Heck yes you should write about your culture, your stories!

I write what  I know, or characters based on people I know. I think I'd be careful if writing about other cultures because I don't know. I'd want to make sure it's right. If I chose to do that. 

I hate stereotypes. It happened to me when I was on the streets.  I was stupid, a criminal, all the things you'd think of, that's what people thought of me. 

I think if we read each other's journeys,  and our feelings, maybe, just maybe, we will see we are all similar and so we can celebrate what makes us different too.

So yeah, write your stories, your characters, I want to read them!

tim

I agree with @asamvav11 as writers we are only limited by our imaginations and the amount of research we want to do.

Saying that however, I am always wary of #2 when writing POC. I tend to stick to people's a cultures with which I am familiar and comfortable. I have friends who are Chinese (and married into a Chinese family) and friends who are First Nations Canadian. I have many Turkish friends, which helped me set my first book there. I live in a very white area of the UK, I do not, for no actual reason, have any friends who are black (I don't have that many friend tbh) and so the idea of writing someone from that culture is less appealing to me, because getting it wrong would not only be bad writing, but also rude (at best) and racist (at worst).

It's a tricky one.

However, if a character shows up in my head who happens to be from a culture I know nothing about (as Bageerah has. He's Mayan) I will happily go and do research until the character is satisfied.

Past Sasha! They haven't met Rah yet.

One should not write anything they have insufficient information on, but they should not limit themselves arbitrarily by race, Creed, color, or any other factor. One must simple do ones homework. Research, research, research!

15 hours ago, asamvav111 said:

A writer should be able to write about anyone. That's why they are a writer. You don't need to be a murderer to write a murder mystery or a bird to write The Nightingale. You write of experiences collected from various sources. One's race should not matter in the way you have mentioned in the blog.

See, I totally get what you're saying, because you're exactly right about not having to be a murderer to write from a perspective of a murderer. There are also many people who argue that a writer doesn't have to be gay to write about gay characters. At the same time, I can see how incredibly easy it is to end up with stereotypical POC characters if the writer isn't intimately familiar with that community--are there certain nuances with race that cannot be gleaned from research? I don't know the answer to that question. 

I also wonder if race is something different than writing about murderers, etc. because race is so systemic in society. There are so many layers when it comes to race and so much history that's shaped the way we understand race that it might not be fair to compare the nuances of race to the psychology of murderers. Would it be dismissive of us to say that race is something we can figure out simply through research? Are we not taking the issue seriously enough?

I ask myself this: if I write about an African American character, and then an African American reader reads my story, would the reader appreciate my portrayal of his/her race? Or would it be offensive? As someone who is not African American, would I ever have enough research to be able to write an authentic African American character with subtlety? 

Sorry for the rambling, it's a bit of a stream of consciousness at this point. 

12 hours ago, Hudson Bartholomew said:

 

See, I totally get what you're saying, because you're exactly right about not having to be a murderer to write from a perspective of a murderer. There are also many people who argue that a writer doesn't have to be gay to write about gay characters. At the same time, I can see how incredibly easy it is to end up with stereotypical POC characters if the writer isn't intimately familiar with that community--are there certain nuances with race that cannot be gleaned from research? I don't know the answer to that question. 

 

I also wonder if race is something different than writing about murderers, etc. because race is so systemic in society. There are so many layers when it comes to race and so much history that's shaped the way we understand race that it might not be fair to compare the nuances of race to the psychology of murderers. Would it be dismissive of us to say that race is something we can figure out simply through research? Are we not taking the issue seriously enough?

 

I ask myself this: if I write about an African American character, and then an African American reader reads my story, would the reader appreciate my portrayal of his/her race? Or would it be offensive? As someone who is not African American, would I ever have enough research to be able to write an authentic African American character with subtlety? 

 

Sorry for the rambling, it's a bit of a stream of consciousness at this point. 

I think the 'difference' we perceive in writing a murderer (easier) rather than a POC (harder) is that the current cultural climate is so incredibly divisive in many respects, seems intent on labelling people, and enforcing socially constructed rules where anything you do which might originally have belong to another culture or race (wearing sombreros or using a canoe) can now get you shouted at for "cultural appropriation" (my most hated phrase of the moment). Everyone is very quick to hand out blame these days, especially on this, and so the subject of writing a POC becomes suddenly terrifying, in case you get it wrong.

potentially unpopular opinion: since according to the current cultural climate, you cannot be racist against a white person (especially one who speaks English or who is cis gendered), therefore you could obviously learn everything about this type of person with research and write them convincingly. When applied the other way around, lots of these concerns are highly suspect.

