A way with worlds: 23 - The Persecution Rests

In writing reverse discrimination you not only have to know the motives of the biased, but how the reversal occurred and is possibly even accepted. Again, things happen for reasons in the world of biases and hatreds, even if the reasons are irrational. In this case, you're dealing with a bias/discrimination that would normally be unexpected or unthinkable, so you're going to have your work cut out for you.

In writing reverse discrimination, and any discrimination, remember that hatreds and biases tend to be self-creating and self-exciting. Group A feels justified in hating Group B, and Group B hates Group A for hating them - which only justifies Group A's feelings. It's like a wheel spinning faster and faster.

THINGS TO AVOID:
When writing stories involving discrimination or persecution, avoid these pitfalls:

• The Pity Me Hero - There's only so long we can listen to your main characters whine about their situation before it gets annoying and contrived. Making a hero persecuted for no other (obvious) reason than to make them a victim or seek sympathy from the readers may backfire.
• The Historical Escape - Picking an era in history and using certain groups as "instant bad guys" may seem a quick way to ensure villains with proper hateable traits. However, not knowing the history of the time and the causes for events will still make the story shallow.
• "I Know It Happened To Me" - Your personal experiences are great research for how characters feel, but not necessarily for accuracy or objectivity. If you use your own experiences in discrimination and bigotry in stories, again, understand the causes and effects - otherwise you degrade the validity of your own experience. You're close to the subject, be extra careful.

SUMMARY:
I'll be honest - if you're going to deal with such issues, you're going to walk into the history and psychology of human nastiness. However, if you do so, you'll at least be writing well.

Dealing with issues of biases, persecution, and bigotry isn't for everyone and it's not necessarily going to be easy. Work on it, do it well, but don't berate yourself, you'll only make a difficult situation worse.

STEVE'S SITES:
http://www.towson.edu/~flynn/heroes.html - A retrospective on heroes in fantasy fiction. A worthwhile, if occasionally repetitious read.

http://www.census.gov/genealogy/names/ - Having trouble coming up with names? (At least American ones?) Go to the census and get a list of names that are out there and go to town.

A Way with Worlds is also hosted at fanfiction.net.