You’ve probably heard a few horror stories in the last few years of writers getting called out for various choices they made in their stories. Words like “sexist” and “racist” and “problematic” get thrown around like rice at a wedding. Authors get canceled. Doxed. They quit writing.
In nearly every instance I’ve seen, the responses are severely overblown. Writers are human and they f up. There are very few instances in which doxing, canceling, or public humiliation is necessary. Most writers don’t mean to, and if they did, well, they probably don’t give a shit what you think of them. And their families certainly don't deserve the impact of mob justice.
Recently, I received my first review in which someone disagreed with me ideologically.
It was three stars and it read:
“Well written, but DROP THE WOKE PRONOUN GARBAGE!🤮🤮🤮🤮 That is what kept it from getting a five star.”
(You can find this review on Google Play.)
My reaction? To laugh.
I’m going to keep up my woke pronoun garbage because I think it’s important. It normalizes treating people with respect.
Now, a review like this is of course far from being doxed or publicly humiliated. And while I’ve made the choice to keep writing and publishing despite this potential risk, it doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally become afraid that something terrible could happen, if someone took enough offense to my work that they roused a mob to punish me for the things I wrote.
It’s a real fear. And I don’t think it’s completely unreasonable.
It’s also a common fear. I’ve been to a lot of workshops on writing diverse characters, and this fear inevitably gets brought up.
“What if I do it wrong?”
Most facilitators carefully sidestep this question. But I have some thoughts.
Thought #1:
You might do it wrong.
But I think part of a writer is being brave. It means recognizing that we are making our art and our ideas out available for other people to read and consume. And sometimes we have to push forward, even when it scares us. So be brave.
Thought #2:
If you’re afraid of something you’re writing, then why are you writing it? This is a super important question. If you’re white and want to write Black characters, why? If you’re able-bodied and want to include disabled characters, why? If you’re cisgender and want to write transgender characters, why?
Then assess your reasons.
A few things to be wary of:
Saviorism. Feeling like you are responsible for “saving” or “rescuing” people who have less privilege than you is dangerous and problematic.
Obligation. If you are doing it because you feel like you have to, this is inauthentic and you risk writing characters and situations that do more harm than good.
Moral superiority. If you are doing it because it makes you feel like a better person… you’re probably not the better person you think you are.
A few good reasons:
Because you want to. Maybe you think a particular identity or ideology is interesting and you want to learn about it. Cool. Do your research. Explore the concept. Learn.
Because it’s accurate. People are diverse! Ideas are complex! Black & white isn’t real! If you want your world and your characters to reflect that, awesome. Do your research. Write inclusively.
Because you give a shit about making a difference. Great. Do your research. Make a difference—but make sure you’re making the difference you want to make!
Thought #3:
Build a process. If you think that your reasons for exploring difficult and diverse perspectives and concepts are authentic and good, then the next step is to build a process. Research. Learn. Explore. Revise. Be willing to take feedback. Be willing to change your mind about things.
Build a process to help you ensure you've taken the necessary steps to the best job you can. And, if it still ends up wrong, be willing to apologize honestly and with true remorse.
I remember (this is embarrassing to admit, btw; please forgive me for my past idiocy) a few years ago, I was working really hard to expand the representation of my characters. And I wanted to start including non-binary and trans characters in my work. I didn’t really know how, so I created a character who was referred to as he/him but had a female name. Unfortunately, this character was a sort of villain. When someone pointed this out to me, I changed it immediately. Their point was that I had unintentionally framed trans people as “bad” through this representation. Which was exactly the opposite of what I wanted.
So I fixed it. That character became cisgender and I found other ways to include positive representations of nonbinary and trans characters in my work.
Luckily, I hadn’t published yet, so fixing it was easy, and I didn’t perpetuate the harm I could have.
If you mess up, fix it! And listen when others tell you their thoughts. You don’t have to agree, but hearing them will help you expand your understanding of the world.
Which leads me to my last thought (well, technically, I have a million more thoughts, but I think this email is long enough lol).
Thought #4:
Don’t be a silo.
One of the biggest traps, in my opinion, is never bothering to seek opinions or learn about the experiences of others.
Read widely. Meet new people, IRL and virtually. Think about stuff. Take online classes. Learn. However learning works for you. And not just stuff you’re already interested in, but try to find ways to expand your knowledge of the world and others.
The more we understand about the way other people live and experience the world, the more we know about the wide range of thoughts and beliefs held by others, the better our characters, situations, concepts, and representations can be.
Don’t be afraid. You got this.
