*Ahem* functional character problems

[Denali Christianson]

WHY HELLLOOO THERE HOOMANS!!!

I have a functional problem.

And no, I’m not talking about the part where I’m a complete pantser and did not outline anything when I started my WIP.

I’m talking about the part where I have a serious worldview character issue thingy going on here.

Which is kinda embarrassing.

But I seriously don’t know how to approach it.

This problem is diversity.

I really hate that word…

Okay, so I have problems with culture these days and I really get annoyed at people who think that a book or movie isn’t good because there wasn’t enough diversity. No. That’s not what makes a book good or bad.

HOWEVER. I’m writing to the exact audience that says this about art.

So now I have a problem.

Because all of my characters are white.

Which I have no problem with and most people I talk to don’t either.

But if I’m writing to an audience that values diversity…

And all my characters are white…

Erm…

*feels very awkward and uncomfortable*

THOUGHTS????

I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.

[GodlyFantasy12]

@denali-christianson

if it makes u feel any better….all my MCs are white too…except one. Who is an animal so that doesn’t really count XD.

BUT that being said it wasn’t done purposely and I almost changed the skin tone of one for the purpose of diversity and it didn’t work because I already had the idea of how I liked them in my mind.

plus, I have other, side characters who are diverse. ALSO, due to writing fantasy diversity comes in all sorts of different ways, not just skin color.

for instance, my MCs range from all sorts of different places.

4 are human, but one of the humans is a shifter (a human who can transform into an animal)

2 of the humans have elven blood in them and are half shifter, tho only one displays the shifter gene and the elf blood isn’t introduced till later)

one of my MCs is a wingless faerie

one of my MCs is an elf

and again one of my MCs is an animal

plus most all of them come from different places which equals different cultures. 

what does that equal?

Diversity. 

at its root diversity simply means-

“the state of being diverse; variety.”

or “the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds…..” etc.

So, I hope that helps you out some 😊

 

 

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[GodlyFantasy12]

@denali-christianson

ALSO, even if it wasn’t fantasy, diversity would range outside of skin tone. It could be culture, and some people are African American, chinese American, etc but because they may have a father who is Caucasian, they are Caucasian (this in itself can actually be a struggle for them! Think about how they must feel not knowing who they are, surrounded by their own family… especially if the father is treated like an outcast or something??)

anyway, also people in themselves are “diverse” because they are all different and unique. Those with “disabilities” (or who are above extraordinary (; if you will) are considered diverse, and those with odd outlooks on life.

The one who forgives the murderer is weird. They don’t fit in with the others. Their a diverse character. They bring Variety.

variety is the spice of life.

people scream there is no variety in stuff but that’s just because they have an agenda and don’t actually know what real “variety” and “diversity” is, so don’t pay attention to them.

now, if there really isn’t diversity and every characters just a slap-on Mary Jane with the same old personality, then yea they deserve the criticism (and that includes if they have every skin tone in the book included in their film/story)

OK….rant over XD, but I hope that helped XD

 

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[Denali Christianson]

@godlyfantasy12

AND THAT’S WHAT I SAID XD *appreciates rant very much* and that’s how my characters are diverse just wanted to get other humans thoughts on it. XD

I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.

[GodlyFantasy12]

@denali-christianson

Ahh, see then? You are fine my dear. *pats head* NOW BE OFF ON YOUR DARING QUEST!!! *swings out on rope like Tarzan.*

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[Keilah H.]

@Denali-christianson You don’t have to add other skin tones etc. if, say, all of the characters in the story come from the same place. Look at how the world is separated. Yes, in America and a bunch of other places there’s mixed ethnicity all over the place, but for the longest time the light-skinned people were mostly concentrated in Europe, dark-skinned in Africa, sorta-in-the-middle-toned people in Asia and the Americas….Forgive me for getting any of that wrong, I am by no means an expert or even an amateur. Also, you can add multiple species to a fantasy world. My characters in one WIP are mostly light-skinned, but many have half-cat or half-dragon features like tails and, so…That’s about as “diverse” as you could get, in my opinion.

 

Also, @godlyfantasy12 Love your forum signature!

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[GodlyFantasy12]

@keilah-h thank you!!

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[Denali Christianson]

@keilah-h

THANK YOU FOR KNOCKING SENSE INTO MY RANDOMLY OVERTHINKING BRAIN trust me I find great pleasure in going against the norms but I guess I had a chickening out moment lol I have many different species so we’re good XD

I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.

[Linyang Zhang]

@denali-christianson Not me making like all my characters Asian because I’m Asian heh….

Okay I had this convo with someone else a few months ago so let me just copy/paste it here…

for me, i honestly don’t like it when diversity is forced in a book. if you feel like your character should be white, then make them white, if not, then make them whatever they feel like to you. after all, characters are characters first, to serve plot points and purposes, and diversity happens because of a wide range of characters. no, i don’t think it’s wrong to have a white detective and assistant. if you want them to be white, then make them white. if you want to change their race to something else, then change it. and i think an easy way to do diverse clients and other characters would just be to casually mention their race when you’re describing them. and remember, they’re characters first. don’t force diversity if it doesn’t fit. hope this helps ♥

I think I rarely describe my characters’ races because I don’t like race being a focal point of them, usually I just say things that describe their features or go off of names… I was gonna say more stuff but I have realized most everything I wanted to say is in that paragraph, so have fun!

Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days

[Faith Q.]

@denali-christianson,

I’ve only skimmed what other people have said, but I do agree with them for the most part. If you feel like your character needs to be white, that’s totally fine. Don’t push anything on your characters that feels unnatural; trust me, I’ve tried it. Just go with the flow and what feels right for your story.

That being said, my family is in the process of adoption, and my Mom recently discovered how few books on our shelves feature people of different ethnicities/skin colors. We have more than two thousand books, and while I don’t know the exact numbers, the ratio of white MC’s vs. other colors is… well, staggering. Thinking about my future siblings, I don’t want them to feel left out or unincluded because of their skin color. But I think that, if all they read are stories about white people, they will feel different. And honestly, that scares me.

So, ever since them, I’ve been trying to fit more color into my stories. The MC of my last book is white and will always be white, but I changed some of the side characters to look black, Filipino, and Asian. Most of my MC’s are white, but I’m trying to change that as much as I can.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that diversity in stories is best because the world is diverse, and statistically, writers have a tendency to only write MC’s of only their own color… but it shouldn’t always be that way. If only white works for your story, that’s fine, but in my opinion diversity is best.

[Author]

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