Creating Diverse Literature

Oftentimes, the world is over-saturated with common fiction.

The hero saves the heroine, and they live happily ever after. Men have specific roles, and women do too. People of color are relegated to the token minority, and those of different sexual orientations are often made the butt of jokes.

However, recently, people have begun to drift away from the general, to break apart from what is considered normal. This has always been the author’s prerogative, to go beyond what normal people see and hear in every day conversation.

Things are changing, and it’s time they changed for you as well. When I was writing my novels, I tried to think about the legacy I wanted to leave the world, and part of that was that I wanted to provide as many types of people as I could with representation. I wanted everyone in the world to have someone they could relate to in my books. However, it’s not enough if it’s only me who’s trying. I admit, it can be hard to sometimes break away from the cookie-cutter characters we know.

I’m here to tell you, adding diversity to your novels will not only help you find a new audience, it will also help make you a better writer. Learning from other cultures, and seeing how others live; you can tie that into your fantastical stories, eagerly awaiting you to tell them, and make them exciting and highly addictive.

“I’m poor, black, I may even be ugly; but dear God, I’m here! I’m here!”
— Celie

Part of the whole point of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple was to introduce us to Celie, who has suffered so very, very much. Not because she is black, but because she is a person, in a bad time; in a bad place. Would the story have been served as easily by showing maybe a white or Asian girl in that situation? Or by refusing to acknowledge race at all? Of course. It would have been easy to remove the traces of her race from the story, although it would change it entirely. Her being of any other race, or no race at all, would still have made for a very powerful story.

However, by showing the main character as a person of the African-American race, during that time period, the end result was a powerful agony that we traveled through along with Celie. As an African-American woman in that time, in that place; her ordeal was made real, and more hard-hitting. She becomes representative of something that many of her race have suffered. She became a conduit, through which we could understand.

“Yeah, the whole family knows. It’s no big deal. One night at dinner I said, ‘Mom, you know the forbidden love that Spock has for Kirk? Well, me too.’ It was easier for her to understand that way.”
— Corny

This was the way one of Holly Black’s characters came out to his family in Tithe: A Modern Fairytale. A calm sort of thing, don’t you think? Not only that, but it works. Corny isn’t detracted from for being gay; he isn’t in any more danger than the heroine from the very immoral fae around them.

But it isn’t ignored, either. In fact, it’s a plot point that later on, the character falls for a bad fae who abuses his adoration. The plot could have gone just as well with a switching of gender, or even an excuse of fae magic, but instead, he’s made more by this choice of character. He’s a person, someone whom we know. Someone who makes mistakes, and falls for the wrong people sometimes. (Spoiler alert: Later in the series, he finds a boyfriend who loves him for him, and it is beautiful.)

“Yeah, I loved her. I couldn’t help it. She was my brother.”
— Regan

In Luna, by Julie Anne Peters, we are shown the story of a sister who is going through something rather unique. The transitioning of her brother from male to female. Now, this story does hinge almost entirely upon the transitioning, and Luna’s choice to move on with her life. However, we see it through the sister’s perspective, which is often the way of things with this sort of example.

When it comes to genderqueer (or gender fluid) individuals, or transgender individuals, more often than not, the story is told through someone else’s perspective, as if to soften or temper the story for those who might not be experiencing the same feelings. However, more than anything else, people in these lifestyles require validation and representation.

As an author, you have the opportunity to gift these people with characters with whom they can connect. This is not an agenda, nor a political movement; this is your capability as a writer, providing for those who need an escape from the harsh realities of the world, and giving them a way of knowing that they are the heroes in their own stories, instead of a prop in someone else’’

Character archetypes are a beloved principle that many authors use to guide them, but often these archetypes are only a starting point. We don’t usually think beyond this, to whom we might represent, or what we could do with these archetypes to take them beyond the normal, beyond the every day. Archetypes like the chaste hero, or the evil sorceress, or even the plucky sidekick.

For instance, the chaste hero could instead just be simply asexual. The sexual tension would turn to romantic tension, and still be as valid. Perhaps instead of the ever insipid love-triangle that so many revert to when in need of romantic unrest, this time, the hero could choose his career over the other two, without guilt, because he knows he could not make them happy. Or, perhaps, he chooses to attempt a relationship with the heroine, but they now have to work around his lack of sexual attraction/impulse, and formulate a relationship that works well for the both of them? Or perhaps the love interest leaves behind the sexual tripod, and chooses instead to love the hero, despite his asexuality?

Or a love interest who is genderqueer or gender fluid? Instead of the ever-present heterosexual presence, or the occasional homosexual presence, perhaps the romantic interest in this case is neither, or both, or all at the same time? Someone who lives by the flow, and refuses to allow others to box them into a cage, choosing female one day, male the next, or even just refusing to choose at all. There are several representations of this in various fanfiction, and it’s time to bring it to the fore in modern writing as well.

