Let's be straight. Who can write LGBT?

Well, match yourself up to a letter.

There you go, you may now write about that letter and all it represents. But ONLY that letter because, naturally, you couldn't possibly understand anything beyond your own sexuality!

If that sounds ridiculous, you'll likely appreciate the rest of the post.

If it sounds perfect to you? Well, then write in your box. You have every right to do so.

But you don't get to drag anyone else into the box with you.



Romance is beautiful. Writers of romance should understand the very basics. There must be love. There must be a Happily Ever After or at least a Happily For Now. There must be a story.

That's it. Those are the only true requirements for writing romance.

You can argue that if you're writing about certain professions, or lifestyles, you should do enough research and speak to enough people involved to show respect to your subject matter. This gives a better story, and I know I lose interest in a book when the author is clearly using a trend because it's popular, but didn't bother trying to understand it.

But that's a completely different argument. You can be a straight, older woman, who's never had much of a sex life and write a damn sexy BDSM romance between two gay men.

Or you could be a 'Dom' that's been in the leather scene his entire life and write a really crappy story.

I know some people are grumbling at me now. Here's some sweet lady kisses to calm you down. <eg>

Better?

Anyway, the point is, there's so much more to writing a story than first hand experience. Some of the best NONFICTION books out there are written by people who interviewed those who were around an event, who met a legend, but the author is coming at the story from fresh angle. Starting with a blank page.

Does this mean you can't write a story about things that happened to you? Of course not! I am very good at writing shower and car sex for a reason. ;)

But to dismiss a good portion of the writing community because they couldn't possibly understand what it's like to be a gay man, or trangender, or bisexual...

It's ridiculous. We need all the voices. We need the stories, all sorts, from the sad to the erotic. From the funny ones to the action and suspense and the 'Somewhere in a galaxy far far away'.


As a bisexual woman, I should of course avoid perpetuating the stereotype of polyamory, only...I'm not monogamous. So what am I supposed to be writing then?

Whatever I damn well please. I will write menage. I will write about any characters my muse gives me, falling in love in whatever way works for them.


I get angry when I see gay men told to write tougher guys. Or more feminine ones. I hate hearing straight women informed they can't write bisexuals if they have no interest in the same sex. An author who's only into vanilla sex should of course avoid BDSM like the plague.

To all that I say...

BULLSHIT.

Write the best, most emotional, most heart-wrenching or passionate or comical story you can write.

The author is not the characters. The author is simply the artist who uses words to paint the men and women who whisper to their imagination into the story.

The story has no boundaries and the labels belong on the bookshelves. On the covers.

Not as red tape that limits the art.

If you're into any kind of restraints, make them the sexy kind. ;)

Comments

  1. Backlash was the first book I read from you and was so surprised that it was a m/f/m book - It was so well written that I have everything you have written on my back list. Prior to you, I have read everything written by Jenna Galicki & Bella Jeanisse - Those who don't get shouldn't be here to begin with, everyone should read whatever they like - There is no room for people trashing others for their likes or beliefs - I am a divorced white 50 + yr old who loves Rock romance of all kinds If you don't want to read MM - GO - You keep writing

    ReplyDelete
  2. So true, Bianca. People should write what they want to write or what is right for them. They should not just jump on a trend because then their heart isn't in the story, and it will show through in the writing. Authors should stay true to their character's stories, not force their characters to conform to trends or other's opinions.
    To me, if an author is writing outside their knowledge background, it is a great opportunity to research and learn new things, and it may even enlighten some people along the way as to different ways of life.
    I love your work, so keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If writers could only write about things that they experienced, the world would be a boring place! There would be no Star Wars, no Harry Potter, no Marvel/DC Superheros. There is this thing called imagination that is lacking in the world today. Just because I haven't experienced sex with two men doesn't mean I can't imagine what it would be like, or fantasize about it. Isn't that what fiction books are: the imaginings of an author put to paper to spark the minds of the readers?
    Why must people be defined by their sexuality anyways? Is love any different if you are straight, gay, or bi? Does being straight mean you won't experience heartache? No. The basic themes of the romance are the same.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hate labels. The only good place for them is on food boxes and price stickers! Labels limit creativity as well as experiences. LGBT in itself is a label, yes I'm bisexual and what? I enjoy sex, does that mean the end of story? I don't think so, it means I like to experience different things, and not fit into a label society deems necessary for me. Just my thoughts.

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  5. My favorite writer is Nicole Edwards, and I know she's a woman - but she writes the most emotional, erotic love stories between m/m and m/m/f (or however you want that triad to be typed), and as a straight female, still makes me connect with the characters. *That* is good writing - making you feel the *human* part of it. Gender schmender - make me *feel*. Connect me to those characters, and that's the only thing that matters. I have nothing in common with what happens between two men in the bedroom - until she tells me what they see in each other's eyes, what they whisper in each other's ear, and how the touch of one makes the other feel. Guess what? I have felt that love, that passion, that heartache even. So I can still relate. What's more, I then get with her other fans in her group room, and we talk about her characters as if they were real people - because she's made them that way to us.
    Any writer who can make a character walk off the page and connect not only the reader to the story, but then connect the reader to other readers is a writer who is *human*. Understands humanity and life and living and what love truly means. That is a writer I want to *know*.
    And so I do now call Nicole Edwards "friend". I'm lucky, and I know how much so.

    ReplyDelete

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