Any Form Of Response Is Great Feedback. Writing Takes Time, Dedication, Some Tears, Lots Of Frustration,

@janeopries sorry, not sorry.

planning horrible headcanons with your friends but accidentally crossing the line like

I wanted to write an indulgent story, where most of the characters were strong women. But as I was planning out a story, (a fantasy one where only women have magic) I realized that what a white woman wants to see in a strong woman might be different from anyone else, but I have no idea how to research that. Do you have any advice? (Sorry if this is worded awful! I hope you understand but it’s alright if you don’t.)

Writing Powerful Women of All Races

It’s great that you recognize that women’s representation is not one size fits all. What makes for good representation for white women is not the same for Women of Color.

Let’s consider how society handles women across the board:

White Women: 

Traditionally, white women are treated as delicate beings, meant to be protected and romanced by men. White women are the standard of femininity and beauty. Women of Color can be attractive, too, but in a “different” way. Most positive roles for white women depict them breaking from these definitions, either embracing sexual labels or evading them by throwing out the need to be dolled-up, gentle, or in a relationship.

Even these problems come with privilege as there is this need to “dirty” oneself up and prove physical and emotional strength. 

Anger in white women is seen as powerful. Anger in non-white women is either sexualized (see: the Spicy Latina) or seen as hostility and bitterness typical of their race (see: the Angry Black Woman). 

White women embracing sexuality and the “Slut” role is groundbreaking. That doesn’t always translate well for WoC who are inherently seen as overly sexual and impure, and have the highest rates of sexual assault to show for it.

Black Women: 

Black women are most often placed into the role of strong and independent, with an emotional and physical hardness that resists love and tenderness. They don’t need support, but they’ll be more than willing to use their backs to uplift others, no matter the gender, all and any races. Black women are rarely portrayed with classical softness or femininity. Note how Black women are so hard and impenetrable…except when it comes to helping everyone but themselves. Then they are your Mammy, warm and lovable and always there to support you, despite how much self-care they must neglect.

Asian Women: 

Comparably, Asian women, especially East Asian women but other Asian women are affected too, are placed in juxtaposition to Black women. Asian women are fragile and need shielding, but that comes with a sinister dose of fetishization. They are often viewed as submissive, and are given gross comparisons to dolls as if items to place on display and control. They’re desirable, but in an “exotifc” way, and of course are not seen to have the same worth as white women.

This is often depicted in works, both old and modern: The white man falls in love with the Asian woman. After he’s had his fun, he abandons her to settle down with a white woman. The Asian woman ends her life as it is worth nothing without him.

On the flip side: Asian women are fragile and worth protecting…except when they’re not. The Dragon Lady stereotype features Asian women (Mainly East Asian) who manipulate and dominate others. This stereotype is often depicted by them dominating white men for Yellow Peril ends. 

Native women: 

Native women are seen as simple and animalistic, their “simpler” culture relating to “primal” needs. The narrative starts with Pocahontas, a scantily clad Disney princess who shows a white settler the wonders of the “natural” world, and continues all throughout Halloween costumes, Noble Savage, and Animalistic Natives. This very exact fetishization makes them prime targets for toxic masculinity’s view that women actively desire the more “beastly”/forcible sex, basically assuming Native women will behave like animals in heat— because that’s what society believes Natives are: a type of animal. 

Women of Color: 

Although this is grouping a number of women into one, they share a common thread of being exotified and fetishized. From the Spicy Latina to the brown-skinned temptress. They’re fun and sexy, and on the same hand promiscuous and impure. WoC are often portrayed as mistresses and homewreckers.

Women of Color are treated as Other, and are rarely the default. Notice in media that there’s a reluctance to call Women of Color beautiful. Words like “Striking” “Stunning” and “Exotic” are often used in its place, with an overemphasis on certain features more common to the ethnicity. And when they are more certainly called attractive, you’ll often find qualifiers such as the Dark Beauty or “Pretty for a Black Girl.”

While there is a lot of desexualizing in association with Black women (e.g. mammy), there’s another side where a Black woman’s body (see: curves and full lips) are inherently sexual to the point where even teenagers are labeled as “ho’s” and “Thots” who seek to tempt men for simply wearing shorts.