I was once told an excellent piece of advice which was given to TV writers on writing believable female characters: write a male character, then change the pronouns. Whilst the exact same considerations might not be entirely perfect in this situation, it the principle stands. Same as my gender, my colour, my sexuality, are not any of the things I consider as my defining features, why should a POC define themselves by their skin tone as a major character trait?

I want to say something here. Being whites yourselves, you may not understand the stereotyping of  the white people. But, since I am from India, I see stereotyping of a White person or shall I say WASP person in every representation of it in current Indian media. Check out the comedy series "Outsourced" for this. It is overflowing with stereotypes. This is true for every race and social group. To truly understand a social group one must immerse oneself in it completely, what anthropologists call "going native". Rahul Sankritayan, an Indian polymath, a well-tuned Hindi writer, did this over & over. He married, lived together with different women of different culture and geography to learn their culture & language. With Eleven Different Women. He converted his religion each time. That is the commitment that is necessary to be a good writer. In one of my early blog post here, I had mentioned about BodhiManjusha, a collective unconscious or rather an universal library if you please. And I think every artist of every art form accesses  it in his or her own way. Again going back to Buddhist theology, there is a Jataka story where it is mentioned to properly appreciate any one art form a consummate knowledge of all the art forms is necessary, which is impossible & thus we are all inferior artists. I think the same applies to human beings, which is an infinitely faceted problem. We all get it wrong one way or the other. That should not stop us.

And many artists of many nationalities of many era have asked the same question as Sasha here: "why should a POC define themselves by their skin tone as a major character trait?" I believe they will continue to ask this question many eons even after us. So strive on, my friends.

First off, I must state that I am not race baiting or trying to stir up trouble. Having to say that at all should indicate how defensive some people are when it comes to discussing race. (black or white.) I have been sitting here for over twenty minutes typing, backspacing, typing, backspacing because I want to choose my words wisely. What prompted me to respond to this entry was a particular comment made by Sasha. My nephew was reading over my shoulder, and he was dumbstruck when he read the comment that the idea of writing about black people is less appealing. I told him that I appreciate his passion, but I’ve lived long enough to know what battles to fight and which ones to walk away from. It is now his battle, because it is his time. 

For me, this has nothing to do with the “current cultural climate.” Hell, this issue has been around for centuries, it is nothing new. You feel me? I'm not one to go all Black Panther whenever race is discussed. Believe me, I don't judge people by their color. Could you imagine the many beautiful people I would have passed by if I was concerned about their race. People are people. I know some shady black folk, and I've dealt with some unscrupulous white folk. The majority of black Americans lead lives similar to white Americans. We work, pay our taxes, and worry about our children's futures. We are more than the color of our skin.

It’s sad that in 2017, we are still going round and round over something that takes so much energy and brings on so much negativity. It’s like everyone’s talking, but no one’s listening. If you’re writing about drug dealers in an urban setting, then by all means throw in a black drug dealer. I knew a young man who dealt drugs in the 70’s. He worked long hours in the steel mill, came home to take care of his elderly grandparents, and was the nicest guy you ever wanted to meet. See, no stereotypes, just a dude dealing drugs.

We need to get off of this cultural whatever the heck is going on crap, and just create. The imagination is a powerful thing, and we should not limit ourselves because of what others say or think. I write white characters all the time. Do you think I ask a white person’s permission before I do this. Heck no. I allow my imagination to take over, and before you know it...SHAZAM!!! A character is born.

I can't speak for all African Americans, but I would not take offense if a white author has a black character who says, "Aw honey chile, the watermelon is picked, the chicken is fried, and the chitlins is bubblin' on the stove!" Stephen King's character Detta Walker is an example of a stereotypical black woman from the 60’s, but she is intentionally portrayed as over the top. I'm sure some black people take offense to this, but Mr. King is staying true to his writing. It doesn't make him a racist.

I have created a character by the name of Cracker Jack. He’s an old biker dude from Georgia. Does this make me racist? No. I have another character by the name of Little Dusky. She’s a beautiful little dark skinned girl. Should I be ashamed as a black woman to write a character whose name sounds straight up like something a slave master would call her? No I am not. Would I be crucified by some of my own for doing so? Hell yes, but I don’t care, because I’m being true to my writing. I’m sure there would be a black person quick to diagnose me with suffering from blah, blah, self hatred disorder, blah, blah, blah, Uncle Tom’s syndrome. Lol They would have to know the story to understand the name. And personally, I really don’t give a darn what they think. lol

Sorry...let me continue. Also in this story there is a lovely interracial couple. I want people to be honest with me. Would any of you read such a story, or would you find a black man with a white husband too...how do you say...unappealing? Even if they are an attractive, solid, and upstanding couple.To be honest, I wouldn’t expect it to be read, because where would a tale written about a gay white trash biker, a little black girl, and a interracial couple fit, if some folks refuse to see beyond class and skin color.

