Doing Diversity in Writing

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, Bethany and Mariëlle discuss the dos and don'ts of writing non-binary characters.   Here's what we talk about: What non-binary means How diverse the non-binary community is How to handle characters who are questioning their gender identity Pronouns and how to use them in our writing Naming characters beyond the binary             And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show:   “Tweens and teens explore the power of pronouns” by Matt Vilano: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/19/health/pronouns-guide-for-parents-wellness/ “How to Create Nonbinary Characters” by Jules: https://allwritealright.com/how-to-create-nonbinary-characters/ “Six tips for writing genderqueer and nonbinary characters” by Eris Young: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/articles/6-tips-for-writing-genderqueer-and-nonbinary-characters “How to Write Non-binary Characters: a three part guide” by D.N. Bryn: https://brynwrites.tumblr.com/post/190062852159/how-to-write-non-binary-characters-a-three-part “How to Write Non-binary Characters: Part II” by D.N. Bryn: https://brynwrites.tumblr.com/post/190062852159/how-to-write-non-binary-characters-a-three-part “How to Write Non-binary characters: Part III” by D.N. Bryn: https://www.dnbryn.com/2020/01/18/how-to-write-non-binary-characters-part-iii/ “List of nonbinary identities”: https://nonbinary.miraheze.org/wiki/List_of_nonbinary_identities “List of uncommon nonbinary identities”: https://nonbinary.miraheze.org/wiki/List_of_uncommon_nonbinary_identities The Love Language series by Reese Morrison: https://www.goodreads.com/series/288294-love-language The Adelaide series by Mustang Rabbit, one of Bethany's pen names: https://www.goodreads.com/series/301418-the-adelaide-series Onesies and Ouijaboards by Jamie Sands: https://www.witchyfiction.com/books/onesies-and-ouijaboards Sex Education: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7767422 Supernatural: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460681 Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen by Robert McKee: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27416067-dialogue   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2023/02/10/s3e8   For those who want to stay in touch, this is where you can find us:   Bethany:   Website: https://theartandscienceofwords.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076459593900 Goodreads (Bethany A. Tucker): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20948950.Bethany_A_Tucker Goodreads (as Mustang Rabbit): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20130552.Mustang_Rabbit Goodreads (as Ciara Darren): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8186590.Ciara_Darren TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theartandscienceofwords   Mariëlle:   Website: https://mswordsmith.nl Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mswordsmith Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18455235.Mari_lle_S_Smith TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariellessmith Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariellessmith Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnYOpjmj83mvMM2L348F1w Diving into Writing podcast: https://divingintowriting.com/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, Bethany and Mariëlle talk about how to write transgender characters.   Here's what we discussed:   Who gets to write trans characters Which stereotypes and tropes to avoid Other things to avoid when writing trans characters The things we SHOULD be writing about when writing trans characters And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show:   “The Do's and Don'ts of Writing Transgender Characters” by Alice Thomas: https://properz.medium.com/the-dos-and-don-ts-of-writing-transgender-characters-15ae8fbfab6b “How to Write About Trans People” by Eli Cugini: https://electricliterature.com/how-to-write-about-trans-people/  Quora forum: https://www.quora.com/What-should-a-cisgender-author-remember-to-take-into-account-when-writing-transgender-characters “Writing Better Trans Characters” by Cheryl Morgan: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/writing-better-trans-characters/ “Writing Trans Characters” by Alex DiFrancesco: https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2016/11/08/writing-trans-characters/ “How to Write Transgender Characters” by Michael Brewer-Berres: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/write-transgender-characters “Before you write about a transgender character, read this” by Casey Plett: https://www.cbc.ca/arts/before-you-write-about-a-transgender-character-read-this-1.3919848 “Transgender People” in the GLAAD Media Reference Guide 11th Edition: https://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender “Glossary of Terms: Transgender” in the GLAAD Media Reference Guide 11th Edition: https://www.glaad.org/reference/trans-terms “Trans 101: glossary of trans words and how to use them” by Gender Minorities Aotearoa: https://genderminorities.com/glossary-transgender/ Disclosure: https://www.disclosurethemovie.com/about  Sense8: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431438/  Dreadnought by April Daniels: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30279514-dreadnought Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52339313-cemetery-boys Silence of the Lambs: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926 Tootsie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084805 Mrs. Doubtfire: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107614 Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston: https://www.caseymcquiston.com/red-white-royal-blue    This week's episode page can be found here:  representationmatters.art/2023/02/08/s3e7   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get our Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, Bethany and guest host Louvie Tucker talk about writing better male characters. This is the second part of a two-part episode on the topic.   Here's what we talk about: Physical representation of male characters Derogatory language often applied to men and how we might handle it in fiction Representation in media that we've found encouraging Touch and intimacy (primarily nonsexual) Using name calling as world building and character communication And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: Tough by Terry Crews The Mask of Masculinity by Lewis Howes The Art of Manliness  White Rage by Carol Anderson Reading biographies and memoirs in general.  Youtube Channel Writing with Jenna Moreci has two good videos on “10 Best Tips for Writing Male Characters”. We sincerely recommend her channel and these episodes in particular. “How to Write a Damn Good Man” by Robert Wood: (this is the article quoted at the very end of the podcast recording) https://www.standoutbooks.com/writing-male-characters/   Films and novels we reference:  The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien  BBC's Doctor Who (the current series) BBC's Sherlock series The Visitor by Louvie Tucker  The Queen's Enforcer by Ciara Darren    Find Louvie Tucker's novel, The Visitor, here. Available in eBook and print form on Amazon, and as an eBook in most online stores.    This week's episode page can be found here: ?????   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, Bethany and guest host Louvie Tucker talk about writing better male characters. This is the first part of a two-part episode on the topic.   Here's what we talk about: Masculinity in terms of definition  How class affects definitions of masculinity  Deconstructing arrogance, emotionality, and protective instincts assigned to male characters Should we write all male characters with straightforward personalities?  The male character, lust, and ego Making room in our stories for male characters who aren't leaders or in search of power The myth of the capable gentleman  The effects of wish fulfilment writing on men And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: May 10th, 2022 Video Tiktok by @marcusterritory “When I stopped identifying with the label ‘man'”: https://www.tiktok.com/@marcusterritory/video/7096216725351337222?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1 “The Selfishness of Altruism” by Loretta G. Breuning: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-neurochemical-self/201604/the-selfishness-altruism “Men and Things, Women and People: A Meta-Analysis of Sex Differences in Interests” by Rong Su et al.: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38061313_Men_and_Things_Women_and_People_A_Meta-Analysis_of_Sex_Differences_in_Interests “How to Write a Damn Good Man” by Robert Wood: https://www.standoutbooks.com/writing-male-characters/   Articles that we found problematic but useful for conversation:  “How to Write a Male Character” by Josh Prior: https://www.jeuneauthors.com/post/how-to-write-a-male-character#:~:text=Even%20if%20you%27re%20writing,what%27s%20in%20it%20for%20him. “On Writing Convincing Male Characters” by Randy Ingermanson: https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/2010/08/13/on-writing-convincing-male-characters/   Films and novels we reference:  The Indiana Jones franchise  Gladiator starring Russel Crowe The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien  The Hunger Games series written by Suzanne Collins  John Wick 1, 2, & 3 The Visitor by Louvie Tucker  The Queen's Enforcer by Ciara Darren    Find Louvie Tucker's novel, The Visitor, here. Available in eBook and print form on Amazon, and as an eBook in most online stores.    This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/07/31/s3e4/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about writing better female characters. This is the second part of a two-part episode on the topic.   