writingwithmeraki

[writingwithmeraki]

Hi, I’ve been considering starting a book in the fantasy genre. I really wanted to give some Native American representation in it, since it's something that I rarely see. However, this story wouldn't take place in America, it would be in a completely different world (though one loosely based off of earth in the 14 hundreds ish?) This is similar to your mixing cultures post, but I wanted to know: is there a good way to give Native American representation in stories that aren’t historical fiction?

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

The core of this question is something we’ve gotten across a few different ethnicities, and it basically boils down to: “how can I let my readers know these people are from a certain place without calling them by this certain place?” Aka, how can I let people know somebody is Chinese if I can’t call them Chinese, or, in your case, some Native American nation without having a North America.

Notes on Language

As I have said multiple times, there is no such thing as “Native American culture”. It’s an umbrella term. Even if you are doing fantasy you need to pick a nation and/or confederacy.

Step One

How do you code somebody as European?

This sounds like a very silly question, but consider it seriously.

How do you?

They probably live in huts or castles; there are lords and kings and knights; they eat stew and bread and drumsticks; they celebrate the winter solstice as a major holiday/new year; women wear dresses while men wear pants; there are pubs and farms and lots of wheat; the weather is snowy in winter and warm in summer.

Now swap all those components out for whatever people you’re thinking about.

Iroquois? They live in longhouses; there is a confederacy and democracy and lots of warriors from multiple nations; they eat corn, beans, and squash (those three considered sacred and grown together), with fish and wild game; they wear mostly leather garments with furs in winter; there are nights by the fire and cities and the rituals will change by the nation (remember the Iroquois were a confederacy made up of five or six tribes, depending on period); the weather is again snowy in winter and warm in summer.

Chinese? They harvest rice; there is an emperor appointed by the gods and scholars everywhere; they use a lunar calendar and have a New Year in spring; their trade ships are huge and their resources are plenty; they live in wood structures with paper walls or mud brick; they use jade and ivory for talismans; their culture is hugely varied depending on the province; their weather is mostly tropical, with monsoons instead of snow on lowlands, but their mountains do get chilly.

You get the gist.

Break down what it is that makes a world read as European (let’s be honest, usually English and Germanic) to you, then swap out the parts with the appropriate places in another culture.

Step Two

Research, research, research. Google is your friend. Ask it the questions for “what did the Cree eat” and “how did Ottoman government work.” These are your basics. This is what you’ll use to figure out the building blocks of culture.

You’ll also want to research their climate. As I say in How To Blend Cultures, culture comes from climate. If you don’t have the climate, animals, plants, and weather down, it’ll ring false.

You can see more at So You Want To Save The World From Bad Representation.

Step Three

Start to build the humans and how they interact with others. How are the trade relations? What are the internal attitudes about the culture— how do they see outsiders? How do outsiders see them? Are there power imbalances? How about greed and desire to take over?

This is where you need to do even more research on how different groups interacted with others. Native American stories are oftentimes painful to read, and I would strongly suggest to not take a colonizer route for a fantasy novel.

This does, however, mean you might not be researching how Natives saw Europeans— you’ll be researching how they saw neighbours. 

You’ll also want to look up the social rules to get a sense for how they interacted with each other, just for character building purposes.

Step Four

Sensitivity readers everywhere! You’ll really want to get somebody from the nation to read over the story to make sure you’ve gotten things right— it’s probably preferable to get somebody when you’re still in the concept stage, because a lot of glaring errors can be missed and it’s best to catch them before you start writing them.

Making mistakes is 100% not a huge moral failing. Researching cultures without much information on them is hard. So long as you understand the corrections aren’t a reflection on your character, just chalk them up to ignorance (how often do most writers get basic medical, weapon, or animal knowledge wrong? Extremely often). 

Step Five

This is where you really get into the meat of creating people. You’ve built their culture and environment into your worldbuilding, so now you have the tools you need to create characters who feel like part of the culture.

You’ll really want to keep in mind that every culture has a variety of people. While your research will say people roughly behave in a certain way, people are people and break cultural rules all the time. Their background will influence what rules they break and how they relate to the world, but there will be no one person who follows every cultural rule down to the letter. 

Step Six

Write!

Step Seven

More sensitivity readers! See step 4 for notes.

Step Eight

Rewrite— and trust me, you will need to. Writing is rewriting.

Repeat steps seven and eight until story is done.

Extra Notes

I’ll be honest— you’re probably going to need a certain amount of either goodwill (if you’re lucky enough to make friends within the group you’re trying to represent— but seriously, please do not make friends with us for the sole purpose of using us as sensitivity readers. It’s not nice) and/or money to get to publishing level. 

