: Re: How to write about characters and places you aren't personally familiar with? What do I need to do, as an Indian writer, if I want to make British or Americans the main characters in my book,

@Mendez196

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Another consideration not yet mentioned is the question of whom you are writing for. If you're an Indian writing about Americans in a book published in India for an Indian audience, the bar is probably much lower than if you're an Indian writing about Americans in a book to be published in America for an American audience. The more familiar the audience is with the culture in question, the more likely they are to catch any small errors.

As to how to go about it, you'll need to become familiar with the culture, both in terms of real life and in terms of fiction. In addition to researching any specific topics, read fiction by natives of the culture similar to what you're aiming to write.

If you're still unsure of your ability to convincingly convey a native of another culture, one option might be to tell the story from the viewpoint of a native of a culture you are familiar with. For example, you might tell a story about an American couple but your viewpoint character might be an Indian co-worker or an Indian exchange student they are hosting in their home. Any mistakes or cultural misunderstandings might then be attributed to the view-point character rather than the author.

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