That’s the kind of bullshit question you find lying around the Internet, assorted with bullshit answers, most of the time.
Behind that question lies the notion that, if you’re a male writer, you’re supposed to find it hard to “get female characters right”, or if you’re white you should have trouble “getting the African-American characters right”. Strangely, fewer people worry that female writings won’t get male characters right, or that black writers won’t get white characters right. Why is that, you wonder? Well, because that notion is laced with sexism and racism.
So, let’s get that idiocy out of the way and make it clear: there’s no such thing as a woman or a black person. There’s an assload of both, and they’re all unique. They’re not bound to a mold.
Now, I hear you arguing that, as a guy with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, I should know better. Of course, I do. Humans are walking clichés. Each of us, we play the part we were assigned, with most of the attributes of that role. The housewife, the unemployed writer, the cop, whatever. And yes, each of these roles come with very recognizable characteristics. Woman, black, Asian, Jew, white, artist… all of these are pretty recognizable, and not just because of gender or ethnicity or the way they dress (yes, artists dress funny when they’re overcompensating).
My point is, as a writer, you don’t have to worry about all that. You’re not making a documentary, and unless the very theme of your novel is one or several of these archetypes, you shouldn’t worry about “getting them right”. Your female character mustn’t be consistent with a majority of real-world women. She must be consistent with herself, with your vision of her. Once more, it comes down to your voice—your commanding, authorly voice.
Same goes with minorities. I’m from a minority (I’m gay), so I have first hand experience with that. There’s no such thing as “getting a gay character right”. Maybe I won’t like your gay character. Maybe he will piss me off, and I will wish he was never written because of how he makes gay people look. But that’s just me, and that shouldn’t be any of your concern. If that’s how you see your gay character, and he’s consistent internally, then it’s fine, regardless of what I or other gays think.
Also, don’t worry whether your gay character is too clichéd or not. Gay people, in real life, can be living and breathing clichés. That’s the very reason why there are clichés: they’re real, they’re among us. That’s how people settle in their role: they don clichés like they don uniforms. It’s a normal process, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of depicting it. As I wrote the other day, originality is not the rabbit you should be chasing. Be true to your voice, and everything will be fine.
Write your character as you think they should be, not as you think other people expect them to be. Because if you try to please everybody, you will fail. Just try to please yourself and your Ideal Reader. Be sincere and be honest. Authenticity comes from you; it doesn’t come to you.
