Writing A Blind Or Visually Impaired Character

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

More Posts from An-awkward-ghost and Others

an-awkward-ghost

3 years ago

So I have a request 👉👈 How would Darla and Mc's first kiss would be (Take your time doing this, I can wait patiently😊)

Written by @an-awkward-ghost

The last thing you had ever imagined was to do magical training with Darla, of all people

She had been growing on you lately. Both of you had tried to be less snappy, and Darla was actually fun to be around when she wasn’t firing off insults as if she were a machine gun. She was fiercely protective and surprisingly patient once you got on her good side. She had taken the whole fairytale world in stride, slightly shocked and skeptical at first but rolling with it afterwards.

You hadn’t planned for her to discover it, honestly. She had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and it had only been thanks to Lucas’ quick thinking that everyone had made it out alive. Who knew the Pied Piper of Hamelin would be such a bad guy? You had been hoping he would be different from the story, like Ezra, but he turned out to be even worse.

And now, here you are, practicing for the plan Nora and Arin had hashed out an hour ago, trying and failing to learn to play something to counter the Pied Piper’s own brainwashing melody.

For that matter — who knew Darla was so good with the flute? As the only one who knew how to play it, but also the only one without magic, she had taken it upon herself to teach the rest. Everyone had already left for the day, so it was only you and her now.

You, too stubborn to leave without at least accomplishing one note right, and her, too passionate about her task to deny you an extra lesson.

It could be going better, though…

“Do you even have air in your lungs, Beth? I swear I can’t hear a thing—”

“I am blowing!”

“Remember that it’s like you’re smiling. A little smile. You’re good with that, right? We don’t want an ‘o’ shape unless we need a low pitch.”

Darla’s eyes are fixed on your lips, analyzing the shape. It’s distracting. You know she only does it in the professional sense, but at some point over the lessons, you’d found that your breath stuttered every time she did it, smile widening more than intended for blowing out the flute, cheeks darkening.

“Let’s take a short break,” the brown-haired girl finally announces, turning away, and the tension in your chest you hadn’t acknowledged until now instantly disappears.

I’m a mess, you think, frustration creeping into the lukewarm feeling you get every time Darla looks at you.

“Sorry.”

“No problem, Beth, I know how learning an instrument can be.”

“But isn’t flute supposed to be easy?”

She shrugs. It’s a calm little thing, just a slight, elegant movement of her shoulders. Once again, you’re in awe of how patient she is. You would have stormed off a while ago.

“Any skill has its ups and downs, even the ones that are supposed to be easy. And hey, even that varies from person to person. Don’t feel down about it. I’m sure you’ll have it down by the end of the week.”

“Great advice as always, Darla.”

She smirks that smirk you used to hate, coated with confidence and typical Popular Girl Satisfaction™. “You know it.” And then her expression softens as she turns to look at her flute, twirling it slightly with a reverence that has you mesmerized. “I can’t wait to see you all work magic with these, or the look the Pied Piper’s gonna get.”

“It’s difficult. I don’t know how to explain it... Um. Well, it’s like the music keeps bouncing off any spell I try to combine it with. Like they aren’t compatible or something.”

“Nora explained that to me. That’s why she’s going to enchant the flutes instead, right? Once she gets the necessary materials?”

“Yeah… it’ll make things easier, too. We usually use incantations — they are way easier than just trying to image the spell. Hey, maybe that’s why it keeps bouncing off? But then again, I can’t exactly say the spell when I’m blowing…”

Darla frowns, looking up from the flute. “Who knows? All of this is too complicated for me. I’d rather stick to what I know… speaking of which, let’s try one more time. You’re going to hit the note, I’m sure of it.”

“Uh…”

The instrument feels heavy on your hands. You rise it towards your lips, clumsily placing your fingers the way Darla had instructed you before, but pause just before blowing, noticing the way Darla’s eyes focus on your lips as if magnetized.

“I…”

“C’mon, Beth.”

Shouldn’t her focus be on your hands…? She must know how much she’s distracting you, doesn’t she?