Here's what we talk about: Words and descriptions to avoid when describing women Words and description to deeply consider before using them Gendered words to avoid or consider when writing about women The ridiculous misconceptions there are about the female body and how to describe the body and bodily functions right How the (male) author's Point of View can skew descriptions and characterizations of female characters Making sure your own POV won't get in the way of your female characters' POVs Some final thoughts about the “strong female character” and how we should expand our definition of “strong” And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show:   “In response to boob plate” by Sam the Sword: https://samanthaswords.tumblr.com/post/62968403257/in-response-to-boob-plate “Women are sharing how little the men in their lives know about reproduction” by Brittany Wong: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/women-are-sharing-how-little-the-men-in-their-lives-know-about-reproduction_l_627e8906e4b0eb0f0711cb80 Tweet by Sabrinafon about her ex boyfriend's beliefs about periods: https://twitter.com/Sabrinafon/status/1521981744668454913 Alice Oseman's work: https://aliceoseman.com/ Kana Akatsuki's Violet Evergarden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_Evergarden “21 words we ONLY use to describe women” by Nadia Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/21-words-we-use-only-describe-women-nadia-khan/ “Shrill, mumsy, bossy…” by Roshan McArthur: https://togetherband.org/blogs/news/words-that-describe-women “11 words we need to stop using to describe women” by Suzannah Weiss: https://www.bustle.com/articles/150273-11-words-we-need-to-stop-using-to-describe-women-because-housewife-doesnt-capture-anyones-job “Everyday misogyny: 122 subtly sexist words about women (and what to do about them) by thaliakr: http://sacraparental.com/2016/05/14/everyday-misogyny-122-subtly-sexist-words-women/ “7 words you should avoid using about women in the workplace” by Hayley Gleeson: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-01/words-you-should-avoid-using-about-women-in-the-workplace/7467848 “Don't say I'm ‘dramatic'” by Jessica Bennett: https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/feminist-fight-club/almost-z-list-words-avoid-when-talking-about-women-sexist-language “Half of Brits don't know where the vagina is – and it's not just the men” by Victoria Waldersee: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/health/articles-reports/2019/03/08/half-brits-dont-know-where-vagina-and-its-not-just “I Don't Want to Be the Strong Female Lead” by Brit Marling: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/sunday/brit-marling-women-movies.html Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors/   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/06/30/s3e3    Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about writing better female characters. This is the first part of a two-part episode on the topic.   Here's what we talked about: That, in the US, women are estimated to buy 70–80% of fiction books There are way more male than female leads in children's books That novels, on average and across the board, only have one female character to four male characters But that many readers FEEL like there are way more female protagonists these days than there are male protagonists  That women writers also have a tendency to write male characters, and that women are not exempt from perpetuating problematic female representations What kind of roles women tend to have in fiction A selection of tropes to avoid or seriously consider when writing female characters Some of the most persistent narrative structures that disempower and/or harm women Why it is important to write female characters better, even if books with badly written women are selling well  And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show:   “How many books per year do Americans read?” by Jamie Ballard: https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2018/08/14/reading-books-men-women “Gender in twentieth-century children's books” by Janice McCabe: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241647875_Gender_in_Twentieth-Century_Children%27s_Books “It's a Man's (Celluloid) World, Even in a Pandemic Year: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top U.S. Films of 2021” by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen: https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021-Its-a-Mans-Celluloid-World-Report.pdf   “Women Buy Fiction in Bulk and Publishers Take Notice” by Trip Gabriel: https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/17/business/women-buy-fiction-in-bulk-and-publishers-take-notice.html “AI study finds that males are represented four times more than females in literature” by Maya Abu-Zahra: https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2022/04/ai-study-finds-that-males-are-represented-four-times-more-than-females-in-literature/ “Male leads in fiction sell 10 million more books on average than female leads” by Kelly Jensen: https://bookriot.com/male-leads-in-fiction/ “A new study shows that girls write fewer female characters as they get older” by Walker Caplan: https://lithub.com/a-new-study-shows-that-girls-write-fewer-female-characters-as-they-get-older/ RWBY TV Series: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3066242/ “The Problem with Female Protagonists” by Jo Eberhardt: https://writerunboxed.com/2016/08/06/the-problem-with-female-protagonists/ “Discussion Time: Why are there More Female Protagonists than Male?” by Beth: https://readingeverynight.wordpress.com/2017/11/04/discussion-time-why-are-there-more-female-protagonists-than-male/ 7 Figure Fiction by T. Taylor: https://7figurefiction.com/ “It is time to kill the cool girl trope” by Raha Murtuza: https://thermtide.com/14279/popular/it-is-time-to-kill-the-cool-girl-trope/ Gone Girl – Cool Girl: https://youtu.be/0o4heKCLeTs “Name That Trope: She's hot! She's cool! She's one of the guys!” by Kelsey Wallace: https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/name-that-trope-the-super-hot-bro-girl How to Write About Sexual Assault: An Incomplete Guide by Salt and Sage Books: https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-About-Sexual-Assault-ebook/dp/B08DHHN82D  Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41104077-invisible-women  How NOT to Write Female Characters by Lucy V. Hay: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41739262-how-not-to-write-female-characters “10 MORE SEXIST Tropes in Science Fiction and Fantasy” by DZA: https://youtu.be/oiooafKkVMI “I Don't Want to Be the Strong Female Lead” by Brit Marling: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/sunday/brit-marling-women-movies.html “10 Best Tips for Writing Strong Female Characters” by Writing with Jenna Moreci: https://youtu.be/nz88MxBtuqc “How Not To Write Female Characters” by Kitty: http://impishidea.com/writing/how-not-to-write-female-characters “How to Avoid Creating Female Character Stereotypes in Your Writing” by wikiHow and Lucy V. Hay: https://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Creating-Female-Character-Stereotypes-in-Your-Writing “Men Writing Women Characters – Never Make These Mistakes!” by Richie Billing: https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/men-writing-women-5-mistakes-to-watch-out-for “Men, Don't Make these 6 Mistakes When You Write Female Characters” by Denisa Feathers: https://medium.com/the-brave-writer/men-dont-make-these-6-mistakes-when-you-write-female-characters-c3f98a5b5e54  Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/05/31/s3e2   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw 

In this first episode of Season 3 of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—discuss how to write hair and head coverings.     Here's what we talk about: That hair, hair care, and head coverings are often ethnically dictated and gendered That there is no such thing as “ethnic” hair: we all have ethnicity! How to describe different natural hair colors How to describe different hair textures Whether dreadlocks are cultural appropriation Who wears wigs and weaves, and for what reason That head coverings for men and women come into play in many ways that go beyond religion and what one's culture dictates  How you can use descriptions of hair and head coverings to add layers to your POV characters  And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: “Untangling the Symbolism of Art History's Most Famous Redheads” by Sarah Dotson: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-untangling-symbolism-art-historys-famous-redheads  “Seeing red: why we need to be sensitive about using the word ‘ginger'” by David Marsh: https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/jan/24/mind-your-language-red-hair  “3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Address Redheads As ‘Gingers'” by Kali Hanson: https://www.howtobearedhead.com/3-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-address-redheads-as-gingers  “Writing About Hair: The Thick and Thin of Descriptions” by Sharla Rae: https://writersinthestormblog.com/2014/07/writing-about-hair-the-thick-and-thin-of-descriptions  “The East Asian women + colored hair trope” by Jess: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/101115852994/the-east-asian-women-colored-hair-trope-an  “The Ultimate Black & Natural Hair Glossary” by Joanna Samuels: https://afrocenchix.com/blogs/afrohair/the-ultimate-black-natural-hair-glossary  How to Write Black Characters by Salt and Sage Books: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087ZSJ9BN  “Dear white people with dreadlocks: Some things to consider” by Emanuella Grinberg: https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/31/living/white-dreadlocks-cultural-appropriation-feat/index.html  “Once in a Lifetime: The village of Huang Luo in China's Guangxi Region is famous for the dramatically long hair worn by its female residents” by Linn Yaeger: https://www.vogue.com/projects/13548460/women-of-huang-luo-china-long-hair-tradition  “Niqab, How Does It Work? | THE BASICS, how to wear the niqab” by Niqabi Nextdoor: https://youtu.be/KAbsPFS8gus  “What are the differences between a niqab, a chador, an abaya, a burkha and a hijab?”: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-a-niqab-a-chador-an-abaya-a-burkha-and-a-hijab  “Women's safety clothing not fit for purpose” by Matthew Gunther: https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/womens-safety-clothing-not-fit-for-purpose/1010138.article  “Employers Exposed When Women's Safety Equipment Doesn't Fit” by Fatima Hussein and Jaclyn Diaz: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/safety/employers-exposed-when-womens-safety-equipment-doesnt-fit  Tina from Glee: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327801/characters/nm3206118  Mako Mori from Pacific Rim: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663662/characters/nm0452860  GoGo Tomago from Big Hero 6: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2245084/characters/nm1512166  Einayim Petukhoth or Eyes Wide Open: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424327 Unorthodox: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9815454  Crazy Rich Asians: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988  Steel Magnolias: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098384  Luke Cage: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322314  Barbershop: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303714  Coming to America: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094898  The Boondocks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Mly_Zj6gg Hair Love: https://youtu.be/kNw8V_Fkw28  Tamora Pierce's work: https://www.tamora-pierce.net  Mulan: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762  V for Vendetta: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409  The Boys: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190634  The Wolverine: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430132  The Princess Diaries: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247638  Jason Elliot's An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Unexpected_Light  Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors/   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/04/30/s3e1   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—bring our season on Race and Ethnicity to an end by delving into some lingering some questions.    What we talked about If and how to use racial slurs in our writing When and how to acknowledge our characters' racial history Whether authors are allowed to write POV characters belonging to a different community Co-writing with BIPOC authors as a white author The representation of Asian masculinity in Western media Being accused of being too political when including a diverse cast in our books How to make your cast more diverse when your characters aren't human (Re)sources mentioned on the show The Marvel Cinematic Universe: https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline  The Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Macon: https://www.nps.gov/ocmu/index.htm  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9376612  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3748528  Crazy Rich Asians: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988  Nora Phoenix's White House Men series: https://noraphoenix.com/my-books/  Finding Nemo: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266543  Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/04/07/s2e12   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Website: https://representationmatters.art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—scratch the surface of an incredibly broad topic: writing interracial and intercultural relationships.    What we talked about That writing relationships between characters of different races and cultures is really not that different from writing relationships between characters who are not exactly the same for other reasons Questions to ask yourself and things to keep in mind when crafting interracial and intercultural relationships in your writing A ton of examples in which interracial and intercultural relationships are depicted well and convincingly (Re)sources mentioned on the show Payne Erskin's The Mountain Girl: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11084308-the-mountain-girl  Disney's Pocahontas: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114148  Stargate SG-1: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118480 The Karate Kid (1984): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087538 The Karate Kid (2010): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155076 Kim's Convenience: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5912064 Bend It Like Beckham: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286499 Blinded by the Light: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310 Sarfraz Mansoor's Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion, and Rock N Roll: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V7U6LE The Grand Budapest Hotel: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2278388 Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give: https://angiethomas.com/the-hate-u-give Benjamin Alire Saenz's The Inexplicable Logic of My Life: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23447923-the-inexplicable-logic-of-my-life Kim Dare's Axel's Pup: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21522467-axel-s-pup The Marvel Cinematic Universe: https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline  Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter series: https://shadowhunters.com Never Have I Ever: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10062292 Bright: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5519340 Bridgerton: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8740790  Young Royals: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14664414  Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/29/s2e11    Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36  Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art, on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting, and on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about naming our fictional characters.    What we talked about General things to look out for when picking our characters' names All the different aspects that might influence which names make sense for your characters Where to look for names How to verify whether these names are appropriate for your characters or not (Re)sources mentioned on the show Think Baby Names: http://www.thinkbabynames.com Behind the Name: https://www.behindthename.com Behind the Surname: https://surnames.behindthename.com Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/24/s2e10   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art, on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting, and on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—interview Clare Sager about building different worlds in our fiction.   Clare Sager is an office lackey turned full-time author. With both a bachelor of arts and a masters of arts in Creative Writing, she is now living her life-long dream of writing fantasy adventure stories of swoon-worthy, troublesome men and strong, sassy women who can handle them.   When she's not writing or master planning her next book, she's an editor, outline coach, and formatter. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, sewing, and lifting weights at the gym (she's as shocked by the latter as anyone). Her stationery addiction knows no bounds, with a washi tape and fountain pen collection to rival that of a stationery store. She loves to spend time chilling out with her planner plotting world domination. She likes cats, coffee, and cocktails, and speaks fluent sarcasm.    What we talked about Why Clare felt compelled to build a different world for her fictional characters How consistently asking yourself “What if…?” will help you build better fictional worlds How to use a coin (or dice!) to populate your world with a wide set of characters  That diverse characters are just like any other characters The importance of being curious about the world and remaining open to what there is to learn (Re)sources mentioned on the show All about Clare: https://claresager.com  Clare's books: https://claresager.com/books  Clare's author services: https://services.claresager.com  The Decolonial Atlas: https://decolonialatlas.wordpress.com Writing the Other Tumblr: https://writingtheother.tumblr.com Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice: https://annleckie.com  Kalynn Bayron, author of Cinderella Is Dead: https://www.kalynnbayron.com/books Jessica M. Butler, author of Sweet Pear: https://www.jessicambutler.com  May Sage: https://www.goodreads.com/maysage  Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors/   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/17/s2e9   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art, on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting, and on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—take a pause to talk about what to do when hiring professionals to better your writing is not an option (yet).    