Diverse Characters - N + O

INTRODUCTION:

There’s been a lot of talk about adding diverse characters to fictional books. Most of the time, this is about including people of color if you’re a Caucasian writer, but all writers can add diverse characters to their books. And why stop at race? In this series, I’m going to list all sorts of diverse characters.

Note: I'm not knowledgeable about all types of people, so I'm skipping my usual tips in favor of letting others share their knowledge. See below 

**I won't be able to list them all, so here's a list of ethnic groups...with a list of even more lists at the bottom of the page. lol

Here are the diverse characters for N:

Native Americans

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Kim_Titla.jpg

Narcissists 

Narcoleptics (Individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder)

Nepalese Individuals (Nepal)

Newly Weds

New Zealanders

Nicaraguans

Nigerians

Ninjas

Non-Binary Individuals 

Norse Gods

Norse Individuals

Norwegians 

Nova Scotians

Nuns

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sisters_(Daughters_of_Mary)_Roman_Catholic_Singing.jpg

Here are the diverse characters for O:

Obese Individuals

Ochlophobics (people with the fear of clowns)

Octogenarians (century-old individuals)

Octophobics (people with the fear of the number 8)

Ogres (fantasy)

Oholone Indians

Opera Singers

Orphans

Image from Pixabay

Orphindiophobics (people with the fear of snakes)

SHARE: If you can come up with more diverse characters that start with N or O, let me know and I will add them to my list.

QUESTION: Do you have tips or Do's/Dont's for one of the characters I mentioned above? Share your advice for writing about those characters in your comment.

Have you written about a character from my list?

*All images are free to use.

NEW COVER ART + FREE EBOOK

Sliding on the edge by C. Lee. McKenzie

Amazon / Smashwords 

Scarred. Scared. Alone. Can sixteen-year-old Shawna Stone overcome her inner suffering and transcend the past? 

Shawna has spent the first sixteen years of her life in Las Vegas and learned to handle anything from a Las Vegas hustle to skipping out on the rent. Damaged inside and out, she's survived with a tough, hardened attitude. When her mother abandons her, with only a bus ticket and the name and number of stranger to call, this troubled , desperate teen finds herself on a California horse ranch with Kay Stone, the steely, youngish grandmother she's never known.

Kay overwhelms Shawna with rules and daily barn chores, and Shawna baffles Kay with her foul-mouthed anger and shrugging indifference to everything--except the maltreated horse on the ranch next door. But it's worse than even Kay suspects: Shawna's driven to cut herself by Monster, that strange voice inside her head. Kay struggles to keep the ranch going and fears that unless she helps this girl, she could lose her last living family member.

As this unlikely pair struggles to co-exist, will they overcome their suffering and transcend the past? 

Empowering Women - Viola Davis

Check out my post, Dear Slow Writers, on the IWSG site!

Every month I am highlighting an empowering woman. This month it is:

Viola Davis

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Davis#/media/File:ViolaDavisNov2010.jpg

Although I don’t watch How to Get Away with Murder anymore, not since Season One ended, I’ll always remember the amazing response Viola got when she took off her wig and all of her makeup on camera. It was empowering for not just African American women but all women everywhere.

Viola is 52 and is a mother and a step mother. With her husband, she adopted her daughter, Genesis.

In 2015, she won an Emmy (she was the first black woman to receive one for Best Actress in a Drama) for her role as Analise Keating (HTGAWM). She gave a powerful speech while suffering from hot flashes! And she gave another awesome speech this year when she won an Oscar for her role in Fences.

“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” (2015)

She won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award (2001) for her role as Tonya (a 35-year-old mother fighting for her right to abort a pregnancy) in King Hedley II.

Time also listed her as one of the most influential people in the world in 2012.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, she openly talked about bullies from grade school who are all now sending her friend requests on Facebook. Surprise, surprise, right? And when she said she’s inclined to accept them to see if they’ve become failures at life, I couldn’t help but laugh. Don’t we all do that? Or secretly want to? It just goes to show that Emmy winners are susceptible to insecurity, too. And they still want revenge on old bullies. ;)

“What is there but a dream? You can’t trade in your dreams… Dream big, and dream fierce.”

INSPIRING SONG:

When Jennifer Hudson performed this song at the 2013 Oscars, she was stunning and powerful. She received a worthy standing ovation:

To watch, click: Jennifer Hudson - And I am Telling You (Oscar 2013)

QUESTIONS: Have you watched HTGAWM? Do you get teary-eyed when Viola gives speeches? I do.

Books for Writers - Feng Shui for Writers

Amazon

I’ve always been fascinated by Feng Shui, and I’m such a serious writer that I’ll try anything to make me a better writer. M.C. Simon offers ways to master our lives. She thoroughly explains what Feng Shui and Chi is and walks us through the steps to incorporate both, as well as the five elements, into our work space.

Some of her tips:

“Don’t face any empty wall. Decorate it, or else you will always have a feeling that you face obstacles.”

She suggests room dividers for those writers who have to work at home in a bedroom or the living room. A divider will separate our home life from our work life. A rug can also work because it marks the start of our writing zone.

“If you have no way of facing the door, and you must have your desk where you back will be toward the door’s direction, you can cure this situation by placing a mirror in front of your desk, so your eyes can observe the door behind you at any moment.”

Each section of a room had a purpose and M.C. Simon offers tips to utilize each area to bring out their benefits. EX: “Your career as a writer is represented by the north direction. In this area, place elements that symbolize water and metal.”

She also walks us through where to put our desk and how to decorate it.

As a writer and someone who loves to do interior design, I love all of her tips!

Check out this book and balance the harmony of your work space!

QUESTION: Have you ever tried Feng Shui?

#Sparks VS #Doubt / IWSG

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Question: What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?

My Answer: Don’t let #Doubt extinguish your #Sparks. 

A spark is the reason why you do what you do. It’s the pulse for your passion. It’s your inspiration and creativity. Sparks can motivate you, encourage you, challenge you, empower you. Sparks can give you insight and wisdom. Sparks are magical!

When we read, the text that invigorates us…what is it? Sparks.

When we find things that inspire us, those are sparks.

When we find motivational tools that work, those are sparks.

When I provide tips on my blog for writing, what am I sharing? Sparks.

#Sparks are powerful.

#Doubt is also powerful.

If we let it, #Doubt can kill our dreams, and that would be a tragedy. Don’t let #Doubt extinguish your dreams. Your dreams deserve to come to life.

Fight #Doubt with #Sparks.

Look for sparks everywhere. In books, nature, people, art, blogs. Everything has the potential to be a spark, which is why #Sparks are more powerful than #Doubt.

We must collect sparks like kindling and use them. That’s the key. Sparks aren’t #Sparks unless they are used. Use that inspiration you discovered. Let yourself be motivated. When you do, you’ll start a fire, because that’s what sparks do.

#Sparks ignite blazes. Within us.

Now go out and find the #Sparks you need to ignite your stories, dreams, and life!

****

INSECURITY: To beat my insecurity of being Chrys Fey in public, I've been taking baby steps, and one of those steps is to do videos.

Now I have a YouTube Channel!

I need 100 subscribers to create a custom URL.

Would you please subscribe?

Right now, I'm sharing videos about marketing.

Marketing Spark 1 - Branding

Marketing Spark 2 - Newsletters

Marketing Spark 3 - Amazon

Tomorrow I'll be sharing my 4th video about Goodreads.

Have a great IWSG Day!