Details of Writing II
Posted by LMReviewsDec 20
Welcome back!
Multicultural character development isn’t just about skin color or ethnic origin. Many occupations and jobs carry a culture all their own. As a result, the vast details of multicultural character development are some of the most interesting research work you can do for your novels and stories. Many authors choose to fictionalize a dream job or fantasy life that readers obsess about in real life, such as rock stars, singers and movie stars. Understanding that not everyone can be or wants to be in front of a mic or a movie camera or dribbling up and down a basketball court, I tend enjoy creating characters from the sometimes less well-known extraordinary lives of the blue-collar and white-collar professionals.
For example, an incredible story can be derived from research about many of our community leaders, public servants and professional experts. All that is required is a little research about a profession or platform you are passionate about and you can be led to some great background from which you can create a very well-rounded fictional character. Don’t mirror real-life muse too closely, but you can get some great ideas from public figures or historical figures.
For instance, if you are creating a character who is a pediatrician who is also an advocate in the field, you have a noteworthy character with built in conflict. To further develop such a character, you might want to review the career highlights of someone like Dr. Paul Offit. Known for his work as a chief in the infectious disease division of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor in the pediatric field at the University of Pennsylvania medical school as well as the books he’s written, Paul Offit would be an interesting basis for any pediatric advocate you could create for your story. The idea isn’t to copy Dr. Paul Offit’s life or accomplishments, but rather to use the information as a starting point to create your own multi-dimensional character for your work.
Your character’s career can do more for him/her than establish a sense of realism. It can create the basis of conflict or further detail the personal multicultural dimensions of your character. So when choosing your character’s occupation—choose wisely.
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[...] In the post Details of Writing II, I talk about how researching advocates like Dr. Paul Offit helps create characters with a platform [...]