DragonOfTheAerie
Vala
This thread is about a new story idea I have rolling around in my head. That title is about two of my largest insecurities about it. It's kind of a ramble about my thoughts on this subject and you can respond to any of it or all of it in whichever way you please. Moderators, I really hope this discussion is all right with y'all because it does bring up some controversial issues I've been struggling with how to handle in my writer life. I don't intend to cause conflict. But i really have no one to discuss this with and I hope to exchange and commiserate civilly.
After my Novel In Verse idea, i'm going to be doing something that's even dumber/riskier/harder/that i'm even more unqualified for: a graphic novel.
I mean...I'm not what you would call a talented artist. My drawings suck. i don't have the knack for it, i just don't. But the problem is, I have this idea that won't leave me alone and i can't see it working through any other medium. And am I going to just let an idea rot because I don't feel qualified to execute it?
Of course not.
So, here I am, practicing my drawings, filling up notebook after notebook and I AM getting better and this is a little encouraging but I'm not sure if I ever will be what you would call 'good enough'. I can now draw humans that are human-looking. But backgrounds? Inanimate objects of any kind? um. Getting to be a good artist will be a long painful road. I'm trying, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting nowhere. It's no good quitting. I have to get this story out somehow. Wrench it onto paper SOMEHOW. And if that means years of practicing drawing daily, so be it.
Drawing has become a great artistic outlet for me, too, which is something i seriously need, mentally. So there is that. i enjoy it.
I have another problem, which connects to a larger question, which connects to...a lot of things. This was the reason I wanted to make this thread, I had so many thoughts about it, but those thoughts are really disorganized and could go any direction, so that's why this is in Chit Chat.
So, one of my characters is gay. That's the way he is, I can't/won't change him and it's an important part of his story. On its own, that isn't really a big deal. I have a gay character. So?
Backstory time!
I'm homeschooled in a super conservative community. Most of my friends are part of, and a direct product of, that community. Now, I don't hate or blame them for their opinions on anything, but the fact remains that most of them would be extremely not cool with me writing a character who is gay. I've been told that it would be the equivalent of writing a character who is a rapist. Another friend was like, "Well, you have to make it clear that it's wrong" or something and I thought, how? Have them get 'cured'? Have them die of AIDS at the end? it made me a little angry. More than a little.
So, basically i'm writing a story i totally could lose friends over.
I mean, has anyone ever been in this situation? Writing a story that could seriously offend people you do love despite your differences in ideologies? I mean...i wouldn't LOSE anyone that mattered, i don't think...well. i...don't know how they would react. You see the kinds of responses I got when discussing it in purely hypothetical terms.
Half of me is like "Just don't share the story with them," But half of me is like "Don't write him that way." And half (I'm no good with maths, don't judge) is like "it's not my job to write things to avoid offending people," And half of me is like "This could start some interesting discussions," And half of me is like "Why do I want to write a gay character? Is there a reason?" (I have a lot of halves...Maybe they overlap. They do.)
You see... I'm just writing a real character as I see him without trying to force him to be this or that. But...many of my friends would definitely see this as "promoting" rather than "presenting." i want to say to them, no, im not 'promoting the gay lifestyle.' Whatever that means. I'm just saying, "Look. Some people are gay," Like my character. Nothing bad happens to him. I think he gets a boyfriend that is just as awesomely nerdy as he is. But I haven't figured out the whole story yet, so I don't know.
This sparked lots of thoughts.
I know what I want to write. I am not changing my strong, brilliant-minded, awesome-high-tech-prosthetic-arm-wearing, cancer-beating, abjectly-needle-fearing, very-high-functioning-autistic-but-still-can't-stand-socks, teenaged super hero who just so happens to be gay for anything in the world. i wondered, did I MAKE him gay or did it just happen that way? I don't know. It fit with who he was. I always blame my characters for who they are. Do you control who your characters are? I don't think it's wise to steer them away from who they are naturally. that's the ideology of the organic writer.
i've also had it said to me, 'you don't have to reveal his sexuality in the story," Do I? Characters grow. They discover new things about themselves. They fall in love. I'm thinking, good luck keeping him away from that, hee hee. it's a part of him and a part of his story. It's going in there.
Basically, I'm thinking about how do you share writing you know could wedge a big rift between you and your friends with your friends? Part of me thinks, as I said, "don't share it." But then I think, "I shouldn't have to insulate anyone, let alone people I love, from the things I create. These are my stories, my love letters to the universe, and if they can't handle it then they may as well get out of my life," Harsh, but it's a thought I have.
i know I'll get asked, "Why'd you make him gay?" and i'll be like, "Did I?"
Did I?
To my friends who have moral objections to me writing a gay character, I want to ask, am I making a statement about morality or am I just presenting reality? Humanity? A character, a PERSON, with feelings that real people have?
How much control do i have over my characters' identity? Any? Even if I do have control, should I use it?
