Eunhae Han’s Reviews > Letters to a Writer of Color > Status Update

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

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.

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

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?

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.

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"