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Conflict Resolution:Women are often socialized to prioritize harmony and may employ negotiation and compromise to resolve conflicts. A male protagonist might be more direct or confrontational, though both approaches have their place in the nuanced world of cozy mysteries.

Again, these are generalizations. The most engaging characters often defy stereotypes and bring a unique mix of traits to the table. The psychological differences mentioned can serve as a starting point, but the richness of your character will come from how you blend these elements with their individual personalities, backgrounds, and experiences. This approach not only makes your characters more relatable but also opens up a wider range of narrative possibilities.

We have to be realistic. Cozy mysteries are primarily written by women and gay men for women and gay men. And there are a lot more women than gay men both writing and reading cozy mysteries. What does that mean in practical terms?

It means you can probably sell more books if your protagonist is a white heterosexual female as described above. You have to consider what is important to you.

Thenyou have to consider what is important to your target audience.

Writing characters from backgrounds, orientations, or experiences different from your own—writing a character with disabilities, for example—requires a thoughtful, respectful approach. Here are some important aspects to keep in mind to ensure your LGBTQ+ characters are portrayed authentically and sensitively:

Research and Understanding:Before you begin, invest time in researching the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals. This includes understanding the cultural, social, and personal nuances of being LGBTQ+. Reading books, watching documentaries, and listening to personal accounts can provide valuable insights.

Avoid Stereotypes:Stereotypes can be code, sure. But they are oversimplified and often inaccurate representations that can be harmful. Make sure your characters are fully realized individuals with their own personalities, desires, and struggles, not just caricatures based on their sexual orientation.

Diverse Representations:Just like any group, the LGBTQ+ community is diverse in terms of personalities, experiences, and life goals. Ensure that your portrayal reflects this diversity. Not all gay characters should fit the same mold, nor can their storylines revolve solely around their sexuality. What rings true for one gay reader will not be ring true for every gay reader. You have to accept that and move on.

Consult Sensitivity Readers:Sensitivity readers are individuals from the community you’re writing about who can review your work for accuracy, representation, and potential issues. Their feedback can be invaluable in ensuring that your portrayal is respectful and authentic.

Humanize Your Characters:Your characters should be multifaceted and human. Their sexual orientation is just one aspect of who they are.The most interesting thing about your gay protagonist cannot be the fact that he or she is gay. Focus on developing their character arcs, challenges, successes, and relationships like you would for any other character.

Understand the Issues:Be aware of the social and political issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. This doesn’t mean every LGBTQ+ character needs to face these issues directly, but an awareness can add depth to your writing and help avoid inadvertently perpetuating harmful narratives. However, given that you are writing a cozy mystery, this has to be handled subtly. Your book must be an entertaining cozy mystery with a gay protagonistnota political manifesto. There are no politics in the cozy mystery—beyond the fact that you are writing a cozy mystery with an LGBTQ+ protagonist.

Use Appropriate Language:Language evolves, and terms that were once acceptable may now be outdated or offensive. Make sure to use the current and respectful language when referring to LGBTQ+ characters or themes in your writing.

Show Respect for the Experience:Even with thorough research, there’s an aspect of lived experience that you won’t fully grasp as an outsider. Acknowledge this in your approach, aiming to write with empathy and respect rather than claiming authority on the subject.

Avoid Tokenism:Including a gay character or person of color or a character with disabilities solely to tick a diversity box can be counterproductive. You don’t want the reader to feel as though you were trying to get one of every flavor. The population of your small town or village has to feel organic. Cast every character with consideration for their purpose in the story beyond the brand of diversity they represent. Every character must contribute to the narrative in meaningful ways. They cannot be window dressing.

Embrace Complexity and Conflict:Like any character, LGBTQ+ characters should have complex personalities and face conflicts and challenges. However, this is a cozy mystery, so avoid falling into the trap of portraying their sexuality as the source of all their problems or their identity as a burden. The protagonists of cozy mysteries score low on angst and high on self-esteem.

Be Open to Criticism:After publication, be open to feedback from gay readers and the LGBTQ+ community. If you’ve made mistakes, listen to the consensus of criticism and use it as a learning experience for future writing.

At the same time, one person’s opinion is just one person’s opinion. I don’t care if you’re the best writer out there; your work will not be universally loved. That is not a reflection on your work nor on the readers who don’t care for your work. Yes, it hurts when people are unkind. Yes, some reviews are unfair. Shake it off.

Look for aconsensusin order to get a real idea of the validity of your work.

And never forget: the bottom line, i.e.,your sales, are indeed the bottom line.

Writing diverse characters responsibly is a continuous learning process. It’s about showing respect, doing your due diligence in research, and striving for authenticity in your portrayal. Your role as a writer is not only to entertain but to reflect the diversity of the world authentically and sensitively, contributing to a richer, more inclusive storytelling landscapewithin the framework of the cozy mystery subgenre.

You are What You Do

While people of all sexual orientations can be found in every field and occupation, gay men have historically had a significant presence in fashion design, arts and entertainment, hairdressing and cosmetology, interior design, culinary arts, fashion retail and merchandising, event planning and management, social services and mental health, and hospitality and travel. Professional services (fields such as law, medicine, and finance) have seen increasing representation and visibility of gay men, reflecting broader societal changes toward inclusion and diversity.

People, regardless of their sexual orientation, pursue careers based on their interests, skills, and passions, and can excel in any field they choose. The most important thing is to remember that whatever profession you give your protagonist, it must work within the confines of the cozy mystery universe.

That means, whatever your protagonist does, there has to be some reason/excuse for their constant proximity to, and subsequent involvement in, homicide investigations.

Jessica Fletcher Syndrome is one of the most frequently criticized aspects of the cozy mystery subgenre. How can this retired-schoolteacher-now-prolific-mystery-novelist get involved in more than 264 murders? Regardless of where she lives or travels?!

(Granted, it would be equally ridiculous for a private eye, but for some reason, cozies take the greatest amount of heat for being unrealistic.)

The point is, whatever your protagonist ends up doing to earn his or her daily bread, it needs to be something with regular exposure to a large cast of regularandrevolving characters.

Cozy mysteries often feature protagonists with occupations that naturally immerse them in community life or allow them to stumble upon mysteries in their daily routines.

Here’s a list of the most common occupations for cozy mystery protagonists: