What do you look for in a GL/yuri/lesbian comic?

[Green_Dahlia]

I want to make a comic, and people say to write about what you know so...I'm writing about lesbians lol

I guess what I'm asking is, what catches your interest when(if) you read something involving GL?

Please don't answer with something like, "the sex!" because GL is more than that and from what I've seen, there's already plenty of comics on here that are porn without plot.

Is it the characters? The setting? Real-life genre or some kind of fantasy? Do you prefer the stereotypical "she finds out she's a lesbian" or a character who's already an established lesbian?

Call it research, but I'm honestly just curious what kind of comic people would be interested in reading.

Thanks in advance for any replies c:

[Lapsang]

I may not be the best person to answer this as, in general, I'm not really into 'romance' as a genre. But, for what it's worth, I'll throw my thoughts out there.

I think the world needs more gay romance subplots in stories that are not strictly about being gay. I'd love to read something where the main plot/conflict was, I don't know, some epic adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, whatever, but where the main character just happens to be a lesbian and she has to SAVE THE WORLD whilst getting a girlfriend.

But maybe that's just me...

[radiostarkiller]

GL is a nice touch, but make sure you make the characters are really engaging! Any setting will work, but I personally would lean more towards a real life story or something with a supernatural touch (I have two GL projects with those in mind lol). As for the whole finding out thing or having an established lesbian, it doesn't really matter, just make sure that fits the story well.

Like I said, GL is a nice touch, but make sure that it's a good complement to the story you're trying to tell, and make sure you have depth with your characters.

[eishiya]

GL is a nice touch, but make sure you make the characters are really engaging! Any setting will work, but I personally would lean more towards a real life story or something with a supernatural touch (I have two GL projects with those in mind lol). As for the whole finding out thing or having an established lesbian, it doesn't really matter, just make sure that fits the story well.

Like I said, GL is a nice touch, but make sure that it's a good complement to the story you're trying to tell, and make sure you have depth with your characters.

This.
GL, BL, or no romance at all; slice-of-life or heroic fantasy - the characters and their struggles better be interesting. I have my preferences, but you should write what you are interested in, and make it engaging.

Also, as Lapsang said - it shouldn't be about the fact that the characters in the relationship are both female. They may/should have certain struggles that are unique to lesbian relationships (copypaste plots that would work no matter who the characters are tend to be boring!), but their lesbianness shouldn't be the most important/interesting thing about them.
When you're writing romance in general, try not to make the romance the raison d'etre for the characters. They should have their own lives and struggles outside of their love life; when a person's life revolves around a relationship, it's often a sign of an abusive/harmful relationship (which might make an interesting story in itself).

[Pudge]

Thanks for all the feedback you guys! You all stated some really great points, I wanted to make a GL comic without the whole plot revolving around "oh my god we're gay" lol I'm a little intimidated about making one since there's a lot of ways it could go wrong. The feedback helped though, thanks you guys.

[Pudge]

Oh, forgot to mention, my account isn't working for whatever reason, so I had to use my friends account lol this is actually Green_Dahlia

[eishiya]

Please edit your posts instead of double-posting.

I'm glad you found some help here, and that you weren't going to focus too much on the gayness of the characters. Too many people do, so you're already ahead of the curve xP

[Pudge]

Oh sorry! My bad lol

Yeah, I already see a bunch of BL comics on here where the entire focus is being gay. Not that they're not fun to read, I'm guilty lol but the ones that stand out are the ones about "something" with the added bonus of "oh btdubbs, I'm gay".

[blankd]

Like the others have said and the otherwise gist of it is that the story and characters should be able to stand on their own, the GL or BL or romantiwhatevers should compliment what's already there.

Sexuality can be worked in there but most of the time it ends up being a hindrance or come off as forced if it ends up being a focus, treating it like a bonus really is the best way to handle it in my opinion- unless you are addressing something extremely important on that relationship/sexuality (sometimes the biggest problem can be the with person you're "supposed" to be with after all!).

