: It depends on your readership. The extreme sensitivity to racial or gender issues is not equally present in all parts of the current (2019) population. Some people would explode on you for

It depends on your readership.

The extreme sensitivity to racial or gender issues is not equally present in all parts of the current (2019) population. Some people would explode on you for calling someone black, others wouldn't even notice it. You even see the different attitudes in the answers given already.

So if you know your audience, then your answer depends on that. You don't want to upset them unless it is for making a point, so if you think your audience will be upset, change the term or cushion it with a phrase like

...an elderly man was standing in front of them. John instinctively thought of him as black, then quickly corrected himself and mentally replaced the word with "african".

Using such phrases (but not overusing them!) allows you to use the term that is the best description (many african people are more brown than black, and there are white people living in Africa, too) without putting you in the line of fire of social justice warriors.

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: Do I really need to have a scientific explanation for my premise? So, in my post-apocalyptic novel, the world was caught up in an international war (basically WWIII), and all the world's nuclear

: Including disabled characters without "inspiration porn" We all have seen the headlines: "Touching Moment Where Autistic Boy is Asked to Prom", "Watch This Child With Downs Win Her Heat During

: If it's not important to the plot, setting, or characterization Then don't mention it. Mention relevant details, whether those are age, gender, mean- or friendly-looking, etc. If it does matter

: How do I make a "contract" with my reader? (EDITED TO MAKE IT LESS BROAD AND MORE CLEAR). I recently asked a question about if I really need to include scientific proof for my mostly-non-scientific

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