RAVENOUS GIRLS

Diversity makes stories better, plain and simple. This year, we’ve partnered with the good folks at Writing With Color to get some advice on how to write stories populated with people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In the fourth part of her sub-series “Properly Coded,” Alexa White talks about a few mistakes to avoid when writing characters of color:

We are finally making characters.

You should have an idea of their frames of reference, their backgrounds, and the world they inhabit. You should also use tools like WWC’s Research Chart to help you flesh out the character.

Except even with all that work, you’re probably still caught up in a few little things that you need to work through in order to really be respectful.

[ID: excerpt from ‘Homosexuality,’ a poem by Frank O’Hara