How To Write a Character from A Different Culture! (set in your culture)
You read the title. Immigrants, migrants, refugees, and some good old fashion "every part of the country has an entirely different culture than the state next door" ism!
A) Don't Skip the Hard Stuff by Being Insecure!
Here's a warning: The first time you write anything about anyone that you haven't written before, it's going to be rough. Maybe you accidentally wrote a stereotype into the character. Maybe you realize that, hey, all your foreign characters are in minor roles so what does that say about you? Maybe you learn that you really struggle writing characters that have such radically different value systems.
But don't skip adding these differences and don't skip adding that cultural flavor. I know, you are scared of getting insulted but not showing how a character's culture impacts them besides giving them a name of Sakura instead of Stacy or having them reference Tokyo isn't how diversity works. If you are writing a character from a different country, or even state sometimes, then they should have all those cultural-isms, values, beliefs, and such. Even if they reject those beliefs, they'll likely have such deeply imbedded ideals from that society, they will subconsciously spring out.
B) Immediately look up ' [Insert state, country, whatever culture you are working on] current events'
Obviously, if you are writing historical, insert the time period instead of current events.
When we write a character from a different country, even if the story is set in your country, they will have different concerns then you do about politics and economy and social systems. It doesn't have to be as extreme as "hey, my country's government system violates my human rights", but it can just be "hey, my country's president is kind of a dick, and I think he's not going to do anything".
Think about how many times what's currently happening, whether that be what the president's doing, what the economy's doing, what fashion trends are trending, what traditions are changing, impact conversations.
As an American, I can't go a day without hearing what Trump is doing. But somebody living in, like, Nigeria probably doesn't give a flying f' who Trump is. It's just not something that impacts them. Same thing with you relating to other countries.
For example, when I was writing my character, Maryam, I learned that apparently Tajikistan has a lot of human rights violations and that's a big concern for people.
So, check your blind spots and try to figure out what your cultural characters are going to care about.
C) Look up " [your country] vs [your character's country], belief systems/economy/jobs/laws/whatever]
Again, check your blind spot. We tend to assume that what our country does is the natural way countries behave. Our belief system is the default. So, comparing your country to another country more openly is going to help quickly illustrate 'oh, I guess I have to study individualistic societies and how that impacts social relations' or 'oh, I guess that country has a lot of poverty and I'm going to see if I want to explore it or not'.
Even if I don't use the info that Tajikistan is a really mountainous place openly in my story, I use that as inspo for filler detail like "okay, most Tajik people don't have access to clean water and a lot of rural infrastructure not in Dushanbe is really spread out". Or I could just use it as, like, "Oh, dad used to love hiking" slice-of-life pocket litter detail.
Good references include: WorldData.Info which literally has a feature to compare countries on currency, average income, infrastructure, average life expectancy, and so much more! Government websites, unless your country is, like, really against info-spreading. Charity sites. And so much more! It really depends on where you live . . .
C) Examine From Hofstede's Six Cultural Dimensions Theory
Is it perfect? No, obviously culture can't just be simplified so easily but it can provide a good framework for understanding cultural diversity.
Power-Distance: how comfortable are less powerful people with unequal distribution of power?
In high power-distance societies, hierarchy is not questioned. In a real-world example, in high power-distance cultures, it is impolite and even job-ruining if one questions what/why the manager's decision is, even if one disagrees. In a lower power-distance society, there is flatter organizational structures, and it's encouraged to have open-discussions.
2. Individualism vs Collectivism: Individual goals vs group harmony
In countries where individualism reigns, personal achievement is encouraged, stories where people break away from oppressive regimes reign supreme, and self-reliance is valued. Collectivism prioritizes the reputation of the family over the desires of the singular. A show of this is how, in the United States, living with your parents into adulthood is considered unattractive and a failure while in other countries, staying with your parents until you get married is the norm. Similarly, in individualist countries, marrying someone is an act of love while in collectivism, marriage is a way of expanding the family with sons-in-law becoming a genuine family member.
3. Feminine vs Masculine - what the country values
Feminine countries place value on cooperation, care, and quality of life. They tend to have higher rates of social equality. These countries also just tend to rank high in desirability, as they are the Scandinavian countries of Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark which are the most feminine countries. Masculine countries place emphasis on competitiveness, achievement, and material success.
For example, in masculine countries, there is a shame around needing to rely on other people which can extend into having limited parental leave, not using social welfare even when needed out of embarrassment, and viewing inequality as competition and needing other people is failing the competition. In feminine countries, egalitarianism tends to win out.
4. Uncertainty Avoidance - How comfortable is a country with change?
In high U.A countries, rules are highly structured, stability is prized, and traditions can be so pervasive that they are legally regulated.
In low U.A countries, trial-and-error is part of the process with businesses, rules are more guidelines, and out of the box thinking is more encouraged.
5. Term Orientation: Long-Term vs Short-Term
Long-term 'consider future generations, invest in public transportation, prioritize education, and thrifting!' vs Short-Term 'social obligations need to be fulfilled, enjoy the present, celebrate quick wins, and prioritize fast results'
6. Indulgence vs Restraint - How freely can people gratify their desires?
In restrained countries, indulgence is seen as selfish and inappropriate, and there is a value on self-control, duty, and following social norms. if someone takes time off of work, it's seen as selfish and lazy but in indulgence countries, it's a mental health day and perfectly reasonable to do.
In restrained countries, celebrations are tied to tradition and not just, like, Taco Tuesdays or Fun Fridays.
D) Check of your mundane details!
Answer these questions for your characters!
How accessible is clean water, clean food, and good healthcare for your character in their home country/state?
What is the most common meal they are going to be eating, not just holiday foods?
What are common bands and musical acts they will hear on the radio?
How westernized is their country?
What is the average clothing a typical person of their social ladder would wear?
What is their house like? Is it typical of the region or unique?
Are they an immigrant? If so, what generation?
Where do they receive their money from? What's the typical income of a person and what's their job going to be?
What's their relationship with their country neighbors like?
These are just some quick little questions to help get you thinking about the mundane reality of living in a new place. Observe your own life and how that could change if you lived in, say, Quebec.
Even if you are sitting here being like "TL;DR, but why should I care? My Afghan character is totally separated from her country's values and she's totally not going to be like that so why should I even research"
Well, have you ever felt shame for not doing the 'conventional' thing? Even if you know the convention is morally wrong?
You see, in our mind is a little keyhole and it always feels like something is watching you, judging you. That's your SuperEgo! It's that little morality center in your mind that your parents/caretakers/society gave you as you were learning right from wrong as a kid and even if you know that you don't agree with your country's belief, there is still that inherited shame.
Maybe your character is a rebel, sure, but even rebels feel shame about their unconventional lives. It's a sad fact that many gay people, even in safe company, would never show off their queerness because they grew up in a household, community, or even an entire culture where being queer was either extremely unsafe or just . . . shameful. Even if they know that's wrong, there is still a sense of "I have to keep this down, I'm a bad person for doing this, it's embarrassing". It's the part of your brain that causes ex-religious kids to never engage in self-pleasure or even go against a lot of the religious teachings, even in private! Holding a joint in your hand for the thousandth time and still thinking 'what would grandma think?'
So, even if your character fancies themselves as a rebel, someone with completely radical beliefs, they will still feel the gaze of their parents, their teachers, their neighbors, just judging them all the time and making them walk on eggshells.
