Advice - In The Form Of Rants

Diversity Is Not Always Great

Wait a second- just a second before you type angrily on your keyboards and scream at me for being racist. Because I tell you, I both can't be bothered and see no value or gain from being racist.

I'm a member of the minority myself, so it wouldn't be to my benefit anyway.

Back to explaining...

I very much do agree with the 5 worda you see in the title. But, you must keep in mind what book you are reading- a book for writing advice. This is about characterisation.

This is to say that you need to keep the context in mind to decide a character's: height, weight, religion/beliefs, age, race, tolerance/opinions, upbringing and more. This can all be determined by setting, if you're not one to decide outside of it.

For example, let's say I have a character born in the 1900's. I'll specify the place be London, England. Around this time, migration of other races and religious groups was becoming more common. Next generation migrants are being born, but face discrimination on the daily, despite being born there.

If I were to choose a religious minority in the country, I'd most likely choose Judaism. A jewish man, for example.

I could easily build a character just using the location and context of the period. But, what if the story is in the future?

Well... you must deliver a reason for your diversity. Incoperate it in your story. You shouldn't randomly add white, black or asian individuals into the story for no reason. Just using the 'I need more diversity' excuse is'nt gonna cut it.

I mean, if I read a story with a majority asian cast and there was one black guy there, I'd be confused. Why is he there? Did he travel there for whatever reason? Give context and reason.

I'm by no means saying that minorities should be thrown out the window. But I'm saying they should have a reason to be there, other than diversity.

It's not a justification of colour or race, but a justification of place.

If a black kid (I'm using this example because I was discussing Karate Kid with my mum earlier today) was in China, why is he there? Because his family moved there for employment.

Justification and answer, that's all.

If your character is in modern day (and onwards) England or America, you don't really need to explain why. The countries are both multicultural, no matter which way you put it. Both countries have a majority white population, but still have a large amount of minority.

It doesn't matter what anyone else says. Do not force culture, race or sexuality into a story to make it diverse. Make it how you want to, character-wise.

Any questions? Ask away here! I'll try to answer them all.