You Can Write Characters with Physical Disabilities

Don't only look to the internet , many medical books are very informative and accurate. Turn researching a given disability, and the tropes associated with it, into a project. People with disabilities are often very careful about what terms they prefer to use. What do they call themselves, and what do they want not to be called?

Respecting their language preferences will please disabled readers, and encourage non-disabled readers to do the same. For example, the word "cripple" has a very different connotation than "amputee". Not all disabled people prefer the same terms; there is often diverse opinion within a given population.

Read from the disabled community. What are their lives like? How do their symptoms affect their experiences? What sort of character would they love to read a book about? Understanding their perspectives can help you build a believable character with a disability like theirs. Recognize that disabled people are very diverse and have different experiences. Many disabilities are a spectrum: Remember that people with disabilities learn and grow. A girl with Down Syndrome will be able to do much more at age 15 than she could at age 5.

They will simply do so at their own pace. Read personal accounts from people who have the disabilities you wish to portray. Where do they struggle? Are there any gifts that come with their disability? What do they feel are common misconceptions? See if any people with disabilities would be open to being interviewed.

There is no substitute for face-to-face time with real people. If you are polite and clear, many disabled people are willing to offer advice and answer questions. Try asking questions via social media. Remember that disabled people are diverse. No two people are exactly alike whether it's two blind people or two people with Down Syndrome. Write a character first, and the disability second. Every person is a unique individual, with interests, strengths, and flaws, if they have a disability or not. Although a disability is a character train, a disability is not a defining character trait. Spend plenty of time developing them as a person.

Avoid the mystical disability stereotype. This is the idea that people with some sort of physical difference will always have something bordering superpowers. Examples include autistic people having superior mathematical powers, like in the movie "Rainman", or the idea that blind people have enhanced sensory ability.

Portraying disabled people as "beautiful tragedies" ignores the fact that in fact, most people with disabilities are not any more or less tragic or beautiful than anyone else. Explore what goes on in your disabled character's head. Some writers make the mistake of portraying people with cognitive disabilities as "irrational" or "mysterious" beings whose thoughts and behavior make no sense.

The reality is that everyone has a reason for what they do, and the clarity of disabled people's thoughts is often underestimated. The way of thinking may be very different than others, but if observed closely, there are logical reasons behind every behavior. You can still attribute thoughts to them, and have the main character recognize what's going on in their head.

For example, "Lucy visibly relaxed as soon as the Christmas music came on. She loved happy song lyrics, so I kept a playlist of songs with good messages. People with disabilities come in all shapes, colors, backgrounds, socio-economic levels, and so on. Readers have been calling for diversity, [11] and an easy way to satisfy that need is to write more than one deviation from the privileged "norm" at a time.

Writing Characters With Disabilities

Try writing a black woman with cerebral palsy, a chubby boy with Down Syndrome, or a blind lesbian. Recognize that illness recovery when possible is often an arduous task. Recovery is not a straight line, and there will be good days, bad days, and relapses. Mental illnesses such as depression and psychosis are sometimes possible to recover from completely, with enough time and effort. This often involves a combination of pills and therapy, along with a loving and supportive environment.

Some conditions and illnesses have no cures. In this case, the individual's best outcome is to manage their symptoms and understand their limitations better. Some disabilities, such as deafness and autism, are not "illnesses" but simply conditions. Recognize that in real life, getting disability accommodations can be very difficult. Many parents of disabled children, and disabled adults, have to fight for necessary accommodations. The idea of fakers also makes it more difficult for real disabled people to get the help they need.

Portray seeking help and self-advocacy as positive things, not as signs of weakness. Admitting that you have a problem and need help especially involving medication is a very difficult task. Many disabled people struggle with the idea that it's "all in their head. This can help them have the courage to do this in real life. Stay far away from stereotype that mental illness medications are for the weak. For some people, a diagnosis and the subsequent accommodations are an enormous relief. Try exploring the tension between meeting one's needs and blending in.

People with disabilities especially teens may feel insecure about being different and not "passing" as non-disabled. Some people with disabilities are very nervous about others knowing they are disabled. Others choose not to care what others think of them, and spend less energy on blending in. Some people can "pass" as non-disabled, while others cannot.

How Do Your Write Characters with Physical Disabilities? | Legends of Windemere

Consider how the character has handled ableism. Almost all disabled people experience mistreatment related to their disability including before they are diagnosed. Many have difficult childhoods, and get treated differently from their peers. Consider your character's past and how it has shaped them. They may have dealt with Bullying, being left out few or no friends, very little media representation Being talked down to, or talked about as if they weren't there Trying and failing to perform to non-disabled standards; seeing adults' disappointment False "helpers" who don't listen and get discouraged or angry when the disabled person fails to stop being disabled [23] [24] Abusive therapies meant to "cure" deafness or autism symptoms More [25] This depends on the severity of the disability, the quality of the community, how charismatic the disabled person can act, the family, and other factors.

