Sam Diego
asked
Sam Diego:
In a book that's about race tension in America, how do you handle stereotypes in your characters?
Sam Diego
I had one main stereotype in mind when I started working on FEAR BEGETS MURDER: the white supremacist police officer. While I felt furious at the treatment of minorities by police, I also wanted to consider how a person could grow from innocent child to violent racist adult. So I came up with a simplistic scenario.
As the book took form and the characters developed, however, it became apparent that this story would be riddled with stereotypes. I came to terms with that. I decided not to make political correctness the purpose of this book and, therefore, decided not to avoid the portrayal of stereotypes. Instead I embraced stereotypes for helping paint a plausible picture of human interactions.
As the book took form and the characters developed, however, it became apparent that this story would be riddled with stereotypes. I came to terms with that. I decided not to make political correctness the purpose of this book and, therefore, decided not to avoid the portrayal of stereotypes. Instead I embraced stereotypes for helping paint a plausible picture of human interactions.
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more