Kay

I am trying to write a few books, and I personally want to make at least one of the main characters of an action series African American/Black (whichever ethnicity you prefer to read) …and that’s part of my question- how in the world do I write about this bad-A character without offending someone? …Since I’m white, I feel like it’s inevitable that offense will be taken through a small mistake on how he acts, if I use “African American” or “Black”, or some other un-seen thing. The point here is that I’m scared to make an African American/Black character, because I really don’t want to offend anyone, I want to do the opposite and make a character that people can connect with; especially since there seems to be so few characters that are not white. …I’ve seen other authors express this same fear.

SO, what are YOUR personal thoughts? How can I make this character possible with the least amount of offense?

1-How should I describe his ethnicity? (Af.Am., Blk., or something else?)

2-Would it be too crazy, *personally for you*, if he became a father figure/guardian over a little white girl/teen, teaching her how to become a bad-A as well?

3-Are there any clichés that you hate and want to warn me about so I can avoid making those same mistakes?

4-Are there any suggestions that you might have for a “know-nothing” white girl trying to write about an African American/Black character?

Thank you guys so much!

I am trying to write a few books, and I personally want to make at least one of the main characters of an action series African American/Black (whichever ethnicity you prefer to read) …and that’s part of my question- how in the world do I write about this bad-A character without offending someone? …Since I’m white, I feel like it’s inevitable that offense will be taken through a small mistake on how he acts, if I use “African American” or “Black”, or some other un-seen thing. The point here is that I’m scared to make an African American/Black character, because I really don’t want to offend anyone, I want to do the opposite and make a character that people can connect with; especially since there seems to be so few characters that are not white. …I’ve seen other authors express this same fear.

SO, what are YOUR personal thoughts? How can I make this character possible with the least amount of offense?

1-How should I describe his ethnicity? (Af.Am., Blk., or something else?)

2-Would it be too crazy, *personally for you*, if he became a father figure/guardian over a little white girl/teen, teaching her how to become a bad-A as well?

3-Are there any clichés that you hate and want to warn me about so I can avoid making those same mistakes?

4-Are there any suggestions that you might have for a “know-nothing” white girl trying to write about an African American/Black character?

Thank you guys so much!

This question is mostly just to help me decide which mythical character to pair up with Chuck Norris as a little bit of comedy in a creative writing piece. Presently I can't decide between Achilles or Hercules (Hercules is more popular and still a great fighter, but in the myth stories he relies too much on his strength, while Achilles was one of the "perfect warriors", but in the Iliad his butt was kicked pretty hard ... to death.)

So what mythical hero/character do you guys think is the most similar to Chuck Norris? You can mention really random mythologies, you don't have to stick with Greek, Nordic, Egyptian, Celtic or what ever. What's a super cool myth hero that seems immortal???

Thanks!

I am in a group that is trying to write a book together, chapter by chapter, just for fun. And I really want to create/introduce a new character to the main Questing group (which only consists of 2 guys and a dragon ... the questing team totally needs a girl. lol). My group leader likes the idea, but I am having trouble finding the right mythical species/humanoid race for this new character.

The book's theme is fantasy, magical, European, knights & wizards & dragons fun stuff, in the dark-ish ages.

I first tried a land Nymph (from the Greek myths) who traveled into the fictional questing team after being banished from her sisterhood, group, thing. ... but the ideas, context, and explanations that followed the meet-up event quickly turned awkward due to the mythical nature of Nymphs being ... well ... nymphomaniacs. *ick* not my personal preference for writing material. So I need to change her character species/race, so as not to introduce sexual awkwardness, but I still want to keep the character's ability to manipulate the land/Earth. (in historical myth the stories about nymphs often don't focus on their magical abilities, which, if you think about it, *could have been pretty awesome. (there are land, water, tree, sky/wind, underworld, and other categories of nymphs in Greek myth.))

