Doing Diversity in Writing

06/09/2022

Hello everyone!

We're a little bit late due to summer travelling and other obstacles, but here's the second part of Bethany's conversation with Louvie Tucker on how to write men!

Here’s what we talked about:

* Physical representation of male characters
* Derogatory language often applied to men and how we might handle it in fiction
* Representation in media that we’ve found encouraging
* Touch and intimacy (primarily nonsexual)
* Using name calling as world building and character communication

To listen to the episode, go to Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or our YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/dT__uG1VSvw).

The show notes and all (re)sources mentioned can be found on the episode page on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/09/06/s3e5/

01/08/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, Bethany and guest host Louvie Tucker talk about writing better male characters. This is the first part of a two-part episode on the topic.

Here’s what we talked about:

● Masculinity in terms of definition
● How class affects definitions of masculinity
● Deconstructing arrogance, emotionality, and protective instincts assigned to male characters
● Should we write all male characters with straightforward personalities?
● The male character, lust, and ego
● Making room in our stories for male characters who aren’t leaders or in search of power
● The myth of the capable gentleman
● The effects of wish fulfilment writing on men

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw).

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/07/31/s3e4

Enjoy listening!

31/05/2022

We're back with a new episode!

In this episode, we talk about writing better female characters. This is the first part of a two-part episode on the topic.

Here’s what we talked about:

● That, in the US, women are estimated to buy 70–80% of fiction books

● There are way more male than female leads in children’s books

● That novels, on average and across the board, only have one female character to four male characters

● But that many readers FEEL like there are way more female protagonists these days than there are male protagonists

● That women writers also have a tendency to write male characters, and that women are not exempt from perpetuating problematic female representations

● What kind of roles women tend to have in fiction

● A selection of tropes to avoid or seriously consider when writing female characters

● Some of the most persistent narrative structures that disempower and/or harm women

● Why it is important to write female characters better, even if books with badly written women are selling well

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com), your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw)

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/05/31/s3e2

Enjoy the show and let us know what you think!

01/05/2022

We're back!

In this first episode of Season 3 of Doing Diversity in Writing, we discuss how to write hair and head coverings.

Here’s what we talked about:

● That hair, hair care, and head coverings are often ethnically dictated and gendered
● That there is no such thing as “ethnic” hair: we all have ethnicity!
● How to describe different natural hair colors
● How to describe different hair textures
● Whether dreadlocks are cultural appropriation
● Who wears wigs and weaves, and for what reason
● That head coverings for men and women come into play in many ways that go beyond religion and what one’s culture dictates
● How you can use descriptions of hair and head coverings to add layers to your POV characters

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw).

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/04/30/s3e1

Enjoy the show!

08/04/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—bring our season on Race and Ethnicity to an end by delving into some lingering some questions.

Here’s what we talked about:

● If and how to use racial slurs in our writing
● When and how to acknowledge our characters’ racial history
● Whether authors are allowed to write POV characters belonging to a different community
● Co-writing with BIPOC authors as a white author
● The representation of Asian masculinity in Western media
● Being accused of being too political when including a diverse cast in our books
● How to make your cast more diverse when your characters aren’t human

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/04/07/s2e12

Enjoy the episode!

04/04/2022

Do we believe in coincidence? No, we don't at all!

That's why neither of us were surprised that an email about a class on Crafting Diverse Relationships made it into Mariëlle's inbox only a few days after we released our episode on writing in*******al and intercultural!

The class is hosted by Writing the Other and takes place between April 29 – May 15, 2022 and the deadline for scholarships is the 10th of April.

Click the link to check it out and sign up.

https://writingtheother.com/crafting-diverse-relationships-2022/

Learn how to explore a range of relationship arcs & interpersonal dynamics to create vivid narratives & character-driven plot lines in every genre.

01/04/2022

Hi everyone!

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we scratch the surface of an incredibly broad topic: writing in*******al and intercultural relationships.

Here’s what we talked about:

● That writing relationships between characters of different races and cultures is really not that different from writing relationships between characters who are not exactly the same for other reasons

● Questions to ask yourself and things to keep in mind when crafting in*******al and intercultural relationships in your writing

● A ton of examples in which in*******al and intercultural relationships are depicted well and convincingly

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/29/s2e11

Enjoy the show!

24/03/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about naming our fictional characters.

Here’s what we talked about:

● General things to look out for when picking our characters’ names
● All the different aspects that might influence which names make sense for your characters
● Where to look for names
● How to verify whether these names are appropriate for your characters or not

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/24/s2e10

Enjoy the episode!

17/03/2022

Season 2 Episode 9 – Flipping the Script and Building Different Worlds with Clare Sager

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—interview fantasy author Clare Sager about building different worlds in our fiction.

