Author Stt Swenson giv his sight on how to wre Gay men for our How To Wre LGBTQIA+ Characters article seri.
Contents:
HOW TO WRE LGBTQIA+ CHARACTERS: GAY MEN
* writing gay characters in fantasy *
The primary arc, where some meangful way, the primary plot is about the protagonist's homosexualy, or profoundly nnected to . A "gradual reveal" arc, where the character's homosexualy is ially unknown, and effectively "secret"; we get hts and clu.
"signifint tails will prove to be important; otherwise you wouldn't put them the first place" - and om popular social mor, by which most people nsir a character beg homosexual as a "signifint tail, " while nsirg heterosexualy to be a sort of unremarkable, flt expectatn.
If you want to al wh the risk of "rmed homosexualy, " you pensate by fdg other ways to make her sexualy evint and signifint. Another big advantage here is that a subplot lets you figure out some aspects of homosexual life that you're terted spotlightg; beg a lbian affects a person's life far more than jt "what genr is my partner", and sounds like that one qutn isn't what you're terted wh this character.
BEYOND THE CLOSET: WRG GAY CHARACTERS
One approach is to say "What the heck, " and accept a balance that feels ls than perfect - errg on the si of "rmed homosexualy, " or g a simple "revelatn: lbian" arc. A month after my weddg, one of my bt iends told me he was gay.
That she falls love wh a woman is important—I’m not dismissg her sexualy—but she falls love wh Fna, a human storyteller, bee of Fna’s fire and passn—not jt bee she happens to be a one we meet real life is a rdboard cut-out or stereotype, so there’s no need for any of our LGBTQ+ characters to be, gay? But other stori, your characters may happen to be gay and ’s simply part of who they my fantasy novel, Callpe and Fna ially fight their attractn to each other, but not bee they’re both women.