“It’s just… well…”

Her eyes flick upwards to your eyes, curious. “Yes?”

She has to know. There’s no way she can be this oblivious, right?

Your mouth opens and then closes, at a loss for words. The seconds tick by in the background like a restless pulse, and you lose whatever bravado you had managed to gather.

“Maybe I should just call it a day.”

Darla looks a bit surprised at that. There’s a pause as she looks at you, her expression impassive for all of two seconds before a soft, amused smile breaks through, eyes as alluring as a dark bottle of wine. The change is so instant it leaves you stunned; she’d been slightly distant throughout the lessons, more concentrated on the technique than friendly banter, but now she had seemingly abandoned that.

“Is something distracting you, Elizabeth?” She asks, voice soft and composed, and a shiver runs down your spine at the sound. The fact that she doesn’t use your nickname and how it makes her every word so much more intense means she’s probably aware of the effect she has on you…

And the realization sets the butterflies in your stomach alight.

“Well?”

There’s no sense in beating around the bush. Darla may be patient once one manages to get into her good side, but you know her well enough to know she appreciates direct answers more than anything else.

“You.”

She hums, leaning slightly forward, hand coming up to grasp your chin. Her hold is delicate, but firm.

“We can’t have that. You need to concentrate if we want to have any chance against the Pied Piper.” She slides the flute out of your grasp, leaving it on a table nearby without sparing it so much as a glance. Her eyes are locked on yours.

“T-this may be counterproductive…”

She stops.

“Don’t you want this?”

“I do!” You blurt out, fast. Too fast. Darla chuckles lowly, not pulling away but not advancing either. “What about you?”

The blush that spreads over her cheeks is answer enough.

“You really were using the lessons as an excuse to stare at my lips, huh?”

“N-no!” She grows still, all the suave energy she was exuding before fading like a dream. “Well, just a little bit, but mouth shape is important to play the flute—”

“A-ha! So you were!”

“Wha—hey! Didn’t you just hear what I just—?”

“That’s not important right now.”

She actually frowns, not truly offended but still irked you dismiss her just like that, but you don’t give her a chance to actually voice her thoughts. You tilt your head upwards, feeling the way her breath stutters, and lean forward.

Slow, so she’ll back away if she wants, but she doesn’t even hesitate.

Kissing Darla is like kissing an inferno—she’s intense, pushing you back until you hit the wall, her hand on your hair cushioning the impact. She kisses you as if you were to disappear from her hands in a puff of smoke, as if you were a receding tide and the setting sun, and she only had this second to capture the shape of your lips, to capture your existence in her mind. It’s almost dizzying, but you surrender to it completely anyway, your arms snaking around her waist and pulling her closer.

The only reason you even pull away is because your lungs demand air. Darla blinks, probably expecting a longer kiss.

“Too much?”

“I just… give me a second…”

She smiles against your lips when you pull her down a second time after you catch your breath, and this time it’s sweeter, gentler, more like a soft petal.

When you finally part, she sighs and melts against you.

“Will you try to focus more, now?” She whispers.

You give her an incredulous look. “After that? No way.”

“C’mon, Beth. You need to save the world.” She laughs, and you roll your eyes.

“Maybe I will stop getting so distracted if I had more time to get used to this. More demonstrations would help, certainly.”

“Certainly.”

You are, officially, on cloud nine.

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an-awkward-ghost

5 years ago

Lovestruck: Here, have this villain in our new Sin With Me series. She's mean and controls demons and she's hot.

Me: Nice

LS: Oh, and if she touches anything living, she fucken incinerates it. This is both a weapon and a curse.

Me: SPICE

LS: Oh, and now she's getting her own route.

Me: Take my money

LS: Oh, and by the way, she's highly successful, and values human life despite what her actions may initially suggest. Also she leaves ridiculously good tips for service workers and literally robs the rich after seeing them laugh about firing a waiter and taking away their livelihood

Me: VILLAIN ROUTES ARE THE BES