#lgbtqwrimo

[cmrosens]

Worldbuilding notes for queer normative fantasy societies... I have a lot of thoughts about this so here are some notes and questions around 3 of the main ones I have been thinking about recently.

1. How many different structures of formally recognised relationships are there outside of the monogamous spouse version?

If you want a society where relationships themselves are queered, moving away from a monogamous default, think about different forms of union and commitment and whether these can be legally recognised and what the legal/civil ramifications are.

Who recognises these relationships? What is the legal process to get them recognised? If there is no legal process then are we looking at a society where taxes are a communal responsibility and not levelled at individuals?

Is there freedom of movement and if so how much is affordable and feasible - does this have a bearing on queer people even in a queer normative world? What happens if the village is very small and has 3 queer people in it none of whom really like each other? Where do you go to find a partner if you can't travel far?

If the society thinks arranged marriages are normal and there is no concept of marrying for love, and no expectation of attraction only reasonable companionship, and you can have multiple spouses/formal partners for political reasons and to unite families (perhaps to formally team up and spread the cost of those communal taxes, etc) then you may end up with the situation of lots of different relationship structures and someone married off finally coming out as straight, and their formal partner wingmanning them to find someone else to be with.

2. Inheritance law and family connections

In a queer normative society, it would make sense for both biological kids and adopted or fostered kids to be equally accepted and no distinction drawn between them. This has extensive knock-on effects for how society is structured and

Legitimacy may not even mean anything in a society with multiple relationship structures. So how does this all work legally and socially and culturally and politically and economically?

First off: does it matter who your parents are and whether you have a firm grasp of your personal genealogy, or would people just give up on all that because it gets so muddy.

E.g.::::

"I am Bran son of Brom" means nothing when you actually mean, "I am Bran, my mother Ceris was the wife of Carl and she carried me to term and Brom didn't impregnate her, that was Roan, partner of Brom, but to be fair it might also be Carl because we can't really be sure on the timing there, and then Ceris and her other partner Sara both nursed me as a baby and then as a kid it was decided I would have more opportunities in life if I went to live with Brom and Roan and learned their trade, and then Brom as the higher earner and the one contributing most to the communal taxes thought he should be the one to formally adopt me, even though I still mostly lived with Ceris and Carl and Sara until I was 16, because then I would inherit more and be able to pursue a different career path and have money to travel, so when I say I am Bran son of Brom I mean only in the technical legal sense".

It also makes no sense here to say, "I am Bran son of Brom" and erase Ceris, Sara, Carl and Roan from that picture of yourself, particularly if the society is not patriarchal and therefore less likely to reckon lineage in a strict patrilineal way.

In this example, the implications of saying, "I am Bran son of Brom" are that you don't KNOW who your other connections are and you have had a childhood lacking in all the other communal connections others have had. You only know Brom. Were you hermits, living apart from society in a lonely, mountainous region somewhere? That would make sense. But people might still look at you once you say "I am Bran son of Brom" and wait a bit and then be like, "...Brom, and...??"

Like you wouldn't say that. You would instead say something like, "I am Bran of Seven Oaks" because the place is what everyone has in common, or you might say "I am Bran, of the Seven Oaks community" if the people are more important than their location.

Or would communities like this have their own assigned name, if not based on location, then on something else? A symbol or glyph that represents different groups and people adopt this glyph when they enter into a new community, but keep records of the previous ones they have been connected to until there is a whole string of glyphs after their name as a shorthand record of their entire network of relationships? Is this marked on their skin or on some item they wear? Formally inscribed in ledgers and public records?

Do these glyphs appear as a straight line, a row or column, or is there a cobweb or star shape with different sections/points meaning different things, and these symbols/glyohs/letters or whatever are placed in the web or star points?

That might be a cool item of jewellery with things carved on beads and beads added to it, or a massive back tattoo that gets added to all the time until for some it covers their whole body like a map of all the people they have connected with in some official way through their entire lives, especially if you adopt a kid and add in that kid's connections that are now connected to you.

How would people react to those with very few beads and few connections? Would they treat them with pity or with suspicion? What is the story of "Bran son of Brom"??

3. Patriarchy vs Matriarchy vs ....????

First, let's not pretend Matriarchy is a utopia. It is the same thing as patriarchy except women are in charge, and is equally as toxic in terms of structure. A society where 50% of citizens are subject to gender-based power structures is not a good one regardless of which gender is in charge.

Also, this still presents the normative of a gender binary, so you would still have structural oppression of genders who do not conform to or are perceived to undermine that binary. Up to you if your society is like that, but one to consider.

Also if we are talking about a queer normative society with one of those "gender plague" situations so everyone with an X or Y chromosome is dead, trans people and non binary people would still exist, still presenting in the applicable way. Intersex people would still exist, and people who present as "the sex that doesn't get the plague" may still contract it and die of it if you have it linked to chromosomes, because unless you do chromosomal testing you won't always know to look at someone what they have. So there is all that to think about.

