This was originally a reply to another post, but I decided to put it here, too. I want to talk to the people who make the horrible mistake of writing people to “act like” what they’re supposed to be. The mistake of, basically, writing people as cartoon caricatures, stereotypes of whatever they’re supposed to be. Writing with the mindset of “Okay, how would a HISPANIC PERSON react to this?”, as if “Hispanic person” and “normal human being” are not the same thing. As if gender/racial stereotypes are reality. As if all minorities are different from the “norm” and need to react in exaggerated ways to fit what they are, and as if all minorities are a monolith, acting in the exact same exaggerated way, like aliens stepping off the mothership all wearing the same sparkly gray jumpsuit.
So, take this post as an guide for writing, frankly, ANY character at all. Even straight white characters. For this one, I’m going to use an LGBT character as an example.
Want a perfect example of how to write a good, believable LGBT character? Tracer in Overwatch. She got a fully
established backstory, lore, everything. All her relationships between
other characters were set up, including unique in-game voice interactions. The writers fully and completely created the character from all angles.
THEN they made her lesbian/bi.
Know what it changed about her? NOTHING.
Know what it changed about the story? NOTHING.
Know how many unique, character specific in-game interactions it added or changed? NONE.
Know how often it’s brought up? Apart from the initial reveal, NEVER.
Know how many plots it has influenced? NONE.
We
don’t even know if she’s lesbian or bi, because she never talks about
it. Ever. It’s not her defining character trait. She has an entire
personality, her life does not revolve around being a homosexual
stereotype. The reveal did introduce a girlfriend character Emily, but
since she’s not a playable character in the game, we haven’t seen much of her yet.
And when she IS there in the comics and whatnot? The dialogue isn’t “lol
we’re so gaaaaaayyyy hey guys this is my GIRLFRIEND because we’re
DATING because gaaaaaayyyy. NOSE KISSES FOR GAYNESS!” It’s “pass the
bread, please.” It has absolutely, 100% NO effect on the story any more
than it would if Emily were a man. She doesn’t “act LGBT”. She acts like a human being. Not that “LGBT” and “human being” are different things.
That’s how you write an LGBT
character who doesn’t make people cringe while reading your work. By making her a PERSON first, and her sexuality SECOND. And I
can just hear someone screaming at the screen right now “THAT SOUNDS
AWFULLY DON’T-ASK-DON’T-TELL TO ME”. No. That sounds like a realistic
fucking person. Because if YOU treat your sexuality as your most
important, interesting, and defining character trait, if everything in
your life revolves around it, well, you’re a pretty boring ass person.
And again, I just used an LGBT character as one example. This goes for writing ANY “minority”, or frankly, writing anyone at all. Don’t write with the mindset of “Okay, this person is OF THIS GROUP, so how would he react?”. There is no answer to that, and if you try to answer it, and if you keep explicitly telling the reader over and over that the character is of THAT GROUP, all you’ll get is a terrible stereotype of a character who nobody will like. When writing a character, pick his or her personality, and that’s it. That’s how you write compelling, believable characters, and not caricatures.
^^^^^^ Yes. This. Just this ^^^^^^
And inb4 someone says they did confirm her as a lesbian and added one voice line to the game where she mentions Emily… not everyone follows Michael Chu’s Twitter or knows every in game voice line. OP’s point still stands. It wouldnt matter if Tracer was lesbian, bi or pan. It isn’t treated as anything major in the plot. The characters who know (Winston only one we’ve seen so far) don’t treat their relationship as anything out of the ordinary, and recall Jeff Kaplan talking about it? He said they figured Christmas was the most normal setting to show their relationship because “we wanted to show normal things as normal”
It made it feel genuine. Not a token character, especially as she’s on the damn box and is the game’s mascot. It also wasn’t obnoxious or pandering, despite so many on Tumblr trying to make it that way.
Now let’s just sit back and look forward to the next Christmas comic eh?
This could also apply to someone with certain types of mental illness/disabilities such as Autism Spectrum or other social disorders. Some people are able to ‘pass’ and choose not to make it a point of casual conversation, but once you get to know the person they open up about it. Granted it’s a much different example than the one presented, but I figured I’d add my two cents 🙂
~My Tumblr Back-Up And Stuffs~ 