I know I’m pretty much asking the impossible not to have this thread degrade into a pro vs. con concerning GLBT issues. I can already see the mods thinking, "Great! Here we go. This fellah's been here all of ten minutes and already stiring the pot." I’m just wondering if there are other members of the GLBT community here at the forum that also happen to write spec fic, and include GLBT characters in their writing as protagonists. I would love to share thoughts.

Pretty narrow search, huh?


To the mods; my appy-poly-logies in advance.

What is GLBT? :confused:?

What's GLBT?

lol - Same time, Banzai, that was funny.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender

It stands for gay/lesbian/bisexual/transsexual.

I, for one, am gay...but I haven't the slightest idea what 'spec fic' is. Specific fic? Where every detail is really, really drawn out? Or maybe spectacles fic, all about the exciting, hidden lives of eyeglasses...or even speculative fic, where we all sit around and make dumb ideas about what 'spec fic' means.
The possibilities are endless!
=D

OH! - I see. I haven't really, not as a protagonist, though I wouldn't really care if I did or not. Doesn't bother me. My mom is a lesbian and my aunt is bi.

Yes, I do. My last fantasy novel utilized an ancient mediterranean civilizations' social conventions, rather than the more common medieval fantasy milieu, and included a greco-roman view of sexuality, and one of the principal characters is bisexual.

It stands for gay/lesbian/bisexual/transsexual.

I, for one, am gay...but I haven't the slightest idea what 'spec fic' is. Specific fic? Where every detail is really, really drawn out? Or maybe spectacles fic, all about the exciting, hidden lives of eyeglasses...or even speculative fic, where we all sit around and make dumb ideas about what 'spec fic' means.
The possibilities are endless!
=D

It means speculative fiction. A catch-all for science fiction, wierd fiction, fantasy and the like.

Oh! Oh, yeah, my bread and butter is sci-fi/fantasy with a heavy dose of humor. Or the other way around, depending on your point of view. But I don't usually have gay characters, if that's what you were wondering.

Should this be in The Lounge?

Yes, I do. My last fantasy novel utilized an ancient mediterranean civilizations' social conventions, rather than the more common medieval fantasy milieu, and included a greco-roman view of sexuality, and one of the principal characters is bisexual.


AWEsome! I am currently working on a piece which also does not make use of the standard European fantasy models and instead uses the mythology of the ancieant Caribbean (Taino culture to be specific) as its fantasy motif. ;)

I'm thinking it belongs in general writing, actually.

I'm thinking it belongs in general writing, actually.


Doesn't bother me in the slightest if the mods choose to move this thread. I'm still feeling my way around and each forum on the web seems to have its own conventions on where cirtain topics go.

Great to meet everyone, and glad to know I'm not solo, and.... wow! I'm amazed this thread has remained civil. But that's a good thing, not meant as a challenge.

Cool?

Cool.

Moved.

And I think we're a fairly respectful lot here. This should stay civil, but I'll keep an eye on it, just in case.

Moved.

And I think we're a fairly respectful lot here. This should stay civil, but I'll keep an eye on it, just in case.

Thanks Banzai.

I had a friend in the service who went by the nickname Banzai. He got it after diving out of a window, head first into a snowdrift. Quite drunk, of course. :p

AWEsome! I am currently working on a piece which also does not make use of the standard European fantasy models and instead uses the mythology of the ancieant Caribbean (Taino culture to be specific) as its fantasy motif. ;)

sounds fascinating!

sounds fascinating!

Let's pray that some day a publisher agrees with you! :D

Well it's something different, certainly. Is there much of a market for GLBT fiction? I can't say I've really encountered it.

Well it's something different, certainly. Is there much of a market for GLBT fiction? I can't say I've really encountered it.


Well, therein lays my calling in life. GLBT fiction tends (please note that I have used the words tends) to fall into one of four categories: porn, almost porn, life in a gay neighborhood, and the coming out story.

I love Science Fiction!

If it were food, I would never eat anything else. I still have the very first Sci-Fi book I ever read as a child in the first grade. I am now 38. Many of my GLBT friends also have a love for Sci-Fi and Fantasy. I’m sure that the idea of alternate realities where things can be different has a great deal to do with this phenomenon. But gay or lesbian protagonists in spec fic are few and far between. They do exist, but are so very rare.

So, my task is to write these characters so that my friends, the greater GLBT community, and I myself can find ourselves in the genre we love so much.


*carefully steps off of his rainbow coloured soapbox and smooths back his hair*

Lol. Sounds fascinating Wreybies. I hope you'll be posting up some of your work so we can take a look.

I personally don't care for it when it descends to the level of "trashy novel", and I'm more than willing to bet you get what I'm saying. Ooh, yeah, let's read some more homoerotic fiction... not. I don't like to read about straight people getting it on. Why would I want to read about guys doing it? :p

GLBT characters? Fine. Not so big on the whole... "T" bit. That's not something I can really accept because I disagree with it, but... yeah. The problem with a GLBT main character would be them actually being accepted. It's a very polar topic--it could do well or abysmally, and if it doesn't add to the plot, I don't see a point. It's all well and good if Tammy likes Theresa, but if Theresa doesn't so much as show her face, let alone affect the plot, it's more like Theresa is only there for controversy.

