Hey guys! I have a super diverse world that I'm writing, with my main character being latina, and many others being various other PoC. I want to ensure that I'm writing everything in the most positive and uplifting way.
I am a cis white female writer, and as such I do not share a lot of experiences that many of my characters may - since I'm writing many LBTQ+ and PoC characters, I really want to ensure that my writing comes off as authentic and positive as possible. So, without further ado, here are my questions:
1. What are some words to use for describing skin colour?
- I ask this because I find food metaphors so irritating - like bruh my skin does not look like vanilla iced cream please stop - so why would anyone else want to be compared to food? I read so much about "mocha skin" that I really have a hard time thinking of other words to descrbe skin colour. Some words I have been using are: beige, chestnut, russet, tan, taupe, etc.
2. Is it a problem to portray a race in a culture different to their present day one? Ex. People outwardly presenting as various East Asian cultures, but the culture is poached from Roman History.
- I am writing a fantasy novel. As such, the cultures for every group of people are made up, but potentially taken from various other cultures. Another example is the culture I have that is similar to the French 1800s but it's people outwardly present as Latina/Latino.
3. Can I use an aspect from a culture I really like in my story?
ex. I think the tradition of the Day of the Dead in Mexican tradition is super beautiful, and would love to incorporate it into the world I have, using it as a sort of way to connect to my characters ancestors. Is taking aspects of cultures like that (regardless of whether they are PoC cultures or not) problematic?
Sorry if this has been asked before but I appreciate your help!!!
I am a cis white female writer, and as such I do not share a lot of experiences that many of my characters may - since I'm writing many LBTQ+ and PoC characters, I really want to ensure that my writing comes off as authentic and positive as possible. So, without further ado, here are my questions:
1. What are some words to use for describing skin colour?
- I ask this because I find food metaphors so irritating - like bruh my skin does not look like vanilla iced cream please stop - so why would anyone else want to be compared to food? I read so much about "mocha skin" that I really have a hard time thinking of other words to descrbe skin colour. Some words I have been using are: beige, chestnut, russet, tan, taupe, etc.
2. Is it a problem to portray a race in a culture different to their present day one? Ex. People outwardly presenting as various East Asian cultures, but the culture is poached from Roman History.
- I am writing a fantasy novel. As such, the cultures for every group of people are made up, but potentially taken from various other cultures. Another example is the culture I have that is similar to the French 1800s but it's people outwardly present as Latina/Latino.
3. Can I use an aspect from a culture I really like in my story?
ex. I think the tradition of the Day of the Dead in Mexican tradition is super beautiful, and would love to incorporate it into the world I have, using it as a sort of way to connect to my characters ancestors. Is taking aspects of cultures like that (regardless of whether they are PoC cultures or not) problematic?
Sorry if this has been asked before but I appreciate your help!!!