I love my character, but I'm a bit worried about what the fallout will be. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? One of the people I'm worried about is one of my closest friends and I can't exactly (I'm struggling with the proper verb to use for creating a graphic novel, do you write it? Draw it) this thing and refuse to show it to her because I've already told her everything about it, omitting the fact of the character being gay...Does this fear I have mean this story is a bad idea, or that it's my best idea yet?
i don't know if anyone will relate to this. Or if i will or won't get chastised by the moderators for this. I hope not. *posts it*
After my Novel In Verse idea, i'm going to be doing something that's even dumber/riskier/harder/that i'm even more unqualified for: a graphic novel.
I mean...I'm not what you would call a talented artist. My drawings suck. i don't have the knack for it, i just don't. But the problem is, I have this idea that won't leave me alone and i can't see it working through any other medium. And am I going to just let an idea rot because I don't feel qualified to execute it?
Of course not.
So, here I am, practicing my drawings, filling up notebook after notebook and I AM getting better and this is a little encouraging but I'm not sure if I ever will be what you would call 'good enough'. I can now draw humans that are human-looking. But backgrounds? Inanimate objects of any kind? um. Getting to be a good artist will be a long painful road. I'm trying, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting nowhere. It's no good quitting. I have to get this story out somehow. Wrench it onto paper SOMEHOW. And if that means years of practicing drawing daily, so be it.
Drawing has become a great artistic outlet for me, too, which is something i seriously need, mentally. So there is that. i enjoy it.
I have another problem, which connects to a larger question, which connects to...a lot of things. This was the reason I wanted to make this thread, I had so many thoughts about it, but those thoughts are really disorganized and could go any direction, so that's why this is in Chit Chat.
So, one of my characters is gay. That's the way he is, I can't/won't change him and it's an important part of his story. On its own, that isn't really a big deal. I have a gay character. So?
Backstory time!
I'm homeschooled in a super conservative community. Most of my friends are part of, and a direct product of, that community. Now, I don't hate or blame them for their opinions on anything, but the fact remains that most of them would be extremely not cool with me writing a character who is gay. I've been told that it would be the equivalent of writing a character who is a rapist. Another friend was like, "Well, you have to make it clear that it's wrong" or something and I thought, how? Have them get 'cured'? Have them die of AIDS at the end? it made me a little angry. More than a little.
So, basically i'm writing a story i totally could lose friends over.
I mean, has anyone ever been in this situation? Writing a story that could seriously offend people you do love despite your differences in ideologies? I mean...i wouldn't LOSE anyone that mattered, i don't think...well. i...don't know how they would react. You see the kinds of responses I got when discussing it in purely hypothetical terms.
Half of me is like "Just don't share the story with them," But half of me is like "Don't write him that way." And half (I'm no good with maths, don't judge) is like "it's not my job to write things to avoid offending people," And half of me is like "This could start some interesting discussions," And half of me is like "Why do I want to write a gay character? Is there a reason?" (I have a lot of halves...Maybe they overlap. They do.)
You see... I'm just writing a real character as I see him without trying to force him to be this or that. But...many of my friends would definitely see this as "promoting" rather than "presenting." i want to say to them, no, im not 'promoting the gay lifestyle.' Whatever that means. I'm just saying, "Look. Some people are gay," Like my character. Nothing bad happens to him. I think he gets a boyfriend that is just as awesomely nerdy as he is. But I haven't figured out the whole story yet, so I don't know.
This sparked lots of thoughts.
I know what I want to write. I am not changing my strong, brilliant-minded, awesome-high-tech-prosthetic-arm-wearing, cancer-beating, abjectly-needle-fearing, very-high-functioning-autistic-but-still-can't-stand-socks, teenaged super hero who just so happens to be gay for anything in the world. i wondered, did I MAKE him gay or did it just happen that way? I don't know. It fit with who he was. I always blame my characters for who they are. Do you control who your characters are? I don't think it's wise to steer them away from who they are naturally. that's the ideology of the organic writer.
i've also had it said to me, 'you don't have to reveal his sexuality in the story," Do I? Characters grow. They discover new things about themselves. They fall in love. I'm thinking, good luck keeping him away from that, hee hee. it's a part of him and a part of his story. It's going in there.
Basically, I'm thinking about how do you share writing you know could wedge a big rift between you and your friends with your friends? Part of me thinks, as I said, "don't share it." But then I think, "I shouldn't have to insulate anyone, let alone people I love, from the things I create. These are my stories, my love letters to the universe, and if they can't handle it then they may as well get out of my life," Harsh, but it's a thought I have.
i know I'll get asked, "Why'd you make him gay?" and i'll be like, "Did I?"
Did I?
To my friends who have moral objections to me writing a gay character, I want to ask, am I making a statement about morality or am I just presenting reality? Humanity? A character, a PERSON, with feelings that real people have?
How much control do i have over my characters' identity? Any? Even if I do have control, should I use it?
I love my character, but I'm a bit worried about what the fallout will be. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? One of the people I'm worried about is one of my closest friends and I can't exactly (I'm struggling with the proper verb to use for creating a graphic novel, do you write it? Draw it) this thing and refuse to show it to her because I've already told her everything about it, omitting the fact of the character being gay...Does this fear I have mean this story is a bad idea, or that it's my best idea yet?
i don't know if anyone will relate to this. Or if i will or won't get chastised by the moderators for this. I hope not. *posts it*