Have I Been Influenced by Yaoi?

Has yaoi influenced me and my writing voice? Of course it has. Everything I read, watch, or do adds to my voice and influences my ideas, and I’ve read a lot of yaoi novels and manga in my day.

Yaoi for the most part has pretty distinct rules about the boys involved. One is usually more feminine than the other. The gap is wider in some stories. In real life we know this isn’t the case. It’s a bit discriminating and it reinforces gender biases if you think about it, but Japanese yaoi isn’t published to make social comments. As a fan I happily ignore the bits I don’t like and focus on the bubbles, sparkles, and flowers that appear out of nowhere when the two heroes stare at each other and wish real men had disappearing smn too.

I read a yaoi novel series with a cop and yakuza (Japanese mafia) leader. While the cop had his manly moments, he was vastly inferior to his seme (top) in the story. This might be a female writer or female audience preference, but I know I sometimes do this to my characters. While the two are definitely men, one is more aggressive than the other. While this isn’t strictly yaoi, I believe my character dynamics have been influenced by yaoi in this way.

In Water Waltz, Triste is a strong character on his own but he is brought down by his struggle with his love for Varun while Varun seems almost too cold. Varun has the same struggle as Triste but he isn’t weakened by it in the same way. This could be typical reactions for entirely different characters, but looking into my skill set, I’m inclined to believe there’s a bit of yaoi in Water Waltz. And that’s okay.

Every once in a while in the gay romance community a debate over female authors being unable to write gay characters will surface. I find this particularly interesting given my yaoi reading background. In yaoi, male authors are rare. (I can’t even think of one for this post. Leave me a comment with a name, please. So many more males than I thought. Still tipped into females, but thank you for the list, guys!! ^.^) Females dominate the yaoi industry and the novels are written for female readers. Since I’m female, I guess I write for a female audience, but I hope all genders can enjoy my novels regardless of my gender or sexuality. I know men read and enjoy yaoi just as much as I do.

If you want to check out my novels, they’re available on Nook, Kindle, or straight from the publisher. (Also on third party sites) Check out the Available Now section for links. Thank you for joining me on this hop, and remember to leave a comment for a chance to win the grand prize.

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