Fantasy Shmantasy

22 | Feb 3 | She/Her Please feel free to talk to me, I like chatting with people.

[thewritershandbook]

Common Occupations in the Middle Ages

Almoners: ensured the poor received alms.

Atilliator: skilled castle worker who made crossbows.

Baliff: in charge of allotting jobs to the peasants, building repair, and repair of tools used by the peasants.

Barber: someone who cut hair. Also served as dentists, surgeons and blood-letters.

Blacksmith: forged and sharpened tools and weapons, beat out dents in armor, made hinges for doors, and window grills. Also referred to as Smiths.

Bottler: in charge of the buttery or bottlery.

Butler: cared for the cellar and was in charge of large butts and little butts (bottles) of wine and beer. Under him a staff of people might consist of brewers, tapsters, cellarers, dispensers, cupbearers and dapifer.

Carder: someone who brushed cloth during its manufacture.

Carpenter: built flooring, roofing, siege engines, furniture, panelling for rooms, and scaffoling for building.

Carters: workmen who brought wood and stone to the site of a castle under construction.

Castellan: resident owner or person in charge of a castle (custodian).

Chamberlain: responsible for the great chamber and for the personal finances of the castellan.

Chaplain: provided spirtual welfare for laborers and the castle garrison. The duties might also include supervising building operations, clerk, and keeping accounts. He also tended to the chapel.

Clerk: a person who checked material costs, wages, and kept accounts.

Constable: a person who took care (the governor or warden) of a castle in the absence of the owner. This was sometimes bestowed upon a great baron as an honor and some royal castles had hereditary constables.

Cook: roasted, broiled, and baked food in the fireplaces and ovens.

Cottars: the lowest of the peasantry. Worked as swine-herds, prison guards, and did odd jobs.

Ditcher: worker who dug moats, vaults, foundations and mines.

Dyer: someone who dyed cloth in huge heated vats during its manufacture.

Ewerer: worker who brought and heated water for the nobles.

Falconer: highly skilled expert responsible for the care and training of hawks for the sport of falconry.

Fuller: worker who shrinks & thickens cloth fibers through wetting & beating the material.

Glaziers: a person who cut and shaped glass.

Gong Farmer: a latrine pit emptier.

Hayward:  someone who tended the hedges.

Herald: knights assistant and an expert advisor on heraldry.

Keeper of the Wardrobe: in charge of the tailors and laundress.

Knight: a professional soldier. This was achieved only after long and arduous training which began in infancy.

Laird: minor baron or small landlord.

Marshal: officer in charge of a household’s horses, carts, wagons, and containers. His staff included farriers, grooms, carters, smiths and clerks. He also oversaw the transporting of goods.

Master Mason: responsible for the designing and overseeing the building of a structure.

Messengers: servants of the lord who carried receipts, letters, and commodities.

Miner: skilled professional who dug tunnels for the purpose of undermining a castle.

Minstrels: part of of the castle staff who provided entertainment in the form of singing and playing musical instruments.

Porter: took care of the doors (janitor), particularly the main entrance. Responsible for the guardrooms. The person also insured that no one entered or left the castle withour permission. Also known as the door-ward.

Reeve: supervised the work on lord’s property. He checked that everyone began and stopped work on time, and insured nothing was stolen. Senior officer of a borough.

Sapper: an unskilled person who dug a mine or approach tunnel.

Scullions: responsible for washing and cleaning in the kitchen.

Shearmen: a person who trimmed the cloth during its manufacture.

Shoemaker: a craftsman who made shoes. Known also as Cordwainers.

Spinster: a name given to a woman who earned her living spinning yarn. Later this was expanded and any unmarried woman was called a spinster.

Steward: took care of the estate and domestic administration. Supervised the household and events in the great hall. Also referred to as a Seneschal.

Squire: attained at the age of 14 while training as a knight. He would be assigned to a knight to carry and care for the weapons and horse.

Watchmen: an official at the castle responsible for security. Assited by lookouts (the garrison).

Weaver: someone who cleaned and compacted cloth, in association with the Walker and Fuller.

Woodworkers: tradesmen called Board-hewers who worked in the forest, producing joists and beams.