Eliminating all cis men from a society doesn't actually get rid of men or masc-presenting people, but it does open things up for a less binary society in general.

If we aren't playing with dodgy science, and we have a queer normative society but you do want to explore some hierarchical structures within it, there are lots of other ways you can do that unrelated to gender.

In fact it doesn't make sense for this fantasy society in the "Bran son of Brom" example to have "gender roles" at all, so what is the internal family structure like in terms of power balance? Is this more about dominant personality vs democracy (just because you agree one person is in charge means nothing in practice if there is a more charismatic option that undermines this elected choice). Is it to do with earning power? If things are decided at communal meetings, who chairs them and why? What is the knock on logical effect on society on a larger scale?

So much stuff to think about there tbh

[amarajlynn]

NaNo expectations

Ok but I thought I would have a really hard time switch between tenses whenever I decided my NaNo project would and that I'd just constantly be in a state of confusion but I've been doing pretty good?

[lgbtqwrimo]

[chrislillytv]

@nanowrimo day 27! Thief! —————————————————— #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2021 #tarot #tarotcards #tarotcardoftheday #writersblock #writermotivation #writersinspiration #writingprompts #writingtips #writing #lgbtqwrimo #author #writer #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #writersofig #authorsofinstagram #authorsofig #bookstagram #thief #sevenofswords #amwriting #writerslife https://www.instagram.com/p/CWyzzkHBWuB/?utm_medium=tumblr

[krakengoddess]

#lgbtqwrimo day one! I’m Rebecca, I’m ace, and I’m writing a novel where a twin who went missing 12 years ago (and was presumed dead)has just turned up again. The sisters dig into their past to try to untangle the truth of how this all happened and wonder if they’re safe now, or if danger is still out there. #nanowrimo #campnanowrimo https://www.instagram.com/p/CNIK9vbpCL6/?igshid=10cw5gn0pi0eb

[madamstardust]

Posted @withrepost • @authorniamh I was lucky enough to grab an interview with @lauraloupart ⁠about her new release, The Audacity. You can read the rest over at my website, AuthorNiamh.com⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #authorsofig #writerslife #amwriting #authorlife #authorsofinstagram #loveislove #protecttranskids #comingout #lgbtsupporter #questioning #lgbtqwrimo #lgbtbooks #queerbooks #diversebooks #weneeddiversebooks #queeryafiction #queerya #fortheloveofreading #bookaddict #bookishlove #biblophile #igreads #instareads #booksofinstagram #booklove #bookobsessed #girlswhoread #bookcommunity #booksbooksbooks #ilovetoread https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ucQ9dHYXf/?igshid=1ean5ovqeep13

[ghostbustinggays]

found out today that July's camp nanowrimo is also LGBTQwrimo which is sweet! anyone out there writing this July who wants to join my cabin? or anyone out there who would like to join camp nanowrimo? you get to pick your own word goal!! I'm gonna be doing 5k of my Novel Full of Lesbians

I already recruited @toastweasel to join me 😎 come write gay things with us! 🌈

[fataziraphale]

aesthetic for a book I’m writing! a brief plot summary: Trans man and recent culinary school grad Cooper Ruth is desperate for a job. So when Earl Barry Athens offers him a position on his pirate ship (in a landlocked kingdom???), Cooper can’t help but say yes.

pretty much all of the main cast is transmac and I’m living for weird land pirate shenanigans

[chrischedrawi]

Day 5 👀

[cmrosens]

Writing Update

Finally wrote the bit where the antihero slicks his hair back with someone else's blood... At 97.1K of THE DAY WE ATE GRANDAD and have all the end section written but it needs to be edited to work with the new version. New to tumblr? Likes don't get posts noticed. Reblogs only! If you see a post you like, reblog it!

[amarajlynn]

#lgbtqwrimo November 8 (IG): MC spotlight My MC is Pyotr Tchaikovsky! Yes, the composer. But he's so much more than that! In my story he has chronic migraines, fatigue, and pain, and is neurodiverse. Some of this is conjecture based on my research, some is actually true. #nanowrimo #nano #writers #writerscommunity https://www.instagram.com/p/CkuPs9yrJ_4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lgbtqwrimo]

[iguessaj]

Who else has a writing buddy? #nanowrimo #lgbtqwrimo https://www.instagram.com/p/BqBgDj7naCh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1x4hs0ieqew8g

[krakengoddess]

The #LGBTQWrimo day 6 prompt is “notebook.” This one’s my favorite - my husband made (!!!) me the leather cover showing a map of Victorian Whitechapel. #QWriters @amarajlynn @foxglovefiction https://www.instagram.com/p/CcBMwsYpBV7/?utm_medium=tumblr

[nana-writes]

Folklore is one of my two main/current WIPs! (here's the other one) [mobile] It is currently planned as a standalone, but part of a series, and it's being co-written with Yves. It is an urban fantasy YA novel with two distinct POVs, one (Lor) written by me and the other (Temper) by Yves.

