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erindromeda · 10 months

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An Essay on Writing Diversity into your Characters

When you're making OCs, or writing something, you might want to feature some diversity. Be it sexuality, gender identity, disability, neurodiversity, any such things! Some people might have a sort of internal checklist for this stuff, and that can be ok, but I much prefer being completely at the mercy of my own creations.

Example: today I remastered a drawing of an old OC and realised that although he was originally a cis guy, he is now clearly a he/they enby. I didn't consciously change my mind. I just drew them again and oh look at that. It's like my own OC came out to me.

I don't make the rules.

I don't have an internal diversity checklist when I make characters. I do not sit down and say "hmm i think i will draw a character who is autistic today"

I simply draw or write the character and sometimes as I'm putting them together, or even just thinking about them down the line, they hit me with

T H E V I B E S

and much like with actual people discovering themselves, sometimes it takes several years for my OCs to realise they are subject to

T H E V I B E S

Here's another example: I have an OC in a sci-fi universe and I've worked with him for upwards of 10 years now. And I remember, about 7 years into continuously thinking about him I was like "ohhhhh I see why you're like that, it's because you have T H E V I B E S and you're actually pansexual!

I felt like I'd really gotten to know my OC that day. Which is odd, considering, like, I created him, and am in full control of everything. But actually, I'm not in full control. I did not choose for that OC to be pansexual, I simply found this out one day.

This is why I use phrases like "I've worked with this OC for 10 years", as though I'm in some collaborative project with whatever fictional creation I'm brainrotting over. It really helps with making these characters breathe and feel genuine, and also I get moments like this.

and I think that's the best way to have some very super genuine feeling diversity in your OCs or other such creative works. If you checklist that stuff, you run the risk of it feeling like you've checklisted it, and trust me, all us super cool and tubular gay, trans and/or disabled people can tell if you're phonin' it in for brownie points.

I am not the way I am to fulfil a quota, so if you want to have genuine feeling diversity, your OCs can't be that way either.

Make them asexual because oh, you guess physical intimacy just isn't their scene.

Make them have ADHD because, yeah, they WOULD probably post an essay on writing diversity after getting back on their medication.

Make them feel real. Make a character, and see if they have

T H E V I B E S

You'll know it when you see it.

#oc artwork #OC #writing #creative writing #writing tip #diversity #writing diversity #diversity tip #THE VIBES

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writingwithcolor · 6 months

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It wouldn’t be historically accurate for my story to include BIPOC!

This is an argument often made about European-style fantasy media like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Disney’s Frozen. Audiences, often white, assume that due to the majority-white setting, adding any visible number of BIPOC to the story would be unrealistic.

What these critics fail to realize is that BIPOC do in fact live, and have lived, in these settings, and records of BIPOC presence in places assumed to be majority-white have been buried, written out, or not taught due to white supremacist and/or colonial bias in the field of history. There are historical European settings that were far more diverse than is often portrayed. Consider:

The Moorish Empire exerted an extensive influence over life and culture in Southern Europe from Spain from 711 to 1492

The Ottomans were heavily involved in European affairs up until the treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, but still considered a part of Europe even through the 19th century

The sheer size of the Roman Empire ensured the continued movement of people from various backgrounds within the Mediterranean well until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

“Historical accuracy” should not be used as an excuse for media to be exclusively white in its casting. While there are places which are or were predominantly white, there will always be factors like global trade and immigration that bring multiculturalism to their doors.

And even if the presence of a certain demographic is unrealistic for a certain setting? Consider that we’ve accepted far worse inaccuracies in historical fiction in the name of artistic license. Consider that our understanding of human history is, and will always be, incomplete.

Further Reading:

Historically Diverse London, “Historical Accuracy,” and Creator Accountability

Making a Black Pride and Prejudice Resonate

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This Q&A is an excerpt from our General FAQ for Newcomers, which can be found in our new Masterpost of rules and FAQs. If you're new to Writing With Color and/or want more writing resources, check it out!