Other medieval jobs included:

tanners, soap makers, cask makers, cloth makers, candle makers (chandlers), gold and silver smiths, laundresses, bakers, grooms, pages, huntsmen, doctors, painters, plasterers, and painters, potters, brick and tile makers, glass makers, shipwrights, sailors, butchers, fishmongers, farmers, herdsmen, millers, the clergy, parish priests, members of the monastic orders, innkeepers, roadmenders, woodwards (for the forests). slingers. Other Domestic jobs inside the castle or manor:

Personal atendants- ladies-in-waiting, chamber maids, doctor.

The myriad of people involved in the preparation and serving of meals- brewers, poulterer, fruiterers, slaughterers, dispensers, cooks and the cupbearers.

By Lise Hull READ MORE

[pens-swords-stuff]

Reblog if you’re an active writeblr!

Looking to liven up my dashboard a bit :)

Please reblog if you’re an active writeblr! 

Doesn’t matter what you do with your writeblr and what you write, as long as you actively post/reblog writing content. I’d love to get to know you and your projects!

I follow from @undinisms

If anyone would like to return the favor and be mutuals, hi I’m Undine! I’m always looking for new friends so feel free to come introduce yourself.

[pens-swords-stuff]

Okay I went through and followed everyone who reblogged this! And if I haven’t, it’s because I was already a follower. Please check out my blog as well if you feel so inclined, and I’m still looking for new friends to follow and support! So keep on reblogging :)

[the-writister]

I'm on Tumblr a lot but I'm really bad at sharing about my WIPs 😅

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Designing a character arc

There are different forms a character arc can take. And different ways to create one. But if you’re struggling, I have a few tips on designing an arc for your character.

1. Where does your character start?

Where are they in life? What are their ambitions and dreams?

What are their main traits?

Most importantly: what is their biggest character flaw/shortcoming. For a character arc, this should be something that can be changed or that shows potential.

What is the one thing keeping your character from being the best they can be? What is the unrealized potential of your character?

We’ll call this point A

For example, let’s say your MC is very childish and self-centered

2. They should end at the opposite of point A

No, this doesn’t mean an angry character should suddenly be a meek little lamb.

It means that your character has managed to work on that flaw, has overcome their biggest weakness. Has fulfilled their potential.

Take point A and make it shinier, healthier, better, nicer etc.

Let’s call this point Z

Going with our example, this would mean that the character has learnt to be mature when they need to be and has come to be considerate of others’ needs.

This is where your character should be by the end of the story. This is the goal of the arc.

3. Which events/plot points will help your character get from point A to point Z?

Your character can’t just spontaneously transform from A to Z. The development needs to be believable and organic.

So, what can happen to the character to bring about this change progressively? Who can they meet? Do they fall in love? Lose someone important? Find a family? Go through war? The possibilities are endless.

The first event is usually your inciting incident (Point B) , which takes the character away from their regular life and comfort zone. Something around them has to change before they can start to change.

The change shouldn’t occur in a single event, however. It should be gradual.

In our example, the character could be exposed to the suffering of others, meet a compassionate love interest, be forced to take responsibility etc.

4. Breaking point

Most good books have a character breaking point. The point where your character has lost everything and is down in the dumps.

The breaking point presents the final choice: give up or go on

This should be your character’s final point before they are transformed into Z. (point Y if you will)

Overcoming rock bottom is what will eventually make your character the best they can be.

5. Big picture

So, eventually your character arc should look like this: A > B (inciting incident) > event C > event D etc > Y (breaking point) > Z

This is a very simple way to design an arc. Obviously, you can create one that’s much more complex. But I hope that these basics can be helpful.

Reblog if you found this post useful. Comment with your own character arc tips and any requests for future writing advice posts. Follow me for similar content.

[gwydionmisha]

As someone who originally trained as a social historian of the Medieval Period, I have some things to add in support of the main point.  Most people dramatically underestimate the economic importance of Medieval women and their level of agency.  Part of the problem here is when modern people think of medieval people they are imagining the upper end of the nobility and not the rest of society. 

