Take me to an isekai @takemetoanisekai - Tumblr Blog

On writing characters with disabilities

I’ve had a rough morning and I’m riled up so here’s my two cents. Repeat: my two cents. I do not claim to speak for or represent the beliefs of everyone with a disability.

INCLUDE CHARACTERS WITH DISABILITIES

[Can’t believe I’m still saying this but here we are]

No, not “disabled characters”, put your character before their disability but include it nonetheless. People with disabilities exist in real life, out in the world, living and breathing and going about their days in the same spaces as able-bodied people. No their disability does not have to further the plot because that’s not how life works. If you want realism, include characters with disabilities. We’re all around you. I guarantee you know several people with disabilities even if you don’t think of them that way.

“But a disabled person can’t be a soldier/mercenary/other badass fighty character which is apparently all I include in my story!”

A) Yes they can. If you’re only aware of physical disabilities that completely limit a person’s mobility, you’re not aware of the diversity of disabilities or the mobility aid options and it’s time to do some research. Peg leg, bionic eyes, arm made of gears and pneumatics-based imitation tendons for each individual finger, magic potions or holistic treatments for chronic pain management, mental disabilities, someone who has a disability but is in remission. Get. Creative. These people exist and function in the same spaces as your perfectly able-bodied soldiers/mercenaries/various badasses.

B) Let’s say they can’t. Let’s say, for whatever reason, your badasses must only be completely physically and mentally abled. Do you not have medics? Blacksmiths? Ammunition and weapons experts/providers? Pilots? Family members back home that your badasses fight for and return to once a month? What about the bar/tavern/club/restaurant/dining tent your badasses regularly visit - are there no servers or cooks or bartenders that they talk to? Hell, a prostitute with a missing arm or severe ADHD. Are you really telling me you don’t think it’d be fun, and beyond handy, to have a magic healer who happens to be paralyzed from the waist down in your crew who’s constantly cracking jokes and shutting down shitty behaviour? Sure they may not fight because your fighters are only perfectly abled, but damn are they good at the fix-up after.

“But I don’t want to write a sob story”

Yikes. Well, good news, you don’t have to. People with disabilities can be ridiculous and funny and fun in general and it doesn’t always revolve around their condition. However, they will make jokes about their condition and, given the right people, can be joked with about it. “The right people” varies person to person, but I find for the most part it’s close friends and family members who act as strong supports and will also joke about things outside of the person’s disability. For this, you may want to talk to real life people with disabilities. Seriously, we’re everywhere. If you built rapport, many of us would be happy to tell you if a joke/situation is offensive even within the context of goofing around with a friend. Hell, some of us (ex. me) would be willing to answer questions from a total stranger if it’s in the name of providing education and support on writing a character with a disability.

[in which my best friend is a gift and figured out reassuring me I wasn’t a burden wasn’t working so she settled on calling me her favourite burden]

“But I don’t always want to be talking about their disability”

You. Don’t Have. To. It’s almost like, with all character traits/quirks/identifiers, it happens occasionally and within context.

____

She bowed her head low and bent her elbows at funny angles, tying her hair up quickly so she didn’t have to hold her arms up for long.

“Bad shoulder day?”

“Yeah, kept me up all night.” She dropped her hands, straightened up, and stretched her neck, rolling her head side to side. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

____

Washing bitter pills down with even more bitter coffee, he went over his tasks for the day. Dry cleaning, groceries, bank, assassination. Easy enough.

____

“They can’t take the stairs. We’re leaving them behind.”

“Or, you inconsiderate rat bastard, we could find an alternate route. You’re not getting through security without them. They’re coming.”

TL;DR, it’s not hard to throw in the realities of living with a disability every few chapters, or whenever relevant.

Lastly, the topic of using the word(s) “disabled/disability” and naming a diagnosis.