*****SO ... what other European / Western Mythical races can I use instead of Nymphs, that will still allow my female Character to manipulate the Earth/Land (similar to an Earth Bender from the Avatar cartoons on Nickelodeon) so she can be a useful member to the fictional Questing team when in battle?*****

((I have definitely been researching different mythical/fantasy creatures/monsters throughout the internet, but my desired answer keeps eluding me. So I need a little extra help.)) ((I kinda don't want to use "elementalist" or "elemental witch", because I am personally more into historical/culturaly accurate literature than I am into the D&D or MMORPG literature. ... I am looking into the myths about fairies ... but I only want to use a fairy race as a last resort.))

Thank you!

I am in a group that is trying to write a book together, chapter by chapter, just for fun. And I really want to create/introduce a new character to the main Questing group (which only consists of 2 guys and a dragon ... the questing team totally needs a girl. lol). My group leader likes the idea, but I am having trouble finding the right mythical species/humanoid race for this new character.

The book's theme is fantasy, magical, European, knights & wizards & dragons fun stuff, in the dark-ish ages.

I first tried a land Nymph (from the Greek myths) who traveled into the fictional questing team after being banished from her sisterhood, group, thing. ... but the ideas, context, and explanations that followed the meet-up event quickly turned awkward due to the mythical nature of Nymphs being ... well ... nymphomaniacs. *ick* not my personal preference for writing material. So I need to change her character species/race, so as not to introduce sexual awkwardness, but I still want to keep the character's ability to manipulate the land/Earth. (in historical myth the stories about nymphs often don't focus on their magical abilities, which, if you think about it, *could have been pretty awesome. (there are land, water, tree, sky/wind, underworld, and other categories of nymphs in Greek myth.))

*****SO ... what other European / Western Mythical races can I use instead of Nymphs, that will still allow my female Character to manipulate the Earth/Land (similar to an Earth Bender from the Avatar cartoons on Nickelodeon) so she can be a useful member to the fictional Questing team when in battle?*****

((I have definitely been researching different mythical/fantasy creatures/monsters throughout the internet, but my desired answer keeps eluding me. So I need a little extra help.))

Thank you!

Seriously! My family lives on a citrus farm in Arizona, and whenever the economy starts to fail we find a plethora of stray dogs and cats! There are many signs that tell us that these new visitors are recent abandonment victims (used to people yet frightened and un-trusting/skittish, starving because they don't know how to take care of themselves, etc!)

It is tragic to see. The reality that happens after an unwanted pet is dumped on a farm is that the animal now suffers from abandonment issues and wont let anyone catch them. They starve to the point of becoming skin and bones because they don't know how to forage or hunt like wild animals do. And once they are finally caught by us farmers and taken to an animal shelter/rescue we are charged fees "up the wazoo" because they think that we are trying to get rid of our own pets and won't believe us when we say that the animal was dumped on our property, or they see the sorry state of the animal and think that we abused it somehow. >:( Not fair!

SO WHY! Why do people abandon their pets on farm land? Do they think that the domesticated and completely de-pendant animals will fare well on their own or that the farmers who already have plenty of animals will be able to afford to keep and care for the dumped animals? ... because these assumptions are wrong! Of course its fun to find a stray pet and take it in, but it is a rare event when it actually works out. If the economy is tanking, the farmers are some of the first to feel the effects, we won't have enough to care for more animals nor pay the unfair fees the shelters and rescues charge us to turn in and help the abandoned pets. And most of the time we can't even catch them to even try to help them; because of their abandonment issues they now fear people and run the other way. Then they starve and die!

Cats on the other hand do fare better than dogs when abandoned, but they still have difficulty living on their own. But when cats get over their abandonment issues and become feral (which happens fast) we farmers start to suffer from a huge spike in the cat population on the farm land. The cats destroy our homes and buildings with their claws when they "nest" (because most of them are not "fixed"), they kill off our poultry, and spread disease and parasites with the ease of the bubonic plague rats.

