I have a story that I’ve essentially planned out entirely. Basically, your best friend (M/F based on choice) is super musically talented and they get a chance to participate in a talent show and become a big star. The majority of the story will be them coming to terms with their feelings for each other and also growing up.
Now, if you choose your LI to be male, it follows a heterosexual relationship. If you choose your LI to be female, then MC is lesbian and your LI is bisexual. I don’t want to use their sexualities as a major plot device, but I also don’t want it to be ignored.
I’ve already written about 4 chapters completely for both storylines, but I was wondering if someone would want to go down the female LI route and let me know how things come across/if anything is insensitive or if I should just remove some things. If anyone is, please message me so I can send you the story link!
Any tips on writing LGBT+ storylines would be really helpful too!
Well, I’m not a lesbian (I am queer though) but I can say that I’m always a little iffy with the relationship dynamic and interaction being the same regardless of gender. It’s GREAT being able to pick the MC’s gender since that’s so rare, don’t get me wrong. But wlw relationships, mlm relationships, and straight relationships don’t have the same dynamic or types of interactions. And with queer couples, there’s always the subject to be gone over of each person’s queer experience. And that’s just monogamous, ‘normal’ relationships. So, yeah. Keep that in mind.
Also, don’t be afraid to have your characters make gay jokes! All my friends are queer and I hear SO MANY jokes. Speaking of that, queer people tend to end up having queer friends for the most part. We gravitate towards each other, I guess. Fruit magnets, we are. Perhaps they smell the oat milk. (See, gay jokes.) Look up what terms are still slurs, which ones have been reclaimed, and what certain slang means, as well as the common jokes in the community.
Try to avoid certain stereotypes. Now, not all stereotypes are bad. But some are extremely overplayed, like the campy feminine gay guy. But some of them are more than often true, inoffensive, and made by the queer community. (See: gays like iced coffee, gays walk fast, enbies like frogs, lesbians like girl in red) Just be careful.
If you’re not queer, I’d suggest doing extensive research on the queer experience.
I just realized that the LI’s gender is the one that gets picked, not the MC. Oops.
And, yeah, I’d love to read the female LI route. Please do send me the link!
