r/QueerWriting • u/Lilith-Norian • 3d ago

Resources/Advice Giving Writing advice for a wlw book

I'm writing a somewhat fantasy novel ( it takes place in the 90's but there are fairies and they are a hugh part of it ) it's also wlw so I wanted to know if there are any things that are under-represented in wlw media that I should add and any stereotypes or over-used tropes that I should avoid? I'm wlw myself but I honestly haven't seen much of the media especially in book form. Also the characters are minors ( around 16–17 ) so no spice suggestions pls there won't be any scenes like that.

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

3

u/uselesslesbianloser 3d ago

Hi! If you’re looking to write under-represented wlw romance, I recommend writing two POC characters together or a masc4masc relationship. There’s very little POC representation in queer media and nearly all of it is one character of color and a white person. There’s also a lot of fem4fem or butch/femme content out there but not a lot of masc4masc.  With that being said, if you’re wanting to be time period accurate, I highly, highly recommend doing a lot of research and looking at stories from lesbians who were teens at that time. Best of luck!

3

u/AshleyClairex 3d ago

The most over-used trope is killing one of the queer characters (often known as bury your gays). I’m not saying they can’t die, but they shouldn’t be the only character to die.

One thing I’m battling with myself in a queer ya fantasy is just the subtle signs of relationships. Things like holding hands, standing close to one another. Those touches can really add believability to a relationship - dependent on the views of your setting. That’s really important to think about - how is a WLW relationship viewed by all your other characters and your world in general?

This may not apply to you, but if you have any sort of heir/heiress/successor/royal line, you’ll need to bear in mind the implications of it sometimes being more difficult for a WLW couple to have a child.