This, for me, isn’t really a big thing. I can understand how it is for some people, and I’m a fan of it but I don’t consider it a necessity. Some people want to see the word ‘disability’ used in order to take away its stigma. Some people want to see diagnoses named for the sake of completely being able to purely relate to a character. I understand that. I’m not bashing that. This is just my opinion. Personally, I don’t see the need, especially in fantasy settings or scifi or general other-world where conditions may not have the same names or treatments as they do in real life. If you make it clear that your character has a disability, show the symptoms and the ways in which they cope/manage/adjust to carry on with their lives, show their ups and downs and condition management, that’s enough for me.

This might be the area that you upset and offend some people. Someone might get mad that you used the word ‘disabled’, some might get mad that you didn’t. Some might get upset that you ‘made up’ your own condition, some might get upset that you named a diagnosis and didn’t portray it in a way they felt was accurate. Unfortunately, that’s the reality and your choice to make which group you want to potentially upset. Do your research, do your best to be sensitive, make an informed decision. Ultimately, I don’t think I’m alone in saying I’d rather see characters with unnamed disabilities portrayed in a positive way than not portrayed at all.

Please, include characters with disabilities. It can actually contribute to the realism of your stories and you might be surprised how fun it can be to write.

#representation #disabled #characters

deactivating-123456-deactivated

writing autistic characters

another one of these from ur local neurodivergent writer!

diversity is good! representation, ideally, is also good! But if you fuck it up it’s harmful, and there’s a lot of pitfalls a well-meaning writer can fall prey to when researching autism. So I made a little list of some stuff I, as an autistic person, think is important. This isn’t meant to be exhaustive, so please, other autistic people, please feel free to add on if there’s something I missed that you want to add!

Also if you have any questions about writing - my askbox and DMs are always open, feel free to ask me anything!

1. Listen to autistic self-advocates, NOT AUTISM SPEAKS.

The autistic community at large hates Autism Speaks. They’re an “advocacy” organization run by neurotypical people, and they’ve spread harmful lies about autism. Their spokespeople are all “autism moms” talking about how their child was “taken from them” and autism “ruined their lives.” Most of their money is spent on cure research. They talk over autistic people when we try to correct them.

Don’t do your research here. Instead, start with the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN), Autism Women and Nonbinary Network (AWN), or another self-advocacy organization! I’d recommend reading a lot of people’s perspectives, because….

2. If you’ve talked to one autistic person, you’ve talked to one autistic person.

It’s different for everyone. Many autistic people stim in public; others stim only in private, or not at all. Some autistic people have auditory sensitivity. Some are photosensitive. Some autistic folks feel overstimulated, others feel understimulated. Some autistic people have low empathy, others have hyperempathy. Some are nonverbal; some are hyperlexic. Many autistic people also have ADHD!

It’s different for everyone!

3. Ableism intersects with other forms of oppression.

As one moves degrees away from the prevailing medical image of the “white autistic boy,” a diagnosis is harder to come by. This is because doctors are bigoted and less likely to a) recognize the ways autism manifests in others, and b) won’t give a diagnosis of autism because the patient doesn’t fit the image.

The autistic identity intersects with other marginalized identities. For example, Black people will experience anti-Black racism, ableism, and the ways in which those intersect. Educate yourself thoroughly when writing marginalized identities. Be prepared to pay for sensitivity readers if necessary (more on that in a minute).

Many autistic people question their gender - it’s proportionally more common among us than it is among allistics. I think it’s because gender is a social construct, and many autistic people aren’t as affected by social constructs as our allistic counterparts. But again, it’s different for everyone!

4. Seek sensitivity readers.

“Sensitivity readers” are readers of certain identities who can read your work and ensure that you’ve done an okay job representing a marginalized group. If you want to properly represent autistic characters, and you’re not autistic, it might be prudent to seek autistic beta or sensitivity readers to look your work over!

7. Some don’ts:

Don’t infantilize your autistic character. Don’t remove your character’s agency. Don’t use person-first language. Don’t refer to autism as a disease or mental illness. Don’t have your character become “cured” of autism, or wish that they could be.

8. Some do’s:

Give your autistic character agency. Write diverse autistic characters. Let your autistic character be the hero. Use identity first language (autistic person, NOT “person with autism”). Explicitly state that your character is autistic. Seek sensitivity or beta readers who are autistic.

