#notes for writing

[carinelian]

02272024 | notes on writing

These days, it's getting harder to separate hobbies from means of living. On most days, I can tell whether I'm doing something as a means of living, something for survival, or something as simple as a human being.

On most days, I also delude myself that it's all a matter of compartmentalization. Like choosing which clothes to wear for the day. Except the world is burning, all my clothes are worn down and made for a time long past, and even if I went out butt-naked, there's no way I'm coming out of it unscathed. That's what writing feels like for me, as of late. Or living, in general.

Maybe someday I can flesh out a timely piece on late-stage capitalism, how creative work is reduced to content, the essence of separating fiction and reality, and all the ways they influence each other without being mistaken as one and the same. We're living through an ongoing health and climate crisis, multiple genocides, and rotting from the inside out thanks to decades of exploitation and systemic ills. Global fuckening to the highest, most damning scale. I wish this is fiction. The context behind that thought terrifies me.

I wish I can save the serious writing for when it really, really counts, but as it stands, tomorrow isn't promised. Never was.

That's what spurred me on, to write this little note. I think I'll be writing more. I have my WIPs, I have my vague little scenarios in my head that will probably haunt me until they get their well-deserved 100K novel, and these occasional trains of thought that derail and create their own train tracks in my mind. There's also the shitstorm that's going on in real life, real time. There's no neat shelf for me to separate the things I care about and things I don't, because it affects us all.

To write online, without capturing all the possible nuances of whatever the fuck it is you're writing about, is an invitation to be flayed alive. For this reason, I shied away from writing about things that matter to me -- much like this one -- because shutting up means no trouble. No room for mistake. After all, what's there to criticize?

But then I realized, well, it's a sad way for a writer to live (at least for me), knowing that writing has been long ingrained in my life. It's a hobby. It's a means of living (hopefully *side-eyes publishers*), and it's a means of survival, with the way it calms me down and is an outlet for my anxieties. It's a way of life, it's not all of me, but it's a HUGE part of me.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. Fiction and real-world issues overlap. They bleed into what I write, regardless of whether or not I permit it, and I look for fiction -- hope for fiction -- in the face of staggering, depressing, and bleak reality. Perhaps the intersection here is where fiction is supposed to inspire you to take meaningful action in real life. And real life finds its way to fiction, one way or another, in the little bits and pieces of us writers that we leave in our stories. I'm so chronically online that I could think of a thousand ways critics can gut this paragraph like a fish and come up with the worst meanings.

But then again, maybe the people who need some comfort will find it, too. Maybe people will add into it, I learn something new, and we ALL learn something new. If you're having complicated feelings about writing, questioning what the fuck is it to you, trying to deal with that maddening shelf -- well, here I am. Write whatever the fuck you want to write. Write loudly, unapologetically, meaningfully, purposefully. May your words add a little bit of hope. And if doesn't, may it free you, may it release you, may it provide some relief. Or if you're out there to disturb, then do it. Put your horrors and your fears into paper. Trap them with ink. Slap them with periods and put a name on whatever haunts you.

Write, for fuck's sake. And this is a reminder to myself, in the most literal sense.

[xoxoviva]

Thanks to everyone who has been reblogging my Notes for Writing Dark-Skinned Characters series. Remember that it is just as important to support black writers by commenting on and reblogging our work. We are marginalised across fandoms and our work is read less.

[xoxoviva]

Notes for writing dark-skinned characters:

While it is uncommon for darker-skinned black people to blush/grow pale/etc, black people can be visually affected by weather changes. In the cold, finger tips and nails can turn blue. For some black people (not just light-skinned black people), our noses, fingers and palms become reddened in the cold as well. Black people across the colour spectrum tan, and it is even possible to get sunburned, though it isn’t common.

When writing, keep in mind that black people show the effects of the weather differently. In the cold, our skin may become dull or ashy (some people use thicker lotion and hair products in cold weather to remain moisturised). If you want to show that a character is cold, descriptions such as shivering, teeth chattering and extremities feeling numb work just as well.

In the summer, sweat may add a sheen to our skin. Hair may shrink as a character sweats throughout the day, especially natural hair or non-chemically straightened hair. When out in the sun, black characters will get farmer’s tans. This results in varying shades of brown skin depending on how they dress normally. If the characters wear sunscreen (put it on everyone), it will usually leave a slightly greyish sheen, since it is not intended to suit darker skin tones. Again, adding descriptions such as sweating, chafing, clamminess convey the effects of heat well.

