: Re: I don't want to be introduced as a "Minority Novelist" I started writing a novel directly tied to my background in which the protagonist and her surrounding environment have many characteristics

@Welton431

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Narrating what she did, instead of where she is from, is always a good idea. Here's why!

What she did (and what she experiences) is immediate, we can imagine the scene. If she is bullied, or discriminated against, we can identify.

Where she came from doesn't really tell us much, it is indirect and requires the reader to infer from a location or setting how that influences what she does or experiences. But that is a recipe for failure, because we all know that given exactly the same circumstances of location, even down to a neighborhood, the outcomes can be wildly different. Some people become multi-millionaire celebrities, others end up in prison for life, or working at the local McDonald's for life. Or they take a middle road, join the military and never rise above a middling rank. Start a business and struggle a lifetime to reach a mediocre retirement that was never enough.

Where she came from is not predictive of who she becomes. In fiction, we like to see people succeed by grit through hardship and self-sacrifice. Which can include racism, failing to integrate culturally, and not belonging, or having friends, or being understood. Being rejected or discriminated against are hardships, and fair game for fictional characters to overcome.

Write what she does, and what she experiences. There is no particular reason to change your story from Romance to Thriller. A Romance ending is fine for a thriller, though, many thrillers wind up with love being found.

As for being "typecast", I wouldn't worry about that. Non-minorities that would like to write about minorities have the opposite problem, they are seen as posers writing about something they have never truly experienced. Your story may not get published without the "street cred" of having lived it.

I see nothing wrong with being known as a minority writer that appeals to both the minority and non-minority audience. Agents and publishers are not going to publish bad fiction out of sympathy; they are there to make money from good fiction, end of story. If your personal history helps sell it, embrace it.

But if it bothers you, then when you get an offer from an agent make it clear to them you do not want to be the new voice of your minority, you really want to be free to write other kinds of fiction and your next story isn't likely to be as minority-driven as this one. Then prove you aren't a one trick pony.

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