Remember that autism is a part of who people are - and neurodiversity is something to be celebrated!

Above all: autistic people are people. Write a person with as much care, nuance, and depth you would give to any other character.

takemetoanisekai

If you’re looking for an autistic person to ask some questions or something, my asks are always open!

#autistic #characters #representation

doctordragon

If you’re straight, write stories with gay characters, but don’t write stories about being gay. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re cis, write stories with trans characters, but don’t white stories about being trans. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re allistic, write stories with autistic characters, but don’t write stories about being autistic. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re neurotipical, write mentally ill characters, but don’t write stories about being mentally ill. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re able bodied, write stories with disabled characters, but don’t write stories about being disabled. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re white, write characters who are POC, but don’t write stories about being a POC. That’s not your story to tell

Write stories with diverse and complex characters, but unless you’ve experienced the oppression that we have, don’t write the stories that we need to tell ourselves.

theoneeyedwriter

Writing Asexual Characters Bc We Need More Recognition

Yes, I am a moderately functional bi & asexual, and I am fucking proud to be apart of the community. (despite not being out to my family oops) But, I figured that since I am apart of the Asexual community and we definitely need more representation in the writing world, I should give some advice on writing asexual characters.

Before we begin, I guess I should explain what being asexual is to anyone who isn’t aware! Asexual means that someone is not sexually attracted to other people, no matter gender, orientation etc. There are varying degrees of asexuality, but due to my orientation, I will be focusing on plain old asexuality! Btw, I am in no way a professional or whatever with talking about sexuality, so, all the information I’m sharing is either what asexuality is like for me, and for my fellow asexual friends who have shared some of their experiences with me. If you have any other questions please ask!

asexuals are not broken in any sort of way, there is nothing wrong with us.

most of us are still romantically attracted to other people

i prefer cuddling and holding hands

sometimes asexuality is a result of trust issues or past experiences. sometimes it’s just how someone is born, nothing to it

when people compliment my body shape or anything of the sort, i get severely uncomfortable

flirting can be like talking to a brick wall, especially if the other person is being sexual about it

we still want to be in relationships, but more for the emotional connection and trust that’s built between us and out s/o

do not pressure an asexual into having sex and/or shame them for not wanting sex

do not call us prude or damaged

if someone tells you they’re asexual and you tell them they’re “too young to really know” you can just go fuck yourself

asexual and aromantic are very different, but sometimes go hand in hand

i get shamed a lot by some of my friends, others are very supportive, despite not really understanding what me being asexual really means

i still make sexual jokes even though i don’t like sex lol

you don’t have to be 18+ (age to give consent) to be able to tell you’re asexual!! I came to terms with it when I was 15!!

the thought of making out makes me want to puke

just like any other sexuality, asexuality can change! you are constantly growing as a person. for a few years you might label yourself as asexual, and a few years later be ok with the idea of having sex. no hard feelings from the community, whatever makes you happy goes!

asexuals won’t (or shouldn’t) shame other people for not being asexual! what you do with your body is up to you and nobody else!!

#asexual #characters #representation

weavingviolets

I just...wanna lay down on these places, sleep among the nature, and forever live in the isle of dreams....

#inspiration #picture

theoneeyedwriter

writing characters with one eye

i can pretty much guarantee that ↑that↑ is not a heading you see everyday.

now i will not be giving advice on writing cyclopses, (though it may be sort of the same thing) i still hope this will be helpful for some people out there that are looking to provide a more diverse cast to their wip!

i have never ever ever read a book, watch a show movie etc etc that involves a character with one eye. (aside from those badass characters who wear eye patches bc they lost sight in one eye in some badass way)

for context: i am one of many people who was born with microphtalmia, an eye disease that results in one or both eyes develope smaller than normal at birth. i myself was born with a smaller left eye, which resulted in my left eye being removed exactly twenty days after birth.

microphthalmia (along with many other eye diseases) typically leads to being half or fully blind. i lucked out and only lost my left eye which i am so so thankful for.

i would really really love to see more representation for my community in literature, especially so people would come to see that being half blind isn’t as unusual and weird as people make it out to be.

