So, you want to or have written a POC character but something feels off. You're unsure if it sounds authentic or maybe even if your idea is problematic. I typically write characters first think of their looks later so I have characters who happen to be (Insert race) and build from there. That's me, and being a person of color this method isn't really questioned but for those of us writing outside our race, this can be a very slippery slope. We will go over what words to avoid and why we also will go over things people of color are sick of seeing or some like seeing despite others finding the issue. 

This chapter is dedicated to what we WANT to see. 

For me personally, I think it's dope to see myself in writing but get exhausted by drama and victimhood. I write dark literature, none of my characters cutches or plot points have to do with their race. I like to see people of color for representation but not have their color represent everything they are, and I'm sick of the urban genre entirely. I want fantasy, romance, contemporary, action. That's just me. Here are some other users from other backgrounds. 

I wanna see people of different ethnicities, hair types, skin colors, different cultural backgrounds, different languages are spoken, things that are done that are typically "white" (like black people loving to go to comic con and dressing up like fav characters), etc that kind of stuff.

-Wattpad User MalanatedMelon

I wanna see things related to my fun fact about black people (See How bout No chapter). I wanna see black people enjoying non traditionally black things like language learning, reading comics, listening to music that's not necessarily hip hop and R&B, speaking standard English as their everyday English (I do) and not being said to 'speak white'. Black people living in the suburbs and having two-parent households.

-Wattpad User Biliai

Not just a variety of races and ethnicity, but personalities, disabilities, disorders, etc.

-Wattpad User gtgrandom

When asked All users expressed they wanted to see people of color doing things that our white counterparts do without explanation. We want to be witches. We want a love affair that defies logic. We want funky hair and eyes. Give us your needs. Give us your jocks. Shy wallflowers and loners. Make a character people want to read not just one who fits an archetype.

Also body shapes! Not all POC/black women are curvy. Not all black me are horses (if you know what I mean). And I'm saying this for all of those interracial black/white ships. That's fetishizing!

-Wattpad User Biliai

Speaks for itself. I happen to be a curvy woman who has been with... (Cough) moving on. The fact is this does not ring true for all so try to add in some characters with different builds. 

People often never try more than the stock character from that country and don't nuance them that much. This lands them into stereotypes. But what about the diversity within? What about The Japanese person living in Korea? The US Mormon living in Korea? What about migrant workers living in Korea? Do you know what Korean Indian food tastes like?

People too narrowly focus on the major group, and the biggest section of it–I get why–easier to research, but don't forget the other people that are a part of that. The biracial people. What's their life like there? North Koreans living in South Korea often have a hard time. And also how people treat people with intersectionality will be different from country to country, ethnicity to ethnicity within borders. Not everything is in effing Seoul. Pull a map sometime.

-Wattpad User KimYoonmi

I feel as though Kim explained this well enough. It's fine to want to write about the mainstream but sometimes people want to hear the story of the outlier. 

I want to see my native language incorporated into a story. I've seen many Hispanic characters that understand Spanish, but hardly speak it. I understand that many writers don't know the language well enough to include it, but it is still something I wish to see more of.

As a Spanish speaker, I've take it upon myself to infuse my stories with the language, so my Latin American readers who don't understand much English can have a version of my books they can enjoy.

-Wattpad User BitchIsMyReligion

You don't have to use google translate to incorporate a second or even first language. Nick explains this on the road to the Watty's podcast better than I can but sometimes it's nice to see POC who can embrace all sides of themselves. 

WE HAVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. I had a mental break down one day and I told my parents, asking them if I could see a therapist, but they just said I needed to go out more and embrace life so I can be happy. Apparently what I had was just a phase and my parents laughed it off.

-Wattpad User  shutupsinderella

This is touched on more in the what we don't want chapter so I won't dive too deep but this quote was a major pattern in responses. 

4c natural hair or type 4 hair in any way.

-Wattpad User IcyandOtherEmotions

4C pertains to hair texture. Something that will be covered in later chapters. People like to see realism in their stories not everyone is Beyonce we don't all wake up like this. 

As a mixed-race person(my father is black and Puerto Rican and my mother is white) I would love to see more representation for us in books! I always make sure to have at least one mixed-race person in all of my books. I literally have never read a book where the character is mixed... or if I have it was such a small blimp in the already small world of POC MCs that I can't even remember it.

-Wattpad User  ivyinneverland

As a mixed-race person, I felt this one. People are used to black and white mixes and its even written about here but what about the product of those relationships? What about those of us who are different blends? It's slowly making its way into the mainstream but never spoken about from our experience or without strife.

Beautiful, different styles of hair described (cornrows, braids, twists, etc.) Different skin tones being appreciated (a girl who's black but is a lighter shade of brown or a girl who's dark-skinned being called beautiful and they don't get treated any differently either)

-Wattpad User Fondness_Fantasies

When describing women of color specifically black women writers tend to leave out hair, style texture, and maintenance. I include these little snippets in my writing but have found it's hard to describe braids, twist, cornrows, and flats because some don't know the difference or their proper name. I also find that some have a problem with texture or the funniest. A woman with natural hair who can get up and go without a protective style. This is due to a lack of research for some and inclusion for others. 

I want to see people loving and appreciating their own hair because in return, any Black reader struggling with this would grow to accept their hair... even if it is an alien from outer space that decided to play wicked tricks on you. Hair is not something that I see in books, if I have to be honest.

I don't think people realize that hair can be a really intimate thing. When you're sitting on the floor, biting back tears, as your [insert relative here] angles your head and braids your hair — there's something... almost inexplicable about it. It's almost a bonding experience. It can definitely be considered a bonding experience... but it's not a bonding experience that you usually see. It doesn't even have to be a relative or someone related to you; it can be someone you're romantically with. It needs to be someone you trust... because we don't just let anyone touch our hair, especially when people think it's something they can do without our permission.

Also A lot more disabled rep. A lot more rep for the chronically ill, especially with stuff like endo. Darker Black folx — really dark Black folx, because I don't think they get enough rep in literature; they deserve that. Different religions.

-Wattpad User prosejoyce

This chapter will be updated as we go. Is there something that we missed? is there something you as a reader wants to see? Leave a comment below.