Just random thoughts about things that writers do that irk me as a reader. Fueled by caffeine, lack of sleep, or reaction to something I've read. Take none of this serious! Be offended at your own risk.
I love diversity in literature. I love when people attempt it even when they fail. They at least made the attempt. I love the ways people try to come up to describe real skin color (not aliens and such) in different ways.
Key word. DIFFERENT.
I do tire of all the tan/bronze/pale folk running around in books. If I were an alien I'd think the white folk on earth only had two shades of color or that they are shiny like bronze metal.
As a writer we should be stretching our vocabulary when it comes to describing things. If you're at a loss, use a foundation chart. They have multiple shades covering all ethnicities and even tell you the name of the shade so less work for you.
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And lots of people like to get their panties in a twist when people use chocolate to describe a deep brown person or honey for a med toned person. "Don't use food to describe people!" They'll scream.
I, for one, do not care if you use food to describe color. It actually helps me visualize the color quicker cuz I'm a fat ass that likes food and the color immediately comes to my mind. I don't have to google search the color coffee like I do sienna or burnt umber.
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It may seem insignificant cuz some of us are trying to 'not see color' and skirt around it but it shows your characters are all different from each other. They have distinct looks to match their personalities. They aren't carbon copies and can coexist in the same space as others that are different from them.