without further ado, i present to you, a list of information, facts, and first hand experiences from yours truly!

i’ve had prosthetic eyes made to fit my eye socket for about fifteen years (i’m 16 lol) (the first 6ish months after the surgery i never had a prosthetic)

in my life i’ve had four different prosthetic eyes made because just like other people, my eye socket grew alongside the rest of me, meaning the prosthetic needed to be made bigger

i’ve had my current prosthetic for four years now, the past ones lasted about 2-3 years at a time. this one will probably last me through the rest of my life unless i need/want a new one

as opposed to most media/assumptions, my prosthetic (along with most prosthetics) is PLASTIC (people always think it’s glass) and only half a circle!!

i’ve had three surgeries related to my eye

i do not have depth perception which makes doing certain things very difficult (estimating distance, how close/far i am from something etc)

driving is not affected too much, i just have to turn my head more than other people. i believe being blind in the right eye might be more difficult, but i couldn’t say

doing my make up is kinda easy, except for eyeliner is a pain in the ASS since most people close their eye to do it on their upper lid, but clearly i can’t close my right eye whilst doing it lol

my family as well as my friends and even myself often forget i have a prosthetic, which sometimes results in awkward/funny situations

i hate walking with people on my right bc i can’t tell where they are unless i’m constantly looking down at my/their feet

i sucked at basketball bc i had such a disadvantage (no depth perception, i could only see half the court, i was constantly turning my head) but professional swimming is much easier for me since it’s not a contact sport and doesn’t really require for me to be paying attention to a million things at once

i rarely have to take my prosthetic out, and if i do, it’s either to clean it, (we do get eye crusties on our prosthetics just like other people do when they have pink eye or sever allergies) it’s bothering me/really dry, or i want to take it out to show/scare people lol

a lot of people don’t realize when i first meet them that it’s fake bc my recent prosthetic is amazing accurate to my real eye. others notice and assume i have a lazy eye since it doesn’t move

for some reason people think i can’t cry out of my left (prosthetic) eye??? i still have a tear duct??? i actually think more tears come out of my left tear duct than my right lol

i am extremely self conscious about it, but i know there are other one-eyed beauties out there who aren’t which is amazing!! i try to live vicariously through them lol

i make sooo many jokes about my eye lol, and i’m usually ok w other people making jokes as long as they aren’t like overly rude/offensive, then i’ll feel a lil bad about my self

people never really made fun of it, but kids in middle school likes to wave things in front of my left eye/on my left side that i couldn’t see which got really annoying after a while

getting custom designed prosthetics are available, but they’re really expensive (so are normal lol) they costs thousands of dollars, just like other prosthetics do

i run into things that are on my left side ALL THE TIME it’s actually kinda funny lolol

i try to hide my left eye/turn more to my left side in photos bc my eyes aren’t always looking in the same direction, which really gets to me

i wear glasses for both protection and bc my right eye is -1.75 lmao but i did used to wear non-prescription glasses purely for safety

i do have contacts to wear during the summer, swim meets etc, for when i don’t want/can’t wear my glasses but need to see. bc of this, i have a second pair of glasses that have no prescription

if doctors/scientists managed to figure out a way to fix microphthalmia (a birth defect), or do a sort of eye transplant, i would not be able to have that done to me because all parts of my left eye have been removed from my body

microphthalmia is NOT the only disease that results in the haver losing sight in one or both eyes!! there are many others, but it is not my place to share any experiences for something i have not experienced!!!

for once i just want to see a clumsy character who has one eye that WASNT a result of some tragic event.

so please please please consider including a character with one working eye in your wip. it would mean the world to myself and all the other members of the community (there’s a lot of us, trust me) plus, i wouldn’t mind starting an acting debut playing a half-blind female protagonist, that would be so dope.

that’s about all i can think of for now! please send an ask or reply to this post if you have any questions, i’m willing to answer any!!! and if you happen to be a member of the one eye club, please add to this post!! that would mean the world to me:)

#representation #characters

ulitkamari

Witch house

#inspiration #picture

catxsnow

Tag game!

