I'm looking for excuses as to why I have only posted one entry since I began this blog. There are no excuses. I've come to see that blogging, at least in my life, is akin to getting pregnant and then changing your mind after labor starts. You can't go back, even if you want to. Your blog hangs out here like a flag shouting abandonment. For those of you who actually read this, and I’ve heard from a few of you, my apologies. If there is any excuse for my lack of consistency, it is that I have been busy. I've been working on setting up the new website for the teen writers group that I host. You can find us at www.aswrittenby.com. One of the reasons I'm so passionate about encouraging writers to write more diversely, is that when I go into the public schools to work with students -- I work with several hundred kids from 4th grade through high school, coordinating education programs for students -- these kids come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Yet, when you look at the lists of books put out by publishers (see our myspace page: www.myspace.com/teenswrite) it's the same old story, very little diversity. I understand some of the difficulties publishers face with this. Last year, I went to the Loft Literary’s Festival of Children's Writers, I was the only black American present (that's the p.c. term). The only other diversity represented was a Chinese woman, who spoke English poorly, but who monopolized a part of a session that I attended; my critique buddy Aleli, who is both an extraordinary writer and Filipino; and another young woman of Japanese ethnic heritage. This young woman had been adopted child by a family of Scandinavian heritage (a common background in Minnesota). For those of you who believe that culture is a result of ethnicity, adoption has shown us that culture and attitudes are largely a result of upbringing. As writers, this is an important distinction to make when crafting a character from a non-WASP background. Anyway, back to the festival, Minnesota is one of the few remaining majority WASP states, so I look at my "lone black chick in the room" as par. Then again, I've gone to many writer events where I am one of only a few tans in the crowd. With that in mind, I'm talking to authors who are not part of recognized minority groups: black, Latin, Asian, Native American. I am begging you, as a peer, a reader, and someone who mentors young writers, please think of diversity as an added value to the stories that you write. Sadly, I don't know why such an idea would even be considered revolutionary or unusual. Writers should be able to embody the spirit of the characters they present in stories. Yet, most books on writing leave out what writers need to know about writing diversity. The purpose of this blog is to open the topic up for discussion.
So, with my intended audience very much in mind, let's talk about adding diversity to your stories. When you diversify your character cast, you have to be aware of three very important things:
1. Your character's humanity is not up for condescension and/or judgment. I talked about this with my teens in terms of villains at our last AWB meeting. We all know that one-dimensional villains, the villains that are evil because they are evil, don't work in novel-length books. These villains might work in comics, maybe even in graphic novels, but novel-length requires more exploration of character goals and motivation. This also holds true in writing diverse characters. One of the great things about writing novels is that writers can avoid the tendency that we see in television to label and stereotype. I've worked in television. In this medium, the equivalent of showing not telling is the visual cue. It has been 143 years since the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery. Since that time, black men, despite many brave acts of valor, have been characterized in such as way that simply showing a picture of a man with dark skin brings up associations in our minds, those associations can be either positive or negative, but they exist. Is television the culprit for stereotypes? No . . . and yes. No because television programs merely employ the simplest form of storytelling—the blonde bombshell, the smart brunette, the rich white guy...they're all stereotypes. And yes, because the television executives who make the story telling decisions often don't want to go deeper or try harder. They prefer to reinforce stereotypes. It makes their jobs a bit easier. So, like it or not, laugh tracks, smart and caring white people, black pimps, Latino gang members, Asian brainiacs, all go hand in hand on television. If you want a more accurate vision of truth in America, watch the commercials. They must appeal to the demographics they're trying to reach. To connect, they must use marketplace affinity, an ability to show that they understand our real lives; they’ve got the solution to make things better. Anyway, as writers we don't have the luxury of visual cues. It is our responsibility to communicate using words to create mental images.
I've read many writers who believe that the following words: black, Latino, Asian...are characterizations. They are not. Black, to describe Africans brought to this country during slavery (or who were here before European settlement as some records suggest), is a term applied by people of Anglo-Saxon, Nordic, Gaelic, Gallic, and Spanish heritage. Of course, other terms have been used and were more prevalent during the period after reconstruction when new immigrants from Ireland and other parts of Europe could at least say that though they didn’t come in on the Mayflower, they were not black, they were white. The term black American has seen resurgence over the past ten years as a new wave of immigrants from Somalia, Eritrea, and other war-torn African countries, have created a desire for Americans of African heritage with the equivalent of "Mayflower" roots to differentiate themselves from the new immigrants. And Latin America covers a wide range of geographic regions and ethnic peoples, as does Asia. The terms mentioned above are really geographic classifications, leftovers from a period of history when it did matter whether you were Polish, Scottish, Irish, or African, Chinese, etc. It mattered because it defined your place in American life. Yet, the reality is that geographic heritage offers a wide range of cultural diversity. Writers writing for the new American marketplace should just dispense with ethnic stereotypes. It is culture, rather than ethnic heritage, that defines a character's world view. Culture, that is where a writer must focus to understand how a person who may be from a particular ethnic heritage views the world. In other words, culture affects character.
2. If you don't have familiarity with anyone from a heritage that you know well enough to ask stupid, and maybe even offensive, questions then perhaps you shouldn't include diverse characters. Yes, it's catch-22. Okay, include the Japanese cosplay girl, just think very carefully about the purpose behind the character's inclusion in your story. Diversity is a value, but your character should also have a purpose to the story. We are not trying to create token diversity in stories. If you want to be successful for the under 40 crowd, however, a narrowly ethnic perspective is not acceptable. Research shows that teens and young adults prefer a more diverse cast. It’s a part of the fabric of their culture. They're post Civil Rights. They're used to diversity and many feel uncomfortable with too much homogeneity. Obama anyone? This demographic shift has played a huge role in the political climate. If it can affect what many thought to be a sure win candidate for the democrats -- Hilary Clinton, how much more is it at play in other areas of popular culture?
