Before Shu Ping was Shu Ping, she was supposed to be Aisyah, this Malay girl. This was a conscious decision I made because I wanted to have a little more diversity in the story. I also liked the name, and that having someone who was not Chinese, could add another layer to the book.
While those intentions were good, I realised that writing scenes with Aisyah were very contrived. She wasn’t right for the story, and I didn’t know enough about Malay culture to actually create a well-rounded character. Sure, I had Malay and Muslim friends who would have been able to help, but Xin Long and Aisyah weren’t right together as friends. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the scenes were dull, unimaginative, static and dead.
It was the same with Four Eyes. He was Chinese, then I thought of making him Indian, but that faded away once his presence was on the page, partly because I had already created his backstory, and partly because I couldn’t imagine him as anything else.
As someone who grows up in a multi-racial country, there is a tendency to want to include people of other races in my own writing. I know how powerful it is to see someone of your own race, gender or sexual identity be represented–take Steven Universe for example. But I couldn’t just jump in and give my character an Indian or Malay sounding name and be done with it. That’s lazy writing, and I can only imagine the problems with plonking these names down in the story and not doing enough research. A character’s culture is part of his or her identity and I certainly didn’t want to erase that.
But then, Shu Ping came along, and she fit right in. She and Xin Long were best friends instantly. They connected, and of course, the rest is history (pardon the cliché).
This isn’t to say I will avoid writing characters of a different race than me, in the future. I do worry about co-opting certain types of culture. If I do, I will make time for the research and ask my friends questions to create a fully fleshed out character.
Use this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ru_boff/11911286485/