Give your disabled character something to contribute. Many writers portray characters with disabilities as one-dimensional background characters with nothing useful to do.

Learn to write characters very different from you sensitively and convincingly

Disabled people aren't helpless. Show that the world is better off with them around.

Even a minor character can contribute something small to the plot: Avoid having characters refer to the disabled character as a burden, tragedy, etc. Let the disabled person be a character in their own right.

Do them a favor and outright say the name of the disability. Your disabled readers will love it, and your non-disabled readers might learn a thing or two. Aliens and fantasy creatures can have the names of human disabilities. The same disability existing in two worlds isn't going to be the least improbable thing in your story. Avoid making disability evil.

Some works have one character with a disability: The villain might be a brainiac in a wheelchair, or the dangerous psychotic person with a mental illness. Most disabled people are no more evil or threatening than your average person, and also want to imagine themselves as awesome protagonists. Let people with disabilities be heroes for once.

If you absolutely need a disabled villain, then make several good disabled characters. That way, the villain is the exception and not the rule. Otherwise, have no disabled characters at all. No representation is better than bad representation. Don't make disability be the problem.

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• My Publications.
• Tropes & Stereotypes to Avoid.
• A Guide to Writing Disabled Characters.
• Take Your Pediatrician with You: Keeping Your Child Healthy at Home and on the Road (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book)?
• Yarny Buttons: Tweedy, Heathered, and Variegated Buttons in Polymer Clay;
• Writing About Disability;

Too often, books pose the idea that the person's disability is their key barrier, and they need to overcome their disability in order to be happy. Instead of showing the person becoming less disabled, show them learning to handle their disability better, and others learning to accommodate them.

Make characters inspiring because of what they do, not who they are. If you wish to show that a character with a disability is strong, then give them non-disability challenges to face. Maybe they won an election, spearheaded a project, or defeated the supervillain. Avoid falling prey to "inspiration porn. Don't let disability stop romance. A common myth is that all disabled people are aromantic and asexual, like children. It is assumed that they cannot fall in love, kiss, or have sex, or that even if they could, they are not desirable.

This is incredibly damaging to disabled people's self-esteem and romantic prospects. If your story involves love and romance, then let characters with disabilities be included in that. This helps show that they're desirable and worth dating.

• 3 Ways to Write a Disabled Character - wikiHow!
• Five Rules For Creating Disabled Characters!
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Show that characters with disabilities have adapted. Most disabled people are used to their disabilities, and can function pretty well on a day-to-day basis. Newly disabled people may still be adjusting. A lot of stuff written by people without disabilities has an unintentionally voyeuristic tone. Is her changing her mobility aid from world to world already ableist? Like maybe she summons the spirits of the air to take the weight off her legs so she can walk without much effort, or enchants a chair to float around and take her where she wants to be, or summons a mobility assistance dragon or something.

There are a ton of possibilities. No problems there at all. Using her crutches as weapons would be awesome! Posted on Sunday, 16 December Posted by mud-foot. Ever thought of making a masterpost that sorts the different writing-tips into the specific disabilities they were for? It kinda feels more organized and easier to find pre-existing tips someone is looking for. Opens in new window 0 notes Text Post posted 21 hours ago.

Opens in new window. Posted on Sunday, 16 December Posted by cripplecharacters. I'm designing a hypothetical game for my game design class, and one of the four main characters is albino, but also the muggle out of the four. Despite not having any magic attacks like the rest of his team, he has highly unique strategic skills that's an advantage to the player in battle such as magic tricks to distract the enemy, negotiations, or roasting the enemy so attacks would focus on him while his dodge stat is raised temporarily.

He's still weak to fire and light tho. Opens in new window 4 notes Text Post posted 1 day ago. Anonymous going to direct to better people this time. Posted on Friday, 14 December Source cripplecharacters Via cripplecharacters. How can I portray a disabled character as childlike without it crossing into infantilization?

Opens in new window 14 notes Text Post posted 3 days ago. Posted on Friday, 14 December Posted by wolfydrawings. Posted on Thursday, 13 December Posted by wolfydrawings. I have a chara who uses a wheelchair n she's a cool punk mom, who goes to things like wheelchair skate parks, does stunts and is physically strong and I know that's all possible bc I've seen and read about it online, but at some point she meets a shitty character and I was planning on making her punch him.

I was wondering if it's possible to properly pack a punch in a wheel chair? I don't even know how a proper punch works so idk how much goes into stance and thrusting forward I guess. Opens in new window 12 notes Text Post posted 3 days ago. Regarding that last response, what's some advice for explaining the physical side of the disability without sounding like a lecture? What are some things to look out for?

Opens in new window 9 notes Text Post posted 4 days ago. Got any tips for writing a character that's paralyzed waist down, but is also the badass character that kicks ass without the use of legs? I've got a character like that and I think I already smoothed most of the backstory and personality, but some general tips might help cover some corners that I probably missed.