"Anyhow. I Gotta Run. Gotta Feed My Kids."

"Anyhow. I gotta run. Gotta feed my kids."

"Family man, huh?"

"You could say that."

(Detective Comics #703)

Writing a Blind or Visually Impaired Character

A Multi-Step Guide Written by a Visually Impaired Writer and Blogger

I’m hoping this blog will over time develop its own following, and when it does people will inevitably see my bio and notice what I included: I’m visually impaired.

Yes, a visually impaired writer, and I’ve written with two blind characters before so I have some practice in the field.

So, inevitably, someone is going to ask how to write a blind character.

Or, at least, I hope you’ll ask someone who’s actually blind or visually impaired about writing a blind character before you get too involved with your new WIP.

All parts will be tagged #blindcharacter in my blog, and I will add links to every post as I finish each part. Follow my blog for more writing advice.

Note, this post updates fairly often and old versions are still floating around out there. The most current version of this post is pinned to my blog with any new guides or links you might of missed.

As of 24 January 2021, this is the most extensive and screen reader friendly version of this post.

Part One: Crafting the Blind Character

In which I tell you how to begin making a blind character who is more than a cardboard cutout

Part Two: Narrative Choice, Visual Description, Verbal Description, Social Interaction

In which I give you a basic rundown on how to write from the perspective of a character who can’t see and still make the narration descriptive

Part Three: Tropes and Clichés to Avoid

Your blind readers will thank you for not being the 5000th person to do this and manage to actually finish your story. (Do you have any idea how many stories I’ve noped out of within two chapters because of these clichés? A Lot.)

-New- Part Four: Canes, Guide Dogs, and O&M

Everything I can tell you about 1) how to learn how to use a cane 2) how a cane works 3) how to describe what your character experiences with their cane 4) everything I know on guide dogs

Part Five: Small Aspects of being Blind You Never Thought Of

5 January 2021 Edit: This link has been fixed to correspond with the correct post

Or, really, very normal everyday things for blind people, the inclusion of which will make your characters more real and authentic. It’s the tiny details.

Part Six: Should You Cure Your Character’s Blindness? (Short Answer: No)

There’s no way to write a cure for your blind character that doesn’t make blind readers hate you. Sorry. We came here to finally experience a relatable character who experiences the world like us, but none of us are getting cured so seeing this character we learned to love become something alien from us in the end feels like a slap in the face

Why I’m Blind and What I See -NEW-

I thought I’d finally make a post explaining the complicated situation about my vision. Includes an explanation of visual snow and exotropia, two of the three causes for my vision issues.

Writing Blind Characters Falling in Love, an Advice Post:

Someone asked what being blind and falling in love have to do with each other. Honestly, blindness changes your perspective on everything and it makes an impact on every relationship you have. This includes some things that you definitely do not want your character’s love interest to be/do.

Writing Blind Jokes (Should You Do It?)

You know those flow charts of “should you do x?” going around? It’s like that, but screen reader friendly. Should you write blind jokes. It’s pretty complicated and there are a lot of possible scenarios and details to consider.

Advice for Writing Toph Beifong -NEW-

In this I discuss what I would like to see done in fanfiction with Toph’s character after ten years of reading Avatar the Last Airbender fanfiction

A small essay addressing the frequently asked question on giving your blind character a superpower to help them “see.”

It’s became a popular question, so to make the answer easier/faster for everyone to access, I wrote what will usually be my initial answer. Below there are a few links to some notable past questions on this subject.

Mourning My Vision, it’s More than Depression. 

A small personal essay addressing the nuances of the mourning period you experience with a new disability. The mourning period is mentioned in other guides, but this is more detailed.

Dealing with Heightened Senses, a video by Molly Burke with additional commentary by me

While Molly talks about the myths and truths about heightened senses, I talk about the correlation with blindness and neuro-divergency and how co-morbid disorders/disabilities might affect sensory processing.

Satirical Commentary on the phrase “that blank look in their eyes” used too often in fiction to identify a blind character

a:tla, I’m looking at you (and my eyes aren’t blank)

I Found a Lost Piece of Blindness History

My grandmother told me about her blind aunt and how she sent letters. It led me to speculate about all the O&M things people develop on their own but never get a chance to pass onto other blind people. Technology and techniques are lost in history and reinvented, including the white cane ad guide dogs.

