Hey there, what's up? I'm not quite sure where to start, forums in general are rather new to me, so forgive me if this doesn't seem very connected! In a few words, I'm a straight guy from Eastern Europe who loves videogames, books, comic books, geeky movies and TV shows, anime - the complete package. I've actually studied game design in college and have made a couple of indie games myself, though I don't think I'm allowed to say which ones, considering the whole "complete anonymity" rule this site has, but suffice to say, I've got experience in the area! As the name would suggest, I'm also a writer - I've written a few books (none of which have been published, though it's not like I've tried to get them on shelves too hard) and am currently hard at work on what's basically my dream project, which is a comic book that just so happens to have a very diverse cast, with roughly half of its protagonists belonging to the LGBT community. Until now, I've basically been writing them like I would write any other character, just with this extra quality about them that defines part of who they are. But recently, I started watching the videos of certain gay youtubers like the awesome Arielle Scarcella, and I've come to realize that my approach probably wasn't the right one. There seems to be an entire LGBT culture that I'm not familiar with, so writing LGBT characters without familiarizing myself with what it means to be a part of this community just wouldn't be fair. As such, I've decided to join this forum and (hopefully) join the community myself, at least in some small part. I really hope that I'm not offending anyone - I realize that I'm rather ignorant about a lot of things, but that's why I'm here. It was rather hard finding the right words to describe the above paragraph, as I keep having this nagging feeling that it will sound condescending, like, "Oh, let's observe these strange LGBT people in their natural habitat", which isn't what I mean or want at all, so if I've offended anyone, I sincerely apologize. I don't plan on stalking people, or including anyone in the comics or stuff like that - all I want is to be part of a few discussions and learn from other people's shared experiences. As such, I hope that I will be accepted, but I will leave if I'm making people uncomfortable. Thank you!
Hey and welcome to EC! I hope that as you stated you are able to integrate into the community and that you are able to enjoy your time here. Also I hope that you are willing to share with us your point of view as it's not very likely we get a "straight" member haha well anyways I hope that you are able to make new friends who will help you and hopefully we see your comics on the shelves soon Good luck and if you ever need a friend don't hesitate to contact me
Welcome Writers Voice, I'm a geek too, you are my friend already! My friend writes too so I'm looking forward to read your work The people here are very friendly, I hope you make friends & enjoy being here
Hello! So great to hear about the work you are doing. I am also an upcoming writer, or at least like to think I will be. I would totally read that comic.
Welcome! I think there is a member here, shinji, also from Bulgaria. You might talk to him. It's not surprising that you haven't heard about all the LGBT subcultures. I was pretty ignorant about transgender stuff until coming to this site, and I consider myself to be relatively a lover of trivia and learning. Don't hesitate to ask questions. As long as you ask with sincerity, people will be happy to help. The challenge in our world is that most straight people aren't that interested in getting to know LGBT people personally, and the only way to change their ignorance is to inform them on the reality of the situation. The more I read in this site, the more I see that people everywhere have the same hopes and loves, just they're a little queer.
