Today’s topic comes from QSFer Tammy Jenkins: “cookie cutter characters (LGBTQIA individuals come in all shapes and sizes)”.
As a writer, I have a tendency to reach for the familiar – I often write characters who share traits with people I know or have met – it’s a natural thing to do.
But sometimes we go beyond this tendency and write characters like others in our given genre. And these can veer pretty easily into tropes.
Who hasn’t read an MM story with a handsome, strong, blond and blue-eyed hero? Or the dark haired, dashing bad boy?
So my questions to you today – what are some of the most overused characters in LGBT speculative fiction? As a writer, do you use your own cookie cutters when creating a character? As a reader, do you like the comfort of familiar archetypes, or do you long for more diversity?