How to avoid cultural appropriation in fantasy?

5 Tips for Avoiding Cultural Appropriation in Fiction

1. Ask yourself whether you’re the best person to tell the story.
2. Be aware of stereotypes and othering in your writing.
3. Research the culture you’re writing about in as much detail as possible.
4. Ask people who know the culture you’re writing about to read your work.

Can you not dip your pen in someone else’s blood?

“Don’t dip your pen in someone else’s blood,” she warned. “Without authors who cross the boundary from what they know to what they imagine, we would have a poor library,” she said.

What is cultural appropriation in books?

Cultural appropriation can be seen as the act of borrowing specific elements and symbols from other cultures and then incorporating them into a work of art (Young, 2008). Perhaps one of the best-known examples of cultural appropriations emerges in English writer James Hilton’s popular novel—Lost Horizon.

How do you write a fantasy culture?

Although there are nearly endless possibilities, consider some of these general writing tips for creating a fictional culture.

1. Pull inspiration from the real world.
2. Build off your main character.
3. Develop a belief system.
4. Create a social structure.
5. Construct a technological system.
6. Write a brief history.

What is cultural fantasy?

So when I say “cultural fantasy,” this is what I mean: fantasy where the world is as interesting and developed as the characters are (and develops those characters in turn), where you’ll find ideas and practices that aren’t all northwestern European constructs.

How do you create a fictional culture?

How to Create a Fictional Culture

1. Pull inspiration from the real world. Pay attention to the cultural behaviors within your society.
2. Build off your main character.
3. Develop a belief system.
4. Create a social structure.
5. Construct a technological system.
6. Write a brief history.

How do you write a race in fiction?

Ten Tips On Writing Race in Novels

1. Forget about “race.”
2. Give your story the power.
3. Respect your readers right to cast the story.
4. Know your characters’ relationship to ethnicity.
5. Check your descriptions of non-verbals.
6. Do your homework if you cue ethnicity with jargon, diction, or accent.
7. Question the cover art.

How important is Japanese culture?

Japanese culture is ancient and is filled with rites and traditions to honor the family. With important rites of passage, festivals of celebration, and unique dress and style, details from the lives of your Japanese ancestors will brighten your family stories.

What is the most important culture in Japan?

Deeply rooted in Japan’s unique Shinto religion and traditional agrarian lifestyle, Japan is a country with a vibrant “matsuri” culture.

How do you write cultural writing?

7 Tips for Writing About Other Cultures

1. Take chances. If you have the opportunity to include more diversity in your work, take it.
2. RESEARCH.
3. Always, always treat your characters as individuals.
4. Past informs present.
5. Avoid palette swaps.
6. GET IT CHECKED!
7. Don’t stop.