Worldsmiths | Fantasy World-Building Resource Book

#10: Population & Diversity

Questions:

What consists of the population? Humans or non-humans? What lives in your world?

What does diversity look like? In terms of race, gender, sexuality, skin color, disability, etc. Different in the city and in the countryside?

What is the history behind the diversity? How did it happen? How did it become this way? (related to #4 History) 

How do various races/species interact with each other? Do they get along? Are some races marginalized? Why? (go to #41 Discrimination)

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DIVERSITY: A Discussion

Note: This discussion is the basis for the questions above. You can choose to read or not :)

I understand diversity is a touchy subject, but it cannot go untouched here. As fiction writers, it's important for us to think about. We can affect readers with our stories, after all. We can make people of the minority feel included in the fiction world. We can give them a role model.

Think about it. Pretty cool, huh? ;)

What is diversity in fiction?

Diversity doesn't just mean race and skin color. What about people with disabilities? What about different body sizes? What about people with glasses? (I wear glasses :P) What about different gender or sexuality?

Diversity also means that the main character might be of the minority and not only those around them. Think of all the books you've read. Try to come up with characters in the minority. Yes, there has been some more after Legendborn by Tracy Deonn and The Cursebreaker series by Brigid Kemmerer, but is it enough? Do you think all the people in the world can find some main character to relate to?

So many times have I heard black people say they wanted a main character they could relate to. What do you think about those with a disability, physical or mental?

Now, think of all the books that feature able-bodied, white, straight characters. There's so many. So, so many. Don't you think it's time for other types of characters to get the spotlight?

How does diversity happen in fiction?

In the 1800s, it wasn't unusual that men would have male lovers, or women would have female lovers. The reason I'm mentioning that is because I want to say that there has always been diversity. It's not like diversity suddenly appeared once some authority person accepted a sexuality as valid. Diversity has always existed. It's the representation that hasn't. It's the acceptance that hasn't.

So, you must ask yourself, "Has diversity always existed in my world?" Even if the country shuts itself off for hundreds of years, you will still have different body types, different genders, sexualities, and disabilities. It doesn't go away.

Maybe some diversity has always been there?

However, race or skin color is a diversity that might not have always been there especially if your world was shut off from the rest for a long time, or maybe you're writing a story at the beginning of the history and traveling just hadn't happened yet.

Traveling, migration, political change, advanced technology allowing travel, wars, etc., people (or non-humans in the case of fiction) can become integrated and mixed, creating diversity all over in that way.

How to show diversity?

Depending on what kind of diversity, it will be different. Depending on who the MC is, it will be different. If your main character has never seen a person in a wheelchair, you might go in length describing this encounter, in a sense, making a "big deal" about it. 

Forgive the bad writing XD I came up with this on the spot.

"Timothy was unable to walk, he explained. That was why he had to use a wheelchair. I couldn't help but stare at the way he pushed the wheels with his hands and the way his legs sort of flopped when he shifted his weight. When talking with him about the new species in the lab, I would forget he was in a wheelchair and suddenly be shocked into reality when he didn't stand up to go to the bathroom. I hesitated to ask if he needed assistance. Would it be rude?"

But if they had seen a person in a wheelchair, it would be mentioned more casually.

"Timothy rolled up in his wheelchair and ordered a coffee for himself. I asked him again about the new species he received in his lab, and the usual. We shifted into a chat about his wife and my ever, ongoing singleness. When he excused himself to the bathroom, I sat back in my chair and stared out the window."

Another good tip about showing diversity is that you must be careful not to make the diversity a character trait. Don't keep saying Timothy is in a wheelchair. Timothy in the wheelchair is not who he is. Timothy is a smart scientist who has a hobby of collecting cacti in his living room, frustrating his wife. Timothy does not equal wheelchair. It's just a way of life.

The same way, if Maggie is black, her being black should not be treated as a character trait or quirk. How would you like to read a book where being your skin color is seen as some quirky thing or something so important the author has to keep mentioning it? SHOCKER. She's black. No. Don't do that.

But what if I don't know if I did a good job?

If you are not sure about your representation, seek out actual people on writing forums, discord, Facebook, and share them your passage. Ask them what is acceptable. Open the conversation. I beg you.

I'm Japanese American who has lived in Japan all her life, and I always appreciate it when people ask me about Japan. Don't assume a Japanese thing and write it in your story because hey, anime did it. Ask. It really does not hurt to ask and most people will be so happy you did :)