Coloring your Characters
techniques for describing ethnicity

This isn't some fret over PC [Political Correctness], I hope that anyone familiar with my stories knows I don't give a damn about PC; I'll use any word, description, etc., if it works in a story.

However, I was born inside Caucasian skin, and when I write about characters, in my mind they are generally white ... even though, in most cases, a reader could just as well imagine them black, bronze, yellow, or whatever. Early on in my writing, I noticed on occasion specifically describing a character as black, even if the character's race wasn't all that pertinent to the story. I just happened to imagine the character as black and so I said he/she was. Then that struck me as heavy-handed and clumsy because I didn't describe the other characters as white.

So, even in stories in which a character's race was pertinent, I've tried to be a bit more subtle. I might describe a woman as having a warm coffee and cream complexion and expect the reader to be bright enough to understand I'm describing a light-skinned black woman. I would expect the reader to understand that if I described a woman's thighs as pale and freckled that the character attached to those thighs is white.

As for dialogue, I try to steer away from attempts at faux Ebonics. Although I've used truncated English with characters who I've imagined as Asian immigrants.

So, fellow scribes, what is your approach to coloring your characters? I'd be very interested in hearing how black and Asian writers on the list imagine and describe their character's race.   —Bob

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From Lisabet Sarai
I'm white and middle class. I have a really difficult time writing convincing characters from some other racial or social segment, except for Thai people, since I know and understand Thai culture reasonably well. So I usually do not even try.

(I had a reviewer once complain because all my characters were so white bread - Ivy League and so on. But what can I do??!)

The one exception is when a character's racial characteristics might be part of his or her attractiveness. But then I'm usually not trying to get into the non-white person's head - I'm describing my (likely white) character's reactions to the other character.

I do feel that a character that conveys a believable racial, ethnic or cultural sense of who he or she is will have greater depth and interest. Furthermore, there are many plots that could turn on racial/cultural/ethnic differences. So I'd love to be able to do this more skillfully.

There are stories where color/culture doesn't matter. But in fact, all people come from SOME cultural/social/ethnic/racial background. If you can convey that background (possibly very obliquely - you don't need to bash the reader over the head with it), I think your story will be the richer for it.

Ann Regentin
I think for me, and possibly for others, too, there is a strong internal prohibition against writing other subcultures, especially along racial lines, especially African-American and Hispanic. PC has done its work well in that respect and I'm not sure what that means. Is it good because it keeps white people from coopting those cultures, or is it bad because it limits what we can write about?

From Sharon
Bob, surely you have heard that very old saying "Black isn't a color; it's an experience." I've encountered many males whom I didn't realize were African-American until they smiled and said maybe four or five words. The tone and color of a male's voice say so much more than the texture of his hair or the shade of his ass. Any young woman who has found herself lost in the streets of New Orleans (before Katrina) will know what I mean.

From Pollygarter
Hi there, first posting for me as I've just stumbled on this great site.

I'm an English writer (as opposed to a writer in English!) and part of the academic community in England. There are full and lively discussions here as to whether writing in ethnic language, or writing in the voice of someone from another ethnic group is artistically defensible.

Consensus is that it's essential. In just about every work of fiction you can think of there is more than one character - no inter-action, no story, surely?

If your writer draws each character from what he or she knows and has personally experienced then the character is effectively the writer, expressed on paper. Every other character is also the writer - so you get clones, not characters and you've put an end to fiction.

Time and again Literature students are reminded not to confuse the writer with the writing - when writers create characters from other ethnic groups which are badly drawn, talk in unbelievable language etc then they've just done their job badly. The same rules apply to treating characters from another social group, and making them believable, as do to the rest of your writing - do your homework, draw well (all those kind of games like take your character for a walk, see your life through their eyes etc) , be honest and don't stereotype. Not all black men are hung like horses, not all Chinese women are submissive and not all educated women are bitches. Sexy is often the unexpected, the different.

From Laila Whiteshah
Being part Asian-Indian-Whelsh, in one of my worlds, and part Irish-muttled-African American in the other, I assure you that the often unfamiliar Asians in America individually very in appearance as well as cultural identity as sun does moon. When visiting southern India, I have even seen pure Indians with kinky, bushy hair, extremely full noses and mouths, with pitch skin, and looking far more African than some Africans do. While there are others in same region of the same ethnic group that are blond and fair as anyone.

I believe PC is out of place in the creative telling of tales. The necessity of all successfully told, believable fiction is given birth on the foundation that the author aim, first, at pleasing him/her self. (This is not one of my creative writings, so I used the PC terms instead such as Black and White, as not to offend.)

When looking for descriptions that are personally pleasant, it might be beneficial to go to any public place, such as a large, populous retail mall or park. Live your description there through your eye with a pen and paper, or laptop. In these arenas love's sport, these days, erotica-exotica, interracial interactions are common place. The public masses provide excellent opportunity to witness how contrasting flesh, features, and form mingle pleasantly. It is, no doubt, a normal sight to see African-American males with Caucasian-American females. There are Asian men with African-American women, and the reverse, as well as any multitude of other combination. If fear of over seasoning with too much masal or over floating the soul of your characters is an area blocking your creativity, go out onto the human landscape, observe, study, taken notes, and feast.

