How to Write LGBTQIA+ Characters - (Beginner Tips)

After countless hours interviewing and researching opinions from members of the LGBTQIA+ community, I will discuss some strategies and what not to do's when writing LGBTQIA+ characters!

LINKS:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Helplines/Charities:

Intersectionality:

Article for the last point:

Join my discord (You can request a video here!):

Thanks to WispyVee for the toast bois!

[StudioBlueGames]

"These characters are more than their sexuality." It's a statement of the world at large when a teenager is able to succinctly say what so many adults fail to grasp. Toasty, once again you have knocked it out of the park and into the next county. We're so proud of you, buddy. <3 Have a great day and stay safe! :-D

[namenotnone]

The problem I'm having, even as a LGBT person, it that I'm always afraid that my kid friendly story will suddenly be seen as "too adult." Because, in my experience, as soon as you mention someone's sexuality or gender identity, everyone goes straight to how they have sex or what their genitals look like. Gay stories always talk about their first sexual experience, and while that is part of realizing your sexuality, it's not the whole point. I realized I liked women just from having a crush on a girl at school, and the idea of doing anything sexual just wasn't on my mind. Yet if my life was a Netflix show, there would of been a scene of me sneaking out to make out with her, followed by a fade to black. I don't know how to keep my story without having it completely derailed by an audience who missed the point.

[infiniduck]

How I do it: Write the characters personality and then the sexuality. Don't base the personality off the sexuality.

[rodannnkekw]

I'm just struggling on how to include my character's sexuality in my romance story. I already have his internal conflict (which is not related to his sexuality) and he isn't searching for a partner. This video helped me a ton, thanks.

[x_xangelkawaiix_x]

"Just write them like normal people. That's it."


"Alright roll the outro."




Best thing ive heard all day

[jimfishnteeth]

As a bisexual woman who's trying to write two wlw romances and one mlm romance, this video has been really helpful. Basically just what I was gonna do which was normalize them. I love romances, GOOD romances. I've noticed a trend in the media that I consume of seeing gay romances either way over fetishized or just so minor, so incredibly tiny, that I barely even realize they're romances. And I was really worried that all this bad writing output would effect how I want to write my story, like if I was conforming to a stereotype. I kinda came to the realization while watching this video that, "ok, so just write it how I'd write a queer romance with myself going, except it's my characters" Thank you for the helpful video!

[cainreval]

I can agree. As a pansexual male myself, I still find it intimidating to write a character that is also LGBTQA. Hopefully I'll get over that someday

[kanax]

I did it and here’s my story: Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jake. He had been dating his girlfriend, Sarah, for almost two years and thought that he was happy. He had never really thought about his sexuality before, assuming that he was straight because he had always been attracted to girls.

One night, Jake went out to a party with his friends. He had a little too much to drink and ended up making out with one of his male friends. He was shocked and confused by his own actions, but couldn't deny that he had enjoyed it.

The next day, Jake tried to ignore what had happened. He didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't stop. He knew that he needed to talk to someone about what he was feeling, so he decided to tell Sarah.

When he told her, she was devastated. She couldn't believe that he had cheated on her, even if it was with a guy. She broke up with him on the spot, leaving Jake feeling even more lost and alone.

He didn't know what to do next, but he knew that he couldn't keep his feelings hidden any longer. He decided to tell his parents that he was gay. To his surprise, they were incredibly supportive. They told him that they loved him no matter what and that they would always be there for him.

A few days later, Jake met a guy named Alex. They hit it off immediately and started dating. Jake was happier than he had ever been before, but there was one problem. Alex had been kicked out of his own home by his homophobic parents and had nowhere to go.

Jake's parents didn't hesitate to offer Alex a place to stay. They welcomed him into their home and treated him like one of their own. Alex was grateful and touched by their kindness, but he couldn't help feeling a little sad. He had lost his own family, but seeing how happy Jake was with him made him realize that he didn't need them anymore.

As time went on, Jake and Alex's relationship grew stronger. They decided that they wanted to start a family of their own, so they looked into adoption. They were overjoyed when they were able to adopt two girls and two boys, and they knew that they had found their forever family.

