Quick Tips: Don't Be Afraid to Have Fun With Your Characters Just Because They're Disabled

I get a lot of people responding to my content on writing and drawing disabled characters that, while they never outright say it, kind of imply to me that people are interpreting those posts as:

THIS IS THE OBJECTIVE ONE AND ONLY WAY TO WRITE CHARACTERS WITH [Insert disability here] AND IF YOU DON'T INCLUDE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE POINTS AND SUGGESTIONS IN SOME CAPACITY, YOUR CHARACTERS ARE BAD AND YOU ARE BAD FOR MAKING THEM!

And I promise, that's not that's not my intent. So let me make it abundantly clear: with a few exceptions, my content is just suggestions, mainly aimed at making your characters feel more realistic and/or grounded, or it's to demonstrate certain ideas. If that's not the vibe you want, or the suggestions are clashing with the tone of your work, you don't have to include them. I'd still recommend that you consider the advice, make sure the reason you think it doesn't match isn't based on stereotypes or assumptions, and if it's not, and you still don't think it fits, it's fine to not include it.

If it doesn't make sense to include a chapter about how your character is struggling with debilitating phantom pain in an otherwise really light-hearted, cozy slice of life comedy, then don't add it. This isn't to say that your character's disability shouldn't have any effect, but pick ways that fit the tone. For example, instead of dealing with debilitating pain, maybe your character is out camping, they take off their leg to relax but, oh no, a stray dog mistakes the metal pole for a bone and steals it, making your character have to hop after them. When they catch them and get their leg back, they decide to adopt them! Hjinks and cozyness ensues

That actually does sound adorable, I might save that for later

[ID: a golden retriever with something yellow in its mouth, tapping its feet excitedly. /End ID]

Or just show the small things, the same way you might show an able bodied character getting ready for their day, show a disabled character doing the same, but adding in the extra steps that come with their disability. Do what works with the tone.

This also isn't to say the advice can't be used in more fantastical settings. Most of what I write is fantasy and sci-fi, and while I don't use all of my own advice in those settings (because not all of it is relevant) I do use a lot of it, depending on the character in question.

The main character in my sci-fi comic Voidstar, Xari, for example, has been a double leg amputee for a long time and that, combined with the setting means not all of the standard advice about writing amputees is relevant to them. They don't struggle with pain or have trouble adjusting to prosthetics because it happened a long time ago and the medicine/tech in their world is better, but there's other ways it effects their daily life in ways more fitting for the lighter tone in chapter 1. the intro sequence shows them running and jumping and being active, but also shows they use a wheelchair sometimes and a bit later in the chapter, crutches, depending on what they're doing. It also effects how they interact with people: late in the chapter someone makes a weird comment about their legs, and Xari uses it as a chance to mess with them and have some fun.

All this is to say don't be afraid to be a bit looser with the advice if the story you're writing has a lighter tone and just have fun. My content is there for those who want to use it, but it's not the "only objective way" to handle those subjects.