Part 3 Writing Advice: Stop The Self-Hating Narrative Around Disability

Part 3 Writing Advice: Stop The Self-Hating Narrative Around Disability

I'm BACK! I was working on some other Tumblr posts but i've decided to fulfill my promise to talk about the common associations people seem to have between disability and self-hatred.

You remember my own slogan "Disabled Adults Are Adults", right?

Well, here is the slogan for the majority of writers who are bad at writing good disability representation "Disabled Adults Are Tragic :`(

This association comes into everything so we'll go from the small chunks of ableist LOOORE~ and then move onto the really big ticket items? Right!

Assistive Aids Are Traps Designed By The Illuminati!

What do these common literary phrases have in common?

Confined to a Wheelchair

Forced to Use a Cane

Cursed To Always Use [Assistive Aid]

The answer: they are exceedingly negatively charged which incorrectly imply that mobility aids such as wheelchairs are horrible fates to be falled upon! This implication that living with disability is such a curse tends to be most forced upon "understandable" villains and sympathetic "tragic" figures who are "unbearably cursed" with a horrid fate

Those phrases are horrible not just because they incorrect imply that devices such as wheelchairs and other mobility aids are curses when, in reality, the individuals who use these assistant aids desperately need them in order to exercise their full potential but also due to the fact that it's an able-bodied centric perspective!

People who actually use these devices don't see them as unbearable weights bringing them down but tools of freedom and autonomy. Obviously, independence is not necessary to lead a fulfilling life but it's a nice cherry on top!

This "able-bodied centric perspective" will come up again!

Curing Disability

At the end of the story i'll cute and sweet protagonist/main character will be forcibly mutilated into an able-bodied person either by machinery in a sci-fi setting or through the gods.

p.s that's just eugenics. eugenics is what the nazis did

Curing disability doesn't just mean a literal cure but also the overall narrative of "overcoming" disability tends to be here.

"Overcoming disability" is when an author implies that through a character's dedication they have "overcame" the limitations of their disability and are functionally no longer disabled.

Basically, if you have a disabled character whose jokes tend to center on "wow, I always forget you are disabled" or "I am the author and I keep forgetting this character has a disability", you have this trope.

The reason why this is shitty is because you, able-bodied author, have disabled readers. Disabled readers of various different types of disabilties who are reading your story.

Can you imagine if every single story of an able-bodied character involved them being forcibly turned disabled as a "reward" for their good behavior?

Can you imagine if every story involving a queer character involved that singular queer character being turned into a cishet individual?

"Disabled people still exist even when your character stops being disabled"

All you have done is tell disabled and non-disabled audience members that disabled people don't deserve to exist. That's bad.

Final: The Self-Hating Narrative

"Disabled Adults are Adults"

When I was inventing that phrase, I knew it needed to be universally applicable. The only reason I specificed "adults" and not "people" was due to the fact I was talking about infantilization in the first part and I didn't want someone to be like "well, obvi special needs kids are going to be treated delicately".

Anyway, the phrase needed to be universal because disabled adults are just people at the end of the day. They struggle with some not universal things like chronical illness or disability. They also struggle with the universal things like: can I support my family, am I ready, will the bank be closed by the time I wake up, can I be a good person?

They also succeed. Sometimes this success is in the form of gaining more mobility then before. Sometimes this success will seem minor to not disabled people or even to disabled people who have never struggled with that particular thing before.

They also succeed at things we succeed at. They create what has never been created before. They prove to themselves that they can be relied on. They laugh when they struggle.

Yes, they sometimes hate themselves. But even then, they continue on. They struggle with their symptoms day-to-day on top of succeeding in the daily struggles we all deal with. They deal with ableist remarks while also having fun.

Disability Is Normality

Many disabled adults and children are fighting for the right to see narratives in which their lives aren't plagued by melodramatic angst about being disabled.

Many disabled adults and children go about their daily lives with an overwhelming confidence about their disability and don't give a shit about what ableist remark you have to say.

And one of the most important things an author needs to be if they ever want to write true, inspiring, and universal works is to listen to voices of those they wish to represent.

If an author wants to represent disabled people living disabled lives in fantasy and reality, they need to listen to the perspectives of those who are actually living those lives. Sure, they may be lacking in terms of how to fly a dragon but humanity is humanity with or without the added uniqueness.

