Article from Megan Gedris about writing gay characters

[Hoskins]

Writing Gay Characters.

 

An interesting article for (I guess mainstream) writers to understand how and why to write LGBT characters. Also an interesting description about how to write a gay character vs writing a character that is gay, and how that changes the dynamics.

 

And the artwork is fabulous.

 

Via Metafilter.

[Graeme]

Also an interesting description about how to write a gay character vs writing a character that is gay, and how that changes the dynamics.

I read the article and the section you've mentioned essentially says it all. The entire article is telling writer over and over again that characters who happen to be gay are no different to characters who happen to be straight. They are all characters and their sexuality is really of no consequence unless it's important for the story. eg. If the story is about an unplanned pregnancy then it's likely you'll need to have two straight characters in the story (yeah, yeah, there are exceptions to that, but let's keep this simple). If the story is about two people making a road trip across the USA, then it's likely that it doesn't matter what the sexuality is of the two characters.

 

I'll admit that for each of my novels, I've written stories with gay characters, rather than characters who happen to be gay, because the stories all revolve around certain characters being gay. However, the stories often also include characters who happen to be gay. The test is simple -- think about how much of an impact there would to be the story if the character was straight (with a possible gender change to that or another character if they are in a relationship). If the changes are minor, you have a character who happens to be gay.

 

My recent anthology story For His Own Good is an example where I have characters who happen to be gay. I could easily change the gender of one of the characters, make a few adjustments, and have the same story with purely straight characters, with no real change in impact. Off the top of my head, I think this would be true for a majority of my short stories, though there are definitely ones where characters have to be gay for the story to work.

[Kia Zi Shiru]

Interesting read did have one thing that made me laugh real hard:

 

What about butch/femme dynamics? Someone is always "the man" and the other is "the woman", right?

 

Wrong. Very wrong. While many gay couples do enjoy a butch/femme setup in their relationship, and follow a lot of the same gender guidelines that straight couples do, many other couples are femme/femme, butch/butch, or I-hate-gender-roles/I-hate-gender-roles. Have a lesbian couple with two femmes? They both buy each other flowers. Have a lesbian couple with two butches? They hate flowers and buy each other a nice shirt.

[corvus]

This is not a bad article at all, although it boils down to "gay people are, like, normal people."

 

Graeme pointing out the distinction between gay characters and character who are gay is quite important for many writers especially here, but what struck me most in this article was:

 

1: Challenge yourself. It's very easy to write about people who are a lot like you. But "easy" and "good" are not always one and the same when it comes to writing. Get yourself out of your comfort zone, stretch those writing muscles in new ways.

 

For me, this means, ironically, that I should adopt the POV of a straight person. Alas.

[Graeme]

For me, this means, ironically, that I should adopt the POV of a straight person. Alas.

Not quite. It really means that you should include straight people in your stories. You've written stories with straight characters, so I don't think it'll be too difficult for you to do

[JamesSavik]

My primary concern for stories with gay characters is that they don't propagate stereotypes about gay people.

 

Too many would be about club kids who do drugs, never eat, act like freaks and screw themselves into a stupor.

 

While there's a time and place for all of that I like to see the "gay character" going to work/school/Walmart with the same worries as everyone else and being people first.

[Tiger]

That was a good article. As for stereotypes, I don't think it's bad to have some characters who them, because some people in real life do. Luckily, the author of the article pointed that out.

[JamesSavik]

That was a good article. As for stereotypes, I don't think it's bad to have some characters who them, because some people in real life do. Luckily, the author of the article pointed that out.

 

The danger with people that don't know us is they write us all as stereotypes.

[Hoskins]

The danger with people that don't know us is they write us all as stereotypes.

 

I totally agree with you. I read a lot, and most of what I read is gay-oriented in one way or another (except for how to manage group policies in Windows but I digress). People outside the "community" - if you can call it that - don't really know us and can't understand the experiences we've had. So they "write what they know" and that usually means stereotypes.

 

I read that metafilter thread, and somebody pointed out - and this is totally true of some of my friends - that if I were to write about some of the people I know, I'd have to tone them down to make them fit into the typical stereotypes. I've known some seriously butch lesbians and some really over the top catty queens in drag bars.

 

I've been practicing writing and doing some character studies, and I can't picture how I would write some of my friends as characters in a believable way.

[Kia Zi Shiru]

that is why one of my characters is so damn gay in any way possible, it pulls up the gayness of the others I have been thinking about it ever since I heard the first complaints about stereotypes, and to be honest I barely have read any of those.... So maybe I just pick the right ones or I don't see them....

