Is it uncomfortable to write diverse characters? It definitely can be. But imagine the people you could reach and the worlds you can create when you branch out and see communities outside of your own.
Your experiences, identity, environment, place in society and more shape your idea of what shapes a person — before you write a character of another race and background, you have to educate yourself.
For starters, you might be wondering if you have the right to tell the story of someone who’s different from you. Additionally, can people of color freely write about each other’s communities or are white people the only ones who have boundaries to adhere to?
Before we jump in, know we all have a duty to respect each other’s cultures and identities when we take on the responsibility of writing about them.
Here’s a guide of what to keep in mind as you write characters of a different race than yours.
Why should we write about diverse characters?
Racism, prejudice and discrimination are pervasive social justice issues in America and many parts of the world. These biases are ingrained in cultures, traditions, societies, governmental structures, the labor force, media; the list goes on, unfortunately.
Throughout history and in recent events, we’ve seen how racism breeds divisiveness—in turn, the divisiveness grows and grows as people fall deeper into the idea that one community is better than the other.
Plus, we increasingly lose the ability to break down the barriers that keep us stuck in our fears of people different from us.
That’s where your role as a writer comes in.
Your superpower is storytelling, which has long been an influential method to educate, inform and entertain. When you expand your horizons to understand people of different races and ethnicities, you get to use your access to knowledge and skill to create something that brings communities together.
Storytelling is one key way to teach people about other cultures, and it’s a powerful tool to destroy the prejudices that hold us back from uniting as one.
You’ll learn a lot as you write about people of other races, but only if walk into the process knowing it won’t be easy to talk about and confront your own prejudices.
It’s not wrong or unethical (but it’s normal to feel like it is)
There are several reasons you might feel hesitant to write about someone of another race, but mostly, it comes down to political correctness and the fear of incorrectly capturing someone else’s perspective — completely valid concerns.
The repercussions we’ve seen others face publicly from political correctness and cancel culture might cause you to feel stifled and unsure of what’s right or wrong to say, especially as you try to capture your character in a genuine light. But they’re also tools you can use to ensure we’re accountable for our words and actions.
When the national conversations about race trickled down to the publishing industry, which is often criticized for its lack of diversity, this question surfaced while highlighting the perspectives of marginalized writers: Who has the right to tell whose stories?
The truth is, there’s no definitive answer to this, so ask this question instead: How do we write someone else’s story well?
Think about the aim of your story’s message. Why do you want to share it?
While writing a character of another race, you’ll learn a lot about how your life experiences vastly differ from theirs — and sometimes, the gap between those experiences is so large, you’ll realize this character’s story isn’t even yours to tell.
Be open to that possibility.
Once you do decide it’s appropriate to include a character of a different race, do the necessary research and reading to write a truth that helps your character’s real-life community feel seen and heard.
Check your (hidden) biases: Stereotypes to avoid for diverse characters
The portrayals of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) through books, movies, television, magazines and more significantly inform the way people write about them.
But those portrayals are often laced with bias and racist stereotypes, so you have to check yourself and your approach as you write this character.
This list of resources below won’t cover every bias and stereotype that harms various cultures, so I strongly recommend you do additional research to learn more about the ones that target the race and background of characters you want to include in your work-in-progress.
In the meantime, here are several offensive story tropes, language, stereotypes to keep in mind as you write:
- National Stereotypes / Central & South America
- The Mammy Caricature and From mammy to Ma: Hollywood’s favourite racist stereotype
- Negative Racial Stereotypes and Their Effect on Attitudes Toward African-Americans
- Hispanic and Latino Index
- Latino Is Brown
- Impacts of the Model Minority Myth on Asian American Individuals and Families: Social Justice and Critical Race Feminist Perspectives
- Asian Americans Are Still Caught in the Trap of the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype. And It Creates Inequality for All
- The Model Minority Myth: Harmful for Society, Harmful for the Workplace
- Native Americans to J. K. Rowling: We’re Not Magical
- Native American Stereotypes
- How Racism Against Native People Is Normalized, From Mascots to Costumes
- Writing, Tonto & The Wise-Cracking Minority Sidekick Who Is the First to Die
- The Harmful History of “Gypsy”
- The Problem with the word ‘Gypsy’ – Gypsy Appropriations
How to do it well — 7 do’s and don’ts to writing diverse characters
Thoroughly research your characters and understand the choices you make to bring them to life. What are they rooted in? Why that choice for that character of a particular background?
The key is to lead with respect every step of the way, so check-in with yourself frequently to ensure you don’t write diverse characters that are stifled by the boxes society puts them in.
As you create your diverse characters, use these seven tips to help you do it well and empower their stories.
1. Seek the feedback of sensitivity readers
Similar to beta readers, sensitivity readers read and assess your work to help you remove any harmful stereotypes or mischaracterizations, which are often issues of representation they’ve personally experienced.
