Writing Without Marginalising

[lovetheboys]

I'm going to try not to show my ass too much, but any and all critiques are welcome

Comments

[dunmurderin]

Here's an article you might find useful:

Stephen King's Super-Duper Magical Negroes by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu.

Appropriate Cultural Appropriation by Nisi Shawl

How to Write About Cultures Not Your Own Without Cultural Appropriation-- a tentative guide by Gaudior (is also full of links)

Also: Magical Negro @ TVtropes.org -- not only defines Magical Negro but also provides examples from a variety of media. And Magical Native American @ TVtropes.org does the same for Native Americans. Since these are TVtropes links, you might want to save these for when you have time 'cause, y'know, TVtropes eats time.

And for religious/spiritual research, I'd recommend starting here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/

[zeborahnz]

The best platitudey advice I can give is: read a lot, and think a lot, and accept that no matter what you do there'll still be something wrong with it. (Sort-of-not-very-similarly to the way you can write the best book in you but people will still find things to critique, or you can copyedit until the cows come home but there'll still be a typo on page 92.) Accept the fact in advance, and then when someone points out something you've messed up you're less likely to get defensive and more likely to be able to learn from it and do better next time. But, of course, in the meantime don't just wait for people to point things out, but read a lot and think a lot.

[recommendation]

check out octavia e. butler. wild seed came to mind reading this post, but any of her stuff will be a resource for you. and is also fing awesome.

[_watchtower_]

A few things come to mind, I hope they're helpful:

-Make sure that whatever influence their culture has upon their actions, they read as people first, and members of a subgroup second. I'm tempted to say this is the only thing that matters...but I might also add:

-Let a broad range of people to read your drafts. You already seem like you're open to discussion and criticism, so use this strength! I'd even encourage you to post your work here :)

-You might also want to ask yourself why a certain character is designated a certain ethnicity. Try switching it up; what would happen if X, who is a strong, silent, hunter were Kyrgyzstani, instead of Navajo. I find this often helps me identify weak points in my characters, and where I am potentially relying on stereotype or unimaginative shorthand.

[deakat]

Lots of great advice here! One thing to remember, though: if/when you are called to account for messing up, how you respond to that will be extremely important. I recommend reading this, for a start: How Not To Be A Doofus When Accused Of Racism (A Guide For White People).