Your average low end farming family could not survive without women’s labour.  Yes, there was gender separation of labour.  Yes, the men did the bulk of the grain farming, outside of peak times like planting and harvest, but unless you were very well off, you generally didn’t live on that.  The women had primary responsibility for the chickens, ducks, or geese the family owned, and thus the eggs, feathers, and meat.  (Egg money is nothing to sneeze at and was often the main source of protein unless you were very well off).  They grew vegetables, and if she was lucky she might sell the excess.  Her hands were always busy, and not just with the tasks you expect like cooking, mending, child care, etc.. As she walked, as she rested, as she went about her day, if her hands would have otherwise been free, she was spinning thread with a hand distaff.  (You can see them tucked in the belts of peasant women in art of the era).  Unless her husband was a weaver, most of that thread was for sale to the folks making clothe as men didn’t spin.  Depending where she lived and the ages of her children, she might have primary responsibility for the families sheep and thus takes part in sheering and carding.  (Sheep were important and there are plenty of court cases of women stealing loose wool or even shearing other people’s sheep.)  She might gather firewood, nuts, fruit, or rushes, again depending on geography.  She might own and harvest fruit trees and thus make things out of that fruit.   She might keep bees and sell honey.  She might make and sell cheese if they had cows, sheep, or goats.  Just as her husband might have part time work as a carpenter or other skilled craft when the fields didn’t need him, she might do piece work for a craftsman or be a brewer of ale, cider, or perry (depending on geography).  Ale doesn’t keep so women in a village took it in turn to brew batches, the water not being potable on it’s own, so everyone needed some form of alcohol they could water down to drink.  The women’s labour and the money she bought in kept the family alive between the pay outs for the men as well as being utterly essential on a day to day survival level.

Something similar goes on in towns and cities.  The husband might be a craftsman or merchant, but trust me, so is his wife and she has the right to carry on the trade after his death.

Also, unless there was a lot of money, goods, lands, and/or titles involved, people generally got a say in who they married.  No really.  Keep in mind that the average age of first marriage for a yeoman was late teens or early twenties (depending when and where), but the average age of first marriage for the working poor was more like 27-29.  The average age of death for men in both those categories was 35.  with women, if you survived your first few child births you might live to see grandchildren.

Do the math there.  Odds are if your father was a small farmer, he’s been dead for some time before you gather enough goods to be marrying a man.  For sure your mother (and grandmother and/or step father if you have them) likely has opinions, but you can have a valid marriage by having sex after saying yes to a proposal or exchanging vows in the present (I thee wed), unless you live in Italy, where you likely need a notary.  You do not need clergy as church weddings don’t exist until the Reformation.  For sure, it’s better if you publish banns three Sundays running in case someone remembers you are too closely related, but it’s not a legal requirement.  Who exactly can stop you if you are both determined?

So the less money, goods, lands, and power your family has, the more likely you are to be choosing your partner.  There is an exception in that unfree folk can be required to remarry, but they are give time and plenty of warning before a partner would be picked for them.  It happened a lot less than you’d think.  If you were born free and had enough money to hire help as needed whether for farm or shop or other business, there was no requirement of remarriage at all.  You could pick a partner or choose to stay single.  Do the math again on death rates.  It’s pretty common to marry more than once.  Maybe the first wife died in childbirth.  The widower needs the work and income a wife brings in and that’s double if the baby survives.  Maybe the second wife has wide hips, but he dies from a work related injury when she’s still young.  She could sure use a man’s labour around the farm or shop.  Let’s say he dies in a fight or drowns in a ditch.  She’s been doing well.  Her children are old enough to help with the farm or shop, she picks a pretty youth for his looks instead of his economic value.  You get marriages for love and lust as well as economics just like you get now and May/December cuts both ways.

A lot of our ideas about how people lived in the past tends to get viewed through a Victorian or early Hollywood lens, but that tends to be particularly extreme as far was writing out women’s agency and contribution as well as white washing populations in our histories, films, and therefore our minds eyes.

Real life is more complicated than that.

BTW, there are plenty of women at the top end of the scale who showed plenty of agency and who wielded political and economic power.  I’ve seen people argue that the were exceptions, but I think they were part of a whole society that had a tradition of strong women living on just as they always had sermons and homilies admonishing them to be otherwise to the contrary.  There’s also a whole other thing going on with the Pope trying to centralized power from the thirteenth century on being vigorously resisted by powerful abbesses and other holy women.  Yes, they eventually mostly lost, but it took so many centuries because there were such strong traditions of those women having political power.