It’s no wonder Women of Color are assaulted at the highest numbers. Native American women lead in those statistics, and are at risk for sexual assault at twice the rate of others. For more stats, follow the link: (X) 

A shared thread between all of these Women of Color is that, more often in not, people will not be content with these women being anything but their expected stereotypes. Also, there’s often a grumble by racist audiences when WoC are presented in relationships outside of their own race, particularly if they go anywhere near beloved white characters.

It’s time to break free of limited, dated molds and make society uncomfortable.

How do I represent these women, respectively?

I love your story concept, with all of these women having powers. Just keep in mind: what will work as positive representation for your white women may not work for Women of Color. We all have different histories that inform the struggles we have in society and what counts as proper representation.

Develop characters without applying what works for white women to all women. That is White Feminism. Intersectional feminism exists to consider Women of Color + other marginalizations and their needs as well. 

Create customized representation that uplifts each women.

Develop personalities that don’t play into stereotypes. Choose powers that reflect individuality for each woman, not what is assumed about Black women, Mexican women, etc. What we hear and see in media informs our creative thought process, so your first idea may not be the most fitting one. Brainstorm! As a starting point, do opposite of the stereotypes and go from there. At the same time, find a balance to avoid extremes. 

For example, the fragile Asian woman’s opposing extreme is Dragon Lady. The Strong Black Woman’s opposing extreme leads to infantilization aka making her utterly helpless.

And even then! Consider that sometimes people do have traits that may seem stereotypical. If that’s the case, it’s your job as the author to show that there’s more to them. They are human and not a label. 

You can be physically strong, and still bubble with kindness, emotional softness and femininity.

Pink nail polish does not weaken a punch, or define someone as too girly or weak. It means you like pink.

You can show emotional vulnerability, fall in love and be loved in return, and still remain powerful and whole without becoming the Strong Black Women.

You can be gentle and worthy of protection while having self-worth and confidence.

You can be sensual and desirable without becoming an exotic commodity, but instead someone who is more than sexual, is in control, and 100% deserving of respect.

You can also just not be sexual, but that shouldn’t mean void of love to give and receive in return.

More reading: Stereotyped vs Nuanced Characters and Audience Perception  

Research

There’s many places for you to start your research, and tons of it has been written right here on this page as well as all across the web in articles, blogs, vlogs, books etc. Seek topics on representation and intersectional feminism for the races you wish to portray. The best sources are written by the same people you’re reading about. Check out our Stereotypes & Tropes Navigation and the TVTropes List so you can recognize the displeasing ways WoC have been represented so you can avoid or amend it, and showcase people the way they want to be represented.

I also recommend you check out POC Profiles for the types of representation people who have submitted here are asking for. The WWC mods have also written on the topic in the Mod Wishlist post. 

–WWC 

How to write: ethnicity & skin colour

requested by: anonymous request: How exactly can I describe a characters ethnicity/skin color casually, without it sounding like a specific scene that just exists to describe the skin color? I hope this makes sense lmao… I just want to write a scene where I casually mention someone’s ethnicity or skin color

description of appearance: No matter if skin colour or hairstyle or clothes, a text is more dynamic if you don't dedicate an entire scene/paragraph to it but rather sprinkle the necessary information in here and there. However, there can be instances where it's conducive to the plot to put that entire paragraph (e.g. introducing a new important character with backstory). Otherwise, I'd say try to keep it short and put it where it serves the plot.

ways to incorporate...

... a description of appearance:

when a character makes their first entrance (describe everyone's colouring - POCs' and white characters')

the impression their complexion makes together with their clothes: "the bright yellow of their shirt complemented their dark skin"

the way their colouring interacts with lighting: "the grey weather took away the rosy hue of their fair skin"

when appearances create a contrast: "I immediately noticed them because they were the only other black person"

... ethnicity:

let the characters mention it where it makes sense

regarding the narrator you've chosen for your story, it can also be blended into an inner monologue

include parts of their culture: traditions, terms, family, etc. (this also allows to bring up their ethnicity repeatedly over the story and not only at the beginning)

show their struggles: are they affected by social struggles? then show it!

words to use to describe skin colour:

... basic colour descriptions:

brown

black

beige

white

pink

... more specific colours (try sticking to familiar/common words that can be easily visualised):

amber

bronze

copper

gold

ochre

terracotta

sepia

sienna

porcelain

tan

... prefixes or modifiers (can be easily combined with basic colours):

dark

rich

warm

deep

fair

faint

light

cool

pale

... undertones (pre-dominant colours underneath the skin - often warm or cool, sometimes also neutral and olive):

yellow

orange

coral

golden

silver

rose

pink

red

blue

... avoid food analogies as it's often received as offending, fetishising, and/or objectifying.