What we talked about That there's privilege in being able to advice others to do it right or not do it at all That not everyone has the same resources going into publishing their work What options are out there for authors with limited or no budgets (Re)sources mentioned on the show “The different kinds of editing explained” by Mariëlle: https://mswordsmith.nl/editing-tips-tricks-different-kinds-editing-explained The Salt & Sage Books Incomplete Guides: https://books2read.com/ap/8Vy9vl/Salt-Sage-Books The Writers for Diversity Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/779217692216226 The Writing the Other website: https://writingtheother.com Writing the Other: A Practical Approach: https://writingtheother.com/the-book CritiqueMatch: https://critiquematch.com Scribophile: https://www.scribophile.com Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/10/s2e8/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art, on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting, and on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—ask Erin Olds, CEO of Salt & Sage Books, all our questions about sensitivity reading.   Who is Erin Olds?    Erin Olds loves to travel, read, and drink boba tea! She currently lives in Seattle, where she homeschools her two excellent children. Erin is the CEO of and editor at Salt & Sage Books, an editing company dedicated to kindness. With a degree in English and French, Erin has worked with authors of all ages her whole adult life. Her poetry and short fiction have been published in various journals and magazines and won a variety of awards. She is a hybrid published author, with several indie books out under a pen name and her first traditionally published book (still a secret!) in progress.   What we talked about What sensitivity reading is and who sensitivity readers are The kind of sensitivity reading requests Salt & Sage Books receives most often The emotional labor that goes into sensitivity reading Some alternative options for writers with limited budgets (Re)sources mentioned on the show The Salt & Sage Books website: https://www.saltandsagebooks.com The Salt & Sage Books Twitter account: https://twitter.com/saltandsagebook The Salt & Sage Books Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/saltandsagebooks The Salt & Sage Books Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/saltsagebooks The Salt & Sage Books Incomplete Guides: https://books2read.com/ap/8Vy9vl/Salt-Sage-Books Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao: https://xiranjayzhao.com  Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: https://www.aiden-thomas.com/cemetery-boys  Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega: https://www.claribelortega.com/ghostsquad  The Timber Falls series by Fiona West: https://fionawest.net/contemporary-books  Penny Reid's work and blog: https://pennyreid.ninja Have Geek, Will Travel by Rebecca Blevins: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56610467-have-geek-will-travel  Sachiko Burton of Salt & Sage Books: https://www.saltandsagebooks.com/profiles/sachiko-burton  Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/03/s2e7/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art, on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting, and on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—discuss diversity and representation in Disney's Encanto.    What we talked about All the ways in which diversity shows up in Encanto, from skin colour to body type, to the different roles the characters get to play How no cultural artefact, including Encanto, can speak for an entire community, and why that is OK How Encanto is a step in the right direction as far as diverse representation goes (Re)sources mentioned on the show   We didn't mention all of these during the episode, but these are some of the resources we dug into while preparing for the recording.  ​​“With ‘Encanto,' Colombia Is Finally Seen and Not Just Heard” by Leila Cobo: https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/encanto-colombia-positive-image-1235017931/ “Encanto Still Has Charm, Despite Generic Representation of Colombia” by Camilo Garzón: https://www.latinxproject.nyu.edu/intervenxions/encanto-still-has-charm-despite-generic-representation-of-colombia “I'm Colombian. Here's what ‘Encanto' means to me” by Arturo Serrano: http://www.nerds-feather.com/2021/11/im-colombian-heres-what-encanto-means.html “11 Latina Critics on ‘Encanto'” by Mujeres Problemáticas: https://latinamedia.co/encanto/ “Disney's Encanto isn't just about representation – it's an act of defiance” by José Mariá Luna: https://www.polygon.com/22851932/encanto-disney-latine-colombia-in-movies Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/02/24/s2e6/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—interview Professor Grace L. Dillon about Indigenous Futurisms and how (not) to write Indigenous characters.    Grace L. Dillon (Anishinaabe with family, friends, and relatives from Bay Mills Nation and Garden River Nation with Aunties and Uncles also from the Saulteaux Nation) is Professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies Department in the School of Gender, Race, and Nations and also Affiliated Professor at English and Women, Gender, and Sexualities Departments at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on a range of interests including Indigenous Futurisms, Queer Indigenous Studies, Gender, Race, and Nations Theories and Methodologies courses, Climate and Environmental Justice(s) from Indigenous Perspectives, Reparations Justice, Resurgence Justice, Science Fiction, Indigenous Cinema, Popular Culture, Race and Social Justice, and early modern literature. (For her full biography, please check out the episode page on our website.)   What Grace shared with us   Why and how she coined the term Indigenous Futurisms What it was like to be a consultant as an Anishinaabe person to directors Scott Cooper and Guillermo del Toro Some behind-the-scenes stories about the filming of Twilight What true allyship looks like and how we can become an ally How we can honour someone else's story Best practices of engaging with Indigenous communities Grace L Dillion's academic email is: dillong@pdx.edu   (Re)sources mentioned on the show and other recommendations by Grace L. Dillon, many of which are LGBTQ2+   Routledge Handbook of CoFuturisms, edited by Grace L. Dillon, Isiah Lavender III, Taryne Taylor, and Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay (forthcoming) Hachette Australia: https://www.hachette.com.au  Claire G. Coleman's Terra Nullius (2017) and The Old Lie (2019) (South Coast Noongar People): https://clairegcoleman.com  Ellen Van Neerven's Heat and Light (2014): https://ellenvanneervencurrie.wordpress.com/heat-and-light  Louise Erdrich's Future Home of the Living God: A Novel (2017) (Anishinaabe): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34217599-future-home-of-the-living-god  Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's This Accident of Being Lost: Songs and Stories (2017), Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies (2021) and As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resurgence (2017) (Anishinaabe): https://www.leannesimpson.ca  Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves (2017) and Hunting by the Stars (Metis): https://cheriedimaline.com  Waubgeshig Rice's Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018) (Anishinaabe): https://www.waub.ca  Harold Johnson's Corvus (2015) (Cree): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26840855-corvus  Alexis Wright's The Swan Book (2013 rpt. 2018) (Waanyi Nation): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18247932-the-swan-book  Gerald Vizenor's Bearheart (1978) (Anishinaabe): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/871536.Bearheart  Leslie Marmon Silko's Almanac of the Dead (1991) (Laguna Nation): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52385.Almanac_of_the_Dead  Australian First Nations Ambelin Kwaymullina's trilogy The Interrogation of Ashala the Wolf (2012), The Disappearance of Ember Crow (2013), and The Foretelling of Georgie the Spider (2015): https://ambelin-kwaymullina.com.au  Indigenous Hawai'ian Christopher Kahunahana's film Waikiki: http://www.waikikithemovie.com  Nalo Hopkinson's many stories, including YA novels Sister Mine (2013) and The Chaos (2012): https://www.nalohopkinson.com  Andrea Hairston's novels such as Mindscape, Redwood and Wildfire, Will Do Magic for Change, and Master of Poisons: http://andreahairston.com  Darcie Little Badger's Elatsoe (2020) and A Snake Falls to Earth (2022) (Lipan Apache Nation): https://darcielittlebadger.wordpress.com  Zainab Amadahy's Resistance (Afro-Canadian and Cherokee): https://www.swallowsongs.com  Daniel Heath Justice's The Way of Thorn and Thunder: The Kynship Chronicles (2011) and Why Indigenous Literatures Matter. His story “The Boys Who Became the Hummingbirds” in Hope Nicholson's edited collection of Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An Indigenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology (2016) is also explored in graphic novel form in Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Volume 2 (2017) (Cherokee): https://danielheathjustice.com  Joshua Whitehead's Indigiqueer Metal, Johnny Appleseed, and Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit & Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction (2020): https://www.joshuawhitehead.ca  Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Volume 3, edited by Anishinaabe and  Metís Nations Elizabeth La Pensèe and Michael Sheyahshe (2020): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51456434-moonshot  Deer Women: An Anthology (2017) published by Native Realities Press and headed by Lee Francis IV. (Laguna Pueblo Nation): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38219794-deer-woman  Sovereign Traces Volume 2: Relational Constellations edited by Elizabeth La Pensèe: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42686187-sovereign-traces-volume-2  Sloane Leong's graphic novel Prism Stalker (2019): https://prismstalker.com  Smokii Sumac's you are enough: love poems for the end of the world (2018) (Ktunaxa Nation): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41677143-you-are-enough  Michelle Ruiz Keil's All of Us With Wings (2019): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40177227-all-of-us-with-wings  Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties (2017) and In the Dream House: A Memoir (2019): https://carmenmariamachado.com  Sabrina Vourvoulias's Ink (2012): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15721155-ink  Rita Indiana's Tentacle (2018): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40679930-tentacle  Qwo-Li Driskill's Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory (2016): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27777916-asegi-stories  Tiffany Lethabo King, et. al's Otherwise Worlds: Against Settler Colonialism and Anti-Blackness (2020): https://www.dukeupress.edu/otherwise-worlds  Lisa Tatonetti's The Queerness of Native American Literature (2014): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21944614-the-queerness-of-native-american-literature  Bawaajigan: Stories of Power edited by Anishinaabe Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler and Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith (2019):   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45180942-bawaajigan  mitêwâcimowina: Indigenous Science Fiction and Speculative Storytelling edited by Cree Nation Neal McLeod (2016): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34105770-mit-w-cimowina  Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction edited by Grace L. Dillon (2012) (Anishinaabe): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13226625-walking-the-clouds  Amy Lonetree's Decolonizing Museums (2012) (Hochunk Nation): https://uncpress.org/book/9780807837153/decolonizing-museums  The work of Debra Yeppa Pappan (Korean and Jemez Pueblo) at the Chicago Field Museum: https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/2486 Laura Harjo's Spiral to the Stars: Mvskoke Tools of Futurity (2019) (Cherokee): https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/spiral-to-the-stars  Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors/   This week's episode page, with Grace L. Dillon's full bio, can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/02/17/s2e5/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting   

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—compare two F/F romance novels to talk about how to “Show, don't tell” race and ethnicity in your writing.    What we talked about Caren J. Werlinger's She Sings of Old, Unhappy, Far-off Things J.J. Arias's The Single Matchmaker How these two authors use different ways, including names, food, comparisons, terms of endearment, and many more, to “Show, don't tell” their characters' races and ethnicities (Re)sources mentioned on the show Caren J. Werlinger's She Sings of Old, Unhappy, Far-off Things: https://carenwerlinger.com/she-sings-of-old-unhappy-far-off-things/ J.J. Arias's The Single Matchmaker: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56422641-the-single-matchmaker Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   During the episode, we also mentioned some resources we both use when picking our characters' names:  https://www.behindthename.com/ http://www.thinkbabynames.com/ https://www.etymonline.com/   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/02/03/s2e4   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting   

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—interview Antoine Bandele.   Antoine Bandele is an Amazon bestselling author in action adventure fantasy, dark fantasy, sword & sorcery, African American fantasy, and African literature. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, though he spent one year in Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington while his father served in the U.S. Army. He lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and cat. You can find him producing videos all over YouTube, including his own channel (which you should totally check out). He is also an audiobook engineer. He is the author of the Young Adult fantasy series TJ Young and the Orishas, the Adult fantasy series The Sky Pirate Chronicles, the Lost Tales of Esowon, The Kishi and more.    What we talked about   How Antoine identifies as a person and a writer Why Antoine writes the characters he writes What challenges have come up for him while writing diverse characters Which authors he appreciates for their diverse books The joy and importance of (public) libraries and why they're the best place to go first when in research mode   (Re)sources mentioned on the show   Claudia Gray: http://www.claudiagray.com Brittney Morris: https://www.authorbrittneymorris.com Chuck Wendig: http://terribleminds.com/ramble To learn more about Antoine and his services: https://www.antoinebandele.com/about To learn more about Antoine's books: https://www.antoinebandele.com/complete-collection Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors/   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/01/27/s2e3/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—discuss the writing of race and ethnicity in fantasy and sci-fi stories.   What we talked about How race and ethnicity is done in fiction and TV series that are not grounded in real-life human history What gets lost and is added in translation when novels are turned into films or TV series How to not let yourself be limited by the world we know when building a world of your own That it's never to late to start adding more diverse characters to your world, or to make your existing cast more diverse   The fiction and TV series we discussed in particular during this episode are: Babylon 5; Star Trek; Game of Thrones; The Witcher; and Shadow and Bone. (Re)sources mentioned on the show Daenarys as the white savior of the Unsullied: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/04/game-of-thrones-critique-white-savior “What Star Trek Taught Us About Racial Equality” by Mallory Joy: https://medium.com/the-ascent/what-star-trek-taught-us-about-racial-equality-acfac97fc151 “The Next Frontier: Tracing African-American ‘Star Trek' Characters” by Ian Freeman: https://theurbandaily.com/2991101/the-next-frontier-chronicling-american-appearances-on-star-trek/ “Racial Issues and Star Trek's Deep Space Nine” by J. Emmett Winn: https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/kinema/article/view/1046/1182 “In Middle Earth, Must All Hobbits Be White?” by John Hudson: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/11/in-middle-earth-must-all-hobbits-be-white/343239/ “‘The Witcher' Netflix Writer Speaks Out On Racial Diversity Concerns” by Tyler Fischer: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/the-witcher-netflix-racial-diversity/ “Shadow and Bone author had a goal for the Netflix show: fixt the diversity issues” by Petrana Radulovic: https://www.polygon.com/tv/22371843/shadow-and-bone-casting-diversity-alina-leigh-bardugo M.C.A. Hogarth's novel Mindtouch: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19455735-mindtouch Ginn Hale's novel Lord of the White Hell: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8017244-lord-of-the-white-hell-book-1 Tamora Pierce's website: http://www.tamora-pierce.net/ Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/01/20/s2e2/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this first episode of Season 2 of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—discuss how to write skin color.     Here's what we talk about: Why we should avoid comparing anyone's skin tone to food, even if people from a certain community do that among themselves Why we should be careful when using the term ‘colored' to describe black characters and characters of colour What descriptions we CAN use and how to get creative How important it is to actually look at what you're describing  That skin colour isn't the only way how to convey someone's racial or ethnic background And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: “Ethnic group” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_group “Description Guide Skin Color Part I: POC & Food Comparisons” on Writing with Color: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/95955707903/skin-writing-with-color-has-received-several “Description Guide Skin Color Part II: Words for Skin Tone” on Writing with Color: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/words-for-skin-tone-how-to-describe-skin-color “Tips on words and describing skin for writers”: https://caithyra.tumblr.com/post/51492707550/tips-and-words-on-describing-skin-for-writers “If White Characters Were Described Like People of Color in Literature”: https://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/if-white-characters-were-described-like-people-of-color-in-l How to Write Black Characters: An Incomplete Guide by Salt and Sage Books: https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Black-Characters-Incomplete-ebook/dp/B087ZSJ9BN The Color Me Beautiful website: https://www.colormebeautiful.com/ Bethany's Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors/   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2022/01/13/s2e1/   Subscribe to our newsletter here and get out Doing Diversity in Writing Toolkit, including our Calm the F*ck Down Checklist and Cultural Appropriation Checklist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36  Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this final episode of the first season of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—discuss holy days and answer some listener questions.    