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Is it a bad idea for non-white writers to make their main characters white?

  • The Dork Diaries is a series of books about an awkward and unpopular teen girl.  The main character is white, but I was surprised to learn that the author behind them is black.  In my experience, people usually write their main characters to be the same race as them, even if they have racially diverse ensembles/supporting characters. Some, however, might feel that when non-white people do not make their characters diverse, they undermine attempts at greater diversity in the media. Ms. Russell, an African-American, has also chosen to make Nikki white. She said she was following the lead of the screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, who created “Grey’s Anatomy” and its spinoff, “Private Practice,” and who has said that black writers should not be typecast into having only black characters. Also, there was the economics of the situation. “If you have a character of a different race, your book tends to get put in a category that isn’t mainstream, and we wanted something to appeal to everyone,” Ms. Russell said. Still, her decision has made her something of a conundrum to those in the book world who want to promote multicultural writers and stories with themes particular to those groups. Kyle Zimmer, the founder of First Book, a nonprofit organization that advocates more diversity in children’s books, said the “Dork Diaries” did not quite fit the bill. “When some people are talking about diversity, they want a protagonist and themes from a variety of cultural backgrounds,” Ms. Zimmer said. While First Book is eager to promote either authors or main characters from a diverse range of cultures, Ms. Zimmer worries that there is a perception that books with minority characters don’t sell well, which discourages writers from taking on diverse viewpoints. But Ms. Russell said that she saw Nikki as an “Everygirl, all hues mixed together,” and that the struggle to fit in during middle school was universal. She pointed out that Nikki’s best friends were African-American and Latino, though the black-and-white drawings and the complete lack of emphasis on race as a subject make their racial or cultural identity hard to discern. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/books/dork-diaries-by-rachel-renee-russell.html?pagewanted=all

  • Answer:

    Men write about women; women write about men. Adults write about kids.  We writers have characters in different historical periods and even in alternate universes.  I see no reason why any writer should limit himself by only writing about people of his own race.

Mary Ann Slavcheff at Quora Visit the source

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Essentially, what you are saying is that a person's (or character's) level of cutaneous melanin is a defining characteristic. And this after 150 years of work trying to reject that premise. I've written in White characters, Black characters, Hispanic characters, characters of indeterminate race or ethnicity, women, men...

Will Pasto

I never indicate the race or age of any of my characters unless it has to do with the story. Sometimes I even leave the sex out just to mess with people. But for the most part, you should make them whatever it is you envisioned them to be. You can't be a writer and customize your writing around what you think other people will find appropriate. That's not a writer it's an adman.

Seedy Johnson

No, I don't think it's a bad idea at all - just don't write them as caricatures or drown them in stereotypes and remember that people are people no matter what culture they're from or what ethnic background they are. I've written stories with Hispanic characters, Arab characters, African-American, White, etc. So long as it's not a gratuitous use and you make them human with all the same thoughts, dreams, ideas, aspirations, etc as anyone else, there is no problem at all. The danger comes when characters of other cultures are depicted in a stereotypical and offensive way. As much as I like Stephen King as a writer/storyteller, I often wince when he allows his African-American characters to "talk black". Not necessary and I can see how that can be very offensive to people. Other than that, go to town, enjoy and write freely and joyously.

Julian Gallo

No. But it's a bad idea for anyone to try and tell writers how to write. If the writer of fiction succeeds, people will respond and the books will sell. If not, they won't. Anyway, writers regularly create, with great success, characters of another gender, another century, even another galaxy. If it works, it works.

Lee Ballentine

NO, not at all.I mean c'mon we have to come over with the issue of racism. If the story is good , then as a reader I do not think it matters to me. You can read "THE HELP" by Kathryn stockett , I think this book can help you here

Arnav Tripathi

I agree with Shawn that it's a bad idea to write what you don't know. On the other hand, an enormous number of writers have done well with characters of the opposite gender. A writer HAS to step out of what is personally known, at least to some extent, or else everything is going to be autobiography.

Steve Gallup

No, it's not a bad idea at all! We should encourage diversity in our writing. In my personal opinion writing a non-white character is like writing white character: stay away from stereotypes and caricatures and just focus on giving them a unique and interesting personality. I however wouldn't recommend write about the character's culture if you don't know them very well. You should do some research and hear and read what people have to say about their cultures before you do so.

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