Writing in Other Voices

I’ve been invited to speak to a group in Los Angeles about creating characters that are not of my gender, ethnicity or culture. Is it cultural appropriation or is this what writers do? For me, the characters in my novels come to me unbidden. I don’t deliberately try to conjure up a young Black girl in the Jim Crow South or a Scottish soldier with an abusive childhood. I’m not trying to be precious or pretend that writing a book is done by magic but I can say, with all honesty, that these characters appear, to me, they tell me their stories and off we go!

I do a lot of research once we’re introduced. I want to get things as true and as right as I possibly can. I owe that to the readers. I also owe it to the characters in my books.

Here is the link with more information about my talk and how to join in the conversation:

https://www.icfla.org/event/book-writing-sig-september-2023/