Sensitivity readers who share the race and background of your character can give you the insight you can’t know, no matter how much research you do. They’ll share useful feedback about the elements that do and don’t work, and how authentic your portrayal of their community is.
For example, a sensitivity reader will help you understand why your portrayal of a Native American family celebrating Thanksgiving could be problematic.
If you’re writing multiple characters who each have different races, find sensitivity readers that represent each persona.
2. Don’t be ambiguous about race and identities
You don’t do anyone favors when your descriptions of your characters are too vague, so there’s no way to be sure of their race or ethnicity. When you leave race and ethnicity open to interpretation, you reduce the power of your diverse character’s story. Plus, if someone adapts your book, people will likely perceive your character’s race as white, which media still depicts as the default race.
There’s nothing wrong with white characters, but if that’s not whose story you’re telling, make that clear.
Additionally, don’t use race ambiguity to avoid the nuances and complexities of race. It matters to tell diverse stories, because:
- People deserve to see themselves reflected and validated in all media.
And…
- Race informs every area of our lives. If you write a character who’s Asian, for example, the context and history of their background will help you shape your story authentically, from the choices they make to the food they eat, to the clothes they wear, and beyond.
3. Don’t compare people’s skin to coffee or any other food.
Speaking of food, don’t use it to describe your character’s race. That means don’t liken your Black character’s skin to cocoa, nor your Native American character’s to coffee or caramel. Why? Simple: Many BIPOC communities find it fetishizing and dehumanizing.
Instead, try basic and complex colors, undertones or nature. Here’s an example: “She was tall and slim, her skin a smooth, sandy complexion.”
4. Understand the difference between race and ethnicity
No race or culture is a monolith, so take the time to explore your character’s background fully before you write their story. For instance, just because a person’s race is Black doesn’t mean they’re automatically African-American — they could also be Hispanic (i.e., Dominican or Cuban).
Similarly, Hispanic is an ethnicity; not a race. That means your Latino character could be white or Black, and you should always specify their ethnicity.
5. Don’t fall into savior narratives
The well-known white savior trope popular in books and movies is when a white protagonist steps in to help—save, essentially—the BIPOC character. This leads to the portrayal that your non-white character couldn’t have achieved their goals without a white person’s guidance.
Don’t do this.
When you include savior narratives in your story that has diverse characters, you perpetuate divisive and harmful social stigmas. If your white protagonist saves the diverse character, dig deeper and re-evaluate the point and message of your story.
6. Avoid tokenizing your diverse characters
Imagine a story by a white author who writes a black protagonist as a wealthy woman with an extravagant life and childhood to dispel the idea that all black people are ghetto and poor. But if all the author does is pour a black woman into a white woman’s narrative in order to make a political point, then you’re reading a token character.
Your diverse character doesn’t need a political or social reason to exist in your story. This character is a reflection of a whole and complex person, just like you, and you have to flesh them out as whole characters beyond your view of their racial plight.
For instance, the way to combat the stereotype that Black or Latin women are sassy isn’t to write that character as meek and timid. Remember, you’re not there to write a character of a different identity in order to be a mouthpiece for their community.
Finally, don’t fill your characters’ world with people who look only like you, unless it serves a specific purpose and contributes to the point of the story.
7. Personify and develop all your characters equally
It’s much easier to capture what makes us human and create a realistic reflection of your backgrounds and environments when the details are like your own. To write your characters well, push yourself to specify aspects of their lives that show who they are, just like you would naturally for a character like you.
Even if all the details don’t make it to the book, you should understand your character from head to toe and inside out to help your readers connect with them.
Ask yourself these questions and more like them to help you imagine the small details that contribute to this person’s identity and their varied life experience:
- How do they do their hair and what’s the significance?
- What foods do they eat regularly and during the holidays?
- What clothes do they wear?
- Are they socially anxious or outgoing?
- What routines do they have?
- Is family important to them?
Resources to help you along the way
Taking on the topic of race and writing diverse characters has its challenges, and there are plenty of elements to keep in mind as you write. In addition to the resources about tropes and stereotypes shared above, bookmark these more general resources to understand more about the right way to write your character of color.
???? Check out this expansive list by Writing With Color to learn more about how to navigate stereotypes and tropes. (They also have a guide of alternatives for how to describe skin color!)
???? Visit Writing the Other to access a heap of resources about how to “write characters very different from you sensitively and convincingly.”
???? If you’re confused about people of color (POC) versus BIPOC, read Why We Need to Stop Saying ‘People of Color’ When We Mean ‘Black People’.
????The more you know about the common things you say, the better: Everyday words and phrases that have racist connotations.
???? Inclusive and people-first language is important, especially when writing diverse characters. To be sure you capture distinct groups correctly, check out Writing About Race, Ethnicity, Social Class, and Disability.
