Young Writers Society

There's a certain story of mine that I've been working on for a while now, and I finally had a breakthrough.
See, the problem was with Luna, my FMC; there was something missing about her character that I just couldn't pin down. I had my MMC down-pat, but Luna just wasn't doing it for me.
Then I finally hit on it: she was blind.
And no, I'm not just doing this as a gimmick or anything like that. It just felt right, you know? She was already a seer, and then this just fit. She had to give up her sight in order to receive the visions that she can use to help people.
The only problem is, do you think that makes her seem too handicapped? I don't have anything against blind people, but my MMC isn't blind, and I feel like that puts him ahead a bit. However, Luna's very capable- I just don't like the idea of swordfighting going on (this is a fantasy story) and Luna just sitting there, kinda helpless.

So here's my question: Do you think this is a good idea? And do you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

You have to be careful how you handle handicaps. Glossing over the inconveniences is a great way to offend or outrage readers, simply because the handicap will look like just a cheap gimmick to garner reader sympathy.

Do your research. Figure out what your handicapped character is capable of doing, what they most definitely cannot do, and the reasons why.

For example, it is possible for a blind person to be a competent fighter. It requires a lot of training and constant awareness of what is around them, but if you can justify why your blind character has developed such skills, as well as being able to account for how her fighting style is designed to compensate for her handicap, then your readers may be willing to swallow the "blind but a competent fighter" trait.

Just remember that handicaps are handicaps for a reason. They substantially limit what a person can do, and ignoring those limitations cheapens the impact of the handicap on the character. After all, a handicapped character that is never truly inconvenienced by their handicap can't really be said to be handicapped at all.

With just the details you've given, unless Luna was trained from a very young age to be a seer and was thus prepared for a lifetime of blindness, it doesn't strike me as plausible that she'd be able to fight (she would probably be able to dodge and get out of the way of the fighting, though). And as inconvenient it may be to the other characters in the story, there's nothing wrong with having a character who is helpless in a fight; a single character can't do everything, and so it's fine to have a character that's incompetent at a some things (like fighting) but competent at other things.

Also, use those dynamics to your advantage to richen the story. Does she get injured, because she can't dodge? Does the MMC feel like he has to protect her, or does he feel resentment at always having to (or both)?

As Kyll said, research. There are a few movements to show the blind aren't complete invalids, and you can use some testimonials to build up a picture of what they can and cannot do.

One thing to add in is consider what the blind are expected to do in your world specifically. Just a few years ago, the blind were considered pretty useless. They needed somebody to help them with pretty much everything. The fact she's a seer helps a lot, because there is a purpose for her, but, how are seers treated in her world? Are all seers blind? How are they trained to be seers, if they are at all? Did she go through that training?

In general, make sure the handicap is infused into every aspect of the story. If that means making her pretty useless in certain situations, then, she's pretty useless in certain situations. Don't overexaggerate, but, as Kyll said, make it realistic.

I love the idea of a blind main character.

Everybody roots for the underdog. When you have a character who has a huge weakness it makes them deeper as a character in their attempts to overcome it, and keeps the reader more involved in watching their journey.

It also means your reader can empathise. I can't think of many people who don't feel like they're held back by something, whether it's a physical disability or a desperate insecurity, and being involved in your characters journey and triumph will make themselves feel stronger.

As said by the others though, be prepared to face these challenges yourself. There are going to be things that your character is untrained or simply unable to do, and you have to do some thinking into your character and culture, and research what blind people are naturally better gifted at, what they can be taught and what they simply aren't capable of doing. Some things you're not going to be able to get around and some things your blind character will argue with you about where as others won't, so you have to be prepared for that.