Here’s what we talked about:

● Why Clare felt compelled to build a different world for her fictional characters
● How consistently asking yourself “What if…?” will help you build better fictional worlds
● How to use a coin (or dice!) to populate your world with a wide set of characters
● That diverse characters are just like any other characters
● The importance of being curious about the world and remaining open to what there is to learn

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/17/s2e9

Enjoy the show!

11/03/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we take a pause to talk about what to do when hiring professionals to better your writing is not an option (yet).

Here’s what we talked about:

* That there’s privilege in being able to advice others to do it right or not do it at all
* That not everyone has the same resources going into publishing their work
* What options are out there for authors with limited or no budgets

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw)

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/10/s2e8

08/03/2022

Did you get a chance to listen to our interview with Erin Salts, CEO of Salt & Sage Books, yet?

If you have any questions about sensitivity readers and sensitivity reading, this is your episode!

Here’s what we talked about:

• What sensitivity reading is and who sensitivity readers are
• The kind of sensitivity reading requests Salt & Sage Books receives most often
• The emotional labor that goes into sensitivity reading
• Some alternative options for writers with limited budgets

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or your favourite podcast app or check out our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw)

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/03/03/s2e7

Enjoy and let us know what you think!

25/02/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle— discuss diversity and representation in Disney’s Encanto.

Here’s what we talked about:

• All the ways in which diversity shows up in Encanto, from skin colour to body type, to the different roles the characters get to play
• How no cultural artefact, including Encanto, can speak for an entire community, and why that is OK
• How Encanto is a step in the right direction as far as diverse representation goes

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/02/24/s2e6

Want to join the conversation? Hit “Reply” or fill out our Writer and Reader questionnaires.

Enjoy the show!

21/02/2022

And that's another interview done! Tonight, we asked CEO of Salt and Sage Books Erin Olds all about sensitivity reading.

Curious? The episode will air next week!

18/02/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—interview Professor Grace L. Dillon about Indigenous Futurisms and how (not) to write Indigenous characters.

For her full biography, please check out the episode page on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/02/17/s2e5

Here’s what Grace shared with us:

• Why and how she coined the term Indigenous Futurisms
• What it was like to be a consultant as an Anishinaabe person to directors Scott Cooper and Guillermo del Toro
• Some behind-the-scenes stories about the filming of Twilight
• What true allyship looks like and how we can become an ally
• How we can honour someone else’s story
• Best practices of engaging with Indigenous communities

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com), your favourite podcast app, or our new YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/02/17/s2e5

Enjoy!

08/02/2022

Due to technological issues, there won't be a new episode this week.

We're sorry and trying what we can to get back to recording next week.

Until then, have you checked out our YouTube channel yet?

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHfIaeylIgbAWVy3E66lmw

04/02/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we compare two F/F romance novels to talk about how to ‘Show, don’t tell’ race and ethnicity in your writing.

Here’s what we talked about:

● Caren J. Werlinger’s She Sings of Old, Unhappy, Far-off Things
● J.J. Arias’s The Single Matchmaker
● How these two authors use different ways, including names, food, comparisons, terms of endearment, and many more, to ‘Show, don’t tell’ their characters’ races and ethnicities

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/02/03/s2e4

Enjoy the show!

28/01/2022

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—interview Antoine Bandele.

Antoine Bandele is an Amazon bestselling author in action adventure fantasy, dark fantasy, sword & sorcery, African American fantasy, and African literature.

He was born and raised in Los Angeles, though he spent one year in Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington while his father served in the U.S. Army.

He lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and cat. You can find him producing videos all over YouTube, including his own channel (which you should totally check out). He is also an audiobook engineer.

He is the author of the Young Adult fantasy series TJ Young and the Orishas, the Adult fantasy series The Sky Pirate Chronicles, the Lost Tales of Esowon, The Kishi and more.

Here’s what we talked about:

● How Antoine identifies as a person and a writer
● Why Antoine writes the characters he writes
● What challenges have come up for him while writing diverse characters
● Which authors he appreciates for their diverse books
● The joy and importance of (public) libraries and why they’re the best place to go first when in research mode

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/01/27/s2e3

27/01/2022

All of Doing Diversity in Writing podcast episodes are now up on Youtube, if that's the way you like to listen to your content. Here's the link to the full playlist for Season 1: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbBFWttMTCZoCRg8AixvyrQddRjvvwNLG

21/01/2022

Hi everyone! Our new episode is out!

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we discuss the writing of race and ethnicity in fantasy and sci-fi stories.

Here’s what we talked about:

● How race and ethnicity is done in fiction and TV series that are not grounded in real-life human history
● What gets lost and is added in translation when novels are turned into films or TV series
● How to not let yourself be limited by the world we know when building a world of your own
● That it’s never to late to start adding more diverse characters to your world, or to make your existing cast more diverse

The fiction and TV series we discussed in particular during this episode are: Babylon 5; Star Trek; Game of Thrones; The Witcher; and Shadow and Bone.

