelancer, I'd get nowhere without a deadline. And you'll probably find it's easier to stick with something when you feel pressured for time. Reward yourself for meeting your first draft deadline. If you want, punish yourself for not meeting it. Donate to a charity you don't agree with. I don't personally do this. The guilt of missing the deadline is enough.

---------- Post added 9th Jan 2016 at 12:15 PM ----------

Also, never ever tell yourself you'll write a novel one day. Write now. That's the only way you'll actually write the book or get better. Even if you never publish your first manuscript, you're still gaining valuable experience and growing as a writer.

 

So, I have just wrote a few thousand words today. Not for pleasure, but for work (essay and report, the likes). At first it feels really tiresome and annoying, because I was writing what I didn't really want to write.
And yet, for some reason, after writing and editing and writing again and editing again, I realized I was really enjoying it. Not the work itself, though, they are dull and boring. But just the act of writing, putting words together, making them sound nice, make sure they make sense, and have my finger dancing on the keyboard, all of that was fun.

It was like exercising after a long time lazing around. A pain at first, but you slowly start to enjoy it after a while.

Anyway, has any of you got a case of this? Especially if you didn't write for a long time and for one reason or another got back to writing a lot.

 

Oh God, I am awful for being a perfectionist when I'm writing. It's really no wonder I take months in between writing sections of my X-Men fanfics.

I've started working on a novel recently, and although the characters and the plot are coming together quite nicely, I've only got under 4000 words written. I realised quite quickly that I see my protagonist as bi, and another two of my characters are a gay couple, but I'm resisting splitting those two up to have one of them end up with the protagonist. I'm worried it's be too cliché and also trying avoid my protagonist falling prey to being a Gary Stu. I dunno.

 

Lol this is me. I'll be out and about, see something, and then start imagining how I'd artistically describe it. Writers are strange people.

 

I can back this advice up. I tried for years to write a novel and it just never came. When I finally wrote my novel, it certainly wasn't on purpose. It just happened.

Don't try to force it, Athexant. Just let it happen.