Are you actively writing? My name is Dina an editor for a fast-growing platform. I am so interested in your work. May I know how to reach you professionally?

I have a character with PTSD. How do I write them well?

AS A LATINO YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT PISSES ME OFF TO SEE PEOPLE WRITE EVERY LATINO CHARACTER EVER AS A) MEXICAN OR PUERTO RICAN B) TALKING IN SPANGLISH
legit tho seldom anyone talks in spanglish unless it's for the meme it's cringy but YA authors keep doing it over and over again thinking it fulfills the representation quota
no.
Anyway, glad you addressed it. :D

If I had a coin for every time I see a supposedly BL story where there's a bottom that plays the role of a girl or a GL where the dominant one plays the role of a boy I'd afford a) decent conditions b) divine punishment for all the people who write that

What about a nice, everyday confident emotionally-sensitive humble guy? That one screams mommy issues, but we all know hawt protagonists don't work unless they have a tragic backstory so the girl can heal them.

Diversity makes storytelling fun. Enjoy your essays as always, and they make me think, which I like. Tolkien did have incest in one story.

Sarcastic yet thoughtful. Nice to see you posted here again.

I like this more in-depth look at representing mental illness in storytelling, which seems more sensitive. This is a strong essay. I agree with item 3 (agree with everything) particularly because I've heard people again and again try to link someone's actions back to mental illness the person is struggling with when it is nuanced and more complicated than "because of mental illness." I would say more but that'd be getting personal.

Well done.

I like problematic characters and not fan of paragons of equality or virtue (actually end up hoping they fail because you can't fix or change everyone or be perfect). I write stories that have flawed and honestly screwed up characters probably because I see myself as so emotionally screwed up and find it easier to write than writing light hearted characters.

Humans are messy and utopias are concentrated cults of messiness.

Well stated! Characters are far more believable when they are a mixed bag of good and bad. Just like us flawed mortals in real life.

And in real life, it's not easy, kind nor fair to just ditch everyone you have a disagreement with over some ideal. "Don't judge, lest ye be judged" comes to mind. I've learned to respect a person's right to their opinion - even if it is otherwise offensive on some level. So far, others have done it for me.

Thanks again for sharing.

I've read up to ch.16, and I have a question: how would you handle homophobic/racist characters who also happen to have many positive traits that make them likable? In the real world, there are many people like this, and they aren't necessarily hated by their peers and sometimes they refuse to change their opinion; it also seems limiting to simply state "such characters cannot be written". I ask because I often find that it's difficult to tread the line between simply having these characters in your story and accidentally promoting homophobia/racism.

I really like your stuff, by the way. Please keep writing!

This is good. Seem to have some of the humor from beginning chapters. Like how this is applicable to life and not just writing. I think back to TV show Supergirl where Supergirl's adopted sister comes out, and I thought the whole process of discovery and coming out was clunky and rushed.

I totally agree with the basics of what youre saying. Everyone should respect other peoples personal choices and preferences, and every human being deserves to find happiness and its place in life, no matter if trans or gay or whatever. YESSSS. That being said, I cannot deny the nature-given, biological differences between male and female in general. In some preschools they teach kids that male and female doesnt really exist and call it a human-made concept. I mean, thats crazy. Sure everybodys equal when it comes to human dignity, but when it comes to work, the physical differences unfortunately will show up again. I dont know any girl whos working as a mason or a working builder.

Yes! yes yes yesssss! as a queer person i've been WAITING for something like this to come along and you tackled it absolutely WONDERFULLY with your trademark wit, knowledge, and frank attitude. and that first example? bruh, you blew me out of th with that one. i am so so happy and proud that you're putting yourself out there and educating yourself on topics like these and i thank you for taking your talents and applying them to something a lot of us really identify with 3

I tried reviewing chapter 11, but apparently, my review for this chapter was done there, so I'll include my review for that one over here:
Once again, that was a very insightful chapter. When I was younger, even though I'm Latina, I never thought of myself as a person of color until I was much older, since I thought of race as being mostly black or white. Instead, I thought most of my differences were more connected with ethnicity, language, and nationality. One big reason was because my family is Guatemalan, while most other Latinos I knew, and whom got more representation within the media as far as I was concerned, were Mexican. There was even a teacher I knew who thought Guatemala was part of Mexico, and some kids who claimed that my ancestors must have been Mexican, just to show you how big cultural ignorance can get sometimes. I should also note right here that Christina Aguilera is actually half Latina. Not all Latinos are brown-skinned; some are Caucasian or black as well. But the majority are actually mixed race, being part white and part indigenous because of large number of marriages between the Spanish and indigenous populations back in the days of colonization of Latin America.

Of course, now that I'm older, I notice that racial differences are far more complex than I originally thought. I certainly agree that POC need more representation in areas you don't normally as very diverse. For instance, if you look at books written by Asian or Latino writers, most of it is labeled as "cultural fiction", and usually deal with historical events within certain nations or how a minority character struggles to adapt to life in the USA. While it is important to see stories like this, I'd also like find more science fiction or fantasy stories which are written by minority writers, or even a bestselling romance dealing with POC or interracial couples. As for the reasons some writers won't write about POC, I can see why some may be worried about not writing them correctly if they are not of that particular group. However, starting out with just including characters with different skin colors or names coming from different languages can be enough to begin with. If they want to go more in depth about their identities later on in the story, then that's just fine as well. What matters is to have characters of different cultures and races who are interesting and whom people of any cultural background can look up to.

Love this! Great job!