INTRODUCTION:
There’s been a lot of
talk about adding diverse characters to fictional books. Most of the time, this
is about including people of color if you’re a Caucasian writer, but all
writers can add diverse characters to their books. And why stop at race? In
this series, I’m going to list all sorts of diverse characters.
Note: I'm not knowledgeable about all types of people, so I'm skipping my usual tips in favor of letting others share their knowledge. See below
**I won't be able to list them all, so here's a list of ethnic groups...with a list of even more lists at the bottom of the page. lol
Here are the diverse characters for C:
Cambodians
Cameroonians (Individuals from Cameroons)
Canadians
Cancer Patients/Survivors
Cannibals
Catholics
Cameroonians (Individuals from Cameroons)
Canadians
Cancer Patients/Survivors
Cannibals
Catholics
Centaurs (Fantasy)
Chemists
Chemists
Children
Chileans (Individuals from Chile)
Chinese Individuals
Chileans (Individuals from Chile)
Chinese Individuals
Christians
Circus Performers
Individuals with Cleft Lip/Palate
Circus Performers
Individuals with Cleft Lip/Palate
Costa Ricans
College Students
College Students
Colombians
Cowboys/Cowgirls
Cowboys/Cowgirls
Criminals
Cubans
Cubans
Here are the diverse characters for D:
Danish Individuals
Deaf Individuals
Deaf Individuals
Democrats
Demons
Demons
Individuals suffering from Depression
Individuals with Diabetes
Individuals with Disabilities
Divorced Individuals
Dominicans (Individuals from the Dominican Republic)
Dragons
Druids
Dutch Individuals
Dragons
Druids
Dutch Individuals
Dwarfs (Fantasy)
Individuals with Dyslexia
SHARE: If you can come up with more diverse characters that start with C or D, let me know and I will add them to my list.
QUESTION: Do you have tips or Do's/Dont's for one of the characters I mentioned above? Share your advice for writing about those characters in your comment.
Have you written about a character from my list?
The MMC in my current romance WIP is a divorced man.After researching relationship and advice articles, a divorced person is more likely to have shallow, just sex relationships with the opposite sex. Distrust them, especially if it was a nasty divorce. Have a combative, volatile post relationship with their ex, which might sometimes color their view of other men/women they'll meet/date.
ReplyDeleteC- cannibal
D- DJ
I mean divorce can be so traumatizing that it changes how a person views the opposite sex, themselves and how they form interpersonal relationships afterwards.
DeleteThat is interesting. My mom sure had a different view of the opposite sex after her divorce. She didn't like them very much. haha
DeleteI'm a diverse character, yippeeee lol one thought, don't use that dumb "eh" for everyone, as no one on the east coast uses that word. No super powered cats? Geez
ReplyDeleteI had cats on my list but ended up taking it off. Oops.
DeleteI'm Canadian, and I sometimes laugh when I see how people portray us. I know more foul mouthed Canadians than Americans!
ReplyDeleteThat is funny.
DeleteI have college students and Christians in my books.
ReplyDeleteHow about “Stricken with dementia, the Cajun beauty raced in through the ‘out’ door.”
ReplyDeleteAdvice? If not familiar with ailments, cultures, etc., research and subtlety are essential.
Great post, Chrys!
Excellent advice!
DeleteYes. Thanks for sharing this list of diverse characters.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI mostly write about my life experiences but I suppose being a poet we don't have the scope that authors have for different characters. Great post Chrys.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Poets and authors are different and write differently. That's an interesting thought.
DeleteJust about all of my characters are left-wing Democrats (or Socialists) like I am, since it's easiest to write about people with my own political values. I also have a few Deaf characters. There's a whole debate about Deaf culture, both within the Deaf community itself and the wider population. Many Deaf people are perfectly happy with using Sign Language, and are against cochlear implants for the same reason those of us in the neurodiversity community are deeply offended and hurt at the idea of "curing" or "preventing" autism and Asperger's. When this is how you've always been, and there's a whole culture and community to go along with it, there's no reason to want to lose that uniqueness and be just like everyone else. It's not like trying to cure cancer.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts, Carrie-Anne. Autism, Asperger's, and being deaf definitely aren't like cancer. People with these are just like everyone else, just a little different. As you said, unique.
