《How to Write Stories People Will Love》26. Break Stereotypes

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Some people may argue that stereotypes are born from truths. While this may sometimes be the case, what makes stereotypes bad is attributing the behavior of some to the whole of the people or society. It's assuming an entire stack of beliefs based solely on a person's membership of a race, class, condition, or orientation.

As writers, we owe it to ourselves to seek real truth, not the "truths" handed to us by the false assumptions of others. Making broad-stroke statements like "all rich people are snobs" is a quick way to lose credibility. To avoid this, you need to do your research. Any time you are writing about a character with a background you are unfamiliar with, you research that background.

Some people here on Wattpad have actually created useful guides for helping you create authentic material. The first one is especially useful, covering numerous cultures found among people of color.

"Writing POC 101" by

"A Writer's Guide to Mental Illness" by

"LGBT 101" by

Since the LGBT guide above is mostly definitions and not really guiding you about how to write LGBT characters, I found a great article outside of Wattpad, called "Writing Gay Characters". I've created an External Link to it, so check that out.

It's the age of the Internet, where an entire world of information lies at your fingertips. There is NO excuse to be lazy.

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