thanks @psych0crybaby 🥰

Relationship status: Single my whole ass life and it ain’t looking like it’s gonna change any time soon

Favourite colour: I like maroon a lot but I’ve recently been digging yellow

Three Favourite foods: Chicken Alfredo, breakfast burritos, Ben and Jerry’s ‘Netflix and chill’d’ Icecream

Song Stuck in my head: Bad Bitch from Tokyo by Pop Smoke

Last song I listened to: God’s eyes by Roddy Ricch

Last thing I googled: what are the minerals in Earth’s crust

Time: 13:28

Dream Trip: Either Italy or any hot ass beach that I can sit in the sand and day drink Pina Colada’s all day

Something I want: not to sound touch starved or anything, but a hug

Tagging: @pricetagofficial @starxfires @prettylittlebrownskingyal @anothertimdrakestan @birdy-bat-writes @gunnedrobin @foenixphire @comic-brew

foenixphire

Tag Game!

Thank you @catxsnow !!

Relationship status: taken. Yup but they accept my love for my Bat and ME boys. And Bucky lol

Favorite color: purple! And red/black

Three favorite foods: chicken Alfredo too!! Pizza and pozole

Song stuck in my head: Living on a prayer by Bob Jovi

Last song I listened to: Wonderwall by Oasis

Last thing I googled: Little Caesars for food lol

Time: 1:17

Dream trip: Italy 💜 and the Australia Zoo

Something I want: for the world to be sane. Also to have cold weather snuggles

Tagging: @offendedfishnoises @batarella @lucy-roo @founduebitches @idkmanicantenglish @boosyboo9206 @boarcide and any others from the gc!

bungunz

Tag game! thank you :) @foenixphire Relationship status: ain’t got no Jason Todd yet @batarella Favorite color: blue and black Three favorite foods: pasta, sushi, frozen bread @massivekidcloudangel (vão achar que sou doida agora lamp) Song Stuck in my head: ‘we don’t love em’ by Hoodrich Pablo Juan, (slowed + reverb) Last song I listened to: ‘for the night’ by Pop Smoke ft Lil Baby & DaBaby Last thing I googled: archive of our own Time: 10:27PM Dream trip: La Push beach Something I want: A one way ticket to Gotham please and thank you. Tagging: @kimberly-spirits13 @yanderepeterparker @redhoodssweetheart @massivekidcloudangel @writingblock101 @prettylittlebrownskingyal

writingblock101

Thank you @idkmanicantenglish (oof school has been nuts but I have a big chunk of the next request done. Big love for you)

Relationship status: Chillin, reminding my garbage bisexual brain we don’t have time for a significant other rn

Favorite color: Blue or purple

Three favorite foods: Oh man, I really love food in general. Hm… Steak, spaghetti, and Lo Mein

Song stuck in my head: the Wii song is on a constant loop in my head

Last song I listened to: Lights On by David Cook

Last thing I Googled: Google Translate– I had to figure out how to say something in Spanish

Time: 10:01 PM

Dream trip: My grandparents used to own this house in a tiny ski town called Angel Fire, New Mexico that I haven’t been to in 5+ years, so a ski trip in Angel Fire (but no grandparents, just friends instead lolol)

Something I want: I forgot two deadlines this week and it’s Monday, so clarity for this coming week and awareness of my deadlines (big oof)

Tags: @secondgenerationnerd (ya usually get me from my other blog but now you’re getting me from my writing blog) @josswhedonismymasternow (oh man I hope I don’t regret tagging you in something via my writing blog) @the-writing-prick (don’t be scared, its Mom #3/Dad from the discord since I scared you the last time I sent you something)

the-writing-prick

Thanks @writersblock101 also thanks for the warning. I am just a petite lil boi scared of the vast void of the internet.

Relationship Status: I am a Serial Flirt with commitment issues, so Hard No.

Favorite color: Blue is my main hoe, but green do be lookin kinda sexy tho.

Three favorite foods: tacos, stir fry from a very specific restaurant and cheese.

Song stuck in my head: Luck You by Eminem n Joyner Lucas

The last song I listened to: Plague Lil Revive

Last thing I googled: childhood amnesia

Time: 10:21

Dream trip: my grandparents place up in the mountains but it’s just me and the Fellas. No family

Something I want: to sleep. I’ve got school tomorrow I can’t be scrolling through tumblr for the next five hours.

y’all’s turn

Tagging @ellana-ravenwood @mango-of-the-void @iwritealittleofficial

brightening-the-stars

Ooh this looks fun! Thanks for the tag @the-writing-prick 😁

Relationship status: stuck in a love triangle between music and science but as far as people go, I’m good flying solo

Favorite color: I’ve always been partial to forest green, also a big fan of white light because it makes rainbows

Three favorite foods: Chana masala, eggplant rollatini, and cookie dough brownie chunk ice cream (but not all three together lol)

Song stuck in my head: Don’t Stop Believin’

Last song I listened to: Waltz no. 2 by Shostakovich

Last thing I googled: how to dehydrate apples (don’t ask)

Time: 3:29 pm

Something I want: my cat to cuddle with me without kicking me in the face (it will be a cold day in hell when that happens though)

Tagging @cirianne @takemetoanisekai @sulfurousdreamscapes @alcego if any of you guys are interested!

takemetoanisekai

Thanks for tagging me @mango-of-the-void

Relationship status: Single. I’ve never even been in love with a real person, I only fall for fictional people it seems.

Favourite colour: Pastel pink.

Three Favourite foods: Pasta! And I can’t think of anything else because I really just need pasta in my life and I’ll be happy.

Song Stuck in my head: Villain by Teniwoha

Last song I listened to: Manic by *Luna

Last thing I googled: Healin’ Good Precure Daruizen (I wanted to make stickers so I needed pitures of him)

Time: 19:28

Dream Trip: Japan

Something I want: A second monitor. It would really help me edit my manuscript faster.

Tagging @fields-of-ink @berry-writes @alternativeforensicscientist , if you want to do it

#tag game

wybiegowritey

How to Write Trans Characters

Since it’s unrealistic for every single character in your universe to be cisgender, I’m making this post. You may want to rep trans people or you “don’t know how to rep”, so here you go (and yes nonbinary/genderfluid/etc. people are trans and included here!):

1.) Talk to trans people for once. And more than one trans person. Get sensitivity readers. Do research. Something!

2.) Don’t give your trans character a deadname. It’s called a deadname for a reason. LET. IT. FUCKING. DIE.

Our deadname isn’t our “real” name either. It’s our deadname.

Also, our deadnames usually aren’t even CLOSE to our actual names. So like why are deadnames and chosen names so similar/have the same initial? (i.e. “John” and “Jane”)

4.) We RARELY, IF EVER, tell our deadnames to someone unless we trust them very, very, very deeply. Little to none of my online and irl friends know my deadname, and some I would trust with my life. I wouldn’t trust them with my deadname ever.

5.) If you want to explicitly state your character is trans, for the love of god do not have them say something like, “I’m Olivia, but I used to be Oliver”. We do not say that. We say “Hi, I’m Olivia! How are you?” Y’know, we’re human beings.

You can have them say something like, “I’m trans.” (and even THEN some of us don’t normally say it so casually.)

6.) Please don’t describe us with features that make us dysphoric.

7.) (this is coming from a white transman) We’re not all skinny white uwu babies. Portray trans people of color. Stop erasing them. They exist and they matter.

8.) Write us loving ourselves. We get dysphoric and (most of us!) make changes to get the ideal body, yes, but we do love ourselves. I love that I’m persistent, ambitious, and caring. I love how selfless I am. I love that I take criticism well and make sure to do better. I love that I know how to hold my ground.

9.) We can also love parts of our bodies, too. I love my legs. I love my hands. I love my shoulders. I love my ears. I love my nose. I love my jaw. I love myself.

10.) Don’t fetishize us.

11.) We don’t exist solely for your entertainment. So stop making us suffer for you.

We’re proud to be trans. We’re here. We exist. Stop erasing us from your literature when there is no reason not to.