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com/) or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/01/20/s2e2/

15/01/2022

15/01/2022

We’re back with the first episode of Season 2!

During Season 2, we will be talking about race and ethnicity. In this first episode of the season, we discuss how to write skin colour.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Why we should avoid comparing anyone’s skin tone to food, even if people from a certain community do that among themselves
• Why we should be careful when using the term ‘colored’ to describe black characters and characters of colour
• What descriptions we CAN use and how to get creative
• How important it is to actually look at what you’re describing
• That skin colour isn’t the only way how to convey someone’s racial or ethnic background

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2022/01/13/s2e1/

Enjoy the show!

10/01/2022

This is why writing diverse characters matters!

"I think there is empowerment in positive representation. It is important that he see images that reflect him."

17/12/2021

The final episode of our first season is now live!

In this episode, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—discuss holy days and answer some listener questions.

More specifically, we talk about:

• the fact that there are many more holy days than Christmas and it serves us as writers of diverse characters to be aware of that
• that stories around our holy days create worlds and images that serve some while excluding others
• the American Thanksgiving and Dutch Sinterklaas traditions
• the need to both revise and correct harmful origin stories AND create better represents for the present and future

And we answer the following questions:

• Reading and research can only go so far, so how do I make sure that the characters I write are authentic without having direct knowledge of certain identity markers?
• How can I write a diverse cast without making it seem forced?

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com/) or your favourite podcast app.

This week’s episode page can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/12/16/episode12/

09/12/2021

Our eleventh episode is here, which means we’re nearing the end of our first season!

In this episode, we conclude our conversation about marking the unmarked.

More specifically, we discuss:

• marking and unmarking in terms of description
• the Twilight series and the problematic use of dark and light
• why we, as writers, have to consistently ask ourselves what the outcome is of the descriptive choices we make

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com) or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention and this week’s bonus material, the Marking Persons and Places Though Exercise, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2021/12/09/episode11

Happy listening and catch you next week for our holiday special with Q&A!

02/12/2021

Our tenth episode just dropped!

In this episode, we continue our conversation on marking the unmarked.

In this second episode on marking the unmarked, we discuss:

• the importance of being conscious about the language you use AND how you use it
• that language is forever changing and we need to keep up with it
• how the gendered (and racial, etc.) use of language demonstrates the inequality of language
• how conscious use of gendered (and racial, etc.) language can elevate your characters and story world

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2021/12/02/episode10

We hope you enjoy the show!

30/11/2021

What would you like to know about writing diverse characters?

On the 17th of December, our Holiday Q&A session comes out, so ask your questions now!

DM us, leave a comment, or email us at [email protected]

Alternatively, you can anonymously fill in our Writer and Reader questionnaires:
https://forms.gle/N1pwyGH7J8HPdS1E9
https://forms.gle/Hbg2XYszC3ni49ju9

Looking forward to hearing from you!

25/11/2021

Our ninth episode is now live!

In this episode, we—Bethany and Mariëlle—talk about marking the unmarked. It’s the first episode of three on the topic.

In this first episode on marking the unmarked, we discuss:

• what we mean by “marked” and “unmarked”
• how conscious marking and unmarking in our stories make us better writers
• the “Everyman” archetype in literature
• how the “unmarked” in Western society is slowly losing that privilege and how uncomfortable that is for them

This full show notes can be found here: https://representationmatters.art/2021/11/25/episode9

We don’t have any bonus material this week, but please go fill out our questionnaires if you haven’t already:

Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Writer Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/UUEbeEvxsdwk1kuy5

Our Doing Diversity in Writing – Reader Questionnaire can be filled in at https://forms.gle/gTAg4qrvaCPtqVJ36

18/11/2021

Our eight episode just dropped!

In this episode, we talk about diversity within diversity and what writers can learn from the concept of intersectionality.

More specifically, we discuss:

• how Kimberlé Crenshaw came to coin the term ‘intersectionality’
• Black Lives Matter as an example of an organization that does diversity within diversity right
• intersectionality as a lens that helps you see how each individual character is made up of different identity markers and how these identity markers intersect within that individual character
• how a character’s set of identity markers might mean different things or lead to different situations depending on context
• the fact that there are no universal characters – everyone is different because we’re all made up of different identity markers
• why we need characters who have multiple diverse identity markers
• diversity as going beyond identity markers such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability and so on – it includes literally everything

To listen to the episode, find us on Podbean (https://doingdiversityinwriting.podbean.com)or your favourite podcast app.

The full show notes, including the (re)sources we mention and this week’s bonus material, the Diversity Within Diversity Exercise and Checklist, can be found on our website: https://representationmatters.art/2021/11/18/episode8/