Eunhae Han’s Reviews > Letters to a Writer of Color > Status Update
Eunhae Han
is starting
Don't allow the presumed expectations surrounding your biography to dictate your fiction.
You can write:
outside your culture
against stereotypes
about ordinary life
about absurdity
about fantasy
about people unlike yourself
about subjects that have nothing to do with your ethnicity
Your identity is part of your imaginative resources, not a prison.
— Sep 16, 2026 11:24AM
You can write:
outside your culture
against stereotypes
about ordinary life
about absurdity
about fantasy
about people unlike yourself
about subjects that have nothing to do with your ethnicity
Your identity is part of your imaginative resources, not a prison.
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Eunhae’s Previous Updates
Eunhae Han
is starting
A character's inability to act can reveal:
political conditions
social restrictions
trauma
power structures
cultural expectations
Therefore, don't automatically "fix" an inactive protagonist.
— Sep 16, 2026 11:30AM
political conditions
social restrictions
trauma
power structures
cultural expectations
Therefore, don't automatically "fix" an inactive protagonist.
Eunhae Han
is starting
A protagonist can be interesting even when they aren't constantly making things happen.
Some characters:
observe
endure
resist internally
respond to circumstances
refuse action
survive
remain trapped
change their understanding rather than their circumstances
— Sep 16, 2026 11:30AM
Some characters:
observe
endure
resist internally
respond to circumstances
refuse action
survive
remain trapped
change their understanding rather than their circumstances
Eunhae Han
is starting
when writing about violence
whose suffering is being depicted
who is watching
what the reader is expected to feel
whether violence advances the story
whether victims retain humanity
whether historical violence is being simplified
Don't assume that greater graphic detail automatically creates greater emotional power.
— Sep 16, 2026 11:29AM
whose suffering is being depicted
who is watching
what the reader is expected to feel
whether violence advances the story
whether victims retain humanity
whether historical violence is being simplified
Don't assume that greater graphic detail automatically creates greater emotional power.
Eunhae Han
is starting
Language contains:
cultural history
rhythm
worldview
humor
social relationships
cultural assumptions
not everything needs to be translated, leave them uncomfortable
You can allow:
untranslated words
unusual syntax
culturally specific references
linguistic ambiguity
multilingual rhythms
— Sep 16, 2026 11:27AM
cultural history
rhythm
worldview
humor
social relationships
cultural assumptions
not everything needs to be translated, leave them uncomfortable
You can allow:
untranslated words
unusual syntax
culturally specific references
linguistic ambiguity
multilingual rhythms
Eunhae Han
is starting
characters as existing within families, communities, histories, cultures, and relationship
What does the character want?
What is stopping them?
How do they change?
Who is this person connected to?
What relationships define them?
What obligations do they carry?
What community do they belong to?
What histories live inside them?
— Sep 16, 2026 11:26AM
What does the character want?
What is stopping them?
How do they change?
Who is this person connected to?
What relationships define them?
What obligations do they carry?
What community do they belong to?
What histories live inside them?
Eunhae Han
is starting
BIPOC authors in a white denominate space to expand craft. often given feedback like
lacking conflict
being too culturally specific
not explaining unfamiliar customs
having too many characters
using a narrative structure unfamiliar to Western readers
being insufficiently dramatic
being "confusing"
— Sep 16, 2026 11:23AM
lacking conflict
being too culturally specific
not explaining unfamiliar customs
having too many characters
using a narrative structure unfamiliar to Western readers
being insufficiently dramatic
being "confusing"