Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43114
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You avoid it by showing us a whole, three-dimensional character with attendant complexity.

Doing great things is not about one thing. Your character has a mix of traits, talents, interests, inclinations, genes (if it's that kind of magic), and more, and uses all those things to deal with _all_ obstacles, not just the ones due to her handicaps. Show us that -- show her combatting those demons, struggling to memorize those spells, having a knack for herbcraft, using her keen hearing. The result will be an engaging, (presumably) successful character who _happens_ to be blind, as opposed to her blindness defining her.

Kari Maaren wrote an [interesting article about portraying disabilities](http://www.yainterrobang.com/kari-maaren-disability-in-fiction/). As someone who also has a (mild) disability, I found a lot that resonated with me. Here's an excerpt (emphasis mine):

> You want to have a blind character? That’s great. Acknowledge her blindness and how she’s treated because of it, but maybe avoid turning her into a symbol or a metaphor or the Moral of the Story. **Resist the urge to claim she’s blind and then portray her blindness as not affecting her life at all.** Don’t have her spend the entire story lamenting her blindness and claiming it has ruined her life. Don’t avoid giving her magical powers because she’s blind, but **maybe also give her magical powers that don’t arise directly from her blindness**. And don’t just decide having her in your story is too much work and leave her out.

Original score: 11