DeleteIn a sequel idea I have pretty much all of the characters are college students, plus there's a new character who's a child (I think she'll be fun to write!).
ReplyDeleteI never thought about writing a deaf character but I did take sign language in college so I'd probably be a few steps ahead with research since we learned a lot about the culture, as well.
When I wrote about my first child character, I had a blast!
DeleteThis has got to be a difficult list to come up with as there are so many diverse peoples that can be included in a story.
ReplyDeleteI actually had fun creating these lists. :)
DeleteDiversity is so vast. I love how it challenges me to come up with new characters. I have a story with a character who was born with a cleft lip and palate.
ReplyDeleteOh, you mentioned that. I was going to add "individuals with a cleft lip" to this list but forgot.
DeleteI'm a Canuck Through and through:) I always find it funny that we are portrayed as apologetic and always nice. If you have ever travelled on the 401 from Niagara Falls to Toronto, you will not think we are very nice. My mom is German but my dad grew up near Algonquin Park who became a lumberman and worked in the park during the 1930's. In fact, I grew up on a sawmill and used to play on the logpiles and the sawdust pile. Yes, my dad did own a lumberjack jacket which I still have and he always had to wear a tuque which had to have a Pom Pom on it.
ReplyDeleteI would've kept his lumberjack jacket, too. :)
DeleteGreat list and good food for thought for thinking about adding diversity to our writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteBeing privileged can blind a soul to the daily torment and struggle of others. I think we as writers must keep this in mind when writing diverse characters.
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Great point, Anna.
DeleteI'm a diverse character (from Canada) ;) This is interesting Chrys and a great reference if our stories need some spicing up with secondary characters. I often enjoy films with eccentric supporting characters. They can add so much to the story...same in books.
ReplyDeleteYou are! I don't think I've read a book set in Canada before...
DeleteCollege students is a topic I'm very familiar with, seeing as how I teach college students. And there's definitely a lot of diversity within that group, everything from what their lives are like outside of class to what kinds of careers they want to pursue (as well as how they're pursuing them).
ReplyDeleteCollege students are an easy way to add diverse characters to a story. :)
DeleteCommies and dummies ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteMy debut novel, "Spiral of Hooves, opened in Canada and had a Canadian as one of main characters - plus a heroine with diabetes. I briefly lived in Canada but had to research the diabetes as heroine was a sportswoman. Sequel features cowgirls/rodeo riders.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have a disability, I've never written a character in a wheelchair - except in a short story, and they guy had my disease as did someone in another. Are demons diverse? Debutantes?
Your characters sound very diverse.
DeleteI had thought of demons. For paranormal stories, they'd be considered diverse. :)
Some of the best advice I've received about writing characters of another race is to not go out of your way to make them different than any other character you might write. Same with characters who are in same-sex relationships: they experience the same ups and downs of love and married life as those who are cis straight.
ReplyDeleteThat is the best advice a writer could get about writing diverse characters.
DeleteSome would take more research than others before I'd feel comfortable making them a character, but I love doing research, so great ideas to consider and learn about.
ReplyDeleteI love doing research, too. :)
DeleteThis is something I need to work on for my stories to make my characters more interesting and perhaps unique. Thanks for the ideas.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteHow about Chemists? We're always portrayed as the nerds on cop shows or the idiots who accidentally cause all the plagues and environmental disasters in the movies. In reality, most of us just stay home and blow up stuff in our basements.
ReplyDeleteI'll add chemists to the list. :)
DeleteGreat post. Makes you think.
ReplyDeleteJuneta @ Writer's Gambit
Thanks, Juneta!
DeleteHope about a Coloradan? We're both extremely diverse (okay, we're not). Great list!
ReplyDeleteLOL I wasn't even thinking about people from different states. Hmm...
DeleteHow about a circus clown? Do I get double points for that one?
ReplyDeleteTwo points for you!
Delete