So, I have a question about race. I have quite a few non-white characters in my book, and sometimes I'm not quite sure how to make this clear in the description or whether it's even important enough to. Sometimes the last name's make it reasonably obvious. One of the main characters is hispanic, and I assume that just giving her last name as Rojas as well as details like her having black hair makes this clear enough. But not every ethnicity has tell-tale names like that.
To use an example, some girls are starting an internship at a political campaign, and the campaign manager (named Scott Deveaux which gives a way no obvious ethnicity) is black. Right now, when he first shows, I mention that a black man hurried by but it just feels awkward to my eyes, since when white people show up I don't say "a white man hurried by." Should I just not even mention it until it would come up more naturally? Him being black isn't important to the story, it's just how I picture him, like a character having blonde hair or glasses or something. But he's an important enough character that he warrants description, he's not just a one-scene wonder or anything.
What's more, another character's ex-boyfriend who is a huge part of the series but not such a big part of this first book is half-black which feels even more awkward to say. But we see enough of Caleb in the series that it feels like something I should mention. His race is a little bit important because he's noticeably half-black while the rest of his siblings are just black, which sets the stage for a white character we meet possibly being his father.
How do you guys address this?
To use an example, some girls are starting an internship at a political campaign, and the campaign manager (named Scott Deveaux which gives a way no obvious ethnicity) is black. Right now, when he first shows, I mention that a black man hurried by but it just feels awkward to my eyes, since when white people show up I don't say "a white man hurried by." Should I just not even mention it until it would come up more naturally? Him being black isn't important to the story, it's just how I picture him, like a character having blonde hair or glasses or something. But he's an important enough character that he warrants description, he's not just a one-scene wonder or anything.
What's more, another character's ex-boyfriend who is a huge part of the series but not such a big part of this first book is half-black which feels even more awkward to say. But we see enough of Caleb in the series that it feels like something I should mention. His race is a little bit important because he's noticeably half-black while the rest of his siblings are just black, which sets the stage for a white character we meet possibly being his father.
How do you guys address this?
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