A lot of different flowers make a bouquet. - Islamic Proverb

The world is diverse, and readers want to see that diversity reflected in the stories they read. This could be racial and ethnic diversity, socioeconomic status and religious beliefs, sexual orientation and gender identity, or a disability.

Not only does incorporating diversity push us to tell unique stories with varied casts, it means more people will see their own experiences reflected in their favorite novels. That's not to say writing diverse characters is always easy, and many well-meaning authors can do more harm than good if they aren't careful. We're here to help you explore the process of including diverse characters in your stories and do it mindfully.

Writing characters who don't look or live like you.

Read and research - Read the stories that feature the types of diverse characters you want to write about, as well as the communities in which they live. And not just fiction stories, read up on the history of these communities, be they ethnic, racial, or religious. This is your character research, and it will allow you to write lifelike, multi-dimensional characters.

Remove limitations - We want to create realistic characters, but in doing so, we don't want to limit who our characters can be. A character of the Muslim faith can be an opera singer, and a person with a disability can be a brilliant athlete. Storytellers have the opportunity to impact the world in a positive way, creating an uplifting representation of that group for others to learn from. And they can do this by simply including diverse characters who aren't limited by their particular identity.

Consider their world - If your diverse characters live in a world that treats them poorly or restricts what they can say and do because of who they are, they will travel a harder path to achieve their goals, and their life will be different because of it. Don't forget the external forces that affect your diverse characters when taking them through their journey.

Describe them thoughtfully - Create realistically diverse characters through subtle yet clear descriptions. While some authors take the route of keeping their characters' identities vague, readers appreciate character descriptions they can easily recognize. When you leave race and ethnicity open to interpretation, you reduce the power of your diverse character's story. This doesn't mean stereotyping, nor does it mean reminding the reader about a singular part of a character's identity, like the color of their skin. Simply mention these characteristics when they come up organically, and trust that your readers will register and remember them.

Leave food out of it - Don't use food to describe your character's race. That means don't compare your Black character's skin to cocoa, nor your Indian character's to coffee or caramel. Many BIPOC communities find it fetishizing and dehumanizing. Instead, try basic and complex colors, undertones or nature. For example: "She was tall and slim, her skin a smooth, sandy complexion." Click HERE for an excellent resource we found online for describing skin.

Know the difference between race and ethnicity - Take the time to explore your character's background before you write their story. Race is usually associated with biology and linked with physical characteristics, such as hair texture or skin color. Yet people of similar complexions can be defined as different races. Ethnicity is a broader term than race, and is used to categorize groups of people according to their cultural expression and identification. For example: just because a person's race is Black doesn't mean they're automatically African-American. They could be Hispanic (i.e., Dominican or Cuban). Or someone may say their race is White but their ethnicity is Irish.

Name them appropriately - If you are creating a character from a particular ethnic background, be sure to take care when naming them. One way to do this is by using a name generator with designated settings for names in different languages. You can also look up common baby names in a particular region or language, or simply ask people you know.

Avoid white savior narratives - Do not fall into the white savior trope trap where a white protagonist steps in to help (or save) the BIPOC character. This suggests that your BIPOC character could not have achieved their goals without a white person's influence. The same applies when writing about other diverse characters, such as transgender or persons with disabilities. If you find yourself doing this, dig deeper and re-evaluate the message of your story.

Be wary of tokenizing them - Imagine a story by a white author who writes a black protagonist as a wealthy woman with an extravagant life and privileged childhood to dispel the idea that all black people are poor and downtrodden. All this does is pour a black woman into a white woman's narrative to make a political point. Your diverse character doesn't need a political or social reason to exist in your story. This character is a reflection of a whole and complex person, just like you, and you have to flesh them out as whole characters beyond your view of their plight.

Sensitivity readers - When writing about diverse groups of people and their experiences, having a sensitivity reader is a must if you do not personally identify with that group. They are not beta readers, these are people who have actually lived through the experiences you're writing about. Readers who share the race and background of your character can give you the insight you can't know, no matter how much you research. 

A sensitivity reader can provide relevant and useful feedback about story elements that might not be working or tend towards a stereotype. They can point out opportunities where you could add something to make the character more realistic, something that is relevant to their specific background. They can comment on your portrayal of their community and whether it feels authentic. And they will let you know if your character is acting "out of character". Finding a sensitivity reader can be as simple as doing a Google search or posting on your social media platforms and letting people know exactly what you're looking for.

Including diverse characters in your supporting cast.

