Perspective and Bias

I'm reading a book of the genre I believe I will ultimately be published in, and not loving it. There are few protagonists in this genre that I have found I identify with. I guess that's why I write.

But it occurred to me after watching something on TV that maybe my personal bias is getting in my way. I tried envisioning the protagonist as a different race, or from a different upbringing, with different social mores bred into her from the get-go, that kind of thing. And it's better. She still drives me crazy with her bad decisions, and piling one bad thing on top of the other, but I get that it may be relatable to people.

It made me realize I might be pinning my "mature adult" perspective on my own 20-something protagonist. I'll tackle that in the editing. (I'm surely close to done by now!)

That's in my reading.

In my writing, just today I added a tiny incident with a minor character - who wasn't even a character before, just a known entity. I was halfway through what I wanted to happen and suddenly asked myself, "Why did I choose that gender?" I'm sure it's my bias because the majority of people I've met who hold that job have been male, but this WIP takes place some 75 years in the future, and anyway a majority is not an exclusivity.

I took a moment to consider how it might run if I changed the minor character's gender. It will be more believable, more in line with my protagonist's current situation, and I might get more out of it. Also, it might pay off in different repercussions in the next scene. 

I broke off from writing to document my breakthrough.

Note to self: Check your biases in each situation!

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