That's all I can provide as of now but I'm sure you guys have aspects to contribute. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to add to this post whatever you like to/can share <3

And for more information, maybe also check out @writingwithcolor for more specialised posts on the topic <3

Never let anyone tell you that you can’t write. You are NEVER: too young, too old, too mature, too naive, too uneducated, too intelligent, too unoriginal, or too boring.

ANYONE can be a writer and EVERYONE is just as qualified as published authors.

You don’t have to have an english/literature/creative writing degree to magically make you worthy enough to try. Many published authors just picked it up after their day jobs, did it for a hobby. If they can do it, you can as well.

No one can stop you unless you let them, yours is the only opinion that should matter. So write your fanfiction, your novella, short story, screen play, or novel. Don’t give a damn about what the naysayers believe. Be fucking proud of every word you put down on the page (yes, even horrible rough drafts) because you’re amazing.

You ARE a writer. Be proud of that.

So, what is the OGL and why are DnD creators thoroughly screwed?

Tumblr has not been doing a great job at talking about this, but:

With OneDnD, Wizards of the Coast has decided to update the Open Game License (OGL). Said license is what allowed people to create homebrew DnD content and sell it, and even larger companies to use certain sorts of content. Pathfinder, for example, is built on said OGL. This also allows streamers and artists to exist and benefit from said content.

With OneDnD (sometimes called “dnd 6e”), WOTC wants to create a much more restrictive OGL, which will, amongst other things:

Make WOTC take a cut for any DnD-related work (according to Kickstarter, a whole 25% of the benefits)

Let WOTC cancel any project related to DnD up to their discretion

Let WOTC take ANY content made based on their system, and re-sell it without crediting you, or giving you a single cent

And most importantly, revoke the old OGL, which will harm any company or game system that used it as a base, such as Pathfinder. And it means they GET ownership over any homebrew content you may have done for 5e in the past!

It’s important to note that OGLs are supposedly irrevocable. They were planning to use it for OneDnD initially, but they want to apply it retroactively to 5e, somehow. Which is illegal, but lawyers have mentioned there’s a chance they may get away with it given the wording.

This means that anything you make based on DnD (A homebrew item? A character drawing? Even music, according to them?), can get taken and used as they deem appropiate.

These news come from a leak of the OGL, which have been confirmed by multiple reputable sources (including Kickstarter, which has confirmed that WOTC already talked with them about this), and was planned to be released next week.

So, what can we do?

Speak against it. Share the word. Reblog this post. Let people know. Tumblr hasn’t been talking much about this matter, but it’s VERY important to let people know about what is WOTC bringing. 

Boycott them. Do not buy their products. Do not buy games with their IP. Do not watch their movie. CANCEL your DnD Beyond subscription. (Btw, they ARE planning to release more subscription services too!). They do not care about the community, but they care about the money. Make sure to speak through it. 

And maybe consider other TTRPG systems for the time being, Pathfinder’s Paizo has been much nicer to the community, their workers are unionized and are far more healthy overall

@janeopries, right back at you.

That random person you met online and now is a big part of your life

@sinedra

Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers

As described by Selnick’s article:

Author and doctor of clinical psychology Carolyn Kaufman has released a one-page body language cheat sheet of psychological “tells” (PDF link) fiction writers can use to dress their characters.

Writers don’t write from experience, although many are hesitant to admit that they don’t…If you wrote from experience, you’d get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.

Nikki Giovanni  (via wordsnquotes)

Writing Tips #10

Spend time world building. Even if you're writing fanfiction, you need to know the world in which your characters reside. I’ve beaten this to death, but that will require research of the source material or history books.

Is it a monarchy or is there a president? Who delivers justice? What are the rights of the people? How is education?

Keep notes and make sure nothing conflicts. It’s just as important to have a seamless world as a flawless plot. You can’t have a world full of contradictions (unless you’re writing Alice in Wonderland) and holes without hurting yourself in the long run.

Plot out your worlds like you would your characters.

Based off a dream I had. This is not me, but I dreamt of a girl in love with a pirate captain. She waited on the shore, waiting for his ship's signal but it never comes and she stood there in terror asking "What do I do now, Cass? What am I supposed to do now?"

@sinedra provided her name, Cece. The pirate captain's name is Caspian and he is here: