: Re: An LGBT main character, but the book isn't about LGBT issues So I'm in the very early stages of plot development on a new story. It focuses on a (nonbinary, hence the they/them pronouns)

@Angie602

All writing has political elements to it, whether you like it or not.

Your question is a great demonstration of this. Some people consider LGBTQ people to inherently be (a) extremely rare, and (b) uniquely strange, fundamentally unlike cisgender, heterosexual people. Other people consider LGBTQ people to be a common, notable, substantial portion of the human population, with a wide spectrum of experiences and presentations, with nothing "unusual" about them. When writing, you cannot avoid portraying reality as one or other -- because LGBTQ people in your world, your setting, your writing, will either be present and that won't be considered a big deal, or they'll be absent and considered unusual.

Trying to write a novel -- particularly a fantasy novel of wide scope and tromping around some fun worldbuilding -- without portraying what's up with sex and gender, is kind of like trying to write a novel without portraying whether or not gravity exists. You can go with the default, but that doesn't mean you haven't made a decision.

All of which is to say: You can't write a book that doesn't express an opinion. You can't write a book that won't conflict with some peoples' worldview, opinions, expectations. Whatever you do, your book may draw criticism -- and, yes, choosing to go with a nonbinary protagonist can definitely draw more attention to your book, on this specific axis.

So:


Accept that your book may draw criticism. That's not a failure on your part; pleasing everybody was never an option.
Give serious thought to how gender and sexuality are seen in your book's world and culture. Which isn't to say your book needs to be about LGBTQ issues -- but, that you should think through this enough, just like any other aspect of worldbuilding, to be able to portray a world that feels coherent and consistent.
Casual, matter-of-fact queer characters can be awesome, and there's definitely readers looking specifically for that. For being able to be LGBTQ and for it not to be a big deal.


Writing this way can be something of a challenge, because the farther you go from the "default" straight white male, the more there's an unconscious expectation that straying from the "default" is a Chekhov's Gun.
The best way I know to deal with this is to figure out how being LGBTQ influences your particular character's life, as a character, as an individual. Not in terms of social oppression; just in terms of personal experience and everyday details. Make it part of character-building, rather than central conflict or major themes. See more on this in my answer here.

Write without fear, but then get good beta readers. Since you know this can be a sensitive (and sometimes volatile) topic, once you've finished your early drafts, be sure to get some beta readers and/or sensitivity readers who are themselves nonbinary. They're the ones who can tell you if you've done anything that really bothers them. If you've hit the "I'm nonbinary and that's no big deal" mark you're aiming for, or not.


Hope this helps. All the best!

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