Writing With Color – Featured Description Posts
Some of our most useful posts on describing People of Color, all in one place.
- Words to Describe Hair
- Words to Describe Skin Tone
- Describing Asian Eyes
- Describing Wide Noses
- Describing Undead & Sick Dark Skin
- Describing POC and Avoiding Caricatures
- Describing Unnatural Skin Tones: Green
- Describing Unnatural Skin Tones: Jaundice
- Indicating Race of Characters (FAQ Questions #3-4)
- Not Indicating Race at All – Note: You Probably Should
- Praising Beauty Without Fetishizing
- Olive Skin, Race and Ethnicity
Specific Description Posts
- Describing Skin as Swarthy (Spoiler alert: it’s sketchy)
- Describing East Asian Skin as Porcelain (Spoiler alert: it’s also sketchy)
- Describing Skin as Russet (Spoiler alert: it’s alright)
- Describing PoC as Exotic (SA: it’s othering)
- Describing Skin as Ebony (SA: it’s cliche)
- Describing Natural Hair as Cloud-Like (SA: it’s cool)
- Describing Black Hair as Unkempt (SA: it’s offensive)
- Describing Black Hair as Kinky (SA: it depends)
- Describing Skin as “Dark as Night” (SA: it also depends)
- Describing Skin as Like Dirt or Soil (SA: See above)
- Describing Skin as just “Dark.” (SA: it’s vague)
- Describing Black Hair as “Nappy” (SA: it ain’t recommended)
- Describing Skin With Food (SA: it’s a no-no)
–WWC






