When you tell me about your book, or you tell me about the characters in your book, what do you talk about? When you tell me about yourself as a writer, what do you tell me? I want you to really think about this.
The reality is that you probably do not make the major focus about the external characteristics of you or the characters. You talk about personalities. You talk about events. You talk about conflicts. When it comes to you and your writing, you talk about your passion to "tell stories" and to "take people into different worlds and experiences."
I was thinking about this over the weekend when I was talking about plots and stories that are being hyped up out there with a current author and it got me thinking about a workshop I had taken on EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion). The speaker at this conference, who was a person of color made it very clear that when he described himself, he did not make the external characteristics the only focus of who he was. It was his personality, his experiences and so forth.
And yet, authors are making these external characteristics the center of everything. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community is not a plot and is not a story. Being a person of color is not a plot and is not a story. What makes a story is the experiences this person goes through in their life, and the fact that they are part of another community might add depth, but it is not the central focus.
I want you to think of something. As I was getting ready to write this, I thought about the Netflix show, BRIDGERTON. IF you have ever read Julia Quinn's novels, race is not a factor. When you read the book, many (I am sure there might be some) never even think about the color of skin of any character. In fact, even in books where this might be an issue, after it is mentioned early on in a book, the odds are, you forget about it. So, with that in mind, I took a look at how the general public had this show presented to them. Here is what the TODAY show described.
Imagine the most dramatic episode of "Gossip Girl," add some Jane Austen-approved longing glances and witty dialogue, wrap it up in some gorgeous 19th-century ballgowns and stylish suits, then top it off with Dame Julie Andrews' voice promising intrigue and scandal and you'll have "Bridgerton," Netflix's new Regency-era romantic drama.
"Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes produced the eight-episode season (along with showrunner Chris Van Dusen) as the first series in a major agreement she signed with Netflix. The show is based on the popular "Bridgerton" book series, written by Julia Quinn, that revolves around two families during "the season," an annual period where elite families would host formal events to introduce their children to society and find them a suitable marriage.
One of those families is the titular Bridgertons. Led by their recently widowed mother, Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell), there are eight children in the household: four girls and four boys, all named in alphabetical order. The oldest son, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), is in charge of helping his sister Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) find a suitable match following the passing of their father, while younger sister Eloise (Claudia Jessie) is more interested in writing and her own ambition than her societal obligations.
Across the street is another family, the Featheringtons. Their mother, Portia Featherington (Polly Walker), is already dealing with the stress of guiding three daughters Philippa (Harriet Cains), Prudence (Bessie Carter) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) through the season, when distant cousin Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker) comes to town.
On top of it all is Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews), an anonymous gossip who publishes a newsletter discussing the gentry's biggest scandals, engagements and more. Romance, star-crossed lovers and high-stakes intrigue ensue.
The show's plot lines may seem a little obvious at first. Of course innocent, bright-eyed Daphne Bridgerton is going to express interest in the "rakish" Duke Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), her older brother's best friend who has sworn to never marry or have children. And of course Marina Thompson's arrival in town isn't as simple as it first appears, but Rhimes and producer Van Dusen frequently throw in plot twists and dramatic scandals that liven up the romantic drama. And the relationships between characters give the audience plenty to invest in.
You know, the color of skin of the characters has nothing to do with the story.
I'll take this a step further. How many productions have you seen diverse casts? The answer is a lot! These productions let the words of Shakespeare tell it all. Here's one on a personal note. I was fortunate enough to be in a production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC with the Tacoma Little Theatre (obviously in Tacoma, Washington). I was also fortunate to be cast in the role of Capt. Von Trapp. The director did a great job of putting together a cast of kids that worked well together, acted well together and, more importantly sounded GREAT together. But look at my kiddos (best I could do with this older scanned document but I think you get the idea!).
We all had personal laughs about the Captain's gene pool. The point, however, is that this show was a hit because of the story, the characters, the staging, and the singing, NOT because of what they looked like.
I think that too often, authors are trying desperately to create stories that put skin color, gender and sexual identity to the forefront so much that they forget to tell a really good story. I get that editors and agents are openly promoting that they are looking for stories written by diverse populations and about diverse groups, but the reality is, in the end, they simply want a great story. Be reminded of the last comment in the article I quoted from the Today Show. "And the relationship between characters gives the audience plenty to invest in."
When I listen to pitches at conferences, I always tell people that they cannot read their pitch. Just tell me about it. When they do this, what they felt was truly important about their story and plot always jumps to the forefront. If you were to sit down and tell me about your story, if the first things you say out of your mouth involve any of these external characteristics, that might be telling you something. Your focus is not on the story.
SUBNOTE: Please understand if I am writing a story specifically about race relations, or something similar, and THAT is the central focus of the story, then yes, those elements will be brought up early on since those elements are the focus of the story.
