this book is for anyone questioning their gender or sexuality, the straights who don't know that there are more sexualities than just straight and gay, and people who just want to know more about the community
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i don't have any advice for coming out because i've only ever come out online or through text, so that will be on hold until i know how myself
but anyways
here are some things to keep in mind when writing an lgbtq+ character:
1. don't play into stereotypes. now i'm not saying that you can't do any stereotypical qualities at all, like it's okay to make a gay guy like makeup, or a lesbian like sports, but don't overdo it. it just gets offensive and annoying
2. don't make their stories too tragic. it's fine to give your characters a bit of trauma, because honestly it gives characters some flavor, but don't make them on the brink of death. this is why queer people were so excited about heartstopper. it's sad but also really happy as well. also don't make everyone depressed over being queer because it's honestly just annoying when every single queer character is depressed because of their queerness
3. listen to what queer people say. if queer people say a certain stereotype is harmful, then don't include it in your story. especially if you're not in that community. also follow some creators on the internet or read some own voices stories depicting the certain lgbtq+ label you want to write about. for example, if you want to write a book about a nonbinary south asian but you're a cishet white woman for example, follow some nonbinary south asian creators. read a story that has a nonbinary south asian main character. research is essential
4. avoid revealing a trans character's deadname. unless it's needed, don't bring it up. like if a character has changed their name and their family still calls them their old name, then that's all right. but if they're fully accepted as trans and everyone calls them their new name, then don't bring up their deadname. honestly if it's not relevant you don't even need to think of a deadname (unless you want to ig)
5. trans people aren't going out of their way to correct every single person they run into. sometimes the media likes to pretend that we're all correcting people on our pronouns all the time, but that's not true. for example, if someone calls me ma'am and i know i'm never going to see them again, i just move past it. now if it's a close friend of mine who i've already come out to, i'm 10x more likely to correct them
that's all i can think of for now, but lmk if you want to add something else and i'll tag you. also if you have any questions feel free to ask
