Writing Disability with Cy Cyborg
Writing and creating disabled characters can be a bit tricky, and it’s so often handled poorly.
My goal with this blog is to help creators of all kinds, from authors to character designers, game developers to comic creators, be more empathetic and sensitive in their depiction of disability.
New posts on the first Monday of every month
New Posts
The Sad Disabled Person: Disability Tropes
The Sad disabled person is one of the tropes most authors are told to avoid when they first start researching how to better write disabled characters, but I think this trope needs a bit more of a nuanced discussion, so let’s talk about it.
Let me tell you my story - Disability Tropes
When a visibly disabled character is in a story, it’s often treated like them telling us, the audience, how that happened is some kind of inevitability, but sometimes, it would be nice if disabled character could just be, without having to explain themselves. As an author or creator, how much does tying your character’s disability to a tragic event really add?
Thinking outside of your character: Disability in Worldbuilding
When you're writing a story in a fictional setting, worldbuilding is essential, but one area of worldbuilding I see repeatedly ignored is disability and how it’s accommodated, so here are some simple questions to ask yourself when worldbuilding for your own setting!
Sporting mobility aids as all-purpose ones: Disability Tropes
A common visual trope I see in media is people giving their disabled characters sporting mobility aids for every-day use, so let’s talk about why you probably don’t want to do that.
Driving without legs, hand controls and other car modifications: Disability 101
It’s a common misconception that if you have any disability that effects your legs, you can’t drive, but this isn’t (usually) the case, and If you’re writing a disabled character in a modern setting, this is something to think about! so let’s talk about the options available to help disabled drivers!
The Perfect Prosthetic - Disability Tropes
Often, when amputees and limb different characters get a prosthetic, the story treats them like they’re no longer disabled any more, and as an amputee, I can tell you that is definitely not how it works, so let’s talk about it!
Please note, all posts with images and video should contain alt text. However, some posts, especially those from 2024 and earlier, may not have alt text embedded, however, in those cases, it is provided in text below the image or video
If you encounter any that do not have any alt text at all, or encounter any other accessibility issues with this blog, please let me know and I’ll fix it ASAP at
CyborgDragon@outlook.com.au