More specifically, we talk about: the fact that there are many more holy days than Christmas and it serves us as writers of diverse characters to be aware of that that stories around our holy days create worlds and images that serve some while excluding others the American Thanksgiving and Dutch Sinterklaas traditions the need to both revise and correct harmful origin stories AND create better represents for the present and future   And we answer the following questions: Reading and research can only go so far, so how do I make sure that the characters I write are authentic without having direct knowledge of certain identity markers? How can I write a diverse cast without making it seem forced? Some quotes from this week's episode:   “Reading and researching can only go so far, but it gets you further and further these days.”   “A really good way to not check boxes is to give every character their own personality and to start from that personality.”   “Saying ‘happy holidays' is not a war against Christmas, it's a war against excluding language.”   “It's important to look closely at any holiday and realize that it is in fact a story. And story does something. So what does this story do?” And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: The Writers for Diversity group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/779217692216226 The Panel on neurodiversity in Science Fiction and Fantasy: https://youtu.be/rf1AhGTdBQw  Salt and Sage Books list of sensitivity readers: https://www.saltandsagebooks.com/sensitivity-expert-consultants/ “Here are 12 religious holidays believers celebrate in December”: https://www.deseret.com/2018/11/27/20577947/these-are-the-14-religious-holidays-believers-celebrate-in-december#think-december-is-all-about-hanukkah-and-christmas-think-again-here-are-12-major-religio “December Holidays around the World”: https://worldstrides.com/blog/2015/12/december-holidays-around-the-world/ Dr. Steven Sexton's profile on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, website: https://www.unlv.edu/people/steven-sexton For more information on Mariëlle intensive 3-Month 1:1 Coaching for Writers Programme and to enrol, please visit her website: https://mswordsmith.nl/coachingforwriters2022   This week's episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/12/16/episode12/   To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—conclude our conversation about marking the unmarked by discussing description.    In this third episode on the topic, we discuss: marking and unmarking in terms of description the Twilight series and the problematic use of dark and light why we, as writers, have to consistently ask ourselves what the outcome is of the descriptive choices we make   Some quotes from this week's episode:   “Describing things as good or bad, welcoming or frightening, is done differently depending on history, religion, region, and the history that the people involved have.”   “The associations we create as authors need to be mindful, and we need to be watching for what kind of implications those descriptions can have.”   “As writers, when we're looking at describing places, we need to consider who we're placing in that place and how we want our readers to think about them. If we're using terms like “high-crime” and “distressed”, that paints a certain picture of anyone we place in that area.” And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: “‘Twilight': How much money did all 5 movies make?” by Abeni Tinubu: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/twilight-how-much-money-did-all-5-movies-make.html “Civilized Vampires Versus Save Werewolves: Race and Ethnicity in the Twilight Series,” by Natalie Wilson: https://www.academia.edu/28684886/Civilized_Vampires_Versus_Savage_Werewolves_Race_and_Ethnicity_in_the_Twilight_Series “Recognizing that words have the power to harm, we commit to using more just language to describe places,” by Jennifer S. Vey and Hanna Love: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/07/13/recognizing-that-words-have-the-power-to-harm-we-commit-to-using-more-just-language-to-describe-places “Adjusting the focus on Twilight's misconceptions,” a collaboration between the Burke Museum and the Quileute Tribe: https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/truth_vs_twilight    This week's episode is sponsored by Crystal Shelley's Conscious Language Toolkit for Writers. You can find this handy resource by going to: https://www.rabbitwitharedpen.com/conscious-language-toolkit-for-writers. Listeners of this podcast now get 20% off by using the promo code DIVERSITYINWRITING.   This week's bonus material can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/12/09/episode11   To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—continue our conversation about marking the unmarked.   In this second episode on marking the unmarked, we discuss: the importance of being conscious about the language you use AND how you use it that language is forever changing and we need to keep up with it how the gendered (and racial, etc.) use of language demonstrates the inequality of language how conscious use of gendered (and racial, etc.) language can elevate your characters and story world    Some quotes from this week's episode: “I don't think we can go around judging ourselves and others for something we don't know, unless we're going out of our way to remain ignorant.”   “Apparently it's OK to include women when using a male, unmarked noun, but it's not done to include men when using a female, marked noun.”   “We need to know what kind of language our characters would use and think. How do they use gendered [or racial] language? How do they feel about such language? What are they signaling with its use or avoidance? If you are writing a futuristic society, have they done away with such language? Or have they doubled down on it? What can you say about a society through the use of grammar and grammatical markers without saying it aloud?”   “The language employed in a scene or entire story can designate rank and social values without ever actually acknowledging something.”   “One way to handle difficult language, such as gendered or racial language that you yourself do not agree with would be to allow the characters' dialogue to contain such language, but, as long as they are not the narrator of the story, strip out any such usage from the narration of events.”   “I think of languages like a plant, some new leaves grow, some old leaves fall away.”   And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: “7 Racist Slurs Which You Should Probably Drop From Your Vocabulary”: https://aninjusticemag.com/7-racist-slurs-which-you-should-drop-from-your-vocabulary-885c56ba97ae Online Etymology Dictionary: https://www.etymonline.com The Danish TV series Rita: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_(TV_series)  Mariëlle's undated 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner, Vol. III: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal   This episode's webpage can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/12/02/episode10   We don't have any bonus material this week, but please go fill out our questionnaires if you haven't already:   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about marking the unmarked. It's the first episode of three on the topic.   In this first episode on marking the unmarked, we discuss: what we mean by “marked” and “unmarked” how conscious marking and unmarking in our stories make us better writers the “Everyman” archetype in literature how the “unmarked” in Western society is slowly losing that privilege and how uncomfortable that is for them   Some quotes from this week's episode: “As writers, we mark all the time, we mark characters, we mark landscapes, items, ideas, pretty much anything that is in our stories gets either marked or is left unmarked, and both are significant and influence the reader's experience.”   “Marking and unmarking happens all the time for our characters, they do it, and we do it for them above and beyond that. For example, how we describe our character marks or unmarks them, and how they describe or ‘see' the world is also an act of marking or unmarking. Such actions can even drive a story.”   “When I'm writing a character, I'll consider things like, ‘Do they wish they weren't lost in the crowd, do they want to be marked and recognized or do they just want to finally be left alone and invisible? How do their desires show up in their language and how they mark others?”   “This Everyman character can be set into a world or extraordinary and act as the connection to the reader, much like the main character clutching his towel through The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He's supposed to be the character readers identify with so they can access an alien landscape through him.”   And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: More information on the Russian linguist, Nikolai Trubetzkoy, can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Trubetzkoy The encyclopedia.com entry “Marked and unmarked terms”: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/marked-and-unmarked-terms Deborah Tannen's “There's No Unmarked Woman”, printed in the New York Times as “Wears Jump Suit. Sensible Shoes. Uses Husband's Last Name”: https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/magazine/wears-jump-suit-sensible-shoes-uses-husbands-last-name.html Bethany's book Edit Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You from Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors “The US will become ‘minority white' in 2045, Census projects”: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045-census-projects/