 

But also, the same thing applies for me if I would write a Goth character or a Black Metal one. I have seen so many people that are living stereotypes that it would turn out laughable... So I would tone-down a lot of the things they'd say and do...

 

Though if people write stereotype jocks no-one complains

[Mark Arbour]

I read the article and the section you've mentioned essentially says it all. The entire article is telling writer over and over again that characters who happen to be gay are no different to characters who happen to be straight. They are all characters and their sexuality is really of no consequence unless it's important for the story. eg. If the story is about an unplanned pregnancy then it's likely you'll need to have two straight characters in the story (yeah, yeah, there are exceptions to that, but let's keep this simple). If the story is about two people making a road trip across the USA, then it's likely that it doesn't matter what the sexuality is of the two characters.

 

 

 

Very well said Graeme.

 

 

Interesting read did have one thing that made me laugh real hard:

 

What about butch/femme dynamics? Someone is always "the man" and the other is "the woman", right?

 

Wrong. Very wrong. While many gay couples do enjoy a butch/femme setup in their relationship, and follow a lot of the same gender guidelines that straight couples do, many other couples are femme/femme, butch/butch, or I-hate-gender-roles/I-hate-gender-roles. Have a lesbian couple with two femmes? They both buy each other flowers. Have a lesbian couple with two butches? They hate flowers and buy each other a nice shirt.

 

Shouldn't that have been a nice FLANNEL shirt?

[Jack Scribe]

...I've written stories with gay characters, rather than characters who happen to be gay, because the stories all revolve around certain characters being gay. However, the stories often also include characters who happen to be gay. The test is simple -- think about how much of an impact there would to be the story if the character was straight (with a possible gender change to that or another character if they are in a relationship). If the changes are minor, you have a character who happens to be gay.

 

I respectfully suggest we're splitting hairs. My stories have plots and story lines where the majority of the characters are gay...however they are in situations and relationships where sexual orientation is not at the core. Well, except in moments of physical desire. But even then, the act of making love or a spontaneous conquest could be interchangable except for...well, you know the dif.

 

I agree with James: I purposely don't get involved with gay stereotypes (Yoo-hoo...Mary, the druggy club scene, hardcore S&M, bitchy queens) because, (1) I'm not that familiar with these groups, (2) I don't want to highlight the worts of a small part of our GLBT community.

[Nephylim]

I don't THINK I write stereotypes. I am sure that someone will tell me if I am wrong. I generally write about people who love each other and I have written straight as well as gay relationships. I have never had a male gay relationship for obvious reasons (being female) and so i suppose I am writing about people who are different from me... but I don't think I am. There are anatomy differences of course and there are differences in behaviour and thought processes but the fact remains they are people with the same emotions, goals, needs and desires. I read an article somewhere that said women don't write good sex... period. Gay, straight, whatever. I think that is a load of cobblers and I have set out to disprove it because before I read that I had never really written a sex scene and after it just about every story I write has one.

 

Articles are useful but they are only ever representative of the views of the writer. I say... write what you want to write, what you need to write and if people like it they will read it.

[Mark Arbour]

I don't THINK I write stereotypes. I am sure that someone will tell me if I am wrong. I generally write about people who love each other and I have written straight as well as gay relationships. I have never had a male gay relationship for obvious reasons (being female) and so i suppose I am writing about people who are different from me... but I don't think I am. There are anatomy differences of course and there are differences in behaviour and thought processes but the fact remains they are people with the same emotions, goals, needs and desires. I read an article somewhere that said women don't write good sex... period. Gay, straight, whatever. I think that is a load of cobblers and I have set out to disprove it because before I read that I had never really written a sex scene and after it just about every story I write has one.

 

Articles are useful but they are only ever representative of the views of the writer. I say... write what you want to write, what you need to write and if people like it they will read it.

 

 

Your characters are too twisted to be stereotypes.

 

 

[John Doe]

I agree with the author for the most part. Summed down it's about defining and writing the character to the character. Meaning the characters we write and/or read have a persona, a personality, a belief they follow. The character that we read in stories are essentially people. They have a life they go about (in the story). So long as the character is consistant and stays consistant then I believe you have a believable character. About the cliches and overdone, yes they are what they are but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't write in a character who is like that. The fact is that they do exist. The point is though... are they relevant to the story the way that they are and is that "stereotypical" personality important for the story.

Edited January 5, 2010 by John Doe

[Mark Arbour]

I don't know if you are aware of it, but Megan Gedris recently became a GA member.

 

Pretty cool, and she even seems like a really nice lady. See, even they smiley thinks so.

 

Although looks can be deceiving **cough** sharon** cough*****

[Hoskins]

That's awesome.

 

Hi Megan!