Just because you& #39;re writing fiction doesn& #39;t mean you can be reckless with the representation of your characters. As a Black child I longed to properly see myself in a book that didn& #39;t have the Black character suffering or insignificant to the book& #39;s world.

It is harmful to open a book and see yourself grossly misrepresented. It destroys the connection to the character, to the story, and leaves us with yet another microaggression we have to overcome.

There& #39;s so much to Black culture that must be experienced. The nuances that come from growing up with limited choices of proper media, and with having to qualify why we belong in white spaces, colors everything we say and do.

The fact that you may not understand how that feels is a big reason why you will have trouble accurately reflecting Black characters and culture in your story. But hey, do what you want. I am too busy living my life to police anyone.

BUT, if you choose to go there, get it horribly wrong, and suffer the consequences of putting out harmful, inauthentic work, then please don& #39;t play the victim. Because that trope is as tired and played out as your decision to sloppily paste Black folks in your book to begin with.

This thread was in response to the number of questions I& #39;ve seen asked within the #writingcommunity about the subject. Good day.

Side note: You may also want to be honest with yourself about why your motives. If you care about your readers, ask yourself if what you are doing has the potential to harm them. If you don& #39;t care and you just want to do you then there& #39;s nothing anyone can say to fix that. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤷🏾‍♀️" title="Achselzuckende Frau (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Achselzuckende Frau (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)">