Queerbaiting: When an LGBTQ romance or queerness is “hinted” at but isn’t actually portrayed. For example, when two women in a TV series often flirt with each other but never get into a relationship or state that they are interested in each other. Queerbaiting is always negative. Queer coding: When characters are not officially proclaimed to be queer, yet there is enough subtext for an audience to interpret them as queer. For example, a male character wearing makeup each episode of a TV series. Queer coding isn’t necessarily negative or positive, but when it’s used too much in media, it can be harmful.
However, there are some things you must keep in mind to write LGBTQ characters respectfully and properly. Check out How to Make a Fictional LGBT Character to do this.
Remember that questions about love interests and relationships should be answered by the end of the story. The reader should be able to read your story and say something like, “two guys were in love with each other and finally decided to go on a date at the last chapter of the story,” not “two guys were in love and flirted, but they never actually started dating. "
