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Happy Monday, writers!

We might no longer be doing the Doing Diversity in Writing podcast, but that doesn’t make the episodes we produced any less relevant. If you haven’t listened to the three seasons we put out yet, here’s your chance.

The full show notes and list of resources mentioned in the episode I’m sharing today can be found below.

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and I—talk about two very common pitfalls when representing diverse characters: essentialism and affirmative myopia.

More specifically, we talk about:

  • what essentialism is and what makes it problematic
  • the fact that a lot of stereotypes that persist today are based on pseudo-scientific practices we don’t consider science anymore
  • what affirmative myopia is and why we need to avoid it
  • how the movies Stonewall (2015) and Carol (2015) both fell into the affirmative myopia trap
  • why bringing down the dominant group upholds the structures we are trying to overthrow

Some quotes from this week’s episode:

From Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin: “Essentialism is the assumption that groups, categories or classes of objects have one or several
defining features exclusive to all members of that category. Some studies of race or gender, for
instance, assume the presence of essential characteristics distinguishing one race from another
or the feminine from the masculine.”

“If we believe people are determined by their biological make-up, we’re basically saying that the way the world functions and our positions and situations within that world can’t really be changed. If existing power relations are in place because there is some inherent logic in our DNA that defines our place and role within society, how do you challenge the status quo?”

“Those essentialised stereotypes, which are often based on science we no longer consider real science, are still running rampant. We still have so many assumptions about the ‘other’ – those with different identity markers – floating around in our collective unconsciousness.”

“This doesn’t mean we can’t have late black people, angry black women, violent Muslims, perfectly styled gay guys and butch lesbians in our work. But, whenever we write a character, we should make sure we didn’t give them these characteristics just because they are gay, lesbian, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, young, old, poor, rich, and so on. We need to give them solid reasons and explainable circumstances for why they are being this way or why they are acting that way, one that goes beyond mere biology.”

“If we, in our attempts to elevate those voices by representing them in better ways, fall into the affirmative myopia trap by, for example, negatively depicting those who’ve always been in power, we’re perpetuating the same structures that created that status quo in the first place. We lift one group by bringing another down.”

And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show:

You can find this week’s bonus material, The How to Avoid Essentialism and Affirmative Myopia Checklist, in our Diversity in Writing Toolkit, which you can download here.

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Happy Monday, writers!

We might no longer be doing the Doing Diversity in Writing podcast, but that doesn’t make the episodes we produced any less relevant. If you haven’t listened to the three seasons we put out yet, here’s your chance.

The full show notes and list of resources mentioned in the episode I’m sharing today can be found below.

In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we—Bethany and I—about how representation actually works.

More specifically, we talk about:

  • that representation is about who we make visible and who are rendered invisible because of those decisions
  • why minority voices are automatically amplified when they are represented
  • that representation is not just about who is present within works of fiction but also about HOW they are present
  • why shoehorning diverse characters into your work isn’t the answer
  • Netflix’s Bridgerton showing us how we can reinvent the world without erasing painful histories
  • why it’s so hard to go against existing stereotypes and tropes in our writing (which doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying!)

Some quotes from this week’s episode:

“When there’s very little or no representation, or all the representations are the same, that one character, that one characterisation, can be all a reader knows for a long time.”

“It’s not just the case that certain groups of people are culturally absent or not as present, there’s also the fact that those few representations of them out there tend to be stereotypical and potentially harmful.”

“If we want to make a real effort, is it enough to sneak in a single homosexual character or someone belonging to an ethnic minority? Are we doing our bit to change the world by adding one black woman to our very white cast? Or one Muslim family to our otherwise Christian or secular world?”

“Inclusion matters, but representation just for the sake of inclusion isn’t really the answer.”

“There’s more to diversity than race and gender. Don’t think you can’t write diverse characters just because it doesn’t make sense to include a cast of black or Asian or Hispanic characters in your world.”

“Each society comes with its own set of stereotypes for those who are considered ‘other’, and it’s really difficult to counter or break down these different ‘types’ and provide better alternatives.”

“Representation is not only about who we make present, it’s also about how we make them present. Doing representation right means we should think through both steps.”

And here are the (re)sources we mentioned on the show:

You can find this week’s bonus material, The Two Steps of Representation Checklist, in our Diversity in Writing Toolkit, which you can download here.

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Happy Monday!

We might no longer be doing the Doing Diversity in Writing podcast, but that doesn’t make the episodes we produced any less relevant. If you haven’t listened to the three seasons we put out yet, here’s your chance.

You can find the Doing Diversity in Writing podcast here or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. The full show notes and list of resources mentioned in this episode can be found here.


In this episode of Doing Diversity in Writing, we explained why it is so important to have a conversation about diversity and representation in fiction.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • the fact some characters are overrepresented while others are severely underrepresented in fiction
  • positive, and less positive, examples from our childhood and adult reading
  • Mariëlle’s #ownvoices project My Voice, My Story
  • some of the reasons our literary canon is the way it is, even though things are slowly changing
  • how representing diverse characters is not just about quantity, it’s also about the quality of those representations

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This blogpost was originally published as a guest post on Long and Short Reviews.

What would I tell a new author?

That there’s nothing more important than knowing what you want from your writing.

Writing is such a personal journey and we’re all on it for different reasons. Some of us dream of becoming full-time authors, while others simply use writing to let off steam and deal with their everyday life. Some write to entertain their friends, and yet others dream to be published in this or that magazine.

None of these goals are better than any of the others. We all have different dreams and that’s exactly as it should be. However, as new writers, we tend to be extra impressionable.

Having figured out for yourself what you want from your writing both helps you find the right path for you and stick with it. It provides clarity on what opportunities are right for you and which aren’t, who makes sense as a role model for you and who doesn’t, what you need to be focusing your energy towards and what you should leave be.

Perhaps the best way to figure out what you want from your writing is by asking yourself what kind of writing life you want to look back on once your time here on this earth is over. Again, there are no wrong answers, and your answer might be different a few years from now, but knowing what your answer is right now will help you steer clear of anything that doesn’t serve the writing life you’re envisioning and align yourself with all that does.

I’ve answered this question for myself in 2016, after reading Joanna Penn’s The Successful Author Mindset, a book I highly recommend to anyone who’s in it for the long haul. My answer was: to leave a legacy I’m proud of.

Over the years, this short, simple phrase has helped me say ‘No’ to multiple projects and collaborations that I was considering for the wrong reasons, be that to impress someone or not disappoint them, to make a quick buck, what have you.

It has also made it easier to prioritise certain projects over others, and it has pushed me towards things that scare me terribly, like starting the Doing Diversity in Writing podcast for fiction authors.

Isn’t it funny how something so simple can be so effective?

Whether you’re a seasoned or new author, are you clear on what you want from your writing? On what you want to look back on when your time comes? If not, I’d suggest you start digging for some answers.