Not to mention, any of these characters, or all of them could be people of different cultures or races. Not just African-American, but what about Somali? Egyptian? Perhaps someone from Hawaii, or Korea, or some other island nation? While the overall plot may not be affected, changing your character’s race, sexuality, or gender identity may reveal a new depth that makes your story even better.

By adding diversity in your world, you are seasoning your meal with extra flavor to go from bland to sensational. Our world is highly complex, and the world you write should be equally complex. A great story is a reflection of new cultures, ideas, and most of all, people. More stories need actual people and not just stereotypes that have become common tropes in Hollywood.

If your main character is cissexual, meaning they feel that their born sexual anatomy is their correct gender, then that’s great! But why is everyone else, in the world he is exploring, just like him? Why in the world wouldn’t he meet someone who shows him that there are those out there who AREN’T alright with the bodies they were given at birth? Why wouldn’t he be friends with people who may or may not choose to ignore gender roles? Why wouldn’t he befriend someone whose skin tone is different from his?

Take as an example, Dirk Strausson. The main character of my upcoming book, The Sorcerer and the Swordsman, Dirk is a Knight. He is honorable, brave, and believes in justice for everyone, and making sure people are safe. He is also descended from tribesmen from Thosfig, which in my world, has a very African culture and atmosphere. Part of his character arc is learning to accept these roots, and to meet those of his race. While raised in the European-ish country of Kuryle, he has always known he was different, and now, he will learn more about himself through learning about his ancestors. Yes, he is black. Yes, he is the main character, and yes, he is also asexual.

Oh, did I not mention that? Yes, Dirk is an asexual man. He has never felt right in relationships, and honestly, he doesn’t really get all the fuss about sex. He’s tried it a few times, and it’s just not for him. So, he chooses to abstain from it. It doesn’t change who he is, and it doesn’t change the fact that he is literally the only thing keeping one of the most homicidal maniacs in existence from flipping his shit, forgive the term, and slaughtering everyone. But it does make him HIMSELF. It makes him Dirk.

Even said homicidal maniac has his own side of things. Yumil is selfish, egotistical, amoral and rather annoying at times. He is definitely meant to be an anti-hero. He does not do things for noble sentiments or because authority figures tell him to. He does them because they mean something to him, and because he gets something out of it. He is the most powerful sorcerer since his master died, and he knows it. He uses it.

But sometimes, he’s a she when she uses it. That’s right, Yumil is genderqueer. Which means, every so often, usually when very stressed, Yumil reverts to a female gender. She plays with her hair while explaining magic to those who don’t understand it. She takes long baths to calm herself after a bad argument. This doesn’t change who she is. It only makes Yumil stronger, because she knows that no matter what, she is who she is. And she knows that following the whims of her mercurial mind tends to bring her what she wants.

Princess Eamon, the second princess of Kuryle is a noble knight, like Dirk. She is strong, collected, and sure. She has won many battles with her military prowess and with her sword in hand. Eamon hasn’t always been sure, hasn’t always been the best at what she does. But she worked hard to get there, and she chooses to be a soldier for her country, instead of the priestess that her sister is. And she happened, during a journey to save her sister’s fiance, to fall head over heels for a woman named Anelace. Now, Anelace happens to be Thosfigian, like Dirk. And a woman.

So yes, Eamon is a white woman, who fell in love with a black woman. She is a lesbian. This doesn’t change the fact that she saves her sister’s life after their fall down a mine-shaft, or that she did her best to keep them all alive during their trek cross country. She is a lesbian, and that gives her definition. But she is so much more.

In fact, the Prince that they are set to rescue, Prince Espin of Durdil, is a white male, with albinism, who happens to be deeply in love with Eamon’s sister, Princess Lette of Kuryle. He struggles daily with his father’s disapproval and emotional abuse. He is gentle, but tough, and once given the chance to get away from his overbearing father, finds a strength to himself that he didn’t realize. Under his adopted mother’s guidance, he ends up learning how to be a good man, and how to be a good king.

All of my characters were designed with their basic archetype in mind. And then, my mind supplied me with small “what if’s”. I had to do a lot of research to do them justice, and I’m still not sure I’ve managed it entirely. I’ll probably do a lot more research in the end, to make sure they’re properly done. But the fact of the matter is, that adding diversity to my cast did nothing to take away from the story. In fact, it added to it. Now, I have four characters, at least, that will not only make me proud, but will also provide young adults out there with the idea that, yes, it is okay to be themselves, no matter what they happen to be.

So here is a challenge. Take three characters from your work-in-progress and change them. Change a gender, change a race, change a sexual orientation. Change all three! See how it adds diversity and culture to your work. Leave us an example in the comments below. I know I look forward to all the more range of protagonists in the future.

Did you enjoy this post? Then you’ll love Writing from the Perspective of Characters in Marginalized Populations too.