So again, WHY do people dump their pets on farm lands? It is tragic! And it hurts both parties. :(

Seriously! My family lives on a citrus farm in Arizona, and whenever the economy starts to fail we find a plethora of stray dogs and cats! There are many signs that tell us that these new visitors are recent abandonment victims (used to people yet frightened and un-trusting/skittish, starving because they don't know how to take care of themselves, etc!)

It is tragic to see. The reality that happens after an unwanted pet is dumped on a farm is that the animal now suffers from abandonment issues and wont let anyone catch them. They starve to the point of becoming skin and bones because they don't know how to forage or hunt like wild animals do. And once they are finally caught by us farmers and taken to an animal shelter/rescue we are charged fees "up the wazoo" because they think that we are trying to get rid of our own pets and won't believe us when we say that the animal was dumped on our property, or they see the sorry state of the animal and think that we abused it somehow. >:( Not fair!

SO WHY! Why do people abandon their pets on farm land? Do they think that the domesticated and completely de-pendant animals will fare well on their own or that the farmers who already have plenty of animals will be able to afford to keep and care for the dumped animals? ... because these assumptions are wrong! Of course its fun to find a stray pet and take it in, but it is a rare event when it actually works out. If the economy is tanking, the farmers are some of the first to feel the effects, we won't have enough to care for more animals nor pay the unfair fees the shelters and rescues charge us to turn in and help the abandoned pets. And most of the time we can't even catch them to even try to help them; because of their abandonment issues they now fear people and run the other way. Then they starve and die!

Cats on the other hand do fare better than dogs when abandoned, but they still have difficulty living on their own. But when cats get over their abandonment issues and become feral (which happens fast) we farmers start to suffer from a huge spike in the cat population on the farm land. The cats destroy our homes and buildings with their claws when they "nest" (because most of them are not "fixed"), they kill off our poultry, and spread disease and parasites with the ease of the bubonic plague rats.

So again, WHY do people dump their pets on farm lands? It is tragic! And it hurts both parties. :(

I would love to try my hand at making one of these just for fun, but I fear that I may offend someone if I do not use it correctly or if I don’t put the costume through the “coming to life” ritual/ceremony. So I am asking what you guys think. Would some participants of the traditional Chinese culture be offended if they saw an un-ritualized (not brought to life) Chinese Lion Dancer costume…

-walking around the streets,

-goofing off with people and kids,

-entertaining school children,

-attending any kind of fandom convention, or any kind of fair,

-randomly ordering fast food,

-or riding a bus?

In these listed activities the Lion will NOT be doing any kind of traditional ceremony that the Chinese Lion is often known for, because the costume I’m hoping to make will most likely not go through the “bringing to life” ceremony/ritual. (I do not have the authority, and won’t have enough money or contacts to send it to someone who can “bring it to life.”)

So, is it proper etiquette to … goof off/derp around in a costume that is usually meant for ceremonies if I don’t “bring it to life”/ritualize it in the first place?

And yes, I am already aware of some members of the traditional culture believing that women shouldn’t even be allowed to touch the costume, but I have also learned that many more are able to look past that idea and even support teams of all women Lion Dancers. So I don’t have too much worry over the fact that I (a female) may be making and performing the lion costume.

I would of course love to make one and dance in it with a friend, bringing smiles and entertainment to other people, maybe even spreading some education on the Chinese culture with it; but if this idea will offend a good number of that culture’s members, I will not plan on making the Lion any more.

Thank you for your thoughts and answers.

I want my book to be believable and accurate. So, I would like to know what the Coast Guard, the Navy or any other Military organization would do if they suddenly discovered a hidden Island (which "magically" does not show up on any scanners or computer devices). Through a Search And Rescue mission by the Coast Guard, the characters stumbled upon an uncharted and fairly large island. And later discover very strange yet intelligent inhabitants. ... Please share what you think might happen or what the protocol might be (if that is allowed) or definitely point out any flaws that you see in my plot already. Thanks!