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[nanowrimo]

The Do’s of Writing People of Color:  Start on Easy Mode

Diversity makes stories better, plain and simple. This year, we’ve partnered with the good folks at Writing With Color to get some advice on how to write stories populated with people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In this post, founder Colette Aburime gives advice on how to begin incorporating diversity into your writing:

When you write with racial and ethnic diversity, you hear a lot about what to avoid. Now, it’s not without good reason. The road to good representation is paved with harmful stereotypes and worn-out depictions of People of Color. Advice-givers, like me and the rest of the folks at WritingwithColor, put up caution signs and leave the rest of the journey up to you.

Still, there are some do’s that make for both good writing and good representation.

Writers tend to think big. Our craft demands that we keep our brains fired up with ideas. 

I’m asking you to think small.

You wouldn’t set out to climb Mount Everest your first day as a climber. No way - you’d train first! It’d take loads of exercise, you might scale some indoor climbing walls, and perhaps stock up on wisdom to apply to your own form.

When approaching topics you have little experience with, no need to go the biggest you can go from the start. Train before tackling the full-length novel or dealing heavily in tough topics like racism. Start with a hill, not the mountain.

Benefits of starting small:

Smoother writing process. The writing process can be a bit stop-and-go if you’re, say, constantly checking that your Black character descriptions are on the right track. You’ll feel more focused if you’ve described Black characters countless times before. Get the stumbling out on the training grounds.

More confidence as a writer. The stakes of writing a group outside of your own can feel like mountains looming overhead. The more practice you have, even from writing snippets and scenes, the more confident you’ll become.

Better representation. With all that practice prose in, combined with research and feedback, your diverse writing will only get better. You’ll learn what works, doesn’t work, and tackle stereotypes and blunders early on.

Ways to start small:

Character profiles 

Character descriptions (physical and personality)

Dialogue

Third person POV

First person POV

Write a secondary Character of Color

Write a Protagonist of Color

Scene with CoC during an ordinary moment 

Scene of CoC during an emotional moment 

Scene of CoC facing a micro-aggression

Scene of CoC facing blatant racism or discrimination 

Scene that casually shows culture (e.g. dinner, clothing, family interaction)

Scene that prominently shows culture (e.g. holiday, cultural event)

Fan Fiction (Good source of feedback if published!)

Flash fiction

Short story

This list progresses from easier stuff to more complex means of practice. Try a variety of methods and practice as much as it takes to feel comfortable on a certain task. Exercise those diverse-writing muscles!

I’ve practiced a lot. Now what?

Research what you’re writing. If you didn’t do it before or during writing, now's the time to research. Check out those writing guides on describing skin tone and physical features, dialect and speech, handling stereotypes, and so on. Writingwithcolor is a good starting place! Check out the WWC FAQ and explore from there.

Get feedback. Preferably from the groups you’re writing on. Again, Writingwithcolor is a resource for feedback but so are beta-readers, writing groups online and in-person, etc.

Improve your practice pieces. Don't lament too much on perfecting it but do apply research and feedback to polish them up. Remember the relevant advice for future reference.

It’s great that you’re writing with diversity! Now that you’ve got the small stuff out of the way, pull out those big plans you kept tucked in your back pocket. You’ll stumble a lot less with all the practice you’ve already clocked in.

Colette Aburime is the founder of WritingWithColor, a writing advice blog focused on diversity. She studied creative and professional writing in college, and writes (or rather, dreams of writing) in her free time. Colette is a big fan of romance and fantasy and lives out her fairytale in a humble cottage in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. She spends happily ever after with her prince, plants, and a feisty cat. Check out WritingWithColor on Tumblr and Twitter.

#nanowrimo #writing #writing with color #nano prep #writing prompts #diversity #by nano guest #colette aburime #characters

[nanowrimo]

The Do’s of Writing People of Color: Describe Your Characters

Diversity makes stories better, plain and simple. This year, we’ve partnered with the good folks at Writing With Color to get some advice on how to write stories populated with people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In the third part of her “Do’s of Writing People of Color” sub-series, founder Colette Aburime goes over how to describe characters of color in your writing:

One key to strong representation is making the race of your characters undisputedly clear. So clue your readers in! Not only is it nice for People of Color to read descriptions of themselves as awesome everyday people, but there's a consequence to being vague: Most readers will assume the characters are white. 

Society ensures we view white people as the default. That default human is probably also straight, cis, able-bodied, etc. until proven otherwise. This way of thinking won't dissolve overnight.

When describing your characters

Make their races clear early on once they’re introduced.

Sprinkle in a few more reminders throughout the story.

Ways to show race:

Physical descriptions - You can describe hair, skin tone, and facial features to create a picture for readers. It isn’t foolproof, though. For example, dark brown skin and curly hair may point to a Person of Color, sure, but not an exact race or ethnicity. It’s wise to pair physical details with other means.

