Not white by default
I have been invited to contribute a main character to a co-writing project, (which I may have mentioned about a dozen times by now 
)
She’ll be pretty busy within the plot and have an extensive back-story, and her story will have an arc, and she’ll get to kill bad guys, engage in inappropriate behavior, fuck up and redeem herself, and take part in the BIGASS BATTLE that saves the WORLD at the climax.
And survive, and be reasonably happy in the ending credits. Not to mention getting laid, otherwise it wouldn’t be me writing this would it?
And I’m asking her to be a POC. She wants to know if I think I can write a character with a full compliment of melanine.
I think I can write her, and her story and character is trickling in to my brains– but I’m mindful of the mistakes I’ve seen, and seen discussed here, and I’m hoping for beta help from writers of color around and about, please? Because I want this to be good stuff.
I wish to say that I am drawn to Johnny Depp-type characters– adrift in the tides of fate and fighting to keep a head above water– fighting not to be a victim. (the character love came before Johnny, I wish to make that clear! ) My protagonists tend to be less proactive than reactive.
However, several people in my house are urging me to make this character a more proactor, which would mean she isn’t such a sodden mess in my first scene. Dunno if that’s as much fun for me, though
I have no name for her yet. Carmen? Victoire? Destinee? LaToya? I’d like something thta makes it clear her mommy did not think her baby girl would become a pirate. mommies hardly ever do. Although Destinee has a lovely ironic ring, and her butch nickname could be ‘Des’–and her Creole family would have called her "Nini"
She’s a big girl, six feet in height, naturally strong– one of those classic American jocks. Dark skin, (because my GF Chiara cried when I made a character super-light and said dark skin isn’t considered pretty in AA society.) She is very pretty, strong face. Umm… goes around in Bluejeans and teeshirts, a bullet stuck in her somewhere from the battle she and her people lost.
Back story thus far– she and some partners had a fast boat and made runs through the keys. I like Kiya’s suggestions for bio-comp supplies, drugs– whatever needs to get from one place to the other. Cigars from Costa Rica. Just small-time, keeping their heads down. Big dreams though.
On this run, they were met by their contacts, who opened fire on the boat, killing everyone except she managed to survive. No reason that she knows yet why they were attacked. She popped some speed, jacked a car and came up to Brooklyn in two days, stopping somewhere in georgia to change clothes and cars. She is going after her sales contact, to see if he knows any reason why the gang might have been killed.
She’s doing okay untill she drops into a bar for a beer and the PTS hits her and she is either blotto, or else barely mantaining the semblance of sobriety. She goes looking for a whore, (to fuck into oblivion, let me make that clear) after scaring off a couple of them finds one who, natch, happens to have a Heart Of Gold who takes care of her for a day or so– or else, she grabs the pimp who just is not as tough as she is and he details one of his girls to take care of her likewise, and we get some back story exposition. Then she’s off towards Louisiana where some of her family are. OR– she runs into one of Fozzie’s (a werebear who runs a hidden sanctuary for our biomorph characters) truckers, who tells her to head for LA, and she might get some help there, because the compnay that fucked her over is part of Big Ag’s subsidiaries.
Maybe she finds out that one of her family was kidnapped by the buglabs.(who take people and introduce nasty alterations into them)
You can *do* it, Stella! *cheers* Hopefully, you can get some good beta help, because I want her to be an African-American, dammit! In a sci-fi/fantasy story? Hell yeah!
So somebody give her a hand with the beta-ing, please?
If you can’t find anyone more suitable, I’d be happy to beta for you; I may not be able to find much to criticize, but I’ll at least be able to give you feedback. Sounds like an exciting project!
You can *do* it, Stella! *cheers* Hopefully, you can get some good beta help, because I want her to be an African-American, dammit! In a sci-fi/fantasy story? Hell yeah!
So somebody give her a hand with the beta-ing, please?
If you can’t find anyone more suitable, I’d be happy to beta for you; I may not be able to find much to criticize, but I’ll at least be able to give you feedback. Sounds like an exciting project!
You can *do* it, Stella! *cheers* Hopefully, you can get some good beta help, because I want her to be an African-American, dammit! In a sci-fi/fantasy story? Hell yeah!
So somebody give her a hand with the beta-ing, please?
If you can’t find anyone more suitable, I’d be happy to beta for you; I may not be able to find much to criticize, but I’ll at least be able to give you feedback. Sounds like an exciting project!
I’m excited about it. We need her!!
I’m excited about it. We need her!!
Yes, I agree. We have such a diverse crew…
I’m excited about it. We need her!!
Yes, I agree. We have such a diverse crew…
Yes, I agree. We have such a diverse crew…
This sounds totally kick-ass!
I like Victoire. Her mother could call her Tori, and her butch nickname could be Vic, or even better, Victor. She could use that name to move withint circles that maybe most women can’t.
I like the whore, too. I always like whores. LOL.
I’m not African-American, but as an editor, I have seen some pretty big fuck ups with describling African-American features and skin.
Chocolate- a common cliche, not a complete no-no but don’t over do it.
Brown Digits- I edited a story once, where this character was obsessed with this woman’s fingers and that was what he said all of the time. Brown Digits. That sounds like a stink pickle, not a kink. Don’t do it. Ever.
Mocha, Coffee, etc- Caucasian skin has more descriptors than white, African-American skin should be describled with more than wood tones and things you can eat. Again, once in a while is okay, but don’t over do it. And don’t be afraid to use “black”. It’s a descriptor. You’re not insulting her people by saying something about how exotically beautiful that her black skin happens to be, the way her sweat shimmers in the sunlight, tracing tiny rivers of salt between her shoulderblades…
I can definitely see her and I know that you can write her.
Actually, I already can’t wait to read it.
This sounds totally kick-ass!
I like Victoire. Her mother could call her Tori, and her butch nickname could be Vic, or even better, Victor. She could use that name to move withint circles that maybe most women can’t.
I like the whore, too. I always like whores. LOL.
I’m not African-American, but as an editor, I have seen some pretty big fuck ups with describling African-American features and skin.
Chocolate- a common cliche, not a complete no-no but don’t over do it.
Brown Digits- I edited a story once, where this character was obsessed with this woman’s fingers and that was what he said all of the time. Brown Digits. That sounds like a stink pickle, not a kink. Don’t do it. Ever.
Mocha, Coffee, etc- Caucasian skin has more descriptors than white, African-American skin should be describled with more than wood tones and things you can eat. Again, once in a while is okay, but don’t over do it. And don’t be afraid to use “black”. It’s a descriptor. You’re not insulting her people by saying something about how exotically beautiful that her black skin happens to be, the way her sweat shimmers in the sunlight, tracing tiny rivers of salt between her shoulderblades…
I can definitely see her and I know that you can write her.
Actually, I already can’t wait to read it.