H Noss

Sending positive vibes and well wishes to all of the writers, readers, editorial professionals, book designers, cover artists, and publishing professionals with disabilities today.

To dismiss trans people as criminals is hate.

To dismiss non-binary people as non-existent is erasure.

To dismiss intersex people as still being either male or female is hate and erasure.

Do better. We aren't trying to hurt you by existing. We want to live in peace with you, not instead of you.

It can be on any social media platform you like. Just share one post.

Thank you for reading, and thank you even more for acting.

I need you to make social media a kinder place for everyone, regardless of gender, by encouraging empathy and inclusion.

You just need to find one trans or non-binary person and a post that resonates with you. Share it with or without comment. Boost one person's voice.

I'd like you to share one post on social media from a trans or non-binary person. Something positive, insightful, or helpful.

I want you to spread the word that trans and non-binary people exist by sharing our words with the people we can't always reach.

Book recommendations (fiction).
* Jamie by L.D. Lapinski
* Jay's Guide to Crushing It by Ruby Clyde
* This Feast of a Life by Cynthia So
* Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos

Thank you for reading. To finish, here's my call to action.

I feel like I need to adapt how I am to suit that person's assumption or to reject it by going in the opposite way.

6. Book recommendations (non-fiction).
* Homebody: A Graphic Memoir of Gender Identity Exploration by Theo Parish
* Pageboy by Elliot Page
* Queer as Folklore by Sacha Coward

I am not comfortable being referred to as a man or a woman. I see my gender as this comfortable neutral, where I am not tied to any gendered expectations about how I should present myself physically, emotionally, or mentally.

When I'm called "sir" or "ma'am", my stomach sinks.

It's an umbrella term, meant for everyone who doesn't feel like a woman or a man, which includes so many different kinds of people.

Non-binary people can be feminine or masculine. Or they can be androgynous, which is where I sit.

For me, non-binary feels like being outside of gendered concepts.

5. Gender identity.
For simplicity's sake, I usually say that I'm non-binary, because it feels like more people generally understand what that means: I don't identify as either a woman or a man. But "non-binary" does mean something different for everyone.

I now know that this was very clearly gender dysphoria, but without the terminology I had no idea how to explain it. I didn't know how to verbalise what I was going through or how to fix it, which of course means that I never had access to gender-affirming care.

Because fiction has always been fantasy to me, I don't think books dealing with puberty and gendered roles ever made an impression on how I saw gender in the real world.

Until my late teenage years, I would waste every wish I made on magical transformations where I had the body that I should have.

4. Formative moments.
I don't have many memories from early childhood, but I have been told by important adults in my life that I would absolutely refuse to wear gendered colours (especially the colour associated with my assigned gender, but both blue and pink for years).

Don't we all deserve bathrooms that are more secure, as single-room bathrooms with proper locks as opposed to stalls with gaps and often faulty locks? Don't we all deserve to access help and support for different forms of abuse?

There should also be safe spaces for all genders: women's safe spaces, men's safe spaces, trans people's safe spaces, non-binary people's safe spaces, and intersex people's safe spaces.

I believe that trans rights actually help push equal rights for many people regardless of gender.

3. Trans rights.
The question was: "How do you respond to people who say that trans people’s rights remove rights from women?"

I don't believe that trans people's rights ever remove rights from women. I think a lot of the genuine worries women have about this come from misunderstandings.

Also known as: Sapphic (an individual who is attracted to women and non-binary people) and Achillean (an individual who is attracted to men and non-binary people).

Some people also interpret these as sapphic = attraction to feminine people and achillean = attraction to masculine people.

Reshaping how I saw people as feminine, masculine, and androgynous helped me to really understand what I'm attracted to.

I really love terms like WLW (woman-loving-woman) and MLM (man-loving-man). These are more inclusive terms that include trans people and some non-binary people.

2. Labels.

I've gone through so many labels in the past as I tried to find myself, and being non-binary added an extra layer of complexity and confusion here. Am I attracted to women, men, and non-binary people? Or am I attracted to feminine, masculine, and androgynous people?

The most comfortable bathrooms, regardless of gender, have been ones where they are separate rooms. Stalls feel less safe, and they also feel less hygienic.

1. Bathrooms and changing rooms.
Comfort is something I'm very aware of when it comes to bathrooms and changing rooms. Not just my own, but other people's. I'm an anxious person in general, and bathrooms have always been a source of anxiety for me.

I spent the week answering questions for Trans Awareness Week on LinkedIn, so here's highlights from 6 questions asked by cis people about my experience as a non-binary person.

I tackle bathrooms, labels, trans rights, formative moments, gender identity, and book recommendations.

#LGBTQIA

Drop your book recs featuring trans and non-binary protagonists below for Trans Awareness Week! 🔖

I'll start: Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos.

#TransAwarenessWeek #BookRecs

You don’t have to compare yourself to other writers. Everyone is doing their best.

#WritingMotivation #WritingCommunity

It's okay if you break the rules you were taught at school; write how you like.

#WritingMotivation #Affirmations

Happy Trans Awareness Month to all of the trans and non-binary writers, readers, editorial professionals, and other bookish people! I hope your month is filled with the energy you want: pride, awareness, visibility, understanding, acceptance, optimism, peace, courage, creativity, and inspiration.

Thanks, Lucy! See you next week?

You can use these writing prompts to inspire a new project, to help you work on an existing project, to warm you up with writing exercises, or to help you practise writing romantic scenes or dialogue.

#Lovember2025 romance writing challenge | H Noss Proofreads Find out about #Lovember2025, the 30-day romance writing challenge. As a self-paced writing challenge, you can take part however you like!

It's officially LOVEmber, my 30-day romance writing challenge. Lovember is a self-paced challenge, with 30 one-word prompts, 7 character prompts, and 5 storyline prompts.

Give the prompts a try and share your favourite below! hnossproofreads.co.uk/lovember2025...

#WritingPrompts #AmWritingRomance

It doesn’t matter how much you write. You’re still writing.

#AmWriting #WritingMotivation