Includes a little history on the introduction of guide dogs into the 20th century

The Following are Answered Anon Questions

Making Your Blog More Accessible

Making Links Accessible to Screen Readers

Reblogging to Add an Image Description to Someone Else’s Image

Why I Write Image Descriptions

Writing Blind Characters

Advice for a Character Who was Born Blind

Over-Protective Parents of a Blind Character, Why They’re Over-Protective and How to Avoid Crossing a Line

A Blind Character in Victorian Era Historical Fiction

Is It Bad Not to Have Guide Dogs in a Fantasy/Historical Setting Without Guide Dogs (short answer: it’s not bad)

Someone Asked About My Thoughts on a Medusa-like Character Blinding Herself to Avoid Hurting Anyone

-New- Characters Who Have Recently Gone Blind and Avoiding Inspiration Porn

Talking about Popular Blind Characters In Media

Does Daredevil’s Echolocation Negate His Blindness

Someone Else was Asked How to Write Daredevil Fanfiction

Blind Characters with Superpowers/Fighting Styles

World Setting where the General Population has a Superpower

Superpowers that don’t involve sight, Five questions to ask yourself if this superpower is a bad idea or a good one

-New- Your character would not use a cane as a weapon, it’s a bad idea

D&D/Roleplaying Blind Characters

-New- Animal Familiars Acting as Service Animals and Advice for Communicating with Your DM

-New- Portraying Older Blind Characters + Causes for Vision Loss with Old Age

Far too many pics of the Palais Garnier (Part One!)

In October of 2022, I had the extraordinary experience of getting to complete an 15+ year old dream of mine to visit the Palais Garnier. I took a metric fuckton of pictures and now I want to share them with you all, the PotO community!

Before I start dumping, a few things:

Please reblog this post. I usually don’t post a lot, therefore I don’t have a big following. I’d really appreciate people sharing these as much as they can. When I was a dumb kid in ye olden days of the internet, finding a post like this was the sort of thing I would have been hyped up on for weeks. Help spread that kind of joy!

Feel free to use these photos for any sorts of graphics, artistic reference or any other fandom related projects, as long as it’s not for profit. Please just credit me in some way. In fact, I'd love to be tagged to see whatever creations come from sharing all this!

With these pictures, I really tried to focus on capturing close up details of things that aren’t often seen in common photos. That said, this post is going to be all exterior shots. I will share interior shots in subsequent posts. As I make them, I'll link them together. Enjoy!

These are the doors under the arches on the face of the building. In the past, these would have been the entrances for the “common folk” that attended the opera.

This sculpture was my favorite one on the exterior just for the details of the reflection in the hand mirror.

This is the view of the street when you stand directly on the steps in front of the Opera. To the right, there is a really interesting cafe. Opening in 1862, Cafe de la Paix is definitely somewhere Raoul and Christine could have shared a romantic meal!

Historically, I believe this would have been one of the entrances for wealthy patrons of the Opera, like our favorite Vicomte. Now, its a restaurant, CoCo. We didn't get a chance to eat there, as it seemed to be a black-tie sort of place. The surrounding area of the Opera was all very upscale, lots of luxury storefronts and other fancy restaurants.

The ceiling on the 2nd level balcony.

The modern entrance to the box office is right behind this awesome tribute to the man himself, Charles Garnier.

PART ONE (you are here), PART TWO (interiors), PART THREE (coming soon!)

Question: do you have any blind characters/designs, and how do or would you go about designing blind eyes (since there are variations of blindness), esp in line art?

I don't have any blind characters, no, but I've done some research on it and from what I can tell the majority of blind people don't have much visibly different with their eyes.

It's a common shorthand to make the iris pale or clouded, as things like cataracts can lead to fogginess (this is more of when you colour the pupil/parts of the iris lighter rather than with the lineart), but from what I've heard this can be a bit annoying to always see in blind characters. If it's trauma-based blindness, there can be scars (which can typically affect the skin around the eye as well), but otherwise there's not much difference in blind eyes.

Honestly, most signs of someone being blind are in body language and occasionally facial expressions as they'll interact with the world in a less visually-dependent way. Someone with partial blindness or light-sensitive vision might respond to sudden movements or changes in environment, while someone with no vision would respond to sound or texture, etc.

Another signifier of blindness for character design can involve disability aids, and it's good to do research for the setting and the form of blindness the character has. If your character can still see contrast of dark and light, they'd usually keep their eyes unobscured, but if they instead get photosensitive headaches or risk retina burns, they might wear sunglasses or another form of protective masking. Canes are another common aid along with assistive animals to have a wider understanding of your surrounding, or to have an indicator of blindness so people around can accommodate you better, and the design of these can be changed a bit to fit the setting and character.

This is all dependent on the character's form of blindness, their personality, needs, and environment. It's a good way to communicate these things about a character if you do research in how it'd manifest. Though, at the end of the day you can have a blind character with no distinct design difference from a sighted character. In many ways, it impacts the writing and body language more than the base design.

HeritageDaily - Archaeology News

New study on how Viking beadmakers recycled glass from Roman mosaics

A study published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences reveals new manufacturing techniques on how craftsmen in Denmar

This find is remarkable. Recycle and reuse in practice.

Fuck off, friend (a Mr. Robot script)

Elliot won't speak to Mr. Robot after discovering about Stage 2, and tries his best to call off the operation his alter ego has set up while he had his back turned.

Mr. Robot used to be half of a pair. Now he's by himself. That is, until Elliot's mute and invisible friend starts appearing when only he is around.

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