Thread by @mel_thegreat

I'm going to preface first:

You can write characters that are wholly different than you. I encourage it, because when you write it should reflect the world around you.

I just heavily caution you to ask yourself first and foremost: Am I the right person to tell this story?

And if you've written the story: Have I done my due diligence to do no harm with the representation I've written?

Due diligence includes:
Sensitivity readers
Betas and crits
^
Both, all, from people from race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, etc you're writing

Getting a group of your friends or peers who are savvy, knowledgeable and most importantly from the race, religion, etc. you plan to write and talking to them about what you plan to write.

The past few years we've seen books with a problematic PREMISE.

You can save yourself a lot of heartache if you talk to your friends and/or peers before you pen that Jefferson/Sally "romance."

With that said, let's begin. This is from the blurb of Unbreak Me.

I'm going to be as fair as I can be in this thread. Or, try to be.

"He's heroic" for dealing with racism "as he takes this in stride."

He has no other choice but to deal with it. He has no other recourse.

This is a day that ends in Y for a Black person.

But...okay.

This is from the book. I read the sample. This is on the first page. Second, depending on your e-reader.

He lives in the 9th Ward, FYI. Most folks know there's a huge Black population.

He describes this neighborhood he loves as being at the edge of civilization and chaos.

I guess civilization ends at the line of white neighborhoods.

And, ya know, criminals. Burglars and vandals.

PAGE ONE.

Flaws feel like home.

Tall people are terrifying. Everyone reacts with utter fear at the sight of *every* tall person.

It has *nothing* to do with him being Black.

K.

Before I introduce this next, I have to give some backstory.

TW: rape

Brace.

So the heroine is a sexual assault survivor. She's very scared of men, in general.

The hero and heroine first meet when he shows up for an interview. He doesn't find anyone at the main house. He checks the barn to see if the ranch owner(s) are there.

He finds the heroine with a horse. She's so lost in the moment, she doesn't see him until she literally runs into him.

She freaks out.

Her dad comes a running.

Come to find out, her dad had no clue she was interviewing people for a job.

Oh, and yeah /

Now we have the optics of a terrified white woman, who screamed for murder, and a towering Black man nearby.

THIS IS THE MEET CUTE.

Sorry. Broke the thread. This is the fix.

But this follows the meet cute.

Let's pause here.

I, a Black person, show up to my interview slot time. Let's put aside the main owner of the ranch didn't even know this interview was happening, but he responds with "Appropriate candidate"

Did you hear that dog-whistle? I mean, that BULL-FCKING-HORN?

No? K.

Because the South has so little Black people.

Yeah. Let's head to Montana as the surefire fix to that.

I am about 15 Kindle page turns in when we find out there are no opportunities at all in the South for Black cowboys.

So, let's dig into the interview because lolsob

Oh no. I think I broke the thread again.

Sorry. It is hard to tweet a thread while having a mild rage stroke.

A moment plz while I fix.

In short, dear Black person GET OUT

Link: (link:

https://twitter.com/LaQuetteWrites/status/1162004251603820544

) twitter.com/LaQuetteWrites…

I will like to note, how fast she was able to get the facts.

Yet this book went through how many people?

BUT FACTS. Or whatever.

More facts from the DMs:

The heroine recreates the plot to Mandingo and revels in the stereotype of it.

Ah. The foundation of an HEA.

I have more. I do.

I just want to pause and say ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN CIRCUMVENTED.

All of this, including his background, could have been made so much richer.

So less harmful.

Once again, the optics that makes you cringe.

The author has to keep reassuring us the heroine's fear is bc he is a man, not bc he's Black.

I mean...

Then we have our Black hero come to dinner.

I can only assume everyone else is white bc no time or words are wasted to explain they are Irish-Italian.

You.
Guys.

*rage stroke*

Oh. This gem. Code switching through the looking glass.

And before the sample concluded, he licks a blade.

This is the end of the thread.

Moral of the story?

Do no harm.

Do your due diligence.

I promise people would rather you ask the questions than for you to go off and write things like this.

Pubs, DO BETTER. /fin

If you appreciate the emotional labor in this thread, buy me a whiskey for the love of gawd. This hurt.

Or a ko-fi: ko-fi.com/melissab