Genre: urban fantasy, ya Themes: found family, queer friendships, mlm, background wlw, background xlw, accepting your past, complicated villains, (cause otherwise they are boring imo), agender character, trans characters, no burying your gays dw, we marry our gays in this house POV: 3rd person restricted, two POV characters (Lor & Temper) Status: first draft, we pantsying this one you all

Blurb:     Lor has known about the supernatural world since their first time turning into a werewolf, an unfortunate incident over ten years ago that saw them running away from the orphanage they had lived in until then. But things are good now, they found their way into a nice pack and the apartment they split with their girlfriend is actually affordable! Unfortunately, bodies all over the supernatural panorama of Paris are dropping.     When out investigating one of these crime scenes as a favour for their pack leader, Lor runs into Temper, a boy a few years their junior, who seems to be out for the same kind of knowledge, but appears completely out of his depth. Lor takes pity on him and takes him under their wing as they race against the clock and the political tensions of their world to stop the brewing civil war someone out there is clearly engineering.

The World: in a world just like ours, maybe this very world, Fey, Werewolves, Vampires, Spirits, Witches and the ever-rarer Seers co-exit with your normal, average humans. They might be the nice lady who knows your morning order by heart at the coffee shop, the cashier at your local market, the teller at the bank. But they have their own lives too, a leader to answer to, tensions and territory to mind, and a council to oversee it all.

Cast:     - Temper, 20, he/him, a seer and in way over his head     - Lor, 23, they/them, born werewolf and way too young to be this tired     - Roa, looks 18-25, he/him, spirit, way more invested than he likes to pretend to be     - Eliana, looks ~22, she/they, fey, don't trust her don't trust her don't trust h-     - Nina, 26, she/her, witch, everything is pink and soft with her, even her soul probably

[wip page, wip tag]

Tag list: @onedayiwillwritestuff DM me or comment if you too would like to be added!

[nanowrimo]

4 Tips for Success and LGBTQ Community Building

Amara Lynn is a five year consecutive NaNoWriMo winner and a member of the LGBTQ community. Today, they’re going to be sharing 4 tips for success and building your writing community!

1. Have a plan.

If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard of the phrase “panster”, and you might even be one! If you aren’t a big plotter or planner, that’s okay! You can still have a plan!

My first year, I was also a panster. What I did was make a word document full of the scenes I knew I wanted to include in the story. When I got stuck, all I had to do to was look at that file. I still had plenty of room to play and pants!

Planning doesn’t just go for writing, either! NaNoWriMo can be stressful, even without distractions and other tasks we all have to do day to day. That’s why a little planning in your personal life can go a long way!

This could be anything from catching up your house chores, doing some meal prep or planning, or stocking up on your favorite snacks and writing fuel (coffee for me!). I also take some vacation days. If that’s something you can do, it can be very helpful, and brings me into my next tip, which is…

2. Have a writing buffer.

We all know, no matter how much planning you do, something won’t go your way. One year, my waterbed burst and I had to spend all night cleaning it up!

If you have time and the words are flowing one day, keep on writing! Being ahead can only help! If you’re roped into Thanksgiving dinner prep, or things just aren’t going well for you one day, it doesn’t upend your chances of crossing that 50k mark.

3. Participate in writing sprints!

Sprinting with your friends can add a bit of friendly competition, urgency, and companionship to your writing sessions!

It can be a challenge at first, especially if you’re going for that infamous 1k words in 30 minutes! I’ve only managed that once so don’t feel bad! Remember progress is progress and all words are great! If you manage at least 500 words in 30 minutes, it’s only about one and a half hours to get your words for the day.

4. Find a community.

Finding your writing people can be hard, but it’s one of the best things you can do to help you succeed!

I’ve known about NaNoWriMo for a long time. I would try, but never made it past the first day. It wasn’t until I had a community of writing friends that I won my first NaNo.

Because I felt having a community is important, particularly for LGBTQ+ writers, I started a Twitter writing hashtag called #LGBTQWriMo! Any LGBTQ+ writer is welcome to participate by answering the questions posted each day. There are check in days, line shares, and more!

As a queer, nonbinary person writing queer books, I know how nerve wracking it can be to participate in local events; not everyone may be welcoming of the content you write. That’s why an online community specifically for LGBTQ writers can be so important! It helps to know you’re not alone.

If you're seeking to build up your writing community, I highly recommend online spaces like Twitter for doing so! The LGBTQ writing community has been so welcoming and supportive to me, and I wouldn’t be where I am without them!

Don’t go it alone! Encouragement and enthusiasm others give is essential for success!

Amara Lynn has always been a quiet daydreamer. Coming up with characters and worlds since childhood, they eventually found an outlet in writing.They were born and raised in the Midwest USA, where they remain stuck with their spouse and two cats. They love to write about soft monsters and cryptids, grumpy enbies, and forever will be weak for the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one trope. When not writing, they are usually watching anime, playing games, and obsessing over their out of control music playlists.

You can learn more about Amara and their books on their website or follow them on Twitter, Instagram, or Tiktok.

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash