Last night, I got struck with an idea.
It came about because Star Prichard announced they’re making How to Webcomic version 2.0, a book they made about how to create and publish webcomics in 2023. (Go back it on KickStarter if this is something you’re interested in.)
The thing is, I had the thought of doing something like this before, but I’m glad that Star is doing the labor for that, not me.
But it got me thinking, “What can I offer that hasn’t been brought up before?”
Because here’s the thing – there are tutorials and how-to books all over the place about how to write stories. Heck, it’s not just How to Webcomic – There are also books about world-building, screenwriting, and the “hero’s journey.” Heck, I started drafting a book about how to write better characters. But I wanted to offer something else.
Then it hit me last night.
I thought, “Has anyone written a book about Queer Storytelling?”
A LOT of how-to books about writing focus on the same story beats and story types, claiming that they’re “universal.” But they’re “universal” to straight men. Stories made for women and LGBTQ+ people have different end goals, different story beats, and different aesthetics.
I thought about my own background in writing, especially in nonfiction. What I wrote in college focused a lot on social deviance (if it wasn’t focused on African Art History). And in our culture, LGBTQ+ people are considered social deviants, because they don’t fit the Straight mold.
That train of thought got me thinking – “A lot of stories exist to prop up OR challenge social expectations. So what do queer stories look like?”
Now I’m inspired to work on this book.
I’m gathering sources already, I have books from the library to start with, and I have an outline written.
This book is NOT going to be immediate. Heck, it will likely not come out for another year. I need to research, gather sources, and take lots of notes, and that’s even BEFORE writing the dang thing. It’s going to be like writing a research paper, but longer.
I’ve done it before, though. It’s been years since I did, but I think I can do it again.
If there are queer stories you would like me to look at (for research purposes, of course), shout them out in the comments, yo.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!
You. Are. Awesome.