Writing non-straight characters in fiction: it’s as easy as Rick Astley told you it would be

miss-lyrical-leftie:

NEVER

-GIVE THEM UP
…as a sacrifice for your straight characters. You can have multiple characters of focus, you know. Example: Naomi from Skins. Sure, the straight characters of the show get screentime, plenty of it, but there’s really no main character. Everyone’s lives are looked at, developed, and resolved. Do that.

-LET THEM DOWN
Don’t you dare heap all the troubles in the world on them. Sure, they’re a minority that faces oppression a fair few times, but they do have lives outside of who they like to fuck(or not fuck, as the case may be if you’re writing asexual characters)!!! Example: Lexa from The 100. Sure, she’s hot for a girl. But her main conflict comes from the fact that she’s A TEENAGE WARLORD TRYING TO BARTER PIECE WITH AN ALIEN SPECIES. Do that.

-RUN AROUND AND DESERT THEM
Do NOT forsake your characters! Don’t let their plot thread drop out of nowhere when you need it to! Example: Sammy from Reality Bites. He is given small fractions of screentime in the first half or so of the film, then basically flies away from the movie after he comes out to his parents. Don’t do that.

-MAKE THEM CRY
They don’t need to angst all the damn time. They can be happy, you know. They don’t ned to develop depression from their sexuality, or lose interest in everything they love. Loras from Game of Thrones. Almost entirely due to his sexuality, this guy is arrested and interrogated at every point. He loses the people he cares about just because he’s gay. Don’t do that.

-LET THEM FUCKING DIE
DO NOT BURY YOUR GODDAMN GAYS PLEASE. This trope is my second least favourite of literally all of them, only narrowly better than “rape=drama”. Why do they need to die? Why do the horrible situations affect them and no other character? Examples: Tara from Buffy, Naomi from Skins, Paulie from Lost and Delirious CHRIST STOP THIS TROPE 1-8-0-0-S-T-A-H-P

-TELL A LIE AND HURT THEM
Okay, I know I got pissy about the last one, but this is probably the mist important one because here, “them” in the title means “the group you’re portraying onscreen”. Do not tell stereotypes and lies about the character. There are so many reasons not to do it and so few ways you can benefit. Example: Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. It is clearly shown that Sheldon must “learn to fall in love’ with his girlfriend to be happy, even though he is clearly asexual and aromantic at the start of the series. You CANNOT “work around” a character’s sexuality to give them the pairing you want. Just don’t do it. It’s so so damaging to the SAGA community. Please don’t do that.

Please.