I don’t have an English degree or an MFA in creative writing. Because of my AP English scores, I didn’t take one college level English class. I still have to Google “how to use emdashes.”
So allow me to invite everyone in the Atlanta area to my first writing workshop! February 18 at 1:30pm the Atlanta Writers Club has invited me to give a workshop on creating compelling and authentic characters by understanding how culture informs identity.
Because I do in fact know a few things well, but it took me a minute to realize what they are.
When I first reached out for speaking opportunities as an author, a librarian asked if I had any experience teaching writing workshops and what topics I felt comfortable speaking on. Ummm…Using Chicago style in-text citations? At the mention of “class” or “workshop,” I immediately considered what I’ve been academically trained to do.
Sure, I secured an agent and traditionally published. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing. I’m a self-taught author. I have one novel out. I couldn’t think of any skills I’d be more qualified to speak on than the librarian.
A book blogger from Nigeria helped me realize what I do uniquely well even among very talented people. She left a review on NetGalley specifically praising the characters in Jaguars and the fact none of them felt patronizing or like a talking stereotype. I read her review and thought “Oh thank God. I didn’t fuck that up.” Then I thought “But it’s actually hard to end up with a stereotype when you consider all of the character’s cultural groups and individual history.”
Wait. Do other writers not make lists of all the cultural groups their characters belong to? Does the word culture even appear in their thinking?
I may not have an MFA, but I do have a master’s in international communication. Specifically, I specialized in cross-cultural communication which was basically two years of studying how human culture is learned, used by the brain, can vary between groups and can cause someone to break down sobbing after being asked to get a form signed before using the club pool. (True story. Culture shock is fun!)
Here’s what I can teach other writers: how to use an understanding of culture to create characters and worlds that are unique, believable and NOT stereotypes. Sci-fi, fantasy and historical fiction authors are often creating cultures that either don’t exist or no one is actively living, but even authors of books set in the present-day or recent past will have to write characters from backgrounds other than their own. While this doesn’t absolve any writer from the responsibility of getting sensitivity readers, a basic understanding of culture and identity formation can help writers avoid patronizing and stereotyping when populating their fictional world with the diversity the exists in the real world and be aware of which groups they need people to read for.
So come out to the Atlanta Writers Club next meeting at Georgia State Perimeter College – Dunwoody Campus on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1:30pm. Free for first time visitors! If you can’t make but this course sounds interesting, get in touch! I’d love to give a talk to your community either in-person or virtual.
