Ask Matt: The Writing Life
March 25, 2013 by Matt Kailey
http://tranifesto.com/2013/03/25/ask-matt-the-writing-life/Since I have gotten several questions about writing and/or books, I have put them together in a discussion about writing while trans. Here we go:
A reader writes: "I'm genderqueer, but mostly identify as male. I really want to write something from a genderqueer or trans guy's point of view, but I'm not sure if what I feel can translate over to what other genderqueer people/trans guys feel and it will seem fake and possibly offend them.
"I'm really agonising over whether to have this character, but a) he's the main protagonist, and b) him being trans and surgically transitioning is pretty essential to the plot. Do I keep the character as he is or find some other reason for him to want body-altering surgery (not necessarily to do with his sex)?"
You really have two questions here, so I will address them both. First, when you are creating a character, that character does not have to feel everything (or anything) that people similar to that character would feel. This character is his own person, and he cannot be expected to represent what all genderqueer people or trans guys feel or to embody every genderqueer person or trans guy. These communities are so diverse that it simply can't be done.