-Writing With Color

#writing with color #writeblr #representation #poc representation #history #historical fiction #historical accuracy #writing advice #writing tips #writers on tumblr #diverse books #diversity matters #faq

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coffeeandcalligraphy · 7 months

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Hold on I think I cracked the code behind why so many people don’t understand what pantsing/discovery writing is!! Intention!! Though pantsing entails “writing without an outline” (so much nuance there) it doesn’t mean you don’t have a specific intention behind a work! Intention can evolve but it’s like the guiding force behind a work & something I’m aware of while I work, even in the most subconscious of ways… intention!!!

#Rachel rambles about pantsing vs plotting again bc someone left me a comment & it reminded me of a tip a gave which was smart #ANYWAYY pantsing is a really cool and diverse process (not saying outlining isn’t I just don’t do that!)#& there are soooo many variations of discovery that I wish I could learn more about how others pants bc there’s neverrrr ‘#<< ‘content’ abt that !!! hold on would ppl collab with me anonymously to talk about their process if you pants??#& I could compile a vid of tips from pantsers??? I always only have tips from me LOL but would love to hear #from more pantsers!!!! there are a million ways to outline but where are the million ways to pants!!!#million ways to pants now?? million ways to pants WHEN??#also this isn’t a versus pantsing and plotting holding hands rn

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thatsbelievable · 1 year

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#What to do if Someone Asks For Your Hand in Marriage But You Suddenly See a Jar of Peanut Butter #tips #tricks #life hacks #helpful hints #advice #peanut butter #mmmmmm peanut butter #if you have a peanut allergy you could still use it as an opportunity to create a diversion and run #you’re worth it #don’t settle

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cepheusgalaxy · 5 months

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How to write diverse casts: a tip

A. Do your homework

B. Ask people who know better than u (people who are a part of the group you're writing) and are willing to share information

C. Don't be annoying. Some people don't want to lecture you in spoon theory or binder safety for ur characters and you gotta ask someone else

#writing tips #writing diversity #writing advice #writeblr #writing

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novlr · 11 months

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Do you have suggestions on how to write a severely verbally and socially disabled character (think a condition that's sort of a fluent aphasia & autism combo) without being unintentionally offensive?

This is a great question, and something that's very important to talk about. And one of the first questions I think it's important for every writer to ask is "Why should I be the one to tell this character's story?" People write about disability, neurodivergence, and mental illness for a variety of reasons, so if this is a story you want to tell, then it's important to make sure those reasons are the right ones. You should never use a character's condition as "flavour."

If you've asked yourself that question and determined that this story is important to you, and you are the right person to tell it, then the next steps are to make sure you approach your character with the sensitivity and respect they deserve. When writing about disability, neurodivergence, or mental illness, these steps are absolutely essential:

Know the condition you are writing about: There is no catch-all imaginary condition that you can use to represent a character respectfully. To be truly respectful of a character, their experience, and their condition, you must specifically know what condition you are writing about.

Listen to real voices: Read as many first-person accounts as you can get your hands on. Don't take third-party advice at face value. Instead, immerse yourself in the stories of the individuals affected by their condition. Their voices are unique, individual, and each will have their own experiences. Listening to their stories openly and with honest intent is the best place to start.

Do your research: Take the time to thoroughly research your character's condition. Understand the symptoms, challenges, and experiences associated with it. Consult reputable sources, read personal accounts, and consider reaching out to individuals with lived experiences or advocacy organizations for insights. But make sure that any individuals you plan to reach out to are open to the emotional labour involved in helping you tell that story.

Avoid stereotypes: Be cautious not to rely on stereotypes or generalisations when portraying your character. Remember that individuals who share a condition are diverse, and their experiences and abilities can vary greatly.