[Wulfmune]

When you write about something you know, you might also keep in mind to draw from all aspects of your life and experience. Sexuality is only a part of who we are. And personally I think it's way over emphasized...Even more so when you are not "default" heterosexual.

[erase]

Most of my female characters are bi or gay. So I have lesbian subplots in everything. I have a problem.

*cough*

Like everyone else said I like stories where it's not the main plot but in terms of pure romance, I like when the characters have entire lives and friend groups that don't have anything to do with their love life. Make them developed, complete people, not just characters in a love story. Make sure they have friends that show up. Don't use the whole loner with a heart of gold subplot, if they can't have friends they probably aren't good relationship material. Don't make one girl super girly and helpless, that's never a good character. Actually, don't make any stereotypes. Use archetypes but play with them.

I also like tomboys and an age difference.

[Green_Dahlia]

(Finally got my account to work, yay~)

@Erase: I also like age difference .A. You're not alone.

Obviously this isn't something I'm going to create over-night. I'm going to spend time developing the characters and story and probably not post anything until I've got at least ten pages done because according to every webcomic article ever, having a buffer is super important.

I just want to say thanks again for everyone's feedback. It's really helpful and makes me want to create a better story for my little hole-in-the-wall here on SJ. I know webcomics are a big commitment, so hopefully I can stick with this and create something I'm proud of c:

Drawing from RL seems like a very good point. When I came out to my mom it wasn't the usual OHMYGODYOU'REGAY drama. My mom was basically like, "If they don't beat you, mistreat you, and use you, then what does their gender matter?" which made me feel less alone and weird. I'd love to have a mother character in my comic, when the topic of gay-love comes up, who acts like my mom and just makes it seem so...normal.

Again, thanks so much for the feedback you guys <3 I appreciate it~

[maplebee]

Characters. I want to believe the characters could be real people. I want to really get into their heads and understand what makes them tick - both their virtues and their failings. I want to live vicariously through them to understand life outside of my own experience of it. To which end I enjoy any combination of genders in a pairing, so long as I'm interested in the characters.

If a relationship is to happen in the story I don't care for a lot of melodrama. Drama is fine, but melodrama is stupid (think drama like Breaking Bad vs. melodrama like soap operas). To me drama drives plot and character development; melodrama is purely for reader entertainment. Sex is fine, too, but I want to see it also happen in a way that drives plot or character development, not just for the sake of getting readers hot and bothered. Having sex (or not) is something we all do, and showing an intimate scene between two characters (whether or not they have sex) has potential to reveal a dimension of them you won't get otherwise (such as during a fight or a joke). It makes me sad when the sex just exists as only porn and doesn't show me anything new about the characters. (It's fine to have some scenes that are just meant to be hot, but they should be mixed in with ones that drive development).

I want to read girl-girl stories that are just genuinely good - that exist to tell a story about two people. I want to read stories where gay relationships are a facet of love/lust being deeply explored, not just something thrown in to make them popular.

[Pochi]

I feel like a huge flaw with many homosexual comics is that the artist sensationalizes and capitalizes on the fact that the lovers are homosexual. As a result, you don't get much substance from the comic.

[SpiralPen]

Cuteness is huge, I think, but not like KAWAII NEKO CHANNN cuteness.
I think something that makes GL innately cute is how two females come together to fill roles that society has deemed "masculine" or "male". I think it's awesome seeing women step out of gender roles and breaking preconceptions like that. I think this is equally true in BL, it's cute to see how the men/boys have to adapt to fill/fit roles deemed "feminine" to better support their lovers. Maybe that's just me who likes that and I'm weird. I like seeing gender roles adapted, broken, and played with, though.
Also, I hate how people feel like they always have to make gay relationships feel secretive. Nothing bothers me more than that. Like, even if the relationship IS secretive, it's not a big high-stakes secret when it's just the two partners alone together. Too many people get caught up in the perspective of the outside world and leave behind the characters themselves.