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 V:
Here are the diverse characters for W:
Vampires
Vegetarians/Vegans
Venezuelans
Veterans
Veterinarians
Veterinarians
Victims
Victorians
Vietnamese Individuals
Vikings
Virgins
Voodoo Priestesses
Warriors
Wealthy Individuals
Welders
Welders
Welsh Individuals
Werewolves
Werewolves
Whales
Wheelwrights
Wheelwrights
Wiccans (Real Witches)
Widows/Widowers
Wrestlers
Writers
SHARE: If you can come up with more diverse characters that start with V or W 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?
I had a wealthy family in one story.
ReplyDeleteHow about a walrus? You don't see many of those in fiction...
Nope. A walrus is not a usual character. lol
DeleteI wrote my series about a wealthy family. It was my "those who can't get it dream it" escape.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah. I enjoyed your characters and their wealth. ;)
DeleteI think it'd be interesting to read a story about wealthy individuals, especially since there's a lot of fascination with them on TV shows (can you imagine if the Real Housewives shows were about working-class women? It would be a very different show, that's for sure, but no less interesting.). And sometimes it's hard for me to understand wealthy people's mentality, especially since as a teacher, I'll never be rich. That's why it's good to read (and write) stories about people who are different from us; it gives us a chance to understand them better.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly is a lot of fascination with wealthy people now-a-days. I think It'd be more interested in watching a show about working class real housewives...because they are REAL housewives. ;)
DeleteI'd add Walloons, a French-speaking ethnic group in Belgium, and West Frisians, a Frisian-speaking ethnic group in The Netherlands.
ReplyDeleteI've written about vegetarians, vegans, veterans, veterinarians, virgins, and wealthy people. An interesting fact about writing a veterinarian character is that they can provide assistance in an emergency if there aren't any people doctors. My vet student character Yuriy (now graduated with his medical degree) served as a medic in the Canadian Army during WWII. It's not so uncommon for vets and vet students to serve as military medics, and when you're badly injured, you probably don't care if your medic is primarily trained in patients with four legs. On the flip side, some medics trained in people medicine have helped animals wounded in war zones.
Thanks for the tips!
DeleteI have seen in movies that vets can treat people. They have much of the same skills as those trained in people medicine. Vets can certainly come in hand during war times.
Hi Chrys - I didn't think I could add to your suggestions for V and W ... yet then along comes Carrie Anne ... wow ... lots more thoughts - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteCarrie Anne is always helpful like that. :)
DeleteThis is a hot topic in the YA genre lately. A couple of authors have been publicly shamed for not writing diverse characters. It's crazy. We don't have to be so militant about it. I'm not a fan on injecting a diverse character just to fill a "quota" slot.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that a writer is publicly shamed for writing about the characters they want to write about. I believe in diverse characters, but I wouldn't even bash an author who only has Caucasian characters in their books. Most of my published stories right now have Caucasian MCs.
DeleteAgain Chrys you have come up trumps with a great selection of diverse women. Great and interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Thank you, Yvonne!
DeleteDefinitely tried a vampire or story or two.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought of a virgin as a diverse character but I've definitely written about them! It's usually a big deal for a lot of my teenage characters (current WIP definitely not excluded).
Virgin characters are fun. I've written about a few myself.
DeleteThe rich sure come into play. I suppose virgins would if you go a sacrificing lol
ReplyDeleteSacrificing virgins isn't nice. lol
DeleteYou made me smile when you included writers in that group. One thing I get a little tired of is reading a novel where the protagonist is a writer and they're making a living doing it. Those are rare characters.
ReplyDeleteOf course I had to add writers. ;)
DeleteIt's just like when I watch a movie about a writer who is a huge success. Rare, indeed.
Nope, vampires and werewolves aren't "diverse" ;) If you knew how many books I've read with them. If we're going for diversity, we need to talk fairies and angels, although I'm seeing a whole lot more of them in urban fantasy fiction nowadays. We've got to look for the lesser known creatures. Maybe djinn?
ReplyDeleteIf I had left out vampires and werewolves, these lists would’ve been shorter, and then someone would’ve commented to added them. But I agree. There are too many stories with vampires and werewolves. Angels and fairies were on my earlier lists. :)
DeleteI'm in three categories this time: vegetarian, widow, and writer. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting.
DeleteI was curious to see what you and the commenters would come up with. Good list.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
I'm glad you think so. :)
DeleteGreat list to spark the imagination. How about wheelwrights? I can imagine a story about someone who makes wooden wheels for carriages and dreams of one day being able to get in a carriage himself and traveling far away.
ReplyDeleteOh, wheelwrights. I never would've thought of that. Adding it!
DeleteI had a vegan vampire in one story. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteThat totally counts, and is very unique.
DeleteWow, what a list of diverse characters. I've read blood-free Vampires too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how blood-free vampires survive. Hmm...
DeleteI have to admit I haven't written about any of these diverse characters. I must think about that. Thanks for the suggestions.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI have way too many vampires in my stories and need to branch out in terms of supernatural diversity. LOL
ReplyDeleteThere are many supernatural creatures waiting for you, Patricia!
DeleteVampires are my thing too. Maybe I need to strike out now to these different characters.
ReplyDeleteYou should try it and see what happens.
DeleteI enjoy putting Vampires into my stories, although I like to shake things up from place to place. :-)
ReplyDeleteShaking things up is a great thing to do.
DeleteThough it's not an unusual character, a veterinarian. A welder.
ReplyDeleteWell, they don't have to be "unusual" to make it on the list.
DeleteA welder is a good one!
Sure, vampires have been written to death (pun intended), but now I kind of want to write a story about a vegetarian vampire.
ReplyDeleteLove the pun!
DeleteSorry, Beer For the Shower, but Stephanie Meyer kind of beat you to the punch with vegetarian vampires.
ReplyDeleteI love these ideas for underrepresented groups. I'm working on a novel that takes place on a college campus, so this is going to be something I'll be working on. Happy Halloween!
She did? Really? I never read her Twilight series so I wouldn't know. :)
DeleteAwesome!
I once wrote about a character that was a virgin, but it wasn't a focal point; just an extra tidbit about the character until he was no longer a virgin. I've also written about a writer, but his love life is the focus.
ReplyDeleteIt’s good to not have the character’s virginity as the main plot point. I think that’s been done a lot.
Delete