Thoughts on Thursday are about my experiences writing so it may be fitting that the inspiration for today’s post comes from someone I follow and their experience as a reader and actor. First it might be helpful if you would like to pop over to Andrea’s blog and read her post The Quest for My Own Experience by clicking here. I shall just twiddle my thumbs while I wait….
Okay your back.
Now you may be wondering why her post hit a nerves. It is because I realised while I as a person am not, my writing is prejudice. I do not mean that I write negatively about people with different skin colours just that when it comes to it I don’t write about them at all.
If you read my comment on her post you would have seen my first gut reaction..to defend my self by genre. Except that doesn’t really work does it I am writing a medieval fantasy loosely based on Anglo Saxon and Arthurian legend but it is not a historical novel in that it adheres to specific time and place. What I think unnerved me was how easily I omitted anyone other than white characters.
Many times we are told to write what we know, yet we live in a multicultural society so why write a white only community? I have a chinese aunt and cousin, my other half’s brother is has a mixture of Caribbean and European blood (although the family don’t like admitting to the french part seems it all went downhill once they travelled over the channel).
It would have been easy to sneak away and write in a token black character or two but I would be fooling myself aswell as insulting the reader. Instead I decided to write this post admitting to myself that as much as I hate to admit it the Colonial genes still have an influence on some level. I went away and looked through my flash fiction most of which has not mention of how a character looks but knowing that in my head when I wrote them they were all white. And I am not going to immediately go away and start writing a black character just to prove a point, I hope one day I will write a character that a little girl like Andrea was will read and think I want to play her, and be able to without it mattering about skin colour.
I will now I hope stop and think and broaden my horizons when I consider who and where my characters come from. I will not write characters to fill a quota but I will stop and think is there any reason why this person is white, would it add to the story if they were not? I can only hope one day I can write and do justice to more than one tongue and give voice to characters who jump from the page bearing no physical resemblence to me that will grab you and take you on their own journeys.
So what about you? Is it something you have ever thought about? Is it something you have addressed? While it is natural to write what we know does that mean it needs to be exclusive?
Paula Acton 
Your post does you credit. I do think we write best when we write what we know. Back in history, there were no other colours when the anglo saxons had finally taken England. Prior to that there were. The Romans took pains to make sure troops that were signed up in one country fought in others – easier to put down rebels. I remember finding (through archaeology research) that there were syrian horse archers stationed at Hadrians wall. As the saxons had taken England, so the Berbers (Moors) were taking the Visigoth holdings in south Spain. Plenty of colour if you are looking for accuracy, just pick the right times and give it a wee bit of research.
Besides why is colour an issue? Just as a subject is about something, doesn’t make it against something else. Take Tolkien, he looked at the evolution of languages and saw the rise of great Sagas within those languages over time. When he came to middle english, he saw that it had not time to generate that heritage for people before it evolved (Norman invasion, etc). He was inspired in part to generate that saga. Colour of people was mentioned in the LOR re the attacks from the far south, but it didn’t have a large part in the story. Still a good story.
If you wish to address skin colour and various cultures in a story with a nod to historical accuracy, just pick the right olden time.
Having thought about this, I find myself colour blind to characters in books, though I do like them “good” or “bad”. Not so much who they are as what they do in the tale.
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I think what struck a cord with me was that she was looking it from a readers point of view I agree great charcters are the most important thing no matter what colour they are but the fact that we want our books to be read around the world should we consider it? I realised the reader I had in mind was me…it was the realisation that it was something I did subconciously that really struck home
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I guess, when I hear the saying “write what you know”, even though I have many friends of different nationalities, I don’t really understand the world from their perspective because I’ve always been white. So, when I write white characters I do it because I understand what it means to be white. I don’t mean to be exclusive – I don’t write for only white readers – I do it because it comes naturally to me.
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I did exactly the same it was only after reading Andrea’s post I even realised I did it
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Your new schedule has turned you into a philosopher Paula. Another post that has me scratching my head and asking questions. So true…and one step further. When I’m reading, as most who love the written word, I imagine the entire thing as I go along. If the color of the character is not mentioned or is a non-issue…I can say 100% of the time, my mind sees white because I am white. I am thinking it very likely the same holds true for those of color…would you agree with that? I don’t know if it’s right or wrong or important…but there is a tickle enough here that makes me think I need to look at things differently.
Good post Queenie…you are keeping us on our toes!
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i am not so sure it always is the case but I wonder whether that is because of the books I have read by non white authors. Most tend to be about colonial issues or cultural issues the ones that Spring to mind are things like Buddha of Suburbia, Brick Lane, while their main characters share a hertitage with the writer they seem to none the less provide a diverse range of secondary characters
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Yes, if the book in question is written about a specific culture or recognizable time and place; and yes, by a non white author…I would ‘see’ through the eyes of the author into the culture of which s/he is writing. Perhaps the authors that write of such things feel it important to distinguish the differences or nuances of their secondaries for the very reason their mains are so prominently detailed? I don’t know. But it’s an interesting idea to ponder.
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This idea, write what you know….when writing fantasy, do you know the different world you create? Do you live in a world of fairies, trolls, hobbits, wizards, magic, sorcery, vampires, werewolves, etc? No, you make it up. As a writer you are given a great gift. The gift of intellect. The gift of taking a thing and flipping it on it’s side. As a writer, you are poised to ask the questions what makes a person, what makes a world, what makes a human experience. So, writing from a different nationality, cultural perspective, to write from that place is to write from a HUMAN experience. That is what you know. You’re outside box is not YOU it is a coloring of you, a informative tool of who you are today, but it is not fully you. So, what I am proposing is to think outside of the box of who you are and who you are BEING, and the world in which you gravitate to live in and see. Because there is a lot more out there. And to ignore, or not see that there are other experiences and coloring is living in a monochromatic world. And that’s no fun, and not as fun to write. I appreciate the post, and I appreciate everyone taking the time to discuss the question. It is of greatest gratitude.
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Thankyou for making me stop to think, as I said so much of what I have realised was about the assumptions I make unconsciously when writing, and I am glad so many people have joined in the discussion. It was not something that was comfortable to realise but I know I can only change my own writing by facing up to my failings and learning from them and challenging myself to broaden my conscious efforts. So again thankyou for waking me up and inspiring me!:D
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Challenging thought.
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I’m experimental when it comes to my writing. I really do write a lot about what I know but I also try to try new things when it comes to dialogue and voice and setting… I think it’s about making something sound authentic and sometimes you have to make a few mistakes and edits to get it just right. It’s always good to challenge yourself with new things and to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Sometimes it can help to vary what you read/what music you listen to/what films you watch/what food you eat – perhaps that can all help to get a feel for different cultures/characteristics etc…?
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