Creating homosexual characters can feel like planting an active grenade in the middle of your story. You start to fear bad reception of your work - even before you start!
But really, there is no need to worry. The fact that you're concerned only proves that you care.
You probably won't get it the first time.
You probably will get some criticism.
Only remember that it's perfectly normal to make mistakes. After you punch out your draft, have beta readers who are part of the community and incorporate their feedback.
Yes, diversity is important, but it's no checklist where you need to list all possible sexual orientations and have at least one character for each.
First of all, it would be quite impossible.
Second, that is likely to make all of them underdeveloped and stereotypical.
Check if you really need the character in your plot.
If they turn out to be homosexual, let them run their own course and shape their path. If your story's theme is related to the character's sexuality, think about the message you want to convey.
Quality over quantity, always.
Your characters exist, and they happen to be homosexual, not the other way around. This doesn't mean that it won't be an important, or that you should downplay their sexuality.
Strike a balance by showing readers their hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes, relationships with their family and friends, etc. The more holistic they are, readers are going to be convinced that you have an actual character, not a scarecrow holding up the #diversity tag.
How do their sexuality play into their broader narrative?
Every homosexual character must have thought about their orientation and identity, with a process of how they came to recognize their sexuality.
Whether you're character is a confused teenage girl, or a middle-aged gentleman with a stable relationship, think about what brought them here.
Backstories don't have to be tragic. They can have supportive parents and find escapism in online communities who accept them for who they are.
There isn't just one "gay life". Get creative.
Normalization is Important
Sometimes, your story world will not accept homosexual people as normal. That's okay!
However, there is a difference between other character treating them unfairly and you as an author normalizing homophobia in your narrative.
Word choice and tone would play a key role.
When a likeable character is homophobic, avoid normalizing it by making it a flaw. Show that your conservative medieval village is narrow-minded when they treat them as outcasts.
Homophobes may not necessarily be the evil guys.
It's enough to state (clearly) that it's wrong.
Stereotypes aren't just an issue with gay characters, but when used successfully, have created wonderful retellings and spinoffs that are refreshing.
You can purposefully overplay stereotypes to show how silly they are. Deconstructing stereotypes can add humor to your narrative.
You can also use them to explore the expectations that readers have for those kinds of characters. The Gay Best Friend might be a trope, but you can get them to go deeper than the typical sidekick to realize their true potential as a cast member.
Religion and Homosexuality
In the real world, religion and homosexuality are often presented on far opposites of politics, and that makes me sad. Homosexual characters are free to be religious, find peace, support and mindfulness through any religion of their choice.
Vise versa, deeply religious characters can have wonderful relationships with homosexual characters.
It all comes down to how your characters interpret religion and homosexuality in light of those religious values. Though I'm an atheist, I believe all religions have the ability to embrace diversity at their core.
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