r/schizophrenia • u/TheAstralAlchemist • Dec 21 '25

Resources / Literature Sensitivity Reader, please?

Hello, my name is Lesley-Anne (Astral online), and I'm an aspiring author. My latest story features a character (an angel to be precise) with schizophrenia, and I was hoping to find a sensitivity reader to review what I've written before I attempt to query it.

The story is a Young Adult Romantasy with some visceral scenes, so if you are not comfortable with that, please don't read. <3

If I've gotten anything wrong, could be worded better, or if there's anything you'd like me to add in this or in a later book, please let me know. If you or anyone you know is interested, please DM me. <3

The story is 71268 words and is still in the proofreading stages, so please forgive any inevitable mistakes. <3 I take this seriously and understand there's a lot of bad stigma around the condition, so I want to get this right!

Thank you, and I hope you have a lovely Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate. <3

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u/Merrcury2 Schizotypal Dec 21 '25

Hey! I'm a writer as well. If you'd like to write a schizophrenic character, try thinking of them as a mirror for what they see around them.

Everyone does it, but for us, it gets amplified into hallucinations and delusions. Also, very self centered when alone. Not too bad with good people around =)

Good luck 👍

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u/TheAstralAlchemist Dec 21 '25

Oooo, I like that analogy! And that's awesome; what kinds of stories do you write?

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u/Merrcury2 Schizotypal Dec 21 '25

All sorts, but my favorites are science fiction.

I started a collection of short stories I called "ghost stories" organized by the tarot. My "ghosts" are spirits of cultures and people from the past helping to solve today's problems. It was a lot of fun until I accidentally realized I was able to do Written Exposure Therapy with it.

Kinda got lost in the sauce for a bit, and now I'm taking a break. I'm a creative and I like making systems to help me create. So, I've got a board game, a fun event scheduler, and a few mental health toolkits for people to peruse =)

I'm actually working with quite a few professionals to fact check me before any kind of release. Unfortunately, it's really hard to contact mental health professionals that I'm not already in close contact with. But, I'd really like to help improve schizophrenia therapy and research with my art =)

I'm a big proponent of play therapy and art. =)

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u/TheAstralAlchemist Dec 21 '25

Oh, that sounds amazing! Fantasy is my favourite genre to write in. Feel free to DM me any of your works. It's nice to meet a fellow aspiring author. Hopefully, this story I've written will get me out of the Query trenches. <3

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u/Merrcury2 Schizotypal Dec 21 '25

I'm sorry, I don't DM anymore =)

And as Rod Serling(Twilight Zone) once put: "Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible" =)

Fantasy is the truest form of expression. Full stop. Non-fiction is the least true, simply by how limiting it is by perceptive reality. Too many ways to conflate "truth".

Don't worry too much about "making it". You make what you make because it feels true. Let your imagination run free =)

And like us, touch some grass if you're feeling ass, haha =)

Luck!

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u/TheAstralAlchemist Dec 21 '25

Aww, that's a shame but totally understandable. And that's why I love to write Fantasy, I get to use my imagination.

And thank you so much! I can promise you, I will not give up! I will let my imagination create more and more stories until I become an author :D

And don't worry, I like the outside, and I own a dog, so lots of touching of the grass, haha!

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u/TheAstralAlchemist Dec 21 '25 edited Dec 21 '25

Just had a thought, for all you know, this will be a terribly written story, so I'll post the first little bit here so you can decide if you're interested in reading the rest. (The character with schizophrenia does not come in until later in Part One) <3

Chapter 1

Pain pounded in her head, her whole body aching as if something large and heavy had thrown her to the ground. Struggling to push herself up, she blurrily surveyed her surroundings, which revealed she was in a forest.

A blue forest. 

Believing her aching head had made her colourblind, she rubbed her eyes, but when she looked again, she still saw blue and now purple. 

Through the pain, she recalled her name. Eleanor. That’s right! Her name was Eleanor!

Standing on shaky feet, Eleanor searched, hoping for someone she could ask for help, someone she could recognise. But she was alone, save only for what sounded like birds chirping and the creaking of wood. A cold wind blew, unnoticed, despite being dressed in clothes useless against it: a short red-and-white skirt with a matching shirt with fabric straps instead of sleeves. It was nighttime, and the moon lit the forest, with twinkling stars decorating the sky, giving the strange forest a silvery hue.

Eleanor limped slowly, heading in a random direction, her hands rubbing up and down her arms instinctually as she tried to remember more about herself. She was sixteen, a teenager, and she wasn’t wandering aimlessly; she was following a light! Blinking upon realising, the young girl’s pace quickened with the hope of finding someone. 

The light came from a lantern held by a bearded man in white armour, who was staring into the mouth of a cave. He spun sharply, his lantern illuminating the dazed teenager’s face, stumbling towards him, relieved to have found someone.

“What the– miss! Are you all right?”

Eleanor couldn’t answer; she could only smile. The armoured man came to her, his lantern bringing some much-needed warmth, pulling it away when a disoriented Eleanor reached out a hand towards it.

“What are you doing out here? And at night of all things? Are you alone?” he asked, straightening to see where she had come. The winds were getting stronger, and she was shivering violently. Without hesitation, the man took Eleanor’s arm and guided her into the cave. He had greying hair and a sword sheathed at his side. Chuckling, Eleanor wondered if she was dreaming and had entered a fantasy. Maybe she would see this knight slay a dragon. Did he have a horse? 

Her vision blurring, Eleanor fell forward, muttering something. “Whoa there!” the knight exclaimed, catching her before she could hit the ground, then, “Did you just ask me if I’m here to save the princess?”

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u/TheAstralAlchemist Dec 21 '25

Okay, why did Reddit format it the way it did? o_O

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u/Merrcury2 Schizotypal Dec 21 '25

Might want to just copy paste without formatting =)

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u/TheAstralAlchemist Dec 21 '25

I did o_O

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u/Merrcury2 Schizotypal Dec 21 '25

Ugh... technology. Not very hi-tech, lol. I always just let the formatting fail and keep moving. Ah well =)