The thing with fantasy worlds as I mentioned in my last post is diversity. Writers at Tumblr are really serious when it comes fantasy worlds not with person of color characters. If your world is only white characters or the PoC characters aren't well created, it won't feel real to them. You might also get lectures on how there are colored people in medieval times (which is true), etc. I know several people on Tumblr afraid their characters will be "default white" and kept asking writing blogs how to research color cultures.
That's a
whole different kettle of fish. My earlier statement was about historical accuracy, not about representation - that
does require research. I can be, er, fairly vociferous about media representation at times myself, being mixed-race, genderqueer and asexual, and I have to say that I tend to hover on the border between sides with that argument. I dislike having to explain my experience of the human condition to other people as much as any other person, especially when my experience seems so obvious to me. I do have to remind myself that it isn't so obvious to everyone else, rein myself in and make myself explain patiently.
In large part, it depends where you are. I live in a small village in the south of England where the number of people of colour can pretty much be counted on the fingers of both hands - and if you go a few hours west, there are simply none at all. Go east half an hour to London, though, and suddenly you're surrounded by people from all over the world. Largely homogeneous worlds do exist, and it's natural that stories set in them would reflect that - I wouldn't expect a story set in a village like mine to necessarily feature a hugely diverse cast. (It would mostly be old, white people.
So many old people.) If it
did have a massively diverse cast, and wasn't set in some kind of more progressive future, I'd probably say that it didn't feel real to me - even as someone who advocates media representation for all sorts of overlooked and cast-aside groups.
Then there are other areas which have less diversity of ethnicity than traditional centres of immigration like Britain or America. I have a friend who studied in a large city in China last year; aside from the people on his course, he saw virtually no other white people than himself - and I'd find a story set there that didn't reflect that demographic a little odd, unless it focused specifically on the expat community of that city.
But in a wholly invented fantasy world, where all the rules of demography can be rewritten, it's a different matter entirely. There's no reason
not to be diverse there. And yes, researching different cultures can be intimidating for people, but without trying writers won't get anywhere. Of course, mistakes
are going to be made - that's just how exploring an area works. Some people may cite these mistakes as proof that the writer hasn't done the research properly and attack them over it, and that's taking it slightly too far, I feel - the writer is learning something new, and I think when any writer is learning something new they need balanced critical feedback rather than outright accusations of inadequacy. No one can be perfect on the first try: to expect that from anyone is expecting too much. What writers who are making mistakes with their characterisation of people of colour, LGBTQA+ people and others need is actual reviewers who understand both the problems of writing and the problems facing PoCs or other minority characters in fiction. And Tumblr, despite its many attractions, has never seemed to me to be the right place to find that sort of person.
Quite apart from anything else, Tumblr often serves the function of a space where oppressed and minority groups can be openly angry, which is something they can't be in the predominantly white, patriarchal, cisnormative and heteronormative society that pervades the West. That sort of 'rant space' isn't really compatible with the sort of atmosphere aspiring writers need in order to grow and develop. Stories are fragile things, and need attentive gardeners if they're ever to reach fruition.
Tl;dr: I always find it good to bear some thoughts from Tumblr in mind while writing - but I never take writing into Tumblr. It's just not the right environment.
I am a white female. Thus, I by default see people as white females. Well, not really but yeah actually. Most people around me are white (Swedes are pretty bland people) so it's not weird that I identify most with that.
Quoting that because it provides an example of a place that's not a massive centre of immigration, and therefore doesn't necessarily have a hugely diverse demographic.
I'm a white male, so I tend to see characters like that. Unless the story gives me reason to think otherwise. In my writing, I try to include a variety of people, but I'm still working at description so I don't exactly know how to describe people yet. I'll work on it.
My imagination isn't very obliging when it comes to characters in books. I either see them as if I'm looking at them without my contact lenses through a pane of frosted glass, or I see them in the style of a watercolour-tinted nineteenth-century engraving. I'm not sure if that's a problem. It does mean I rarely have any idea about what ethnicity they're meant to be. I suppose I usually see them as having the same sort of milky-tea-coloured skin as me, if anything.
I always write on the computer. I find that it's so much easier to edit, so I mainly do it for the convenience.
Pretentious creature that I am, I write on a 1957 Empire Aristocrat travelling typewriter, and then type up the draft thus created onto a computer, editing it and rewriting chunks as I go. Especially while wearing contact lenses, staring at a computer screen for a long time leaves my eyes pretty tired, so looking at paper is better; plus, typewriters can only be used to write, and not doodle or connect to the Internet, so it conveniently gets rid of all the usual distractions. I also find I can't write fluidly by hand - the physical act of pressing keys seems to be connected to whatever part of my mind is in charge of creating euphonious prose - so a typewriter solves that problem pretty nicely too.
Plus, it makes an
awesome noise. Jajuk-jajuk-jajuk-jajuk-jajuk-jajuk-
hwa-DING! It's oddly soothing. For me, anyway. For anyone in the same building as me, it's, er, incredibly irritating.