First of all, supporting characters and sidekicks should not simply exist for the protagonist to bounce clever dialogue off or advance the plot. They should be fleshed out and given backstories like any other developed character worth their salt. When you choose to give your supporting characters a diverse background, the task becomes a bit more challenging. You certainly don't want to create a character that feels like a stereotype. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It just means you will need to apply the same rules for creating those characters as you would if your protagonist had a diverse background.

Some well-known supporting characters have grown to become as beloved as their protagonist counterparts, such as Sherlock Holmes's companion Doctor Watson, or Will Smith's pretentious cousin Carlton Banks from the 90's sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Supporting characters provide the perfect opportunity to enrich your story. There's no reason not to create a relatable supporting character with a complex background.

Here are a few popular Sidekick Archetypes to get your creativity flowing:

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The Innocent: Seeks to be happy, yearns for paradise, fears being punished for making mistakes, tries to do things "the right way", faithful, likely to be extremely optimistic.

The Rebel: Wants to overthrow systems that aren't working, seeks revenge or revolution, fears being powerless or defeated, tries to shock, disrupt, or destroy, a strong tendency to commit crimes, likely to be outrageous and radical.

The Lover: Wishes to be surrounded by people, places, and things they love, craves intimacy and experience, afraid of being left alone or unloved, strives to become more emotionally and physically attractive, exhibits passion and commitment, likely to be grateful and appreciative.

The Orphan: Strives to belong and connect with others, afraid to be alone and to stand out in a crowd, tries to fit in, and earn friendships, empathetic, likely to live in a fantasy world.

The Jester: Wants to have a great time and lighten up the world, lives in the moment, fears being bored or boring, makes jokes, likely to be careless and clumsy.

The Explorer: Wants to experience a more fulfilling life, yearns for the freedom to explore the world and discover themselves, afraid of conforming or being trapped, likely to be a misfit or wander aimlessly.

The Magician: Makes wishes come true, yearns to understand the laws of the Universe, strong skills in finding resolutions, likely to become knowingly or unknowingly manipulative.

📌 REMINDER: As with any story that features characters from different worlds, be mindful what role you put these characters in. Don't fall into the stereotype trope trap.

Using stereotypes properly.

Stereotypes exist, and they will continue to exist as long as there is diversity between humans and a tendency in the human brain to compartmentalize knowledge. Stereotypes allow us to evaluate if a person is approachable, if they might be able to offer directions to the nearest coffee shop, or if they know how to lift a barbell safely. Avoidance of anything that might be interpreted as offensive can lead to cookie-cutter and bland fiction, with characters that don't stand out and themes that fail to stir any conflict or consideration in the reader.

Character stereotypes can be successfully applied in our writing when they are carefully selected for maximum effect, or simply to play off them. And because stereotypes are widely recognized, they provide common ground for your readers. From that starting place, you have the option to use your readers' expectations to your advantage in a number of ways:

😀 Subversion - When a character is introduced, certain details can immediately bring a stereotype to mind, and readers will recognize the character as someone they believe to know. By creating a character that visually represents a stereotype in our readers' minds, we can subvert their expectations then allow the character's behavior to break the stereotype and show the reader something different.

😀 Colorful Camouflage - Stereotypes can be used with non-recurring walk-on characters by offering some color to the scene without distracting from the protagonist. These fill-in characters can come in—dressed in their cowboy hat and speaking in a Southern drawl—do their job, then disappear again without losing reader engagement.

😀 Education - You can use stereotypes for educational purposes or to generate controversy. For example, you might portray a character's struggle to overcome an offensive stereotype. Or you can give the antagonist stereotypical thinking and show how it contributes to their demise in the end. 

Consider intersectionality and how it plays a role in your story.

Intersectionality is described as the way in which individuals are shaped by, and identify with, a vast array of cultural, structural, economic, and social contexts.

Intersectional stories require that we make visible how 'isms' (racism, sexism, ageism, classism, etc.) affect our characters' experiences. When incorporating intersectionality into our work, we should try to show characters navigating systems of inequality as part of the storyline.

Thoughtful storytellers take the time to demonstrate how the society in which their characters live shapes them to some degree. If a character already experiences prejudice, their story deepens when we put them in a setting where the disparity between privilege and prejudice is illustrated. However, we want to ensure that although our characters may interact with these systems, they are not solely defined by their experience with them.

As we strive to bring the realities of life into our stories, we must be careful not to perpetuate the idea that broken systems cannot be fixed. Instead, try demonstrating ways in which these systems can change. Intersectional stories are transformational stories about how the world can be different. Stories should try to help people imagine a future where justice and equality are status quo, rather than merely telling a story about how a system defines a person.

📌 NOTE: For more information on writing about race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and disability, follow this LINK.

This concludes our Character Series. We hope you found the information useful.