The good part is the first three steps are free, and these first three steps are what will allow you to hurt others less when you approach. While you’ll still likely make mistakes, you’ll make a few less (and hopefully no glaring ones, but it can/does happen) so long as you do your due diligence in making sure you at least try to understand the basics.

And once you feel like you’ve understood the basics… dive down even deeper because chances are you’re about to reach a tipping point for realizing how little you know.

People will always find you did something wrong. You will never get culture 100% accurate— not even people who were born and raised in it will, because as I said in step five: cultures have a huge variety of people in them, so everyone will interact with it differently. But you can work your hardest to capture one experience, make it as accurate as possible, and learn more for next time.

~ Mod Lesya 

[writingwithmeraki]

How Long Should Your Book Be?

Hello friends! Let me preface by saying that the credits of this post go to: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/word-count-guide#how-long-should-a-novel-be, from MasterClass.

So obviously, today's post is about how long your book should be. This can be helpful when you're first starting out or drafting an idea because the length of your book will affect the pacing of your novel. There are different estimated word counts for different genres, so your book length will depend on the genre of your book.

For thrillers: 70,000 to 90,000 words -> this is because you're building suspense to keep the plot moving and readers engaged; so the word count would be smaller than say, a science fiction novel.

For science fiction & fantasy: 90,000 - 120,000 words -> these genres often require a lot of worldbuilding, so this genre would be a lot longer.

For historical fiction: around 100,000 words -> like science fiction/fantasy novels, there's some worldbuilding involved in historical fiction, since you're creating a fictional space in the context of an actual historical time period.

For nonfiction: these don't have a definitive or ideal word count because there are so many subgenres under this label. If you're writing a nonfiction book, search up your specific category word count (for instance, memoirs typically have between 80,000 to 90,000 words).

What about novellas, short stories or YA?

Novellas: 10,000 to 40,000 words -> a novella is a fictional piece between a short story and a novel. For something smaller, the novelette, the typical word count is between 7,500 and 17,000 words.

Short stories: 5,000 to 10,000 words but also anything above 1,000 words -> Short stories are what they sound like; very short stories. For flash fiction (which is a much, much, much smaller and shorter version of short stories) is usually 500 words or less.

YA novels: YA, also the abbreviation for Young Adult, is typically geared towards teenagers and can address heavier topics in comparison to children's literature. YA novels are typically between 40,000 to 80,000 words. But if you're going for sci-fi YA, then its word count would be closer to 80,000 words.

I don't know how many people are writing for these groups, but I thought I'd throw them in here anyway.

Middle grade: this section of literature is specifically for kids eight to 12 years old, so it's a lot shorter than YA -> around 20,000 to 50,000 words. Having your word count around 20,000 is great for younger middle grades, while having word count close to 50,000 better for kids closer to 12.

Children's books: around 1,000 - 10,000 words (like an adult short story) -> children's books are for kids between the seven to eight age group (small chapter books), so these stories should be easier to follow.

Picture books: 500 to 600 words (like flash fiction!) -> picture books are for young children, between the ages four and eight. These books would also have pictures that help younger kids learn to read by themselves.

And that's it! I wouldn't say get too stressed about word counts or how long/short it is in comparison to the ideal word counts for your said book genre or category, especially if you're on your first or zero draft. These are just basic estimates and should be regarded as benchmarks for your book, and help you draft a little better. Hope this was helpful!

Happy writing :)

With love,

Jane

[writingwithmeraki]

My Top 3 Tips For Writing Motivation

Keeping up writing motivation can be hard! It's also easy to prioritize other activities like school and work over writing; I haven't even seriously worked on my wip in a couple of months (don't come at me).

On that note, I don't feel very qualified to give any tips, but here are three things I think help with maintaining writing motivation!

1. Take a break

Woowwww Jane, the whole point of this post is about maintaining your writing motivation, not stopping! And yes, I know! But taking a break doesn't mean that you're giving up. You're simply taking a break.

Take some time to refresh your mind and your creativity. Do other things unrelated to your writing; close that tab, put away Pinterest for a bit, and go touch some grass. Remember, writing should be an enjoyable experience. You should be having fun to some extent, and you should be enjoying the time you spend writing. If you're dreading on continuing that chapter or outlining that plot, maybe it's time to take a break. It's ok if you don't meet your word count or accomplish all your writing goals that given month, week, or day. Not writing every day does not make you any less of a writer. You and your work are just as worthy, regardless of how often you spend working on it!

Afterwards, you'll feel a little more refreshed, inspired, if not ready to write again.

