Writing Diversity: An Introduction

“I want to write a _____ character but I’m not ______. What do I do?” 

This question pops up a lot on the internet. Writers don’t want to risk offending people or portraying marginalized people in a stereotypical or negative light. They may feel burdened with choosing to write a diverse character, as there is a likelihood that they will inaccurately portray them. So what is the solution?

1. Research. I mean that in its broadest sense.

Simply googling information about the marginalized person and reading wikipedia articles does not suffice as research. It’s a start but certainly not a solution. One must read as much as possible about their character.

When writing a character who is a different race than your own, especially if you’re white, reading up on history is essential. In contemporary or historical fiction, understanding context is essential to understanding the person. What caused these people to come to this country? Are they living in diaspora? What are their family dynamics in terms of their culture? These are just a few of the many questions to ask yourself when you begin your research.

2. Talk to real, diverse people.

There’s a reason there’s such a strong emphasis placed on diversity within the work place and within schools (aside from equal opportunity). Diversity offers perspective into experiences that many people will never experience themselves. Racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and any other negative -ism one can think of. Being exposed to other people’s life experiences creates empathy and it creates conversations about change.

So, speak to people. Hear their stories. Understand why they are the way they are and learn from them.

3. Be aware of one’s privilege.

This is an obvious one but a difficult thing to be constantly aware of. As a writer, it is your duty to create. With creation, there is projection. Writers tend to project their own perceptions and ideas into the things they write, which is the point most of the time, but it can cause issues when writing marginalized characters. This is when stereotyping tends to come into play because the writer is relying on their own misconceptions. Don’t do that.

Instead, try to run your story ideas by the people who you’re writing about. Who knows, maybe they can help you out with that one plot-hole that you haven’t worked through yet?

Diverse Reads: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

This is the first of many reviews in which I will discuss a diverse book that I’ve read. What qualifies as a diverse read is a novel that features a marginalized person as the main character (or main characters if there are multiple narrators). Right now, I have a goal of reading more books by authors of color in the Urban Fantasy genre. So naturally, Julie Kagawa was my first choice.

The Immortal Rules is set several decades in the future, following the “Red Lung” virus that decimated much of the population of the world. Vampires now rule over humans, offering them protection from the virus if the humans offer them their blood. The novel explores how the main character, Allison Sekemoto, deals with living in such conditions and the difficult choices she has to make.

I particularly enjoyed this novel because Allison is an incredibly strong heroine. From the beginning of the story, the reader is quickly made aware that Allison knows how to take care of herself. Not only that, she also takes care of others. Despite living in squalid conditions and struggling to survive in a harsh world, she watches out for her friend Stick, keeping him safe, making sure he has food, etc. People don’t do that kind of stuff in “The Fringe” where she lives. But Allison does, despite Stick being completely undeserving of her kindness.

Early on, she’s forced to make a tough decision when she’s facing death. Does she die a gruesome and painful death or does she become a vampire, the thing she hates most in the world? Her choice to become a vampire is interesting because it shows she has depth. Her deep-rooted hatred for all things vampire didn’t prevent her from wanting to live. (Well, sort of live. Vampires are dead, remember?) The rest of the novel shows how she deals with the moral implications of being apart of the undead club.

Aside from Allison’s name, and a few mentions in the story about her asian ancestry and appearance, there is no focus on her being Japanese. She just is. I’ve read several reviews of the book where people wondered what was the point of making her Japanese if it wasn’t going to play a larger role in the plot. My answer to that is simple: It doesn’t have to play a larger role in the plot. The fact that she is Japanese has no bearing on the story whatsoever and that’s fine.

The purpose of diverse representation, especially within the fantasy genre, is important because it shows that people like Allison, for example, can go on fantastical adventures without the focus being about her race.

Overall, the first of Kagawa’s Blood of Eden series is an exciting read and I highly suggest it to anyone interested in a vampire story without all the common cliches.

Diversity Within Young Adult Media

Diversity.

This is a word that tends to come up frequently these days. Such as in the work place, within schools, and even when it comes to discussing politics. Fundamentally, diversity is a means of representation for “the other”. The other being anyone that falls outside the default, which is a white, cis-gendered man or woman from a middle or upper class background. Within the context of Western society, this description has become the default for characters portrayed in western mainstream media.

Being a woman of color and young adult myself, I have a particular interest in diverse representation within young adult media. This ranges from novels, to television, to film, and anything in between. It is incredibly important for all races, genders, and sexualities to be represented, especially within media that is targeted for a younger demographic.

With that being said, the goal of this blog is not to try and needlessly criticize the media that surrounds us, but to deconstruct it and create a conversation about diversity. What can we, as consumers or creators, do to improve things?

That is what I want to explore with this blog. Alongside that, I am going to review things that I read/watch/listen to and occasionally write about my own experiences with writing.