,
5 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
A note I got on my short story in workshop.
IDK because she just IS? Has any writer ever been asked, “why is this character white?”
My family is mixed-race, my friends are diverse, do I need a *reason* to write non-white characters beyond reflecting the world?
IDK because she just IS? Has any writer ever been asked, “why is this character white?”
My family is mixed-race, my friends are diverse, do I need a *reason* to write non-white characters beyond reflecting the world?
So the character is both Chinese-American AND bi, (such people exist, shocker) and this was just too much for several participants. One guy said if I’m going to keep both those aspects of her character, it needed to be a “much longer” story.
Presumably so I’d have room to include her “whole coming-out” story + the history of ever racial incident in her life. Because only then would they feel they understood WHY this character (who talks to trees—that’s the plot) was not a cishet white like them.
It’s like a flipside illustration of that trashfire of a conversation we had earlier this week about writing diversity. Not only do white writers expect a character’s marginalization to be the whole point, some can’t conceive of or accept a story that doesn’t totally center it.
Which, by the way, if you missed that convo, follow the amazing @frankieonye & check out his threads on writing diversity.
