Writing Diversely

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Renee Harleston

Jul 12
2 min

Diverse Books Our Sensitivity Readers Love

Sensitivity Readers from the Writing Diversely Directory shared their favorite #ownvoices books and why they love them.

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Renee Harleston

Sep 1, 2019
3 min

Avoiding Stereotypes - Revisited

When I started this blog (and still to this day) the top concern of authors I work with is is stereotypes and tropes. It's an important

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Renee Harleston

Mar 10, 2019
1 min

Diversity and Inclusion Style Guides

Here is a list of style guides from journalistic societies and cultural groups to help you avoid offensive terminology. These guides not onl

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Renee Harleston

Nov 25, 2018
2 min

Dismantling the White Default

When you avoid pointing out whiteness and put effort into to point out non-whiteness what you're doing is increasing the invisibility of

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Renee Harleston

Oct 13, 2018
3 min

Finding an agent for your diverse book

Your agent should love your story and believe in it enough to pound the proverbial pavement to get it sold. With all the problems with th...

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Renee Harleston

Jul 21, 2018
4 min

Using Memoir to Inform Fiction Writing

One of the best tips I give writers who want to create a character outside of their own identity is, read. Read about the people you want to

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Renee Harleston

Jun 13, 2018
3 min

The Rules of Minimizing Marginalized Identities

Once I worked with an author who intentionally veiled the race of several of her characters. She thought she was being clever. To her hav...

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Renee Harleston

May 27, 2018
3 min

Don't Forget Privilege

Recently I've sensitivity read manuscripts and I've been noticed characters with unacknowledged privilege and it needs to be addressed. P...

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Renee Harleston

Apr 16, 2018
3 min

Writing Atrocities: Slavery

People have done (and are doing) horrific things to one another. As writers, we put these things in our stories because they are real and...

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Renee Harleston

Mar 12, 2018
2 min

Does your manuscript pass this diversity test?

This test can help determine if the characters with marginalized identities have real utility and meaning in the plot and aren't just Qu

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Renee Harleston

Feb 25, 2018
2 min

Avoiding the Quota Character: Choosing Quality Over Quantity

The purpose of this blog is to encourage writers to be inclusive in their writing, to include more marginalized characters in the stories...

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Renee Harleston

Feb 10, 2018
3 min

Accents & Dialects: How to Write Characters of Color Without Using Stereotypes Part 2

Authentic character voice can really propel your story from good to great but things can get complicated if your character has an accent ...

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Renee Harleston

Jan 21, 2018
3 min

Tips on Writing Authentic Characters

I conducted a poll on twitter (follow me!) to try to understand what authors are the most concerned about when they're writing character...

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Renee Harleston

Dec 30, 2017
2 min

How to Avoid the Well-Meaning Microaggression

You have a character of color, a homosexual, and/or a gender fluid character in your story, is that enough? Well, no, and I suspect you k...

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Nathaniel Gray

Dec 17, 2017
4 min

Honest and Diverse Queer Character Writing

Note from Renee: This is a guest blog by my very good friend, social worker, and queer activist Nathaniel Gray. I invited him to write a ...

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Renee Harleston

Dec 3, 2017
2 min

Make Room For Immigrants

I love reading about immigrants (or kids of immigrants) in stories. It brings such a rich voice point of view that is really unmatched in...

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Renee Harleston

Nov 18, 2017
2 min

The White Savior Complex

When I learned about the "White Man's Burden" in history class, I was the only black face in the room. There were no Indigenous American...

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Renee Harleston

Nov 12, 2017
3 min

Tips on Writing a Bigot

This isn't going to be easy but no one ever said that writing is easy. Writing a bigoted character needs to be done with special consider...

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Renee Harleston

Nov 7, 2017
6 min

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with These Novels

November is Native American Heritage Month and now is the perfect time to be more intentional about adding diversity to your "To Read" li...

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Renee Harleston

Nov 5, 2017
2 min

Avoiding a Trope: The Magical Negro & Friends

You know the story. A white character is in distress. Not immediate, potentially fatal distress but more like a personal crisis. Then, al...

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WRITING DIVERSELY

DEDICATED TO HELPING AUTHORS CREATE MORE DIVERSE STORIES

Diverse Books Our Sensitivity Readers Love

Avoiding Stereotypes - Revisited

Diversity and Inclusion Style Guides

Dismantling the White Default

Finding an agent for your diverse book

Using Memoir to Inform Fiction Writing

The Rules of Minimizing Marginalized Identities

Don't Forget Privilege

Writing Atrocities: Slavery

Does your manuscript pass this diversity test?

Avoiding the Quota Character: Choosing Quality Over Quantity

Accents & Dialects: How to Write Characters of Color Without Using Stereotypes Part 2

Tips on Writing Authentic Characters

How to Avoid the Well-Meaning Microaggression

Honest and Diverse Queer Character Writing

Make Room For Immigrants

The White Savior Complex

Tips on Writing a Bigot

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with These Novels

Avoiding a Trope: The Magical Negro & Friends