Write the character, not the disability: Your character is an individual with their own personality, hobbies, strengths, and weaknesses. Consider their background, interests, and other aspects of their identity to create a well-rounded and authentic portrayal that is more than just their condition.

Get feedback: Once you've written the character, find sensitivity readers with similar experiences to read over your manuscript. Their perspectives can help you identify any unintentional inaccuracies or stereotypes and provide suggestions for improvement.

The language you use to represent your characters is incredibly important, so here are some resources to help you ensure you're respectful in the way you talk about them:

The Disability Language Style Guide from the National Center on Disability and Journalism

The Language Guide from PWDA (People With Disability Australia)

The Conscious Style Guide has lots of resources and articles to help get you started

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freakedcanine · 3 months

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you reblogged my one post about feeling different than other therians and you are genuinely the kindest person ive ever come across in this community and tysm for understanding. i hope you have a wonderful day and many others 💟

awwh hello anon! i remember that post V>•<V!

i'm fairly newer to the community (only a couple months under the belt) but i've experienced therianthropy my whole life. it means a lot to hear that i made you feel understood. /gen

representation is just as important in the therian community as it is in any other community, and pretending like that diversity doesn't exist/isnt important is just denying facts. i myself haven't experienced a lot of internalized hate in the community (yet lol i'm sure its on its way) but i'll fight tooth and claw against anyone who thinks that way.

everyone's experience is valid.

you don't have to ask if you're valid in this community, because you are.

as long as you're not hurting anyone else or yourself, go wild, man! live your life how you see fit, and don't let anyone else dictate that.

if anyone ever wants to talk, my asks and dms are always open <3 i'll lend a paw and help you with whatever you need. you can rely on me

#therian stuff #therian community #theriantropy #therianthropy #therian #therian tips #therian things #canine therian #otto says #otto pep talk #pep talk #diversity is important #therian culture

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em-dash-press · 1 year

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Do you have any advice for writing about characters with different body types? How do you incorperate body positivity and body insecurity into your writing? Ty!

Hey! Writing characters with different body types is so important. It’s another aspect of diversity in fiction that needs addressing. I’m going to go into weight first and disabilities next.

Writing Fat Characters

My first piece of advice is to learn how not to write fat characters (I’m using the term “fat” and not other terminology to reclaim it as a neutral term and not further stigmatize it). In a vast collection of books and stories, fat characters are often/have often been introduced by immediate physical descriptors. There are a few issues I have with this:

It immediately boxes that character into a trope (the “fat character”) without giving any character description that other characters would get (noting the mannerisms that display their personalities, their interests, etc.)

It’s often an info dump (readers want to get to know the characters, not read a bio on them. You can read more about info dumping here.)

Bringing up weight first and character traits second can also be the launch pad for subconscious biases. It’s worth checking how you introduce your characters to see if the wording is neutral or flattering, rather than passing judgment or using a stereotype to get the introduction out of the way.

You can read more about subconscious biases in creative writing here.

What if you’re writing a fat protagonist and their weight is important for a theme? You can and should absolutely describe their body type in ways that seem natural for the character. They might use their preferred terminology to set up their character arc (body positive terms, neutral terms, negative terms, or none at all).

If their size isn’t essential to the plot or theme (it isn’t a story that includes a distinct message about body positivity/acceptance), then you could keep the descriptions limited to the ways they’d normally reflect on themselves. Like if they see someone who looks like them on screen so they fall in love with that movie.

Personally, I think the most empowering way to write fat characters is to write about any other aspect of their lives. There are so many (good, bad, horrible) books on people losing/gaining weight, struggling with self-acceptance, etc. Skinny people get to read about protagonists that experience everything other than that. Fat people deserve those stories too.

However, it depends on what story you have in mind and the many factors that play into your identity as a writer. This post has way more insight into writing an insecure character, which would apply to more situations than body weight as well. That might apply more to your question if my answer isn’t what you’re looking for.