If the character's GLBT nature is all they are about, I'd say the character is poorly developed. The same would be true of a swaggering "man's man" or a sex kitten.

The humanity needs to be the most prominent attribute to make a memorable character.

In my opinion, of course. :)

I suppose I can be considered a GBLT author, as of right now I'm working on two different stories about two different girls, who both happen to be lesbians.

Now the stories themselves don't really have to do much with "ZOMG LESBIANS!"

Instead I'm trying to focus on something else...I can't really put my finger on it. The stories don't exactly deal with homophobia, or coming out of the closet. Instead I'm trying to write just as I would write it from a straight person's point of view, only they happen to like other girls instead of boys.

To explain this the best I can, the two characters just happen to be lesbians. Their sexuality has little to do with the actual story, though it does affect the story.

Yeah um...I'm really bad at explaining this. o___o...

Not really. If you could sum it all up in a couple sentences, the characters would probably be very shallow.

A good example of a well developed GLBT character is Lucy Farinelli in Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels.

and if it doesn't add to the plot, I don't see a point. It's all well and good if Tammy likes Theresa, but if Theresa doesn't so much as show her face, let alone affect the plot, it's more like Theresa is only there for controversy.

I won't argue your point of view, because you have every right to it. But even if I somehow managed to publish 100 different titles, all with gay or lesbian protagonists, this would never come close to showing a true representation of the GLBT community given the hundreds of thousands of books that get published with straight protagonists. I saw an interview once with Octavia Butler, an african american writer of science fiction, who was asked by the interviewer why she wrote women of color as her protagonists. Her excellent answer was, "Because I exist. I am here. Can you not see me?"

If the character's GLBT nature is all they are about, I'd say the character is poorly developed. The same would be true of a swaggering "man's man" or a sex kitten.

The humanity needs to be the most prominent attribute to make a memorable character.

In my opinion, of course. :)


I could not agree with you more.

I suppose I can be considered a GBLT author, as of right now I'm working on two different stories about two different girls, who both happen to be lesbians.

Now the stories themselves don't really have to do much with "ZOMG LESBIANS!"

Instead I'm trying to focus on something else...I can't really put my finger on it. The stories don't exactly deal with homophobia, or coming out of the closet. Instead I'm trying to write just as I would write it from a straight person's point of view, only they happen to like other girls instead of boys.

To explain this the best I can, the two characters just happen to be lesbians. Their sexuality has little to do with the actual story, though it does affect the story.

Yeah um...I'm really bad at explaining this. o___o...


Actually, I thought you explained that quite well. :cool:

Interesting to see this thread posted. A very similar question was just posted on writingforums.com. You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you? '-)

That being said, my completed YA novel is all about the typical "coming out" story. It is roughly and loosely based upon my own experiences in a conservative high school.

I am also writing a trilogy (sci-fi, fantasy-ish) in which the protagonist is bisexual. There will be some social commentary regarding this but the story is not in fact about sexual preference at all.

I also write lots of straight characters. It just depends on the situation I guess but I never start out thinking "I am going to have her be gay," or anything like that. If the character is, then it is, and he or she usually reveals that as I write them. (Wow I went from "it" to "he or she" to "them.")

Cheers,
Linz

To explain this the best I can, the two characters just happen to be lesbians. Their sexuality has little to do with the actual story, though it does affect the story.
Ditto on that. Made perfect sense to me :D

Interesting to see this thread posted. A very similar question was just posted on writingforums.com. You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you? '-)


What? Me? I have no idea what you're talking about! :D:p;)


*steps nonchalantly in front of the rainbow sticker on his intergalactic cruiser*

Heh. Busted. :D

I'm gay, but I have to admit, I'm not entirely positive what you mean by "spec fic." Specific fiction? LGBTQ-specific? Forgive me if this has been covered by the other responses to this thread. I haven't read through them all yet.

generally speaking, speculative fiction includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, and similar "unreal" genres.

That being said, my completed YA novel is all about the typical "coming out" story. It is roughly and loosely based upon my own experiences in a conservative high school.

Coming of age and reconciling with one's own identity are timeless conflicts to build a plot around. But if you're busy grinding an axe, the reader will know it and shy away.

Greatness comes about when you perfect the balance between letting the reader feel the character's angst and beating him over the head with it.

based on that definition of spec fic, i wouldn't classify myself as a writer of such. but it's cool that there's a thread for lgbt writers.

I'm bi, and I have a short story with gay romance in the review room. It's called "The Inspiration" if you want to check it out.

Nah it doesn't bother me, I generally don't read those kinds of things because from what I've seen, either no one is gay or everyone is gay. But I have nothing against any one who writes stories with a gay/bi/or transvestite character in it, there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm gay and at the moment, I'm writing a story which the protaganist is a gay teen. The story isn't about his sexuality, more on relationships, maturing, and being independent. His sexuality will play a part in it of course, it's just that the story won't revolve around others accepting him or coming out or any other typical GLBTQ (Q for Questioning) fiction. Not that writing coming out or acceptance stories are bad, it's just when there's 20 novels with the main focus the protaganist's sexuality and 2 on the life of a protaganist who happens to be GLBTQ is when something's missing.