Social Justice
Commentary
American Dirt is the latest example of a big name work coming under fire for exploiting and appropriating the cultures it features. However, it’s not the first, and it won’t be the last. Each time, white storytellers are told that we need to stop using … read more »
Analysis
A few weeks ago, I discussed some helpful tips on successfully portraying an autistic character. In that article, I mentioned characters like Sheldon Cooper, who aren’t stated to be autistic but who are coded as such. Since there were some comments about this, in this … read more »
Q&A
So another question for Fay Onyx. With villainous characters like Darth Vader & the Joker it seems like the best thing for the disability community is to focus on a single flawed element of the villain rather then an entire condition. But what if the … read more »
Q&A
The attitude here is that writers should tread lightly with marginalised cultures that they don’t belong to: don’t try it if you’re not fully prepared to research heavily, to accept insider input, and to give credit where it’s due. I agree with all of that … read more »
Q&A
I think I have some pretty positive disability portrayals in the story. I have an old mage based on a wonderful person I used to know, who (just like his real-life inspiration) has a hunchback and a pronounced limp. He’s also missing much of one … read more »
Writing
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the sexist ways women are described in fiction. Given the normalization of the male gaze, this has left some men feeling unsure of how to write a positive description. And it’s not just men who describe women … read more »
Q&A
I saw an article you had about “bury your gays.” At first I thought that my story was exempt from that because multiple characters of different orientations die, but then I read the examples you gave and started doubting myself. You said “a big factor … read more »
Commentary
The hypersexualization and objectification of female characters is a major problem in storytelling.* Whether heroes or villains, female characters are often put in revealing or otherwise sexy costumes not because it makes sense for the story, but because it will presumably please straight cis men. … read more »
Q&A
Hello again, I’ve decided to include a character with schizophrenia in my story. I have schizophrenia, and I’ve decided that I want one of my contributions to the world to be a depiction with a character with my condition in a speculative story that isn’t … read more »
Commentary
In my search for good representation of autistic people, such as myself, I have run into many clichés and stereotypes. This is disappointing, since we could really use some positive portrayals. So, in this article, I break down six things you should know in order … read more »
