#askstephrawlingwrites

[stephrawlingwrites]

Hi! I'm world-building for something that i may-or-may-not make into a novel (if i get the guts and develop the skill haha) and was wondering - what character types aren't represented enough? From lgbt+ to poc to personality types that go along with that. I'm a white pan myself, and i'm afraid to say that i don't really know what to do :\

I’m probably not the best person to say which characters or groups of people are underrepresented in media/writing. I’m also white and have a fluid sexuality. I would say that the biggest step that we can take is creating well-researched, three-dimensional characters from any underrepresented or minority groups. They may be LGBT+ characters, disabled characters or PoC, but that shouldn’t be their only defining trait.

For example, your main character could be a very openly gay PoC, but that shouldn’t be their entire personality. They could be a physically strong magic user, they could be a scholar with a very acute sense of smell, or they could be a visually impaired lawyer by day and superhero at night (I’m looking at you Daredevil).

I’m not saying you should downplay your character’s personality or identity to the extent where they are effectively whitewashed, or create a cast so diverse that every single character is representative of a different underrepresented group. The representation in your story should be revealed in the way they interact with the world around them.

Say you have a character who identifies as a lesbian. This fact might not come into play in your story until a male character asks her out on a date. You can definitely suggest that she is attracted to the really cute barista by having her heart flutter or flirtatiously brush her hand against the barista’s as she takes her half-caf soy mochaccino, but she probably won’t introduce herself as “Hi, I’m the main character. I’m a PoC Lesbian.”

Your character might be devoutly religious which may not show unless they are taking part in a festival or prayer that is only observed by that specific religion. Your character may be a part of a cultural group which is reflected in their speech or how they wear their clothing or even style their hair.

There are quite a few master lists floating around with tips for writing a character from a background that is different than yours. I really like this one from @theplotlinehotline which has a little of everything. There are also a couple tumblr blogs that are moderated by several users that are willing to share their experience and answer questions, such as @writingwithcolor or @ask-lgbt-writers .

Since you’re working on your worldbuilding, you may want to ask yourself some questions that might help you discover what YOUR novel’s minority group will be. This minority group could be based on a physical trait, identity or ideology.

“Is there a ‘minority’ or  group in this story?” This minority group could be PoC, LGBT+, magic users, neurodivergent, supernatural, a religion, etc. This would depend entirely on your story and the world it takes place in, but your main goal here is to decide who is "cultural norm” and who is “other.”

For example, I’m currently reading The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, who does a wonderful job of establishing the disconnection between Us (reds) and Them (silvers). I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone, but there are two very defined groups. The upper class which is made up of nobles and high ranking military officials, and the lower class which is made up of footsoldiers, and skilled laborers. It’s very similar to the breakdown in The Hunger Games between The Capital and The Districts and creates an “us v.s. other” divide.

Another good question you will want to ask yourself is “What challenges does this minority group face as a result?” Are they publicly viewed as less than by the majority? Do they hold different types of occupations? Do they live in different areas? Is it possible for someone in the minority to change their situation to become a part of the majority? Does the majority treat the “other” as inferior, or are the differences more subtle and unspoken?

I hope that this helps you and if anything is incorrect, please don’t hesitate to comment. I’m always looking to learn more about representation in writing and media.

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