Other issues to keep in mind:

Avoid writing the “fat friend” trope just for the sake of making your cast of characters more diverse. (More on that here.)

Avoid introducing a fat character in positive terminology strictly because their curves make them sexy to another character. (More on that here.)

Read up on other archetypes if you think you may have inherent biases (like we all do because society is like that). (More on those here.)

Writing Disabled Characters

Likewise, you should read up on tropes that prevent disabled characters from having positive and equal representation in fiction. (These are sometimes called ableist tropes, if you want to dive into your research.)

You can reflect on your existing characters or character ideas to see if they fall into any of these tropes:

A disability turned a character into a villain

The villain is the only character with a disability (think: the villain with an eye patch)

A disability turns into a magical ability (more on that here) that exists solely to make the disabled person redeemable or accepted

A disability that occurs only to cause a character’s growth arc, which disappears after they’ve learned a lesson

A disabled character who only becomes attractive to another character after getting rid of their disability (think: Yennefer’s transformation in The Witcher)

That’s not to say characters with disabilities can’t also be villains or have magic powers. It’s just that the disability itself shouldn’t be the cause/reason for those things. The characters should be the antagonist or have magic powers for separate reasons while also having their disability.

This blog post has some great advice for writing disabled characters in a respectful, inclusive way:

Research the disability you have in mind for your character to better understand what it’s like to live with it/write that lived experience accurately

Don’t treat disabilities like plot conveniences (“I need a reason for this character to become bitter, so I’ll give them XYZ disability from XYZ accident” etc.)

Create an identity that includes but does not revolve around their disability. People are always so much more than one aspect of themselves.

You could also follow this tumblr, which posts exclusively about writing characters with disabilities. The various perspectives/pieces of advice could be helpful for whatever story you have in mind!

Incorporating Body Positivity Into My Writing

I always try to make my stories as diverse as possible, but that doesn’t always come naturally. We all have inherent biases that we work on every day. Here are a few ways I approach body diversity in my writing:

If I have one or more characters that come to mind, I write them down and any plot ideas they inspire. Then I pause and ask if all of those characters look like me. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.

When they do all resemble me—in skin tone, gender, body type, age, or abilities—I make modifications to add diversity to their roster. While doing so, I keep any of their related plot ideas in mind. Will their modifications change their world view, how they interact with their world, or how I want them to grow? The answers change how I research them and ultimately, the story I end up writing.

In another situation, I might have a strong idea for a protagonist. They might be super vivid, but I have no ideas for any other characters in the story. I always intentionally build diverse characters in that situation.

It’s a practice I once had to remind myself to do at that point in my world-building process, but now it comes naturally. It’s also okay if you need to remind yourself to create more diverse characters at first. Writing stories can include habits that we have to work on as we learn better ways to write.

I’ve also made my work more diverse by focusing on the body-focused experiences I’ve lived through. Sometimes I want to write about those things to process my history.

Last Notes

A few important last things I want to add—

The most important thing to take away from this is to face your nerves/fears head on. No one will ever have personal experience in every body type or ability that humans could possibly have. That shouldn’t stop you from writing diverse characters!

Research as much as you can and read as many diverse stories as you can. You’ll pick up ideas along the way that will greatly inform your writing.

Below are some resources I’ll leave you with! I hope this answered your question. If not, please reach back out!

Diversity in Fiction: Writing the Character You’re Afraid to Write

Writing Outside of Your Identities

Seven Easy Tips for Writing a Diverse Story

#writing diversity #writing diverse characters #writeblr #writing tips #writing resources

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illputdownmyrootswhenimdead · 2 years

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someone: jkr is horrible-

me: yeah, i completely agree with you there

someone: -which is why you should stan uncle rick rick riordan instead :)

me:

