The first draft of my latest attempt at a novel has (among others) the following characters:
- A black school shooting survivor
- A sikh young man
- A transgender young man
- A person with Tourtette’s Syndrome
- A domestic violence survivor
- A hispanic woman with a PhD
- A lesbian
- A gay man
- A black man in the military
And many other characters with smaller rolls but who also represent minority or marginalized groups.
The main POV character is a white woman with a Christian upbringing. Her point of view I have down as a white woman. In writing the other characters, I did a lot of reading about these specific circumstances, cultures, and conditions both from an academic standpoint and, when possible, an own-voices standpoint. And, of course, I did not grow up in a bubble and have met or have friendships/relationships with people in each of these groups.
I tried my best to represent them fairly, accurately, and with sensitivity. I think I did okay, but I’m sure there is still plenty to learn and a lot for me to understand.
Here’s my question for you, writer hivemind on WordPress:
Who should I talk to, what should I read, or how should I go about utilizing resources to increase my personal knowledge, make my characters more complete and vibrant, and most importantly, appropriately represent the groups represented here?
I welcome any and all advice, truly!
Most of the humanizing stuff I see about Tourette is first person accounts. My tics are relatively mild (not particularly restrictive) but my comorbids cause a lot of anguish. Lot’s right here: https://jefftcann.com/tag/tourettes/ . Also, Alice Franklin (https://how-to-have-tourettes-syndrome.com/), particularly her early stuff, is very good.
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Thank you so much for your insight, Jeff! I will absolutely read your experiences and the additional once you mentioned. This is SO valuable and I very much appreciate it!
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