3. Finally, be aware that you are communicating your world view when you write. It is inevitable. We all have shadow beliefs. The best way to explore our shadow beliefs is to write. Writing, even fiction writing, reveals so much more than we want to admit. Yes, you can plot out a story to the inth degree, but how you plot, the choices you make, the through line, beats, perspective, etc, all come from inside you. Facing our shadows is a responsibility that we as writers must take seriously because ultimately, we are creating and communicating culture. For understanding to grow between human beings, our communication to human beings must contain that element of respect. This is not to say that we hold harmless just because we are purposefully communicating something that is a part of a character's culture, but we must understand the culture, the character, and the culture's effect upon our character. There's so much more to write...and now that I've gotten the first iteration of the As Written By website up and running, I will write it.
Happy writing to all. If you have a book with has a cast of diverse characters, please let me know about it. I want my teens to see these books are out there.
So, with my intended audience very much in mind, let's talk about adding diversity to your stories. When you diversify your character cast, you have to be aware of three very important things:
1. Your character's humanity is not up for condescension and/or judgment. I talked about this with my teens in terms of villains at our last AWB meeting. We all know that one-dimensional villains, the villains that are evil because they are evil, don't work in novel-length books. These villains might work in comics, maybe even in graphic novels, but novel-length requires more exploration of character goals and motivation. This also holds true in writing diverse characters. One of the great things about writing novels is that writers can avoid the tendency that we see in television to label and stereotype. I've worked in television. In this medium, the equivalent of showing not telling is the visual cue. It has been 143 years since the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery. Since that time, black men, despite many brave acts of valor, have been characterized in such as way that simply showing a picture of a man with dark skin brings up associations in our minds, those associations can be either positive or negative, but they exist. Is television the culprit for stereotypes? No . . . and yes. No because television programs merely employ the simplest form of storytelling—the blonde bombshell, the smart brunette, the rich white guy...they're all stereotypes. And yes, because the television executives who make the story telling decisions often don't want to go deeper or try harder. They prefer to reinforce stereotypes. It makes their jobs a bit easier. So, like it or not, laugh tracks, smart and caring white people, black pimps, Latino gang members, Asian brainiacs, all go hand in hand on television. If you want a more accurate vision of truth in America, watch the commercials. They must appeal to the demographics they're trying to reach. To connect, they must use marketplace affinity, an ability to show that they understand our real lives; they’ve got the solution to make things better. Anyway, as writers we don't have the luxury of visual cues. It is our responsibility to communicate using words to create mental images.
I've read many writers who believe that the following words: black, Latino, Asian...are characterizations. They are not. Black, to describe Africans brought to this country during slavery (or who were here before European settlement as some records suggest), is a term applied by people of Anglo-Saxon, Nordic, Gaelic, Gallic, and Spanish heritage. Of course, other terms have been used and were more prevalent during the period after reconstruction when new immigrants from Ireland and other parts of Europe could at least say that though they didn’t come in on the Mayflower, they were not black, they were white. The term black American has seen resurgence over the past ten years as a new wave of immigrants from Somalia, Eritrea, and other war-torn African countries, have created a desire for Americans of African heritage with the equivalent of "Mayflower" roots to differentiate themselves from the new immigrants. And Latin America covers a wide range of geographic regions and ethnic peoples, as does Asia. The terms mentioned above are really geographic classifications, leftovers from a period of history when it did matter whether you were Polish, Scottish, Irish, or African, Chinese, etc. It mattered because it defined your place in American life. Yet, the reality is that geographic heritage offers a wide range of cultural diversity. Writers writing for the new American marketplace should just dispense with ethnic stereotypes. It is culture, rather than ethnic heritage, that defines a character's world view. Culture, that is where a writer must focus to understand how a person who may be from a particular ethnic heritage views the world. In other words, culture affects character.
2. If you don't have familiarity with anyone from a heritage that you know well enough to ask stupid, and maybe even offensive, questions then perhaps you shouldn't include diverse characters. Yes, it's catch-22. Okay, include the Japanese cosplay girl, just think very carefully about the purpose behind the character's inclusion in your story. Diversity is a value, but your character should also have a purpose to the story. We are not trying to create token diversity in stories. If you want to be successful for the under 40 crowd, however, a narrowly ethnic perspective is not acceptable. Research shows that teens and young adults prefer a more diverse cast. It’s a part of the fabric of their culture. They're post Civil Rights. They're used to diversity and many feel uncomfortable with too much homogeneity. Obama anyone? This demographic shift has played a huge role in the political climate. If it can affect what many thought to be a sure win candidate for the democrats -- Hilary Clinton, how much more is it at play in other areas of popular culture?
3. Finally, be aware that you are communicating your world view when you write. It is inevitable. We all have shadow beliefs. The best way to explore our shadow beliefs is to write. Writing, even fiction writing, reveals so much more than we want to admit. Yes, you can plot out a story to the inth degree, but how you plot, the choices you make, the through line, beats, perspective, etc, all come from inside you. Facing our shadows is a responsibility that we as writers must take seriously because ultimately, we are creating and communicating culture. For understanding to grow between human beings, our communication to human beings must contain that element of respect. This is not to say that we hold harmless just because we are purposefully communicating something that is a part of a character's culture, but we must understand the culture, the character, and the culture's effect upon our character. There's so much more to write...and now that I've gotten the first iteration of the As Written By website up and running, I will write it.
Happy writing to all. If you have a book with has a cast of diverse characters, please let me know about it. I want my teens to see these books are out there.
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