Writing the Other | Online Writing Classes and Workshops

Representation is fundamental to writing great fiction. Creating characters that reflect the diversity of the world we live in is important for all writers and creators of fictional narratives. But writers often find it difficult to represent people whose gender, sexual orientation, racial heritage, or other aspect of identity is very different from their own. This can lead to fear of getting it wrong–horribly, offensively wrong–and, in the face of that, some think it’s better not to try.

The hard truth is this: Representation and Diversity are too important to ignore.

It IS possible to write characters who represent the “Other” sensitively and convincingly. Through our classes, workshops, and seminars and the resources available on this site and elsewhere creators can get a solid foundation in how to craft characters from any background, no matter how different they are from you.

Register Today!

Writing Characters Who Practice Non-Standard Religions

September 18, 2023WtO Admin

How can you create convincing characters who see the world in really different ways? Nisi Shawl’s talks and exercises explore the roots of religions and other models for understanding the universe, helping you to depict practitioners of non-dominant group faiths OR believers in your invented religions and cosmologies. [...]

NaNo Prep Daily 2023

September 1, 2023Writing the Other

Get yourself ready to write a bunch of words in one month with writing exercises that will help you get to know your characters and world before you dive into them in earnest. Register for Writing the Other’s NaNo Prep Daily and get an exercise every day in October. [...]

NaNo Prep 2023: Character Workshop

August 31, 2023September 22, 2023WtO Admin

Gearing up for NaNoWriMo 2023? Before you put words to page, get to know your main character/s better in this Preptober workshop with authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford. [...]

NaNo Prep 2023: Worldbuilding Workshop

August 31, 2023September 1, 2023WtO Admin

In this workshop, authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford will guide you through short writing exercises that will help you dive into aspects of your world that writers often overlook, but that impact your story and characters in major ways. [...]

Research Skills for Fiction Writers | 2023 Webinar

August 23, 2023August 22, 2023Writing the Other

Writing great fiction often requires research. Whether you’re a writer who creates whole new worlds or futures, a writer who uses historical settings or events, or a writer crafting characters whose identities or cultures are very different from your own, you need to learn this skill. [...]

The Friend, The Lover, and The Enemy – Mastering Key Relationship Arcs

August 21, 2023August 21, 2023WtO Admin

Join bestselling and award-winning author Piper J. Drake for an exploration into the various relationships between principal characters and how the progression of those relationship arcs through the course of the story can drive plot forward. [...]

News & Events

Writing the Other and Clarion West Join Forces!

July 25, 2023July 23, 2023Writing the Other

Writing the Other and Clarion West, two Seattle-based writing organizations, announce the beginning of a new partnership. Clarion West will serve as the fiscal sponsor for Writing the Other, as the organizations explore partnership opportunities and shared resource development. [...]

Holiday Sale: 25% Off On Demand Classes

November 25, 2022Writing the Other

To celebrate the holiday season we’re offering 25% off all On Demand videos starting today and ending December 31, 2022. [...]

Building Inclusive Worlds Scholarship Fundraiser

July 11, 2022July 9, 2022Writing the Other

As you know, Bob, fighting oppression and colonialist frameworks happens on multiple fronts, including in art. Narratives are one of the most powerful ways to shape how humans view and interact with each other, for good or for ill. We’re invested in “for good”. [...]

Resources

Representation Matters: A Literary Call To Arms by K. Tempest Bradford

June 11, 2023June 12, 2023Writing the Other

Representation is key to good writing. This is true whether you’re a novelist, a game writer, a playwright, or a screenwriter; whether you work in television, in game development, or new media. All narrative has the power to impact culture and individuals in a positive way or a negative one. It’s up to creators to choose. [...]

Writing the Other on Writing Excuses – Crafting Chinese-American Characters

March 1, 2021May 26, 2023Writing the Other

Yang Yang Wang joins Tempest, Piper J. Drake, and Dan Wells for a discussion of language, food, and a whole raft of other cultural elements critical to crafting Chinese-American characters. [...]

K. Tempest Bradford and Sheree Renée Thomas on the Glitchy Pancakes Podcast

February 27, 2021February 18, 2021Writing the Other

K. Tempest Bradford and Sheree Renée Thomas do a deep dive into Own Voices fiction, why it’s so important, and how it fits in with Writing the Other. [...]

Available Any Time: On-Demand Webinars

On Demand: Writing Bisexual and Pansexual Characters | Master Class

September 15, 2023September 16, 2023Writing the Other

Bisexual author Cecilia Tan walks writers through the process of researching and representing characters who are not attracted exclusively to people of a single gender. Termed pansexual by some, bisexual by others (the “B” in LGBTQ), these sexual identities are among the most stigmatized and misunderstood, and are often represented by cliches and inaccurate stereotypes. [...]

On Demand Webinar: Cultural Appropriation – What It Is & How To Avoid It

November 16, 2021Writing the Other

Most writers want to avoid Cultural Appropriation but worry that they don’t fully understand what it is or how to ensure their work does not include it. In this On Demand webinar, we’ll give you the resources you need. [...]

On Demand: Writing Fat Characters | Master Class

November 14, 2021November 15, 2021Writing the Other

In this Master Class authors Marianne Kirby and Meg Elison will help you move beyond these kinds of tropes and create characters with big bodies that constitute good representation. [...]

On Demand: Should Authors Write Characters Different From Themselves?

November 13, 2021November 15, 2021Writing the Other

Though framed as a yes or no question, the answer to this is complicated and complex. In this On Demand webinar we’ll give you the answer. [...]

On Demand: Writing Deaf and Blind Characters | Master Class

January 21, 2019November 4, 2021Writing the Other

Partially deaf and partially blind writer and editor Elsa Sjunneson walks writers through the process of researching and understanding both conditions for fiction writing. [...]

On Demand: Writing for Trans and Non-Binary Narratives | Master Class

November 22, 2018November 4, 2021Writing the Other

Trans playwright Ashley Lauren Rogers provides writers with an understanding of gender identity, biological sex, appropriate language (including pronouns), transitioning, and why accurate representation of trans and non-binary people in all media is crucial and necessary. [...]

What our students say about us

The conversations and community that emerged over the course of the Writing the Other intensive was as valuable as the issues discussed within the readings and exercises, if not more so. So glad I did this!

― Fran Wilde, Nebula Award-winning author of Updraft

Writing the Other is an invaluable workshop for anyone who cares about writing honest and true stories. On point exercises. Loads of reference material. Experienced instructors who bring passion and wisdom to each and every lesson. I highly recommend it.

― Beth Bernobich, author of The Time Roads

Many writers live in fear of making offensive mistakes. This workshop is crucial for understanding how that fear can lead to marginalization or elimination of characters that challenge the status quo. And it’s fun, too.

― A Seattle student on the Classic Seminar

Going into the workshop I had a particular story I was burning to learn how to tell without being inappropriate. I was terrified I was writing it (and anything else involving characters of color) like an out-of-touch white dork. Ms. Shawl and Ms. Bradford were compassionate and emotionally generous while being very straightforward. Their class both eased my mind and made me realize how clueless I’ve been; it has started me on a lifetime learning project that can do nothing but make me a better writer.

― Ellen Saunders, a Weekend Intensive student