(trans ppl–add on! cis ppl– dont hijack. reblog.)

#trans #characters #representation

chreamceese

black girl representation

as a young black girl, i rarely saw characters in media that i could relate to. the first time i felt truly represented was when The Princess and the Frog came out. i was so excited to finally see a leading protagonist who looked like me, and it quickly became my favorite movie.

the movie still holds a special place in my heart, but its flaws cannot be overlooked, especially when discussing black representation. it unfortunately falls under the “turning into an animal” trope. (idk if there’s an official name for it.) many films have done this, typically having a POC as the main character that turns into an animal for most of the movie.

the problem with this trope is that becoming used to being a particular animal often becomes the central focus, erasing the representation that had already been established. along with The Princess and the Frog, Disney movies like Brother Bear and The Emperor’s New Groove display this.

better representation

now we’re gonna go over what’s overdone in media and what we need MORE of. i will only be speaking on behalf of black girls, as that is where i feel i can best express accurate feelings fellow black girls could relate to.

- more soft-spoken black girls! i’ve seen too many token black characters that have sass as their main personality trait. it’s harmful bc it fuels the stereotype that all black girls are loud and “too much” and unwanted :(( if you’re going to make your black girl character headstrong or confrontational make sure to give her depth! she’s more than sassy, she’s a complex person.

- black girls. with. long hair. you’d think it would break more stereotypes for a girl to have short hair, but not for black girls. there’s of course nothing wrong with having short hair as a black girl, since our hair is usually harder to manage the longer it is, but it’d be cool to see more black girls who flaunt their long, luscious coils.

- black girls comfortable in their bodies but not sexualized!! this is soso important. over time, american culture has become more accepting of the “hourglass” figure in comparison to skinnier body types. black girls in particular are notorious for being more “developed.” they’re oversexualized in media bc of this and we need to actively fight it. give me black girls that flaunt their features for themselves and no one else! give me a variety of body types for black girls!

- darkskin black girls seen as beautiful! on the rare occasion that a black girl is the “popular” girl and is seen as the prettiest in the school, she’s lightskin, but the other darker-skinned black girls aren’t seen as such. why can’t dark be beautiful? i’d love to see a darkskin girl that’s pretty to everyone. darkskin mean girl. yes please.

- black girls in natural hairstyles. i’ve seen so many shows and movies with black girls that just have? straight hair?? wavy at most. while it’s not impossible for a black girl to have hair that’s naturally on the straighter side, it’d be refreshing to see common hairstyles like box braids and afros. cornrows! curls just bouncing! there’s so many to choose from, and it’s unrealistic to think everyone can straighten their hair all the time.

final note

i know a lot of people who want to include black representation in your stories have good intentions. it’s okay if you don’t get it right the first time. it’s okay if you don’t break every single stereotype that exists. the perfect story to represent us simply can’t be made, and we can only get close to it. do research, ask friends, do whatever you need to make it as accurate as possible. as long as you’re respectful about it, your efforts to represent us will be appreciated.

#characters #representation #poc

garrettwrites

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#inspiration #text

pheita

Dear Writblr, I have a request

Over the course of the last weeks I noticed a lot of people starting to use screenshots when they post snippets of their WIPs (again).

Please, don’t do this. Readers for blind people will skip this. There are folks out there who have a hard time reading a screenshot, especially when it is slightly blurred and a small font. Using screenshots excludes so many people from reading your work. To make your snippets and excerpts accessible for everyone, please copy it into a regular post. There are so many different ways like banners, gifs and playing around with fonts and colors to make the snippet stand out. I know we all want our WIPs be read by everyone who comes across it but to make it happen, it needs to be a regular post. So, please don’t use screenshots of your WIPs as snippets/excerpts.

theartofanimation

Hugo Puzzuoli - https://www.instagram.com/hugopuzzuoli/?hl=es - http://hugo-puzzuoli.daportfolio.com - http://hugoartworks.blogspot.com.es - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugo-puzzuoli-b582907 - https://www.facebook.com/hugo.puzzuoli.1 - http://hugop.cgsociety.org

#inspiration #picture