Jake and Alex had always dreamed of living in a big mansion and driving a fancy car, so when they won the lottery, they knew exactly what they wanted to do. They bought their dream home and a luxurious car, and they lived happily ever after. They may have had some tough times along the way, but they knew that they had each other and nothing else mattered.

[jarydgrobler]

This was very well written and respectful, and pointed to many things that I (even as a gay male) didn't initially realise was problematic.
Thank you for this video.

[dutchpowercreations]

Stereo typing happens everywhere, nothing wrong with it in my eyes just to make a fast point in your game like a NPC, but for more major characters I agree fully.

[AGTPvr]

Being lgbtq helps me alot with this part in writing

[TheRealTrn]

One thing I would like to add to the discussion that wasn’t mentioned that I think is super important, if you’re going to have an lgbt relationship, make sure to write that shit just as well as a straight one. So often like you said I see a gay relationship form because the story is like “hey, we’re both gay so that means we have to date each other” but the characters have no chemistry. Meanwhile in that same story that character has so much chemistry with someone else that doesn’t get into a relationship or gets into another bad one. So I think writers need to put characters together that have chemistry and not worry about things like sexuality personally.

[georgeaugustine]

I’m really worried about a current project I’m working on now.

I have a straight protagonist, and his older brother dies at the beginning of a story fighting a monstrous deity that attacked their clan. His brother had a lover who is a male, and that male character becomes a mentor and one of the main characters throughout the story. His arc isn’t about being gay, but about how grief can make people scared to love again especially during war times. He moves on and moves past his guilt of moving on and gets a happy ending with a new male partner he falls in love with on their journey. But I’m really worried it still falls into this trope, and that in the beginning of the story it will be very ill received since the audience won’t know my intentions or what I have planned.

But sadly, the only fix is to just erase his relationship with the protagonists brother and make them just friends. And I hate that. 😩 It’d also have an impact on the relationship he has with the protagonist, and while he’d still be a family friend, I feel like it wouldn’t be the same and that a lot of people would still ship him with the deceased brother anyway (who is remembered and his loss influences the rest of the characters throughout the story).

The older brother cannot live as, well... the very invention of his character started with “what if the protagonist is inspired by a deceased older brother who sacrificed himself?”

The thought of changing his (the dead brothers) sexuality to avoid the tragic gays trope feels so icky but I don’t know what else to do. 😭

[Wesmadon]

This is a solid video on the subject, great work! One thing I wanted to offer that I'm looking at doing with a character is making the identity affect past decisions and just leaving it there. Specifically, this character comoes from a culture that really emphasizes marrying a mate and to avoid this a character joined the military early. This situation has historical precedent and so has a basis in reality. I'm still writing so I don't know if this will ever be brought up, but just starting there means there's representation from someone with some relatability.

[AnimatorZeeVIDEO]

I keep coming back to this video from time to time. The first five seconds alone were SO refreshing to hear, but I was so happy to hear all the other points included, particularly the notes about asexuality. Being ace myself, the "ace characters aren't human" and "ace characters are just broken/need to be fixed" narratives gets really old REALLY fast. I've been lucky enough that multiple friends of mine have asked me about my experiences and I've been able to clarify common misconceptions, but for those who can't find a sensitivity reader, this video is a fantastic starting point.

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to make this video!

[Tslates]

As a bi and gender queer person, I immensely appreciate everything you put into this right down to the inclusion of hotlines and charities. You really hammered down the important things and the biggest problems with a clear understanding. This is A++ above and beyond allyship and every writer/creator needs to watch this. Especially given some current controversy, this makes me really happy. Thank you.

[millkbagg]

riverdale and legend of korra needa learn from this shit lmaoo

[numberburger]

This was a great video, and very informative! While I've been writing Queer characters for years and haven't had much trouble, this is still helpful. I hope other writers do too.

[fantasiyagdcminc]

Thanks for the advice! I am working on 2 LGBTQ characters for my RPG Maker MV game. This tip is very useful!

[blindedjourneyman]

considering my setting is a magitech world, I do want to have a few written in and despite not needing the reminder did decide to give this a glance and its a great vid that hammers it well. very well done.