Writing From a View That isn’t Your Own
I see questions all the time from people asking how to write a character from a culture not their own, or from a time period not their own, etc. How do you write something that you don’t exactly know?
I think the first question you should ask yourself is: Am I the right person to write this story?
In writing, there’s a line between what you can write, (given your experiences, background, etc,) and what you cannot.
For example, if you are a caucasian christian wanting to write a story about the racial and discriminitory hardships of an east asian muslim, I highly advise that you not write that story. Those types of hardships are not something you can just read about and suddenly understand. Out of respect for the people who have to endure those horrible things everyday, we do not write characters or conflicts that we could never understand.
But, if you’re asian and wanting to write a story set in Europe, that’s perfectly fine. You will have to do some research about Europe, and learn a bit more about their social norms and language, but that is totally doable. The difference here is that you can learn about another country much easier than you can learn about someone else’s entire life. While in both examples, you may not have personally experienced the life you are writing about, one is much more simpler than the other. Because it’s easier to learn about and understand, there is less room for false information that could be hurtful to others.
You’re much better off if you do not write anything that has to do with a life you have not lived, or a culture that you do not know. A poor example of this is Sia’s “Music”.
Sia decided to create a story regarding a life that she has not lived, which is bad enough. It would have been better if she included people with autism during production, but she did not. She failed to do the research required for such a personal topic, and that’s why the movie is so hurtful.
So, if you truly feel that you need to write something very personal that you have not experienced, (which I highly discourage,) please seek information from a wide range of people who have/are experiencing what you want to write.
On the flip side, if you want to write from the experience of someone from a different time-period or lifestyle, that’s perfectly fine as long as you do some research. For example, in a story I wrote, my main character was into the gothic lifestyle. I personally don’t exhibit those traits, but talked to people who did, and did some research. That’s a very small example that I think would be fine even if you didn’t do any research, so long as you went about writing without the intent of hurting that group. I’ve also written time-specific pieces, which require some research as well. (Mainly to be accurate) Your main character might live a cottage lifestyle, and you personally don’t. Or maybe they like wearing feminine clothes, and you don’t. These are small examples, but they are examples of lives that you could learn and write about. They don’t personally target a specific group.
So, in summary, avoid writing very personal stories that you have not experienced. Even if you don’t mean to, it’s easy to get things wrong or hurt that group. If you still want to, which again I strongly discourage, please talk and work with people who have/are experiencing those things. Please understand that this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write diverse stories, it just means that you need to be sure you have the ability to write them properly and respectfully. Thanks for reading, and happy writing!