If an author just takes a ableist-covered crap-filled myths of what disability is like, expect backlash! Or maybe expect nothing, disabled adults have way too many concerns to be dealing with your sorry ass.

I'm going to gush about my (~slightly finished~) WIP. More specifically, about the worldbuilding because I normally struggle and cry about worldbuilding like a toddler who refuses to play with the blocks. But I did sub-par this time which is better than what I normally do.

Basically, in my world you have the typical superpowered stuff. Some people are born with this specific genetic mutation, unlocks when something horrifying happens, blah blah cliche shit because I am horrible at writing creative worldbuilding. it's one of my many writing flaws.

But I eventually stumbled upon the idea of a symbiotic relationships between this certain species of aliens which allows individuals who are desperate for powers to finally get some. There is this whole underground black market for these creatures which is extremely lucrative and highly risky at the same time due to the fact that there are like 10? "clusters" on Earth. It's not a thriving market to be quite honest.

However there are villains who have rised to power using these creatures. The creatures benefit by gaining information about the human race for world domination shenanigans while humans get the benefit of powers.

Eventually, this turns into a doomed relationship as the identity of the human will be absorbed into the cluster. However it's not all fun and games for the aliens as they also absorb the ideologies and memories of the human.

That's basically it. It's kinda sad how proud I am of such a ridiculous nothing worldbuilding.

writers, listen up...

i've fallen out of touch with the writeblr community a lot in the past few years, and i want to rectify that. the community aspect was what made me fall in love with tumblr, and what improved my writing for the better.

the golden days of my writing were when i was highly active and engaged in this wonderful community, but life and work and the horrors of self publishing have overtaken my energy in the past year. however, i have been really struggling with original writing, and i want to get back into the community here.

that said...

you write fantasy with queer characters

are an indie author

post frequently about your wips (taglists are a bonus!)

are queer

are a very active and friendly writer

if any of these apply

please, please reblog and tell me about your wip. gush over it. infodump. characters and ships and worldbuilding and plot, i want it all! this is your invitation to be as selfishly indulgent as possible. let's make some new friends and restore some community!!

boosts appreciated!

Fuck this shit

This is unconscionable. (more)

Doing sketches like these for 15 USD, dm me if interested

Writer's Prompt: A Superhero Weakness

I really wanted to do something simple and I am a creative gal/guy so here we go!

The ability to heal from any and all injuries however this healing only occurs through pure-blooded will and desire to live

Basically, if someone says "hey, I want to die" when they're fatally injured, their body won't repair itself. This means that your character's greatest weakness is psychological warfare.

You could possibly take this to the extreme that this character needs to be conscious in order to repair their injuries or you could say that subconsciously their body wants to continue being alive.

There are many different story ideas you could take this.

This can also help a writer who struggles with writing fight scenes since it's unlikely that anyone smart and safety conscious would ever willing get into a physical fight with "Unbreakable" over there.

Instead the only way to fight this seemingly immortal threat is through psychological warfare. To make someone so convinced that death would be better than living that they just die. This has a nice squick factor and can lend well to writing sympathetic morally corrupt individuals or to absolutely despicable villains depending on the morality of the immortal character.

TO BE CLEAR: I am only proposing this power and the controversial story ideas as a symptom of this character's weakness. I am not advocating for any of this psychological torture!

Hello dear friends! ❤🤍🖤💚

🍉I am Mahmoud Ayyad, a Palestinian from the besieged and destroyed Gaza 😭😭, coming from an extended family of young children, women and elderly people ❤❤ who have been suffering😭😭 for 300 difficult days from an aggressive war.

Our lives are harsh because we lack all the basic necessities of life. Everything has become scarce and unattainable. There is no food, no water, no medicine.

So, I ask you to help me keep my family safe and alive, especially after we had lost all our sources of livelihood.Please do not leave my family to struggle and suffer these difficult days alone. You can support my campaign by donating whatever you can or by sharing my posts to reach others who can help us survive the war to safety and peace. You are helping the lives of many people with your small contribution. Every donation makes a difference in our very difficult lives. But this is a legitimate campaign and has been checked by 90-ghost.

https://gofund.me/31c5cbe3

Donate IF You Can And REblog Please!!

Fuck, um, Danny Gonzalez shout out!!!

Donate IF You Can And REblog Please!!

Donate IF You Can And REblog Please!!

Donate IF You Can And REblog Please!!❤