[xoxoviva]

Notes for writing dark-skinned characters:

Black people are not a monolith and come from a range of classes, locales, religions, and countries. If you portray black characters as only using AAVE, only being sassy, code them as only being urban poor/working class, or other stereotypes, you are being racist in your characterisation.

When building a character, especially an OC, class can be a good way to envision how they were brought up, and their possible values. There are wealthy/upper middle class black Americans who holiday in the summer, go to elite clubs and institutions, and have most trappings of wealth. There are middle-class black people who grew up going to summer camp and take lessons. Within these classes, families can be traditional, conservative, liberal or bohemian. Did they grow up in cities or the suburbs, did they travel or own multiple homes? What schools did they attend, did they go against their background or are they ensconced within it?

Blackness can wildly vary by region. There are black people who grew up in rural areas and small towns, rather than large cities. Some black people grow up in all black areas, while others grow up in primarily while areas or multicultural areas. Black culture in the north, south, midwest and west can wildly differ. Also, other cultures can play a part. If a black person grows up around Latine (or is Afrolatino) culture, or grows up in a Jewish area with Yiddish slang, they will have different ways of speaking and viewing the world. A black Louisianan and a black Bostonian will be different.

Class and location influence language. Some black people use AAVE, but others don’t (an upper class black person who went to Yale probably won’t use slang or AAVE.) Some have a ‘standardised’ American accent, while others will sound like the place they grew up. We all sound distinct and it’s important to get this right. Also, if writing a period piece, don’t have black characters use modern slang. Do the work of seeing how black characters spoke at the time, or the slang of the time.

Another important thing to remember is that not all black people are Christian, and not all Christianity is the same. There are black Muslims, Jewish people, atheists, witches/pagans/heathens of varying observation. Black people also practice indigenous religions, Vodou, Santería, Candomblé, hoodoo/rootwork, etc. Many of these practices are closed practices and tend to be sensationalised/villified, so if you don’t understand them, do not use them. At all.

There are also black people all over the Americas and the world. There are black Europeans who will all have culturally specific backgrounds that may also tie in with their family’s heritage/origins (a 1st gen Somali-Swedish person will not be the same as a 3rd gen Ghanaian-Scottish person will not be the same as a Senegalese-Belgian etc). There are black people across Asia, in the Middle East and Africa, who will all have different cultures, histories, languages, foods and lived experiences. While the black diaspora forges similarities in experience, especially when it comes to oppression, there are just as many differences.

Intersecting identities such as disability, gender, sexuality, etc will also play a role in how characters see the world. If characters are mixed-race, this will also provide additional cultural references to think about (do they speak additional languages, which family did they grow up with, what foods did they grow up with, etc).

Now, full world-building isn’t necessarily needed, but black characters shouldn’t be used as symbols or to virtual signal. These are reminders that there isn’t just one black experience, and it’s lazy writing to fall into a limited idea of what blackness means, especially when it results in a black character becoming a sidekick/best friend/token.

[xoxoviva]

Notes for writing dark-skinned characters: Black people have a variety of hair types, including corkscrew curls, wavy hair, tightly coiled hair or fluffy kinks. Sometimes black hair can have a combination of hair types. Black hair can be naturally blond, red, brown and black, though most black people have dark brown or black hair.

If writing about black haircare, it varies from person to person, though washing/co-washing weekly, fortnightly, or every three weeks is common (our hair is drier due to our curl pattern). Various products are used depending on hair type and preference, with some people creating their own products. Haircare would be a part of black character’s daily or weekly routine, which may include frequent trips to the salon (though some people cut and style their own hair).

There are a limitless variety of hairstyles that black characters can have, from shaved and short hair to very long hair. Women (as well as men and other genders) can have natural hair, relaxed hair, locs, braids, extensions and wigs. Look up hairstyles if you’re unsure what to choose. Also think about hair in relation to character. Hair can change based on age, class or culture.

Unless the black character’s hair is permed or straightened, fingers can’t be run through their hair. This would result in snagged hair strands, knots or breakage, all of which would be painful. Hands can gently stroke black hair, but this should only be done in fics where there is a serious relationship. If writing a black female or femme character, casual acquaintances or new dates should not be touching their hair at all.

Most importantly, well-maintained natural hair is soft. Describing it as rough or using negative descriptors is racist.

[xoxoviva]

If you want to see anything specific in my Notes for Writing list, let me know! Will probably do a post on tanning/being cold next.

[xoxoviva]

Notes for Writing Dark-Skinned Characters!

Tips for writing readers and OCs with dark skin. Primarily for black characters, but can also be used for other characters of colour with darker skin tones.

Visible bruising

Biracial children and blue eyes or red hair

Black hair

Black character backgrounds

The effects of hot and cold weather