2. Do some writing-related-not-physical-writing activities.

I've never met a writer who does not obsessively regularly use Pinterest. If you don't, try it out! You can find so much inspiration there, and even come out with a few more wip ideas that you anticipated. It can help you visualize what you're writing, and maybe even what you want to include. Find what your characters' vibes are, your wip aesthetic, a book cover, accessories, costumes, settings, etc. Scrolling through Pinterest gets me a little more excited about my wip and characters, which also gives me some writing motivation. So try something like Pinterest out! Make an aesthetic board, a character playlist, make a writing playlist, do some warm ups, write a snippet from a random/possible chapter. Do whatever that gets you excited about what you're writing, and take that excitement with you when you sit down to work on it.

3. Look at the bigger picture

Find your core "why" for writing. Why do you want to write? Who are you writing for? I think it helps to know your personal goals and aspirations as a writer (even if you're not planning to publish) because it keeps you on track on your core writer values, or makes you really excited about your writing pursuits! For example, I really want to see my book published and in Barnes & Nobles; or see someone excitedly grabbing my book off the shelf, and people enjoying it in general! This might be a little narcissistic, but I think it's pretty fun to imagine doing famous book-author interviews, getting that movie/television show adaptation, or having book signings.

Anyway, the point is that envisioning the things you want to see out of your book or work can be motivating. After all, you're the only one who can write your book! You have the vision and the talents. This also has to do with perfectionism (which is the real writing-motivation-eating-monster in my opinion). Because sometimes you're not necessarily lacking motivation, but rather repelled by the fear of imperfections. Understand that your piece will always have room for improvement. All authors, even published or 'famous' ones, will. Don't get caught up on making your work perfect, but rather working on loving your work. So look at the bigger picture, keep that in mind, and don't let little flaws hinder you from achieving your goals!

You got this!! Y'all are doing amazing :)

With love,

Jane

[writingwithmeraki]

do you ever just reference your old short stories or things you've written because you need an example or no

#writing meme #meme #writing memes #writing ideas #writing #creative writing #writer #writerscorner #writersofig #writersofinstagram #writers and poets #writers of instagram #writers of tumblr #writers community #writerblr #teen writer

[writingwithmeraki]

ok ok but like forget word counts for writing, it should be thought counts because im mentally writing 120395243895 scenes with awesome character development in my head so i'm technically working on my wip right like this is writing, no?

#writing #writing memes #meme #creative writing #writing ideas #just me? #writer #writer memes #writersofig #writerblr #writersofinstagram #teen writer #go write #writerscorner #writerscommunity #writers and poets #writersnetwork #writers of tumblr

[writingwithmeraki]

tell me why i get the MOST writing motivation precisely between 11 pm to 2 am

#writing #writing memes #meme #pls tell me this is relatable #writer #teen writer #writersofig #writers #writerblr #creative writing #writerscommunity #writerscorner #writersofinstagram

[writingwithmeraki]

The Only Writing Tip Beginning Writers Need

And by beginning writers, I mean everyone and anyone who is starting to write or work on their wip; whether it be a 3 sentence mantra of random words or a chapter of their book.

Start.

Forget grammar, forget research, don't scroll through Tumblr again for more writing tips to perfect your unwritten draft(s). Stop looking for advice and write.

It might not make sense, it might not feel right, yes there might be a better way to introduce this character and hey--don't you dare stop at that plot hole. I see you.

Keep trekking, keep exploring. Whatever world you're crafting, it's in the process of being crafted. Discover it! Find the little nooks and crannies, the unexpected friends on paper (or screen, I suppose). Just start. And go! Write! Write, write, write. Whatever you want! It doesn't have to make sense. It's not supposed to be perfect.

Now close Tumblr or ig and write, my friends! Your world awaits.

#literature #writing #book #motivatedmindset #motivation #go write #you got this! #teen writer #writers #writers and poets #writerscommunity #writerblr #writing tips #creative writing #writersofig

[writingwithmeraki]

it's always you're kinda cute and never your face embodies history, with every feature telling a different story from a different era and i think that's beautiful

#yeah you #maybe this isn't romantic but how would i know #gentle reminder #you're #freaking #beautiful #:) #writing #writing memes #teen writer #dark academia

[writingwithmeraki]

Why Diversity and Good Rep Matters

General disclaimer: these are my opinions, my personal thoughts and reasons. I'm going to strictly talk about race in this post, but I think most of these points also work for having good rep on mental illnesses, disabilities, sexuality, and others.

I've seen a couple of these posts around instagram and tumblr, and here are my two cents on why good diversity is extremely important, especially in a topic like literature.

First off--the ability for readers to be able to connect with a certain character at a deeper level.