[groake]

Boss post! To add to that, many historians have theorised that modern gender roles evolved alongside industrialisation, when there was suddenly a conceptual division between work/public spaces, and home/private spaces. The factory became the place of work, where previously work happened at home. Gender became entangled in this division, with women becoming associated with the home, and men with public spaces. It might be assumable, therefore, that women had (have?) greater freedoms in agrarian societies; or, at least, had (have?) different demands placed on them with regard to their gender.

(Please note that the above historical reading is profoundly Eurocentric, and not universally applicable. At the same time, when I say that the factory became the place of work, I mean it in conceptual sense, not a literal sense. Not everyone worked in the factory, but there is a lot of literature about how the institution of the factory, as a symbol of industrialisation, reshaped the way people thought about labour.)

[gwydionmisha]

I am broadly of that opinion.  You can see upper class women being encouraged to be less useful as the piecework system grows and spreads.  You can see that spread to the middle class around when the early factory system gears up.  By mid-19th century that domestic sphere vs, public sphere is full swing for everyone who can afford it and those who can’t are explicitly looked down on and treated as lesser.  You can see the class system slowly calcify from the 17th century on.

Grain of salt that I get less accurate between 1605-French Revolution or thereabouts.  I’ve periodically studied early modern stuff, but it’s more piecemeal.

I too was confining my remarks to Medieval Europe because 1. That was my specialty.  2. A lot of English language fantasy literature is based on Medieval Europe, often badly and more based on misapprehension than what real lives were like.

I am very grateful that progress is occurring and more traditions are influencing people’s writing.  I hate that so much of the fantasy writing of my childhood was so narrow.

[servantofclio]

This is great!

Adding that quite a bit of recent research suggests that a significant portion of European women in the Middle Ages never married at all, and they didn’t all become nuns. Plenty of “singlewomen” lived on their own, or in households with a few other women, or as domestic servants in larger households. If they lived on their own, they too might raise some chickens, spin, brew, take in laundry, or do other manual tasks for wages. In some places they could practice specific skilled crafts (often textile-related) and join guilds. Were a good number of these women lesbians, or ace? Quite probably.

There is a lot more to the past than what we think we know from seeing the same canned images in media over and over again.

[madamebadger]

This is why I tend to jump up and down like I am slightly unhinged and tell people to READ PRIMARY SOURCES.  (In translation if you’re not an academic; I’m not nuts.)  But even the primary sources from a fairly basic medieval history class will give you a much wider view of history as it was lived than the flat recycled stuff we see filtered through the mesh of (a very specific kind of) nostalgia.

If you want to really stretch your idea of who a medieval/renaissance woman was or what she could do, read Marie de France or Margery Kempe or Christine de Pizan–or any number of Norse sagas (ask me about Hallgerthr and Bergthóra!).  But even if you stick to the “mainstream” classics, your Canterbury Tales or your Gawain and the Green Knight or your Two Lives of Charlemagne, if you pay attention, you will notice a lot of women doing a lot of fascinating things that do not boil down to ‘being pretty’ and ‘being assaulted,’ which is what a lot of historical fiction and historical fantasy would like to boil us down to.

Also, let me be honest here, primary sources are just fun.  They can be slow going at first, but the thing that really sold me on history when I was in college was not sweeping descriptions of battles. It was this one bit in a history by Notker the Stammerer (and how can you beat that as an author’s name?) where Charlemagne was bitching and moaning about Kids These Days and their inadequate cloaks, which aren’t even long enough to keep you warm when you have to get down off your horse and pee.

History is a million times richer than most of us give it credit for, including in the lives of women, I guess is my point. Also: READ PRIMARY SOURCES. They will upturn a lot of your assumptions about the lives of women, and of people in general–and they’re just a delight.

[anghraine]

And Jean Froissart’s Chronicles! His gymnastics around Isabelle the She-Wolf are hilarious, but there is a ton of gold there. (There are assaults, but firmly depicted as terrible sinful crimes to be rightly punished.)

