Recognizing A Character's Voice

by Regina Allen

At a monthly writers’ critique session, members reviewed my fantasy short story set in the antebellum South. They erroneously asserted certain beliefs and outdated information about American slave culture, Native Americans, and the antebellum South. I explained my research included reading slave narratives, talking to my mother and relatives about our ancestors and the stories they told. Members felt my characters believable but unaware of the Native American and black cultures’ rich histories.

This happened again with another writer in the session who wrote a character of Chinese/Japanese heritage living in California. The writer asked what we knew of the relationship between the two groups and we offered her what we perceived as facts. I then offered to speak to a co-worker of Chinese descent to shed light on the subject. After speaking to my co-worker, I sent an email to the writer, explaining that most of the information we gave her was wrong.

How do you write believable characters with diverse backgrounds? By research, talking to people, attending cultural events and workshops help create believable three-dimensional characters.

For example, in my fantasy short story, I researched the antebellum South, slavery in the South and Native American tribes living in the region. When time permitted in my hectic schedule, I visited the library as well as surf the Internet. However, I also spoke to family members – my mother and aunt especially – to take notes on the oral history handed down from ancestors living in that time period. Once done, I double checked their facts and took notes which were later incorporated into the story. To understand what my characters thought, I felt it best to read slave narratives, focusing on the region my story took place. For the Native
American characters in my story, I read their history and talked to a relative. Occasionally, I’d let my mother and aunt read the story for further suggestions. I wanted to make sure the characters were three-dimensional instead of two.

I also put in the schedule to attend powwows whenever possible. This is a great venue for writers because you learn more about a culture by attending cultural events. Some events have storytellers or griots re-tell legends to the audience. They are a great source of information about the culture and can give valuable tips in your research.

I also discovered that the writing community is now offering workshops and panels to help writers understand the ‘other’ voice and how that voice perceives the world. Universities and colleges also offer writing courses that focus on a fictional characters’ cultural identity.

The information I gathered gave me a new understanding and appreciation of two cultures and a wealth of information for future stories. Because of this research, I understand the world better through my characters’ eyes.

National

First Annual Women Of Color Mixed H/E/R (Heritage, Ethnicity, Race) Conference Visibility and Voice

March 26-27, 2004

Women's Resource Center, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Workshops include: Traditional Medicine; Writing (Poetry, Non-fiction, Fiction, Biography, etc.); Activism and more.
Fore more information call: (505) 277-3716 or email: wocmxher@unm.edu

Website: www.unm.edu/~wocmxher

Central Ohio Writers of Literature for Children

A Conference for Teachers, Parents, Librarians, Writers, and Illustrators

April 24, 2004

Fawcett Conference Center, Ohio State University Campus, Columbus, Ohio

Workshops include children’s, fiction, marketing, nonfiction, publishing, young adult

For more information, write to: Jim Mengel, Development Director, SJMS
St. Joseph Montessori School, 933 Hamlet Street, Columbus, Ohio 43201-3595
Phone: (614) 291-8644
Email: cowriters@mail.com

Website: http://www.sjms.net/conf

ASJA Conference

April 24-25, 2004
Grand Hyatt Hotel, 42nd and Grand Central Station, New York, New York

For information, visit their website:
http://www.asja.org/wc/wc.php

18th Annual Florida First Coast Writers’ Festival

May 13-16, 2004

Jacksonville, Florida

Workshops include fiction, horror, humor, journalism, marketing, mystery, nonfiction and more.

For more information: contact Kathy Clower, Administrator
Florida Community College at Jacksonville, 101 West State Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32202
Phone: (904) 633-8327
Fax: (904) 633-8435
Email: kclower@fccj.org

For more information, contact: Brenda Mills, Administrative Assistant
Phone: (904) 633-8243
Email: bmills@fccj.org

International

Booming Ground Workshops
July 10-16, 2004
Green College, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC
Seminars and workshops in children’s, fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
For more information contact Andrew Gray, Director
Booming Ground Writers' Community
Buch E-462, 1866 Main Mall, Univ. of British Columbia
Vancouver V6T 1Z1 Canada
Phone: 604-822-2469
Fax: 604-822-3616
Email: bg@arts.ubc.ca
Website: http://www.arts.ubc.ca/bg

Summer Literary Seminars
June and July 2004, two or four-week programs
Held in Mombassa, Kenya and St. Petersburg, Russia
Workshops include fiction, poetry, nonfiction and playwriting
For more information contact: Mikhail Iossel, Director
Post Office Box 1358
Schenectady, New York 12301 USA
Phone: 888-882-0949
Email: iosselm@union.edu
Website: http://www.sumlitsem.org

As always, for more conferences, check Shaw Guides (www.shawguides.com), Poets & Writers, Writers Market.

Regina Allen is a fiction writer who lives in Exeter, Rhode Island with her cat, Isis. She recently photographed author, Joel S. Ross, for his suspense novel, “An Eye for An Eye”, published by Leisure Books and is a member of Speculative Literature Foundation www.speculativeliterature.org . You can send information on conferences, retreats or workshops with two months’ advance notice at regall649@msn.com.