Previous Section (The Ask Tutorial)

This section is optional, but highly recommended. It might be one of the most important pages in this Masterpost!

As WWC has published a lot of material over the years, we have divided commonly asked questions and guides into 3 FAQ categories. We strongly recommend you consult the section(s) most pertinent to your question to ensure that your question has not been asked before.

FAQ 1: General FAQ for the basics and newcomers to Writing Diversity

Back when WWC was founded, the biggest question was not “What is good (or bad) representation?” but rather simply, “What is representation?” and “Is representation even worth it?” Over the past decade, diversity in fiction has become normalized, and more media corporations recognize its utility. But it doesn’t mean the cultural conversation around it has reached everyone, and we shouldn’t assume so. This FAQ is for readers who:

• Are new to topics of diversity and social issues.
• Are new to the internet altogether!
• Were recommended this source by a friend.
• Are not quite sure what the big deal is around writing with diversity.
• Would like a refresher on the basics.

FAQ 2: FAQs by Topic

Over the years, we’ve published a lot of How-To material on everything from POC character descriptions to how to navigate academic databases. They might just answer your question before you submit anything! This FAQ is for readers who:

• Process information better if it is written as a formatted list or how-to
• Are looking for in-depth how-to’s covering specific writing techniques or topics
• Are looking for reference materials written by RL POC (Such as our reader-submitted POC Profiles/Cultural Profiles)

FAQ 3: Specific Recommended Reading

This section lists specific posts and essays from our mods—not tied to a certain category or common question—which we think are nevertheless insightful in helping you build perspective as you learn to write diverse representation. Think of this section as our all-star, hall-of-fame, personal best posts! This FAQ is for readers who:

• Want to get better at asking WWC questions or approaching sensitivity readers
• Are interested in developing the mindset/approach to representing diversity
• Love to read!

Moving forward, the WWC team WILL NOT answer any asks covered by the FAQs!

To help yourself, the WWC community and the WWC moderator team, please ensure that your question hasn’t already been answered by reviewing the FAQs and previous posts. This allows us to answer novel questions more rapidly, which means more resources for the whole community!