Also, I’ve read some interesting research on nuns, who virtually never accepted any dictates about detaching themselves from their birth families, and would negotiate through correspondence with their siblings, parents, cousins etc, with whom they often had incredibly intense bonds. And nuns brought up in convents seem to have been much more willing to be “fuck all y’all” than noblewomen who became nuns—contrary to a lot of (lbr, Protestant propaganda-fueled) ideas about the medieval Church. Like, the wrangling between bishops and abbesses over pilgrimages alone is amazing.

[pheita]

Since we are talking about nuns now: Hildegard of Bingen. I guess the name rings a bell because many of her herbal remedies are still used today but that woman was more than just good with herbs.  She learned so much from books and became abbess at age 38 ( she died 81 years old) She had good ideas about how the female body really works mostly because she went “I call bullshit on the thoughts of the male doctors. I am a woman and I know my damn body.” She was an architect! Parts of the monastery she lived were build after her blueprints. She preached and damn she had no chill. This woman called out everyone publicly who misbehaved no matter if they were a duke or a common man.  She wrote many hymns and scientific papers. (with help because she wasn’t good with grammar) All this in the 12. Century.  This is what many women did who became nuns. Not all of them were kept stupid. If you had a skill or an interest they would teach you. Hildegard of Binge is the most known abbess/nun who did this but there are many more who did similar things. 

[halfarsedhermit]

I’ve been doing art reference photography for ages and some of you will know me through the Archery in Art tutorial that’s gained some considerable traction on here. Well, if you’re in need of some art reference photos, I have now put all of my images into handy little ref packs on https://gumroad.com/syccas

There’s weapon stuff, combat stuff, cool heroic poses for your DnD character plus more landscape and model references to come in the future with potential request options! Gimme a follow on gumroad or DM me if you need specific model photo references - happy to talk about it :)

[damselwrites]

Color Synonyms

White

also: pale; blanched; sallow; pallid; waxen; spectral; translucent; albino; 

Grey

also: dust; stone; pepper;  

Black

also:  coal; slate; dusky; ebon; shadow; murky; 

Tan

also: flesh; khaki; cream; tawny; 

Brown

also:  henna; russet; sepia; chestnut; cocoa; drab; bronze; 

Red

also: terracotta ; rouge; carmine;  fire-engine; ruddy

Orange

also:  pumpkin ; rust ; 

Yellow

also: sunny; amber; saffron; hay; straw; platinum; 

Green

also: viridescent; grass; jade; forest; 

Blue

also: turquoise; cyan; ultramarine; royal; aqua; aquamarine;

Purple

also: berry;  amaranthine;

Pink

also: flushed; candy; cherry blossom; petal pink ; 

—– source: http://ingridsundberg.com/

—–additional synonyms added by me

[ibunnyreuni]

I will forever cherish this post. I’ve seen it a multiple of times; how foolish of me to not reblog this masterpiece the first time I see it UGH

[maxkirin]

So, let me guess– you just started a new book, right? And you’re stumped. You have no idea how much an AK47 goes for nowadays. I get ya, cousin. Tough world we live in. A writer’s gotta know, but them NSA hounds are after ya 24/7. I know, cousin, I know. If there was only a way to find out all of this rather edgy information without getting yourself in trouble…

You’re in luck, cousin. I have just the thing for ya.

It’s called Havocscope. It’s got information and prices for all sorts of edgy information. Ever wondered how much cocaine costs by the gram, or how much a kidney sells for, or (worst of all) how much it costs to hire an assassin?

I got your back, cousin. Just head over to Havocscope.

((PS: In case you’re wondering, Havocscope is a database full of information regarding the criminal underworld. The information you will find there has been taken from newspapers and police reports. It’s perfectly legal, no need to worry about the NSA hounds, cousin ;p))

Want more writerly content? Follow maxkirin.tumblr.com!

[writing-prompt-s]

Assassins

“Below are selected prices that are paid to professional assassins by criminal organizations and drug cartels for a contract hit.

In Australia, the median price to hire a hit man is $13,610 (9,800 Euros), with the price going up to $83,000 (60,000 Euros) based on the task.

In Mexico, the cost for a low level assassin is $208 (150 Euros), and up to $20,832 (15,000 Euros) for a higher profile target like a police chief.

The prices paid in Argentina are between $3,749 (2,700 Euros) to $5,555 (4,000 Euros) per hit.

