Question.
Do people have a preference for how soon a gender change occurs in a story especially if it is a long story?
I'm curious because I have stories where the gender change occurs quickly, and ones where it's not until almost the end that it takes place. I myself don't have a preference. Since I was thinking about how I feel about it, I started to wonder what other peeps prefer or think on this subject.
Comments
I too don't have a preference
for me if the change is at the beginning, the story is more of a what happen next, how to cope with the "new" life.
As if the change is at the end, then it's more of a journey to an end.
And a mix of the two, where the change occur in the middle, you have the journey then the after mate.
All can be really enjoyable tales.
Hugs tmf
Peace, Love, Freedom, Happiness
The important thing is
The important thing is telling a good story. So what works best for the story should dictate the timing of gender transition.
That said, usually the trials of gender transition is the main conflict of the story, this would mean that the gender transition, starts early in the story.
Real life is so much more
My perspective is perhaps different from others in that one week I was living as a man and the next I was living as a full on woman, and 13 years later I realize it was not voluntary.
So, my stories usually clear the transition gap in about a paragraph, and the reason why is that there is just so much more going on than the clothes we wear. We have jobs, schools, are soldiers and so much more.
It depends
Depending on the story it can change at any time. I have one in the hopper that I'm kind of blocked on. In truth, I haven't looked at it for quite a while. The crux of the story is a boy finds himself drawn into masquerading as a girl, with parent's knowledge/permission, to help his sister. After three months, when the need is no longer present (pretty much the end of the story) he discovers he's happier living as a girl. I like the idea that it creeps up on him and that he doesn't notice it until he's through.
One of the stories I'm follow, waiting for each episode with baited breath, (The Stations Late Night Princess) the gender change happened before the story started and it's a great story.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
not sure about that timing
it would depend on how you define the gender change.
being aware of the mismatch seems to be your working definition for Late Night Princess.
starting to live / work in the correct gender can be another point.
finally, the actual surgery / magical change.
for each person, that definition will be different. There could be more points in the path where the definition that the change happened is set.
My personal definition is after the physical change is completed, via surgery or magic. Until that is done it seems like they are in the transitioning struggle.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Timing
That depends on how gender is defined!
Is ones gender defined by others via visual, audible and mannerism cues supplied by the person?
Or is it how one feels in mind and heart about themselves?
As to Don/Dawn in LNP I would agree with Patricia Marie that the question was answered before the tale began, as Dawn was always Dawn she just needs the rest of the world to see it, Blake, Lyle and Brett all say there is no doubt, the guy at the grocery store doesn't suspect and Carrie? from the morning show didn't 'READ' her.
my point exactly
how each of us defines gender sets when that point is crossed in a story.
generally, for legal purposes in society, it is after the physical change.
( British Columbia has altered that, you only need to have your doctor sign a single page form to have everything altered for legal gender change, without regard to surgery )
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
It is also key in how things
It is also key in how things happen. A story where the transition takes a while could be intriguing and keep you interested as there are lots of bumps in the road and reactions, fallout, things to deal with both positive and negative. On the other hand a transition that happens fast could have you hooked as the person adjusts to their new life and deals with the outcome of their either "outing" or the actual surgery.
Case in point, we have two great stories on here that feature the two different angles: Late Night Princess and Coming Home. Late Night Princess deals with the internal and external struggles of a young woman who has found herself as a woman but is just starting to transition in secret. Coming Home deals with a woman who has already successfully transitioned and is dealing with her family's issues regarding learning the truth. Both are great examples of a story built up on actions, reactions, emotions, and dialog(both internal and external).
I would offer a contrast to counter both examples but I don't want to offend anyone.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
add in
most of the Whately Universe stories to the dealing with the fallout of the change.
loads of examples either way.
I'm not saying one is better than the other, only that each of us will have unique definitions for when the change takes place.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
I've Read Author Comments...
...that mention readers getting impatient if the author takes two or three chapters to set up the situation before any hint of TG plot appears. Never bothered me, unless I found the story too dull to justify the delay. Don't know whether I'm typical, though.
Obviously if the gender change isn't the focus of the plot (for example, Baum's Land of Oz), the story has to be entertaining enough to take us to the point of the change,
Eric
No Wham, Bam, Thank you, Maam for me
A story has to have an introduction, a build up to the main event. You can sometimes start with the main event and then work backwards to show you got there but without that build up, there is no substance to the story.
Should the main event be the end of it? That depends on what you have to follow it.
This is, of course, all rather hypothetical. A good story flows regardless of the formula you use to create it, and that's the most important of all.
author's choice
look at the Whately Universe for the early change for examples
and for the slow change, Maddy's Gaby books.
both have benefits, both have drawbacks. Which fits the story you are working on better? That is the question that should decide the issue.
both timings are popular, for different reasons, often with the same readers.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
The idea has occurred to me
The idea has occurred to me on occasion, not to have any actual TG. Sometimes even the lack of TG might be a plot twist -- a twist ending, for example.
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)