Culture - Cultural elements can seamlessly indicate race. They’re already part of your character’s identity, so it’s bound to come up! Think family names, clothing, holidays, traditions, language, food, heirlooms...

Social issues - What social issues directly affect the character? What about relatives in other countries? Even a national disaster could show background, like a hurricane affecting your character’s family in Mexico. 

Activities - The character could be involved or have met someone through a PoC-specific organization. Think student unions, activism, local businesses Facebook groups, professional meet-ups...

Cover art - If your book cover features your characters, I urge you to make sure they look the part. Even if you have little say in the final product, remind your publisher of their races and ask they take care to be accurate. Say no to white-washed book covers! 

Say it in story - Don’t be afraid to just state it. I highly recommend doing so at some point in the story. There’s many ways to work in a mention. Create a situation that makes sense to the story. See these examples:

“The woman turned to face me. She was Black, I think, with a short coily afro and a dimple in her smile that took my breath away.” 

“It felt awkward, being the only woman in the room, let alone an Indian woman.”  

“I was born of a Korean mother and a German father.”

Say it outside the pages - These days allow more interaction between authors and their readers. Use social media or a webpage to share character profiles, your celebrity dream cast, share commissioned art, and clarify questions. 

Use one or more of these methods. At the least, I recommend a combination of physical descriptions and outright stating race whenever the story allows.

Characters of Color in Fantasy

Alternative or fantasy settings may have different concepts of race. Perhaps there’s no word for human ethnicities or countries. Never fear—racial coding is here!  Racial coding means providing hints that your character is the equivalent of a human race. You can use physical, cultural and geographical parallels to help readers make a conclusion. 

Now, go forth and describe your characters. We wanna see them!

Related Articles on Writingwithcolor:

Describing Characters of Color:

Writing With Color Featured Description Posts 

Fantasy Coding Advice on Writing With Color:

PoC in Fantasy When Their Country/Continent Doesn’t Exist

Describing POC without stating Race 

Writing With Color “Coding” Search 

Colette Aburime is the founder of WritingWithColor, a writing advice blog focused on diversity. She studied creative and professional writing in college, and writes (or rather, dreams of writing) in her free time. Colette is a big fan of romance and fantasy and lives out her fairytale in a humble cottage in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. She spends happily ever after with her prince, plants, and a feisty cat. Check out WritingWithColor on Tumblr and Twitter.

#nanowrimo #writing #writing with color #nano prep #characters #diversity #by nano guest #colette aburime

[nanowrimo]

Do’s of Writing People of Color: Read What We Write

Diversity makes stories better, plain and simple. This year, we’ve partnered with the good folks at Writing With Color to get some advice on how to write stories populated with people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In the second part of her “Do’s of Writing People of Color” sub-series, founder Colette Aburime discusses how reading diversity will help us write diversity:

Writers write. They should also read. And if you plan on writing Characters of Color, you should read works by People of Color. More specifically, stuff from authors in that ethnic group. Consider this an important part of your research.

How do People of Color tell their tales, express culture, and represent themselves in story? You may find that—ope! We humans are quite alike in many regards.

It's those key differences you should learn to add a touch of authenticity.

Whether it’s:

Haircare needs & styles

How we describe ourselves

Microaggressions: the ones we face & how we cope

How we incorporate, celebrate and balance culture

Fitting in at work and school

When the mods and I give advice on WritingwithColor, we speak mainly from our experiences. Don’t stop at just one book or blog. There are many more voices to hear. Seek plenty of stories by those you hope to represent.

Primary Resources:

Fiction - particularly in your story’s genre

Non-fiction

Blogs and vlogs

Articles

POC Profiles on WritingwithColor blog (reader submission-based experiences)

Autobiographies, diaries and memoirs - particularly in your story’s time period

Social media / message boards (Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit can be an open diary!)

Comment sections, reviews, and discussions from any number of these.

Remember your goal is to learn and to listen.

Tips:

Practice proper etiquette. When entering public or semi-private spaces, provide support without offering unasked-for sympathies or questions. “Thank you for sharing” is a good general way to show support. Or sometimes lurking is best. Regardless, make sure all commentary is welcome and appropriate.

For example: A Black girl venting about getting her hair pet by a coworker isn’t the time to ask “Well, why is it so wrong to do that?” Google is a good, dear friend!  

Keep an open mind. Some of these sources may share raw, intimate information. Truths that make you uncomfortable, told in ways that don’t sugarcoat or act nice about it. Time to forget yourself! A person’s personal experiences are seldom written to make others comfortable. Again, you’re here to listen and learn. And you will learn if you listen!

Support Authors of Color. When it comes to stories, support the author with a review. And if you liked it, recommend the book to others. You could also buy a copy or ask your library to carry it. 

It’s not all about oppression.

Something you’ll discover from reading our stories, particularly fiction; we want adventures! To fall in love, crack the cold case, and soar from the backs of dragons. Most of our lives are not 24/7 about The Struggle.

