USING STEREOTYPES PROPERLY
Stereotypes exist, and they will continue to exist as long as there is diversity between humans and a tendency in the human brain to compartmentalize knowledge. Stereotypes allow us to evaluate if a person is approachable, e.g. offer directions to the nearest coffee shop or know how to lift a barbell safely. If you avoid anything that might be interpreted as offensive, this can lead to cookie-cutter and bland fiction, with characters that don't stand out and themes that fail to stir any conflict or consideration in the reader.
But fear not. Character stereotypes can be successfully applied in our writing when they are carefully selected for maximum effect, or simply to play off them. And because stereotypes are widely recognized, they provide common ground for your readers. From that starting place, you have the option to use your readers' expectations to your advantage in a number of ways.
😀 Subversion - When a character is introduced, certain details can immediately bring a stereotype to mind, and readers will recognize the character as someone they believe to know. By creating a character that visually represents a stereotype in our readers' minds, we can subvert their expectations then allow the character's behavior to break the stereotype and show the reader something different.
😀 Colorful Camouflage - Stereotypes can be used with non-recurring walk-on characters by offering some color to the scene without distracting from the protagonist. These fill-in characters can come in—dressed in their cowboy hat and speaking in a Southern drawl—do their job, then disappear again without losing reader engagement.
😀 Education - You can use stereotypes for educational purposes or to generate controversy. For example, you might portray a character's struggle to overcome an offensive stereotype. Or you can give the antagonist stereotypical thinking and show how it contributes to their demise in the end.
Thank you for reading our Character Development series! We hope you're leaving with more than you came with.
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Bootcamp Mentors Workshop Topics
RandomThe Bootcamp Mentors have hosted many workshops over the years, and we have included them all in this book. Consider this another ongoing resource from your friends here at BCM.