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about diversity within diversity and what writers can learn from the concept of intersectionality.   More specifically, we talk about: how Kimberlé Crenshaw came to coin the term ‘intersectionality' Black Lives Matter as an example of an organization that does diversity within diversity right intersectionality as a lens that helps you see how each individual character is made up of different identity markers and how these identity markers intersect within that individual character how a character's set of identity markers might mean different things or lead to different situations depending on context the fact that there are no universal characters – everyone is different because we're all made up of different identity markers  why we need characters who have multiple diverse identity markers diversity as going beyond identity markers such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability and so on – it includes literally everything   Some quotes from this week's episode: “Identity markers intersect - hence the term intersectionality - and how they intersect in a given space and time influences how they affect your place in society, the kinds of stereotypes that exist about you, the kinds of expectations people have of you, and so on, depending on the context you find yourself in.”   “When we're writing inclusively and adding diverse characters to our fiction, it's really important to look beyond what might seem the single most important identity marker for a character.”   “If you have a white male character and you decide to make them gay, you have to think through how that might affect anything else in their story and the story overall.”   “Good writing always includes characters that make sense when considering where they're from, what they've encountered in their lives, what emotional baggage they acquired along the way, and so on. Adding this intersectional lens through that uncovering of who your character truly is and what they want and need just helps having a firm grasp on these characters.”   And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: Kimberlé Crenshaw: https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/kimberle-w-crenshaw The statement by Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/about Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter series: https://shadowhunters.com Glee's Chris Ryan's decision to create Kurt Hummel and cut another diverse character: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Colfer   This week's bonus material can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/11/11/episode7   To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about the third common pitfall when representing diverse characters: tokenism.   More specifically, we talk about: what tokenism is and why it is problematic why characters such as JK Rowling's Cho Chang are the perfect example of tokenism the custom of turning diverse characters into token sidekicks or “bit-players” how Cassandra Clare avoids tokenism in her Shadowhunter series  strategies to prevent tokenism in your fiction writing   Some quotes from this week's episode: “Tokenism is inclusion for the sake of inclusion. It's not about making any actual changes but about appearances.”   “If we just merely add a few diverse characters to our stories just so our writing looks inclusive, chances are the story doesn't leave any room for these characters' lived experiences and realities to be fully investigated. If we only include them to make sure a particular minority is present within our writing so that we look like open-minded and progressive writers, we run the risk of reducing these characters to one-dimensional summaries of what we think their community is like and thinks like.”   “You can add a whole set of characters from the same community, but if they're all more or less the same and don't contribute to the plot beyond being their identity marker, if they get to contribute to the plot at all, it's still tokenism. It's really about the depth and complexity that a character is allowed to bring with them beyond whatever identity markers they might carry.”   “Proper research into our characters' cultural, historical and political backgrounds will go a long way in creating more well-rounded characters with a developed background.” “Even if you only have one character from a particular minority community in your work, allowing them space to be their own person beyond their identity markers will go a long way in making sure they don't become tokens and in showing the diversity that exists within each and every community.” And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show:   The Oxford Dictionary definition of tokenism: https://www.lexico.com/definition/tokenism “To JK Rowling, from Cho Chang”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6xU3mYY3Cw   Please note that this is not the original video of Rachel Rostad performing the slam poem. At the time of uploading this episode, it was no longer available on YouTube.   Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward's Writing the Other: https://writingtheother.com/the-book/ Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter series: https://shadowhunters.com Bethany's book Edit Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You from Start to Finish: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors   This week's bonus material can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/11/11/episode7   To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about two very common pitfalls when representing diverse characters: essentialism and affirmative myopia.   More specifically, we talk about: what essentialism is and what makes it problematic the fact that a lot of stereotypes that persist today are based on pseudo-scientific practices we don't consider science anymore what affirmative myopia is and why we need to avoid it how the movies Stonewall (2015) and Carol (2015) both fell into the affirmative myopia trap why bringing down the dominant group upholds the structures we are trying to overthrow   Some quotes from this week's episode: From Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin: “Essentialism is the assumption that groups, categories or classes of objects have one or several defining features exclusive to all members of that category. Some studies of race or gender, for instance, assume the presence of essential characteristics distinguishing one race from another or the feminine from the masculine.”    “If we believe people are determined by their biological make-up, we're basically saying that the way the world functions and our positions and situations within that world can't really be changed. If existing power relations are in place because there is some inherent logic in our DNA that defines our place and role within society, how do you challenge the status quo?”   “Those essentialised stereotypes, which are often based on science we no longer consider real science, are still running rampant. We still have so many assumptions about the ‘other' – those with different identity markers – floating around in our collective unconsciousness.”    “This doesn't mean we can't have late black people, angry black women, violent Muslims, perfectly styled gay guys and butch lesbians in our work. But, whenever we write a character, we should make sure we didn't give them these characteristics just because they are gay, lesbian, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, young, old, poor, rich, and so on. We need to give them solid reasons and explainable circumstances for why they are being this way or why they are acting that way, one that goes beyond mere biology.”    “If we, in our attempts to elevate those voices by representing them in better ways, fall into the affirmative myopia trap by, for example, negatively depicting those who've always been in power, we're perpetuating the same structures that created that status quo in the first place. We lift one group by bringing another down.”   And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415661919 “Gay rights activists give their verdict on Stonewall: ‘This film is no credit to the history it purports to portray.'”: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/25/stonewall-film-gay-rights-activists-give-their-verdict Mariëlle's 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner: https://mswordsmith.nl/journal    This week's bonus material can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/11/04/episode6/   To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about how representation actually works.   We talk about:  at representation is about who we make visible and who are rendered invisible because of those decisions why minority voices are automatically amplified when they are represented that representation is not just about who is present within works of fiction but also about HOW they are present why shoehorning diverse characters into your work isn't the answer Netflix's Bridgerton showing us how we can reinvent the world without erasing painful histories why it's so hard to go against existing stereotypes and tropes in our writing (which doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying!)   Some quotes from this week's episode: “When there's very little or no representation, or all the representations are the same, that one character, that one characterisation, can be all a reader knows for a long time.”   “It's not just the case that certain groups of people are culturally absent or not as present, there's also the fact that those few representations of them out there tend to be stereotypical and potentially harmful.” “If we want to make a real effort, is it enough to sneak in a single homosexual character or someone belonging to an ethnic minority? Are we doing our bit to change the world by adding one black woman to our very white cast? Or one Muslim family to our otherwise Christian or secular world?”   “Inclusion matters, but representation just for the sake of inclusion isn't really the answer.”    “There's more to diversity than race and gender. Don't think you can't write diverse characters just because it doesn't make sense to include a cast of black or Asian or Hispanic characters in your world.”    “Each society comes with its own set of stereotypes for those who are considered ‘other', and it's really difficult to counter or break down these different ‘types' and provide better alternatives.”   “Representation is not only about who we make present, it's also about how we make them present. Doing representation right means we should think through both steps.”   And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture edited by Rosemarie Buikema, Lieke Plate, and Kathrin Thiele: https://www.routledge.com/Doing-Gender-in-Media--Art-and-Cu-lture-A-Comprehensive-Guide/Buikema-Plate-Thiele/p/book/9781138288263  “The blurred racial lines of famous families – Queen Charlotte”: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/famous/royalfamily.html Bethany's developmental editing: https://theartandscienceofwords.com/developmental-editing   This week's bonus material can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/10/28/episode5/    To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting   

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about the fear of cultural appropriation. More specifically, we talk about:  How we define cultural appropriation The difference between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange Assassin's Creed III vs. Disney's Pocahontas, and why Assassin's Creed III does it better than Pocahontas did The “So sorry about colonialism” narrative Marvel's Black Panther, and why the museum scene made Mariëlle say “Fuck yes!” aloud in the theater Some quotes from this week's episode: “These days, cultural appropriation is understood to focus on those moments, those points of interaction and usage, where certain customs, practices, ideas, and so on, are being employed by usually a more dominant culture without any of the positives. There is no positive exchange going on that somehow benefits those whose culture is being used by that other, often more dominant, culture.” “I can understand why some acknowledgement might feel like worth having, especially when there's been almost none, but that doesn't take away the fact that the bigger, disturbing picture remains solidly rooted within our dominant culture and history. And Pocahontas the Disney film did only acknowledge a fraction of it, while erasing the absolute tragedy and evil enacted on Pocahontas herself in real history.”    And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward's Writing the Other: https://writingtheother.com/the-book/  “Appropriate cultural appropriation” by Nisi Shawl: https://writingtheother.com/appropriate-cultural-appropriation/  “Reservations about films: Disney's Pocahontas”: https://lakotachildren.org/2015/09/reservations-about-films-disneys-pocahontas/ “Disney updates content warning for racism in classic films”: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54566087   This week's bonus material can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/10/21/episode4/   To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

Show notes episode 3 – Common fears and frustrations In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—discuss some of the fears and frustrations that might come up when writing diverse characters. More specifically, we talk about the following fears:  Representing someone in the wrong way… …and why that shouldn't keep us from trying Taking someone else's voice away by trying to speak for them… …and where we stand in the Own Voices vs. Allies debate Misrepresenting your own community… and why this calls for a multiplicity of voices from each and every community Some quotes from this week's episode: “Not all differences are considered equal. Depending on where we are as a society, and which society you're writing about, some identity markers might carry more charge than others. Which is why some misrepresentations cause more outrage than others, and why we might be more scared of representing this character the wrong way than that character.”   “What we would love to see happen all around us is that people, instead of stepping away from the challenge because something is at stake, lean into the challenge and start taking those steps.”   “There are loads of things that are hard to get right as an author. The feel of a place, of an era, dialogue, how characters interact, character and story arcs that come full circle. Writing diverse characters is just one of those aspects. You don't stop describing a place or cut out all your dialogue because it's hard getting it right or needs more research.”   “Why put all of that labour on those diverse authors when we can actively contribute to creating a more diverse reading experience? Why can we not both create space for diverse authors and their voices WHILE we ourselves are working as hard to turn this world into a better place?”   And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: Nicola Upson's The Death of Lucy Kyte: https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571366415-the-death-of-lucy-kyte.html  Sally Andrew's Recipes for Love and Murder: https://www.sallyandrew.com/recipes-for-love-and-murder  You can find the “Yes, you should be afraid to write ‘diverse' characters” article by Mo Black here:  https://curiosityneverkilledthewriter.com/yes-you-should-be-afraid-to-write-diverse-characters-4a6c482a7379  Joanna Penn's interview with Clare Lydon can be found here: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2016/06/13/writing-lesbian-fiction The “Writing fictional characters who aren't like you” article by Randy Ingerman can be found here: https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/2010/10/11/writing-fictional-characters-who-arent-like-you  Mariëlle's My Voice, My Story anthologies: https://mswordsmith.nl/anthologies Claribel A. Ortega's TikTok can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJpZZcpAn6t/    This week's bonus material can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/10/14/episode3/   To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8    As always, we'd love for you to join the conversation by filling out our questionnaires.    Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5   Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    Don't forget, you can find us at https://representationmatters.art/ and on https://www.facebook.com/doingdiversityinwriting 

Episode 2 – Diversity and representation in fiction In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—explain why a conversation about diversity and representation in fiction is necessary.  We also talk about:  the fact some characters are overrepresented while others are severely underrepresented in fiction positive, and less positive, examples from our childhood and adult reading  Mariëlle's #ownvoices project My Voice, My Story some of the reasons our literary canon is the way it is, even though things are slowly changing how representing diverse characters is not just about quantity, it's also about the quality of those representations Some quotes from this week's episode: “It's about being able to recognize yourself in the people around you, whether you meet them on the page, on the screen, in the park.”   “Are there no books that made you open your mind to something or turned your whole world upside down? Stories that made you feel understood, that made you feel less alone, that helped you keep going when you didn't know how to?”   “Not seeing something can create a void, but if we do see something and that something is a negative or highly stereotypical, then there we have another problem.”   Here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: Brené Brown interviews Gabby Rivera: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-gabby-rivera-on-superheroes-storytelling-and-joy-as-resistance The “Are you a princess of Wakanda?” article: https://www.lovewhatmatters.com/are-you-a-princess-of-wakanda-her-eyes-grew-so-big-i-crossed-my-arms-over-my-chest-chadwick-boseman-black-panther Mariëlle's My Voice, My Story anthologies: https://mswordsmith.nl/anthologies Ash Roberts's website: https://ashrobertsdragoneer.com and all the places you can purchase Ash's book Royal Dragon: https://books2read.com/royaldragon And you can find this week's bonus material here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/10/07/episode2/ To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8  

In this first episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany A. Tucker and Mariëlle S. Smith—talk about why we started this podcast, what our goals are for the show, and what topics we will be discussing in our first season and beyond.     We also talk about:    who this podcast is for—fiction writers wanting to write characters who aren't like them in one or multiple ways our personal experiences with diversity and how these influenced both our writing and editing  why we need to have a conversation about writing diversity in fiction why we believe anyone can write about diverse characters the privilege of not having to care about diversity and why this is exactly why you should take up your pen and join the cause how our podcast will help you work through any fears around writing diverse characters you may have And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show: You can find our website at https://representationmatters.art You can find Bethany's Edit Your Novel's Structure (the brilliant book that made Mariëlle want to work with her on diversity and representation) at https://theartandscienceofwords.com/new-book-for-authors The Minorities in Publishing podcast can be found at https://www.jennifernbaker.com/podcast Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5 Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36    To be the first to know when our next episode drops, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r3p6g8