In any case, stories that let us play is part of escapism. Allow us these moments. When we’re ready for really tough stuff, we’ll seek the stories that deal specifically with those topics.

And don’t forget all the positive to neutral things. Food, holidays, traditions, music, get-togethers...

Overwhelmed?

Don’t get lost in the details. Not everything you learn will prove relevant to the story, but it could provide some background. In the same way giving your MC the favorite color yellow may never appear on the pages, it gives insight on who they are.

Organize to Success!

Chart your findings in a neat and easy to reference manner.

I’ve created this Character of Color Research Table (Google Doc) to give you a start. Make a copy and fill the chart with whatever information you see fit.

Now, pick up a great book by an Author of Color and get in some research!

Colette Aburime is the founder of WritingWithColor, a writing advice blog focused on diversity. She studied creative and professional writing in college, and writes (or rather, dreams of writing) in her free time. Colette is a big fan of romance and fantasy and lives out her fairytale in a humble cottage in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. She spends happily ever after with her prince, plants, and a feisty cat. Check out WritingWithColor on Tumblr and Twitter.

#nanowrimo #writing #writing with color #nano prep #research #diversity #by nano guest #colette aburime #characters

[nanowrimo]

The Do’s of Writing People of Color: Learn From Mistakes

Diversity makes stories better, plain and simple. This year, we’ve partnered with the good folks at Writing With Color to get some advice on how to write stories populated with people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In the third part of her “Do’s of Writing People of Color” sub-series, founder Colette Aburime talks about how to recover when you make mistakes:

So you’re gearing up to write some exciting, diverse stories. With all that research under the belt, your sights are set on getting it right. It’s a good mindset to have and absolutely do your best! Still, expect to overlook or misrepresent some aspects of your Characters of Color.

Maybe you included a universally accepted no-no, such as comparing a Person of Color’s skin color to food instead of more favorable words for skin tone. It could be nuances missed by not being in the group. Perhaps it’s something more subjective that some have an issue with, but others don’t mind.

How to avoid mistakes (in the first place)

Ideally, you’ll avoid making huge missteps if you’ve prepared on the front end. 

Before you write:

Research - Know the dos & don'ts, associated stereotypes, & culture 

Read stories by the groups you’ve included. How do they represent themselves?

Practice - Start with small-scale projects. Get out the goofs before the stakes are high. 

Plan - Build a profile & backstory for your Characters of Color.

Worry - Some fuss is good. It makes you double-check your story for sound representation

Write, gather feedback, and write again. 

 Oh, and don’t forget to describe those characters so we know their background!

How to handle mistakes

You put in the pre-work. Still, readers are unhappy about something you’ve written. 

This is your “keep calm and carry on” wake-up call. No need to throw down the pen and vow never to write inclusively again. Stuff happens! Now you push through it. 

The best place to start is to hear the readers out, say you’re sorry, and to get better. 

1. Listen

Take in the criticism, and keep track of their feedback. If an option, ask for clarification. You want to fully understand what was uncomfortable for the reader(s). 

This is free writing advice, even if it isn’t said nicely. On the other hand, not all criticism is created equal. Feel free to ignore counterproductive feedback like “Don’t write PoC.” or anything that snubs having a diverse and humanly flawed cast of characters (Check out: Stereotyped vs Nuanced Characters and Audience Perception).

2. Apologize

You’re not the first or the last to write something that upsets people. You’ll recover, but apologizing is essential to that. Take your blunder with grace. Acknowledge your error and the offense it has caused. Being too defensive or over explaining intent can turn an apology into a disclaimer.

3. Do better

Research the criticism. Focus some research specifically on the issue at hand. You want to truly understand where you went wrong so you can go right next time.

Gather feedback. Get a second or even third opinion. Seek people in the groups you’re writing on. Having beta-readers check over your story is key to making it better. 

Know your limits. If you’re not in the group, there’s no reason to pretend to know exactly what it’s like to be the person you’re writing about. It’s only natural to not know some things, and small, missed nuances are forgivable. 

Re-write or improve on future works. If it’s possible to mend a piece after a pretty big mistake, do it. If there’s a second installment, make things right going forward. Otherwise, show your improvement in your next pieces.

It’s easy to doubt whether you should write with diversity after running into roadblocks, but don’t let a stumble keep you falling forever. To err is human, isn’t it?

All and all, worry a little and write a lot. You’ve got this. 

Colette Aburime is the founder of WritingWithColor, a writing advice blog focused on diversity. She studied creative and professional writing in college, and writes (or rather, dreams of writing) in her free time. Colette is a big fan of romance and fantasy and lives out her fairytale in a humble cottage in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. She spends happily ever after with her prince, plants, and a feisty cat. Check out WritingWithColor on Tumblr and Twitter.

#nanowrimo #writing #writing with color #diversity #making mistakes #learning from mistakes #by nano guest #colette aburime #characters