Earlier, I shared an example of how I used a personal experience to explore and describe an emotion I hadn’t faced. Emotions are one thing, but what about writing about something you could not have gone through? Can a man accurately write about a female character? Can a woman writer really describe what it’s like to be a young boy? Can a white person describe life as a person of color? It is an age-old question and often the answer is: no.
But what if you need to incorporate a character into one of your stories and that character is nothing like you? Can a writer who sits in an office know what it’s like to be a cop or a doctor, or a spy? Is that even possible? Of course, it is. The difference is your willingness to question, research, and listen.
When I wrote my first novel that required Native American characters, my problem was not only that I was writing about an unfamiliar time period. I was also including an entire race of people that were not my own. My main character was white and from New Hampshire. So am I. I could describe the flora and the fauna native to my state. I researched about life in the 1700s. I read memoirs of people from that era. I was pretty proud of myself: I studied everything I could about both my white and Native characters. Was it enough?
Nope.
After I finished my book, my editor insisted that I find an expert reader to check if my story—while fiction—was accurate in its portrayals. Guess what? Research doesn’t tell you everything! I had entire chapter depicting a Native American woman telling her grown son a story. I was proud of myself for making up the story based on characters that appeared in Abenaki stories. I didn’t steal an ancient tale. I didn’t plagiarize. Impressive, huh?
My expert reader, an Abenaki woman, told me—in a nice way—that I couldn’t do that. I shouldn’t think that I could freely create my own story and hint that it came from their culture. But more importantly, I’d made and even bigger mistake: the scene took place in the summer. Storytelling was a winter activity. Nowhere in my research had I found that fact! I rewrote the entire chapter. Instead of telling a story to make her point, the mother and son simply have a conversation.
When creating a character, if the character is not of your culture, job, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, don’t assume you know how they experience life. Do your research. Not only in books but by talking to people like your character. Learn about common practices that may not be part of your life. When you do, you can write there!
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