#rick riordan critical #PLEASE take your head out of your ass #rick riordan is not as bad as jkr but posing his books as the ‘more diverse’ and acting like he’s a great awesome ally to minorities #is just. incredibly naive #piper with feathers! unhealthy age gaps in relationships! the only gay character (at that point) suffering constantly and then being outed-#in front of a complete stranger! incredibly shallow and often misogynistic portrayal female characters! general insensitivity and ignorance #of other cultures! a transphobic portrayal of a genderfluid person who gets called a slur by one of the GOOD characters! shallow and ableist #portrayal of adhd! ableism in saying his characters don’t have push because they’re ‘too strong’! no physically disabled characters!#his incredibly lesbophobic response to people saying reyna reads as gay to them!#this is literally just the tip of the iceberg #rr is NOT some woke intelligent savour he’s a grown ass man who doesn’t have people of the cultures/groups he’s writing about to check if #it’s harmful or incorrect or stereotypical!!#he’s a rich cishet white man with a victim complex when people call him out on his shit.#rr stans don’t interact with me i do not want to hear it #tbh the only reason why he’s ‘better’ than jkr is because he doesn’t have her level of influence #god. shudder. i don’t want to think about that #dove talks #hi it’s 4pm and im so angry.#will admit that anyone saying percy jackson would beat harry potter in a fight is 100%#like we can agree on that one.

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annasellheim · 3 months

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#art #drawing #sketchbook #sketching #sketches #fat #fat acceptance #rant #art tips #artist #ink #sketch #doodles #doodle #activism #diversity

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mystery-wings · 16 days

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Understanding Intersex

Intersex FAQ about Kasey — Playlist

Kūna'e Kamealawemaiua'awa — In response to dr.chad's wording of the güevedoces (an intersex condition)

Blume — An Australian intersex popstar who talks about their experience with being intersex and collaborates with other intersex people

#intersex #intersex issues #intersex awareness #the diverse experiences of being intersex #writing advice #writing guide #writing research #writing resources #writing tips #oc creation #fanfiction writing #roleplay help #daily researcher #I have an endless storage of information~#stay educated #be mindful

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writingwithcolor · 6 months

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Wouldn’t my writing be worse off if I forced in elements like diversity?

If you are asking this question, you have yet to challenge the “default” of your culture’s media. Consider that the majority of modern Western media fill their casts with white men, and when there are women or POC, they stick out conspicuously. Many people view adding diversity as tweaking some white man characters by toggling race or gender. But this assumes that “white man” is some default, standard character template.

If you feel pressured to include diversity in your writing, distance yourself from this pressure and ask yourself why you feel it. If you feel attacked when seeing campaigns for more diversity or criticism of all-white, uninclusive media, sit with the discomfort and ask yourself why those who are different from you say they need diverse media.

These are people whose voices and faces are rarely visible in entertainment. Despite this, they enjoy an adventure as much as anyone, and have become accustomed to projecting onto white characters. Yet, when the reverse is asked of white audiences to acknowledge protagonists of color, it becomes a difficult ask. These character choices are immediately questioned, discredited, fought against, and accused of being “woke” or “unrelatable.”

This resistance reflects a larger issue: the imbalance between audiences’ empathy towards the majority/“default” and empathy towards those perceived as Other.

By mostly reading about white people, they become easier to relate to. By the same token, if we are not reading media and histories from the perspective of POC, we end up with more people who literally fail to relate to POC. When we talk about hope-deficits, increased alienation and lower self-worth among marginalized populations, underrepresentation in media is a big factor. Imagine for a moment: never the beautiful princess in the tower, never the badass hero riding dragons; always the two-second sidekick.

People of color are people and want to be seen and treated as such. Not as a burden to devote your time to, but people who have a place in the world, fictional or no. Really, writing a world in your story that is all or mostly white is more unrealistic, more forced—after all, there are far more non-white people on Earth. Becoming comfortable with diversity requires unlearning White as the Default and POC as the Other. It takes setting aside feelings of pressure to emphasize, open your heart and listen.