I’m going to the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention in December, so I’m trying to read all of the books on the Hugo ballot. So about a month ago, I read Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. I did not like it for a number of reasons, but mostly because the way the blind character was portrayed, and really the way the entire premise of the book treats the blind character, was incredibly offensive to me. To be clear, I have seen other blind people on Twitter praising this book to the heavens, so obviously opinions vary, but I disagree with them. A lot. I’m a pretty forgiving reader but this book made me want to scream and throw things. I did in fact put together a very long Twitter thread, because I felt like no one was talking about these issues with the book and they needed to be discussed. If you want to read that, it’s right over here, but that isn’t what I want to talk about in this post. Today, I want to be a bit more constructive and provide some tips on how to write a blind character.
If you’re new to my site or somehow missed it, I’m blind. I was born with Aniridia Glaucoma, which means I don’t have any irises and my eye pressure isn’t normal. I used to have some vision in my right eye, but I had to have it removed almost eight years ago, so now I have no vision in my right eye. I often describe what I see on my right as a big black hole. I do still have some vision in my left eye. I can see light and dark and colors, but I can’t see details unless I’m very close. Often if I see something, I won’t be positive what I’m looking at until I’ve touched it, unless I already know what I’m looking at. I can read print, but generally it has to be really big, and I have to be really close, and even then I’m going letter by letter. Because I don’t have irises, my eyes can’t adjust, so I have a harder time seeing in particularly bright or particularly dark settings.
All of this is relevant, because the first thing you need to know about writing a blind character is that most people who identify as blind do have some vision. Any amount of vision is useful. For example I can read the time on my alarm clock or see the temperature setting on my oven. But how blind people use their vision will vary from person to person and situation to situation. And while any amount of vision is a useful tool we might use, it probably isn’t the first tool we draw on. It’s also important to explain that any amount of vision is vast to a blind person: there is a huge difference between being totally blind and having light perception, just as there is a huge difference between having light perception and having light perception and being able to see colors. So my first piece of advice is to do your research. There is tons of literature out there on blindness, particularly from blind people’s points of view. Read it. And don’t be afraid to seek out blind people and ask questions. If you’re polite and sincere in your goal to do this right, most of us are willing to talk to you.
Do your research not only on how much blind people can see but also on the tools and skills blind people use to be independent. We travel with white canes and guide dogs to get around, and we have years of training to learn to travel safely. Our canes and guide dogs are not props to be abandoned for the sake of the plot or the action sequence (looking at you, Daredevil). They are essential for our independence. Similarly, we use assistive technology, read Braille or large print, put tactile markers on our appliances, have systems for organizing and labeling our food and matching our clothing, and so on. In the past when I’ve had roommates, I’ve had a hard and fast rule that my roommates could absolutely not move my belongings, because otherwise I could never find them again (I have a whole story about searching for my apple slicer for two weeks because someone moved it without telling me). The same goes for moving furniture, especially in familiar environments when I might not be working with my guide dog. I’m describing all these things because so often, when I see blind characters, I don’t see this level of detail on not only how they use skills to adapt to their surroundings but also how they adapt their surroundings to help them.
A big thing I see a lot when people write blind characters is a blind character who has either some kind of magic or superpower or some really advanced technology that effectively negates their blindness. This is bad, because it isn’t true disability representation. Yes, blind people go out and do both ordinary and awesome things on a daily basis in real life, but we don’t do it in spite of our blindness. We do it with our blindness. We have skills and tools and technology that help, but we are still being blind. Our blindness has shaped who we are and how we relate to the world. If you have a blind character with a superpower or advanced technology that negates their blindness, then they aren’t blind.