I'm not going to go too deep into this because there have been other fantastic posts (both here and on instagram) that explains this perfectly, but really, it's about inclusivity. Seeing a character that reflects you, or some big aspect of you, can be empowering and welcoming. You're able to relate to that character because there are similarities that go beyond just "oh x is also super organized." It's more like, "oh I understand why x does [specific action] because it's a highly respected custom in my culture" (specifically talking about race here). It's also just really cool seeing a character that does the same things as you.

For example, I recently read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, which is a book telling the generational stories of a Korean family from the beginning of Japanese colonization and afterwards (highly recommend). And I kid you not, I got so, so excited when they mentioned a specific Korean dish within the first chapter.

Now, as a person of Korean descent, I rarely ate toast or cereal for breakfast, let alone call that a meal. I don't know what meatloaf is or what casseroles even look like. And nearly in every YA book that I read in elementary/middle school, they would be the casual mention of eating certain foods or snacks, and I could just never relate to it. Little things like that casually remind you that you're different, when in reality, you're not.

Ok, this blends into my next point about good, accurate representation: books shape your perception.

I really, really, really want to emphasize that when people ask for representation, it's not half-researched, token diversity. I don't want your Asian character to be smart, passive, docile, and a bad driver. Now, those aren't necessarily bad traits, I'm not saying your character can't have them. But they should not be the only traits they inhibit. Don't give your POC characters harmful stigmas and stereotypes as their personality and call it a day. Especially now, where diversity is extremely lacking in literature.

Good, accurate, representation is important because it shapes the readers perception of the group your character belongs in. Especially for people who do not share the same culture. Most readers aren't going to go research the history, culture, customs and practices of your x non-white character after finishing your book. In most cases, readers will casually adopt and generalize the traits you give that character.

Have you ever watched an actor first play an extremely villainous, rude, abusive character and then find it really jarring when you see them in another movie where they play an extremely nice, empathetic, smiling character? Even more so if the first role you've ever seen the actor play was the mean one. You can't see them playing a different character anymore. Like imagine anyone else playing Loki besides Tom Hiddleston.

Consequently, a lot of rookie actors get hate for playing a hateful character. You might be asking, why? It's not like the actor is actually like that character in real life. And you're absolutely right. But sometimes we forget that, and some completely disregard that.

Books work the same way. You didn't mean to extend your first impression of the character to the person who played it, your brain just associated the two together. And just like how you associate a character's personality with that of the actor, readers will internalize the personality of the character and their race.

Another example: my brother was reading a book and the literal words the author used when describing an Asian character was that "X Character had anime quality."

The character was Chinese.

Anime is Japanese, for those who don't know. And there's a bunch of other things I could nitpick within this single sentence (what on earth does 'anime quality' even mean??????), but my point is, it's almost dehumanizing to be described that way. Like you've never read a book describing a white character as cowboy or KFC quality.

Anyway, some, especially younger audiences, who aren't Asian won't even question it. Even those who are Asian might not even question it; my bother didn't even mention it until I read over his shoulder. I would never have seen those words. This is extremely problematic when books designed for 10-13 year olds describe their POC characters in a similar fashion.

And the problem is that it's repeatedly done in books. Look at Cho Chang (my gosh, the way I could go into a whole another spiel about this--) and Baljeet Tjinde from Phineas and Ferb. Subtly, they share similar characteristics; almost all the Asian characters I've read about in books have. Same idea extends towards other races. It's either always degrading representation or none at all.

These impressions build upon each other. It's dangerous. Literature is an extension of society, and more so a reflection of it. See these types of characterizations, and people will begin to internalize them. For younger kids, they'll grow up believing them. They'll impose these stereotypes onto other kids. Adults will too, and so will teachers*.

What's more, describing non-white characters in the fashion as said above, perpetuates the constant image of a foreigner. Of course, foreigners are not bad, by no means. But it just points a finger at the POC and labels them as the 'different' one. No specific characteristic or personality should be limited to a certain person or a certain race.

All in all, it's important to be inclusive because ideas played out in literature and children's books extend to society and our mindsets, as well as how we perceive other people. And, it's nice to be included beyond stereotypes. Non-white characters are people too! :)

This was more of a rant but I hope you've been able to see why diversity is really important. Books and authors have gotten better with inclusivity (which is great and so so awesome to see) but we can definitely be better! This is only the surface, and need for diverse characters go deeper than this but you're more than welcome to do outside research. Everything I've said here is what I've noticed and my personal opinions.

Thanks for reading and happy writing!

*Not everyone will fall under this category, nor am I trying to generalize everyone. Simply saying that these stereotypes can filter into the education system and affect students, especially if the teacher also has those internalized ideas. Also wrote it to say that casual racism can be a root of bigger racism.

#writing #writerscommunity #writblr #writers and poets #writers #creative writing #small rant #diversity #stereotypes #please do your research #accurate representation #representation matters