I'm writing and peer-reviewing characters and I accidentally made two characters who are an FBI agent and his pilot that chase my protagonists around the world gay since they spend so much time together. Does anyone ever ship their original characters of the same sex like that or is just me? Should I try to force them to be straight or just keep them like they are if I want them to be published?
Posted May 27, 2021, 5:14 PM UTC
Keep them gay. Having your characters grow a mind of their own is one of the great joys of writing
I mean unless they kiss each other or something they CAN be "heterosexual life partners" where one simply loves two and would have an issue if two died or otherwise exited from one's life.
I guess i say that to say there is no "accidentally" assigning such characteristics to characters unless theres ink on the page declaring that they are. You didn't intend for them to be but now you have a headcanon where they are and until you officially put it down everything can be left to the reader's interpreation, but i do know "natural" is probably better writing than "forcing", but i understand that your story's appeal can be affected by something like this, but i overcame such thoughts by deciding anyone that has a problem with it didnt deserve my writing.
To gay or not to gay, just dont take that chemistry away. A handwave sentence somewhere confirming what one of them likes is probably better than going back and trying to steer the whole thing forward center.
So i just realized this was 9 days ago... no idea why reddit put this on my feed. Lol
If they have good chemistry, go for it. What I am doing with my story is making the MC straight and trying to get a girl of his dreams, while the main villain is gay for him, which then puts the villain into a conflict of wheter or not he wants to fight the hero.
Characters will de ide a lot about themse as you write. In other words, sometimes they take a direction you didn't intend but it comes naturally to them. As long as you are showing proper representation, let them be who they are. You might want to research and see how the FBI handles relationships with coworkers to keep it realistic. Do they have to hide their relationship?
I'm not sure I'm gonna have to email someone as an outreach for the FBI to see how co-worker relationships work. Despite that, if I write within reason it shouldn't matter if I bend the rules a bit.
The nature and enforcement of those rules could change a lot of it, too. Would help to know timeline and region, as time and location will definitely play a role.
Try news reports or civil suit judgements.... ie in xxxxs fired agent gay etc. Look for any civil suits that were won or lost based on gender identity, too. As dry as it may sound, the content will do wonders. Dig in to the databases to get it as close to real as u can.
Also, lurk on askleo and similar subs.... helps with finding perspectives.
Omg so sorry about the typos!