I’m not saying you can’t write a blind character with cool technology or magic. You definitely can, and I argue you should. If sighted characters get magic, give it to the blind characters too. But you don’t want that magic to negate their disability. One way to do this is to use the details I was discussing above, the blindness skills and tools all blind people use in our daily lives. Another option is to place your blind character in situations where their magic or technology can’t help. Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender is an excellent example of this. You can also impose limitations on the technology or magic, which arguably you should be doing anyway just for good writing, so it’s clear to the reader just how the character is using it. For example, I’m working on a project with a blind character, and she has these wristbands that help her navigate and read print, but they don’t work if she’s going too fast, and she runs into trouble. Alternatively, you can give your character a power that isn’t helpful at all in terms of seeing things. Maybe they have magic that is specifically used in cooking, for example. They can’t use that to navigate the world.
So often, I see blind characters who are just stellar at being blind. Don’t do this. No matter how skilled a blind person is, there are still times when they struggle. Heck, I walk into walls in my own apartment if I’m not paying attention. I also want to note that everyone’s feelings on their vision are different, and they may also vary.
Blind people use words like “see,” “Look,” and “watch.” We enjoy movies and TV shows and sports. At least I’m told blind people enjoy sports. I never personally got that one, but that’s because i don’t like sports, not because I’m blind. Also, a lot of blind people prefer the word ‘blind” to other terms like “visually impaired,” “visually challenged,” or “a person who is blind.” But this will vary person to person. A blind woman once vehemently attempted to convince my younger brother that I should call myself “sightless.” Honestly, that baffles me and I don’t like that as a term, but that’s what she preferred.
Do not have your blind character touch other people’s faces to understand what they look like. First of all, no one does that in real life. It’s super weird and awkward. It also doesn’t actually give the blind person any useful information. They’re not going to think of someone they met as the person whose face felt like XYZ, even if they do the weird face feeling thing. They’re going to remember the sound of their voice.
The big takeaway here is blind people are people too. Your blind characters should also be people, as fully realized as any of your other characters. Their blindness is a crucial part of their identity, but it also isn’t the only part of their identity. Blind people have jobs and hobbies and interests. They date and fall in love and marry and break up. They have pets who aren’t guide dogs. They have kids. They have lives. I would love to see more stories of blind characters that don’t focus on their blindness but are instead about them living their lives and going on adventures and having agency with their blindness.s
A quick note on blocking: if you’re writing from the point of view of a blind character, be very careful, and pay close attention to how you write your descriptions. It’s hard, which isn’t to discourage you from trying it, but as writers we usually write descriptions with sight as the primary sense, and obviously you can’t do that with a character who’s blind. You have to use all your other senses and still make it clear to the reader what’s going on. I learned to write from reading, so I too use a lot of visual descriptions, so I’ve struggled with this too, and I’m blind.
Finally, pay attention to the role you are giving your blind character. As with any kind of representation, make sure they are not filling that role because they are blind. This is particularly important if you plan to write a villain who is blind. Blind people can absolutely do terrible things, but that isn’t because they’re blind. That’s because they’re people, and people can do terrible things. But be extremely careful not to imply that your blind villain is a villain because they are blind or that blindness is inherently evil. I shouldn’t need to say this, but apparently I do (see my Black Sun Twitter thread for details). Similarly, pay close attention to the message you are sending about blindness in your book. Individual people’s feelings may vary, but blindness is not something to be feared, it does not make a person helpless or evil, it does not give a person superhearing or any other enhanced senses, or any of the other stereotypes and misconceptions that are rampant in popular media.
I do not want to discourage anyone from writing a blind character. I do not subscribe to the belief that writers should only write within their experiences, because I believe writing outside our experiences is how we learn. But that is only true if you’re willing to put in the work to do it well and not cause harm with your story, which you can do so easily if you aren’t careful, even if you have the best intentions. Please, write blind characters. We need more stories about blind people. But please, please, please do your research. Hire sensitivity readers who are blind to review your project, pay them for their time, and listen to their advice. And please pay attention to what you are ultimately saying about blindness in your work. Remember that both writing and reading are ultimately acts of empathy, and how you portray blind people on the page will impact how people see blind people out in the real world. That’s a lot of power to have, so use it for good.