Government statistics in Spain state that 40 assassinations take place each year, with prices for the hit ranging between $27 (20 Euros) to $69,000 (50,000 Euros).”

So cheap! I always thought things like this would cost more than $1 million…

[writer-wannabe-needs-inspiration]

This is super useful to know!

[writing-prompt-s]

and not just for writing!!

[ladybugseatppl]

@katherine-rose

[katherine-rose]

HOLY FUCK

HOW MANY HOURS HAVE I WASTED TRYING TO FIND HEROIN PRICES ON THE INTERNET WHAT A GREAT DATABASE

[midnight-spectrum-again]

I needed this

[rheevalka]

Actually useful. Sometimes incognito isn’t enough.

[casspen-starlight]

Today’s my lucky day

[princessmisery666]

Useful 👍🏻

[destielhoneybee]

Something I didn’t know I needed

[transmascakechigoro]

Oh thank god I thought I’d have to actually search up where to slit a throat to kill someone

[referenceforwriters]

Masterlist: Original Gods and Goddesses

mrmidnightesq asked: Instead of using historic myths, how would you go about creating your own original pantheon of gods and legends?

How to create your own god

 Creating a religion

How to write your own creation myth

Writing a Myth

Myths: Writing Workshop

The 5 Rules of Building Believable Mythology

Tips for creating mythical creatures in fantasy writing

How the great myths and legends were created

A good start would be drawing some inspiration from already existing gods and legends, if you ask me. You can check the mythology blogs at the resource list, too (they’re at the bottom). 

Related post: writing magical characters.

-Alex

[shinetroll]

So, you know how in English names like Bob, Sally, Joe, etc. are often used for joke characters because they're the extremely common, "boring" names? What are some names like that in other languages? I'm especially interested in the "boring" Asian names, but would also love to hear some from any and all parts of the world. (The countries/continents listed in the tags are just to get the attention of people who know about those cultures and are not a comprehensive list. I was just kind of listing every country/language I could think of off the top of my head. Please forgive me if this is annoying.)

[whatevercomestomymind]

Oooh I KNOW there's people who will see this that KMOW. Please tell!

[pens-swords-stuff]

In Japan, Tarō (太郎) and Hanako (花子) are the two ‘stock’ names that are often used for as names in various examples — like examples of how to fill out a form, or names used in a math problem. Tarō is a masculine name, and Hanako is a feminine name.

Additionally, they are usually paired with the surname Yamada (山田).

[the-writister]

In Bulgarian: Гошо (Gosho), Пешо (Pesho), Тошо (Tosho) are used as examples when telling a joke. Although I've only ever met one person named Gosho which is short for George (Георги) and one dog name Pesho.

And Цецка (Tsetska) is a feminine name I often hear used for jokes.

[the-writister]

On Hiatus from Tumblr until further notice

Life has taken a real toll on my mental health and I need to take a step back and take care of myself for a little while. If any asks get sent I will answer them when I get back.

Take care.

[lyrium-deactivated20230102]

i’m desperately searching for more writer mutuals! please like/reblog this post if you write about original fantasy worlds, lesbian yearning, or poetry in general. writers of all ages and skill levels are welcome. i’ll follow anyone who’s active here, as long as you aren’t a terf or of similar ilk. thanks!

[nimblesnotebook-blog]

I feel pressured to make most of my characters a POC because of the tumblr community :/

The call and the pressure for representation did not begin with tumblr communities, but I can help you relieve this pressure:

Step One: When people call for diversity and representation for an underrepresented group of people, pay attention. Don’t get defensive. Don’t use a :/ in response as if characters of color are inferior or as if someone wanting representation is a bad thing.

Step Two: Research POC in fiction, research problematic portrayals, research what not to do, research why representation is important, research harmful tropes. and read blogs written by POC that are about POC in the media and in fiction.

Step Three: Write characters of color. Keep your research in mind when writing.

Step Four: If you make mistakes, learn from them. It’s okay to mess up as long as you correct your mistakes and respond to criticisms of your mistakes in a professional, calm, and respectful way. Keep writing.

Step Five: Don’t expect praise.

Step Six: For lgbt+ characters, well-written female characters, and for writing cultures or religions other than your own, repeat steps 1-5.