I'm sorry, but the seriousness of this is giving me a headache. I'm going to shut it down, bring out "mommy's" special candy, and go watch a bit of Dave Chappelle. 

Take a moment to celebrate our brothers and sisters from all walks of life. Forget about the “current cultural climate,” we should write about them if the spirit moves us..

12 hours ago, Sasha Distan said:

potentially unpopular opinion: since according to the current cultural climate, you cannot be racist against a white person (especially one who speaks English or who is cis gendered), therefore you could obviously learn everything about this type of person with research and write them convincingly. When applied the other way around, lots of these concerns are highly suspect.

I think people can be racist against white people. I know plenty of Chinese people (usually of an older generation) who are plenty racist against white people. I think the counterargument to your point is that in Western society, the media is dominated by white people, so everyone living in Western society regardless of race gets daily doses of "white culture," so to speak. I have experienced this myself, both in defaulting all my characters to white because I've internalized the idea that characters in stories are supposed to be white. And also, I sometimes forget that I'm not white (weird, I know), because the majority of people I see reflected back to me in media are white. 

12 hours ago, Sasha Distan said:

I was once told an excellent piece of advice which was given to TV writers on writing believable female characters: write a male character, then change the pronouns. Whilst the exact same considerations might not be entirely perfect in this situation, it the principle stands. Same as my gender, my colour, my sexuality, are not any of the things I consider as my defining features, why should a POC define themselves by their skin tone as a major character trait?

I really like this piece of advice and I'll definitely keep it in mind in my future writing. Thanks for sharing! I agree that things like gender, race, and sexuality are not the only defining features of a person. I do, however, think they play an influencing factor, some more so than others. Still, good thing to remember. 

@asamvav111 (side note, I love how we can tag people now) Eleven different women? That sounds exhausting  Thanks for sharing about Sankritayan. I think immersing ourselves in the culture and language of the people we're trying to write about should give us a lot more insight. I wonder if there's a limit to how much insight one can glean this way? I'm not Indian or black or indigenous, so I'll never know what it feels like to have someone treat me as if I were one of those races, based solely on skin color. 

@R J Drew Thank you so much for your post!! And I'm sorry about the headache  You know how there's a weird thing where I can complain about my mom, no problem, but the minute someone else says something bad about my mom, I'm all up arms? That probably applies to race, too, huh? I wonder if that's because I can appreciate both the good and the bad about my race and culture, and so write a character that has some stereotypical qualities but it's balance with some that aren't stereotypical. So it doesn't feel as offensive that way. Whereas, someone not Chinese may not know the nuances as well, and so the character leans to heavily on the stereotype? I don't know... I think you've alluded that we can't please everyone with our writing, which I completely agree with. I think I'm very sensitive to the fact that I don't want to offend people unnecessarily (and certainly not intentionally). 

Thanks for all your thoughts, you guys. Sorry again for any headaches I've caused, but I do really appreciate hearing what you guys think. I wrote this post because I haven't figured out where I stand on the issue. Most of the points I've raised are actually what I've heard from other people--I think there's something to them, but I'm not sure I agree 100%. But seriously, thanks 

@R J Drew I would like to say thank you for being the voice of reason, and yes I would read a book about any colour of person, if it was well written.

I find it broadens the mind to read stories which are different and bring with them the author's cultural insights, whether that be a black person's perspective, or any other colour. Whether the author is American, British, other European, Indian, Asian or Chinese, whatever, we all bring something to the party and can all share writing about each other. 

I think we are all singing from the same hymn book. I so like much of what I've read here.

I would love to ignore the current cultural climate, but I am also, unfortunately, aware of how in our social media environment, people can jump down your throat and vilify you for the slightest perceived insight.

and as a footnote, for @R J Drew's nephew, I do not think writing a black character is less appealing, but to me, the idea is more scary (see above mention potential shouting). I do not have, as yet, any African-American characters, but since I have long admitted to not being in control of my characters, one never knows when this is change.

I don't think anyone should feel obliged to include characters from any particular group, whether racial or social, and what people can write about convincingly will depend on their own experience. One way to get a diversity of characters is to recruit writers from different backgrounds.

Incidentally, no-one else seems to have mentioned this, but some convincing stories about men published here are written by women. Perhaps if people can write convincingly about characters of the opposite gender, they can also sometimes do justice to members of other racial groups.