From Kymberlyn Toliver-Reed
A very interesting and timely topic.

I think it's unfair that so much PC-ness has invaded the writer's arena. I have no issues with white writers writing about characters of varying backgrounds, as long as they're not catering to their own stereotypes (that Mandingo/exotic Asian geisha/lustful sheik thing is so done). The only thing I do insist upon, and I think it more than reasonable, is for any author not to assume that what they see in the media is what actually is. For instance, I'm a black woman who happens to like heavy metal/power metal music. I'm not alone in this, but to have the mass culture tell it, all blacks listen to is rap and hip-hop.

The thing that any writer should do when tackling this sort of thing, is to get past one's own biases and see people as such—even your characters. And please, save the ebonics for the 'real' world. Slang, like most language in general, is fluid. To have a character use the term 'dope' when no one uses that any longer, makes you look silly and dated.

From PorscheLynn
I find that a subtle mention can be all that's needed, as many have already said. In erotica in particular, it tends to be easy for to find a reason to make a casual reference and be done. Holding hands, caressing the other's face, heaving bosoms, one character imagining trickling hot wax on the other's back, and so on.

I'm definitely a fan of the use of food-related words. It draws the mind to the idea of licking or sucking on said skin, which helps get the reader's mind where you want it.

Some "food" words that can be nicely evocative... almond, bisque, buttery, cappuccino, caramel, chocolate, cinnamon, cocoa, coffee, cream, creamy, ginger, licorice, milky, mocha, molasses, olive, peach, peachy. Most of these work for hair colour as well.

I think as long as it's in context it isn't jarring, or inappropriate. Again, erotica gives you plenty of openings for mentioning skin colour in context.

From Enigmatic Erotic
It really depends on the story and the character. Sometimes I don't mention colour at all, but maybe textures and feel of the skin leaving the ethnicity up to the imaginings of the reader. If it is important, I might mention hair texture and colour, and as you mentioned things like caramel, molasses, licorice or even espresso to indicate African American, or parchment, aged ivory, or old lace to indicate Asian. It really depends on the story what terms I use and how. I might not use something as sweet or elegant for my character if he or she is actually a rather rotten character, then again I might, for contrast.

From Savannah Stephens Smith
When I write, I try to make a description that is specific enough to paint a picture in the reader's eye (this is a weak point with me--I generally don't describe my characters in detail at all) but also leave it open enough that a reader can imagine the character being of any ethnic background.

Unless I specifically "see" a character being a specific ethnicity--i.e. Bridget O'Flannery with her flaming locks and quick Irish temper, and that scattering of freckles over her nose--I like to leave my descriptions open enough so that a reader can picture someone--anyone--they choose as playing that role. I don't think of writing just white characters.

From Prerafaelite
As a certified (yes probably certifiable) heinze 57 mongrel Ozzie I like to think I don't particularly place too much emphasis on where my characters are from, the reader can add that bit. Some of my stories (like those set in Borneo or Singapore) are more specific out of necessity because of the cultural differences but again I think the reader can figure it out for themselves.

I do like to describe skin and hair texture and contrast different skin tones though, rather than tell the reader that Billy Nyoongah is from Bullamakanka, which would tell you immediately his ethnic origin (made you think lol).

One of may favourite ways is to liken peoples looks to foods/ beverages, but then again, being the very tactile little vegemite that I am, anyone that knows me has seen me sniff and touch and taste anyone within reach...

From Paul Jaymes
I believe your current methodology works best for all writers Bob. Less is more. Readers in general are going to make the character look like the way they want them to, unless of course the writer describes them in such detail to eliminate that experience for the reader, as you say, in an over-handed manner.

Personally, I've done it both ways. And, each time someone has told me 'good job' while others have told me 'try again'. Still, I think it's more fun to the reader (being one of them myself) to give their imagination a bit of 'wiggle' room. With regards to Ebonics, I've done that too. I'm convinced that it can be effective, but should be limited to the appropriate readership.

But, let me fully answer your question with a question In my recent story that you published a few months ago titled, "True Love", I ask you now, are the characters white, black, brown, (green, blue, yellow)? In reality (defined as the writer's intention), the characters were both African-American. At no point within that story do I describe anything that can point to their race.

So, I submit to you again, that I believe any story has a more universal appeal when race and ethnicity is transparent, unless of course it is central to the story itself.

From Bob
Not that I'm super prescient, but I did come to imagine the characters as an African-American couple. Some subtle hints, like the region of the country, the tight family bonds that connived to get the lovers together, and the subtheme of going home again. Yeah, sure, a lot of other ethnic traditions might fit too, but that's what I picked up on. But your point reinforces my own. If you leave it alone, the reader is going to color the scene ... which is also Savannah's point [see entry above]. I think 90 percent of what's posted here have characters that can be interpreted to be any race. They do seem to have middle class values in common, though.

I think, however, that sometimes we all see one of our characters as a particular race, whether or not it makes any difference to the plot. Then I wonder if we do subtlety, perhaps unconsciously insert clues.

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