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Doing Diversity in Writing
Doing Diversity in Writing episodes
- DDW - S2 Ep10 - Naming Our Fictional Characters
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
1 hr 7 min - DDW - S2 Ep 09 - Flipping the Script and Building Different Worlds with Clare Sager
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
57 min - DDW - S2 Ep 08 – When Money Gets Between Your Writing and Hiring Professionals
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
1 hr 1 min - DDW - S2 Ep 07 - Sensitivity Reading with Erin Olds, CEO of Salt & Sage Books
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
1 hr 4 min - DDW - S2 Ep 06 - Diversity and representation in Disney’s Encanto
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
1 hr 4 min - DDW S2 Ep05 – Indigenous Futurisms and Writing Indigenous Characters with Prof. Grace L. Dillon
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: [email protected]
(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
1 hr 31 min - RDDW - S2 Ep04 - Show Don’t Tell Race and Ethnicity in Writing
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
1 hr 15 min - DDW - S2 Ep03 -Interview with Antoine Bandele, author of TJ Young & the Orishas, Tales of Esowon, and The Sky Pirate Chronicles
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
1 hr 9 min - Season 2 Episode 2 - Writing Race and Ethnicity in Fantasy & Sci-fi
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
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1 hr 36 min - Season 2 Episode 1 -Writing Skin Color
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/
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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/doingdiversityinwriting1 hr 22 min
About Doing Diversity in Writing
From the publisher's feed
How do we write diverse characters in fiction? What are the do’s and don’ts of writing race, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion, origin, ability, age, appearance, and so on?
Join Bethany A. Tucker and Mariëlle S. Smith as they explore why representation matters and how we, as writers and editors, can do better.