Step Seven: By following these steps, you are bettering yourself as a writer, as a reader, and as a person. Writing should not be a chore.

When you stop seeing the act of writing POC as a chore or as a burden and when you realize the importance of representation, the pressure will be lifted.

[moonlit-maiden]

I have to disagree with the reply for a couple of reasons.

1. The original concern - about feeling pressured to make her cast almost exclusively POC - was totally brushed off. Not cool.

2. The answer itself does not provide any help or guidance to write POC characters. It doesn’t list books or stories with good portrayals. It doesn’t link to any writing guide websites or posts or even give some tips. What it does do is speak in an infantilizing tone about how to be a good ally. Which was not the question.

Anon, do not feel pressured to write POC in your story if it doesn’t feel right or make any sense. A good story will breath. Solid characterization is infinitely more important then making them POC just to be POC.

As for ACTUAL tips for doing POC characters:

1. Treat them as people first. Skin color means nothing at the end of the day when it comes to characterization. Same with sex and sexual preference. It can add “flavor”, yes. It can cause certain scenarios to occur to the character, thus making you think how they respond to it. But it is not THE defining trait. If your character being a certain race, sex or sexual orientation is the defining characteristic, you are doing yourself, the reader and the character a disservice. Start again.

2. Research the culture of said POC characters. Wikipedia is a good place to START but not at all the end all be all. Look for websites specializing in that culture. Go to your local heritage association’s website or even call them! If you have friends (irl or online) of that ethnicity, ask if they are comfortable answering your questions about their culture and experiences. Ask them about certain traditions, holidays, memories that stick out to them that involved their heritage. This will give you a more intimate insight and really help your characters feel like living people.

3. Cut yourself slack. When writing about a culture that is not yours (ANY culture, not just POC culture. I know, shocker, white people have culture…) you’ll always make mistakes. That is okay. This is a work of fiction, not a historical documentary. Naturally, if your book is historical fiction the wiggle room is less, but if you get small details wrong there’s nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day you are writing a world that is NOT ours. Even in books set “in our world”, your story will be colored by the views, opinions and habits of the characters, giving an incomplete, inaccurate picture. As long as the mistakes are not grossly offensive or blatantly disrespectful you will be just fine.

And again; you, nor anyone else who writes, should be forced to write a POC character for the sake of diversity. Ever. If you feel it’s right? Go for it! Don’t be afraid because learning about different cultures and histories is loads of fun~. But don’t make the character just to check off a box. It will worsen the quality of your work and the character will be a stiff stereotype that honestly is worse then no representation from what I’ve seen.

[madmoonink]

Reblogging for the last answer. Thank you for voicing kindness towards yourself, your work and others!!

[alistonjdrake]

Hey please tell me about your wips

It’s almost 9am and I’m struggling to write so like. Flex on me.

[the-writister]

My WIP has led to me trying to find some logic in the organisation of English aristocracy and land division. I don't even know why I'm bothering at this point.

That aside, I have gotten past a rather difficult conflict scene. Now I'm proud, my protagonist is suffering, and a former protagonist is now a conflicted antagonist so... Win?

[ultraviolet-eucatastrophe]

I often say my favourite genres are scifi and fantasy, but more specifically, my favourite genres are actually “scifi but everything works like fantasy” and “fantasy but everything works like scifi”

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

#magic has RULES and fantasy races have EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY ( tag from @untitledfirbolg​ )

[the-writister]

I think I realised why I'm having so much trouble writing these days.

I want to paint! Like a lot! I want to make art for my story!

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

i am in this shitty state again where I am AFRAID to work on my WIP and it does not make any sense but I cannot help it

[the-writister]

I know EXACTLY how you feel right now

[the-writister]

Happy (belated) Storyteller Saturday! Do any of your OCs have any pets or companions? If so, what makes them special?

Thank you for your ask and here is your (belated) answer!

Well, you know of Aria’s companion so let’s talk about Brianna!

Brianna has one animal companion and that is her horse, Kip. Short for Sgt. Kipper.

He is a roan, stallion palfrey. He is about 6 years old and Brianna raised him herself. He is quite fast and with a strong, and rather indignant, personality. Despite that, he is well trained and can easily be transitioned from a riding horse to a proper war horse.

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