***
When submitting stories, I often come
across pleas from editors for diverse characters. But can authors write about
people who are different from themselves? Will diversity simply lead to
cringe-worthy narratives that typecast members of minority groups – not to
mention women -- as surely as putting a red shirt does to a Star Trek
extra? So, I circled the panel at the weekend’s WORDfest whose title was “Writing Outside
Your Identity – tips for responsibly and realistically portraying other races,
genders, abilities & beliefs” as a must-see.
Thanks to moderator Ann Fields
and panelists Rebecca
Balcarcel, David Douglas,
Kathryn McClatchy and Bill Ledbetter, I now have some tools to
keep my diverse characters from being doomed to anonymous death. Tools to rip
those red shirts off their backs and replace them with a rainbow of roles.
“What’s your most effective
tip for inhabiting the skin of a character different from you?” moderator
Fields asked her panelists, who included a Hispanic woman (Balcarcel), two
differently-abled writers (Douglas and McClatchy, who is also a Native
American), and yes, Ledbetter, an actual self-identified white guy without any
special qualifications in sight. Except of course, that he’s a writer. And one
eager to avoid emulating a nameless and clueless colleague who attempted to
write a humorous take on sexual harassment. (Ouch!)
The key, often repeated by
panelists, was to remember our common humanity – and that of our characters and
readers.
 |
| l-r, Douglas & McClatchy |
Balcarcel agreed – to some
extent but cautioned writers to know their limits. Just as Ledbetter admitted
he hasn’t (yet) tried to write a sex scene from a woman’s point of view,
Balcarcel noted that although she’s the mother of autistic children, “I don’t
know that I would write an autistic kid (character) in first person.”
What happens when the
character’s difference lies not in ethnicity or ability but in sexual
orientation? Can a straight writer do justice to a gay character? (I’d love to
have heard from a gay author about writing straight characters!)
Falling back on the bedrock
of common humanity with different backstories, Balcarcel noted, sexual
orientation “is not all there is to say about that character. Write against
type if there are types.”
And as Douglas noted, “I so
have a perspective about being disabled, being in a wheelchair. The inner part
is the same, but you can add outer layers.”
And of course, no “red
shirts.” Characters of color should earn their spot, panelists said. Don't
write a diverse character just to be diverse.
What if the “different” character is the story?
What if the “different” character is the story?
Balcarcel admitted having
qualms as she undertook a story about Sally Hemings, the mixed-race slave woman
with whom Thomas Jefferson had a long-term relationship (and who DNA evidence
now proves fathered Hemings’ children).
“I didn’t think I had the
right to that story,” Balcarcel said. But after doing extensive research,
Balcarcel found herself at a conference sitting next to one of Hemings’
descendants.
“He said, ‘Write that story.
You’re a human being, plus you have done the research – so write that story!”
Ledbetter noted the benefit
of having a diverse group of writing friends to give him feedback. McClatchy
agreed there. “This is one of the most important reasons to be in a writers’
group. . . (Also) we should be reading the works of people different from
us. Part of writing outside our identities is dropping the assumptions we have
about people. If we don’t have characters outside our comfort zone, our
characters fall flat.”
And don’t be afraid to ask
for help. “I would so much rather you ask me what it’s like living with a
service dog,” McClatchy said. “When you mention you’re a writer, it opens
doors. People want their stories to be told.”
