Writing about PoC's

So, first of all, I'm hispanic, with immigrant parents. I actually never had a character that was a defined race, but I always put them as mixed, because I liked the complexities associated as being neither this or that, so I wanted to implement that in my writing. For my nano novel, my protagonist is white, but skin color never comes into play, instead, I prefer talking about nationality. I don't have any issues with her character, but with my other FMC, who is half-american and half-mexican. I'm afraid of giving her background away or mentioning her too much because she is paler, and maybe according to some people, does not look mexican. I don't know how to really address this possible issue because her problems aren't because of her race but trying to learn a culture she does not practice often, which is a problem I had and sadly, my parents would make fun of me for. Would this create a problem? I've seen mexican characters, but they've always been, in my opinion, over done when it comes to the hispanic background. I guess it was the areas I lived in, but my biggest issue in school was being "too white". Instead, being mexican was something...strange. I'm a bit afraid of writing her, but she really is crucial to the hopefully, sequels to my novel.

My main character is African American, so I know a little about what you're talking about. The things about writing POC characters is about just writing them as true to life as possible. I think I understand what you're saying. It's better to stay away from cliches and stereotypes.

If your story is about focusing on your character's struggle with learning her Mexican heritage, focus on that part. Don't be afraid to write what's important to you or to the character's development. Although, your story doesn't have to focus primarily on her Mexican heritage. You can always add other story lines, like the normal things teenagers have to go through in high school. Make her a three dimensional character. That way she won't be a flat character or a stereotype.

Hope this helps. :)

First of all, if anyone's worried about writing a character who's a different race (or gender, or sexuality, or age, or anything else) I suggest listening to this:
http://www.writingexcuses.com/2012/09/30/writing-excuses-7-40-writing-the-other/
The best two pieces of advice I've gotten on the subject*:
1) Think of them as a character first, and by their race second.
2) If you know somebody of that race, get them to look over your work when you're through.

* I was specifically given this advice for writing female characters, as despite being a guy, my MC's are almost always women. But it really applies to other situations just as well.

Since the novel takes place in NYC where there is a mix of culture, I'm not so afraid for the other two but I fear people might think I'm white-washing her, although her struggles with understanding her heritage is what I went through and still go through. Since she isn't the main lead, but becomes friends with her, I wanted to show hints of how she's struggling to be two different things at the same time, and both clash with each other a lot.

Yeah, I hate the stupid cliches that a lot of people have for PoC chars, especially for latinos, since I feel that there's only one type of latino, which isn't true.

Btw Beacon80, that is a really helpful website, the people have great links! :3

In the course of my novel, my protagonist Sally befriends a pair of teenage biracial siblings -- Charles, who's in her grade at school, and (eventually) his older sister Josie. The story takes place in New England during the late 1980s, and to some extent deals with the racism that's part of New England history. (Sally's mentor, Tess, attended Boston Public Schools during the busing riots, and a school bully starts a fight with Sally by calling her a "[bleep] lover".)

I know there's some racial tension within Sally's friendship with Josie and Charles, especially with Josie. On some level, Charles is so lonely that eventually he befriends her because she's the only kid at school who's as weird as him. Josie is a lot more guarded. She's internalized much of the ostracization and othering she gets from the kids at school -- and to some extent from her own mother -- that she feels a little wary of Sally's identification with her. While Sally wants to befriend Josie because of their mutual interests in the arts and Josie's status as an outsider, Josie suspects that Sally doesn't understand the larger reasons why Josie is seen as an outsider. Additionally, on a subconscious level Sally wants to befriend Josie as a symbol of how open-minded and welcoming she is, which Josie recognizes. One of the turning points of the story comes when Sally realizes this and sees the effect it has on her friend.

With all this in mind, one of my biggest concerns with writing this novel is that it might get boiled down to "Well Meaning White People Talk About Racism", and not about putting the readers in the perspective of being a PoC. I am Caucasian, and I'm writing from that perspective, FWIW. Josie definitely has some interests in her heritage as a biracial person, and specifically in her background as a person of Caribbean descent. Charles, meanwhile, hasn't gotten to a point where he wants to explore his heritage. He's a bit of a prankster on a small scale -- he likes monster movies and Dr. Demento, but he also loves some of the more lighthearted rap groups, like De La Soul. (He and Sally have a bonding moment when they go out for Halloween as characters from movies they see on the Late Show...Charles goes out as Walter Paisley from 'Bucket of Blood'.)

My apologies for this long rambly thing.