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The Ask Tutorial: How to Write an Ask We’ll Answer!

So You’ve Got a Question.

Before you start, once again, please make sure your question is not urgent! We make no guarantees on turnaround time, or even whether we’ll answer your question at all. Remember, the mods are all unpaid volunteers.

Now, what’s your question?

How do I write an [IDENTITY] character?

Too broad! If you need a starting point, please go to the WWC Navigation Page.

OK, how about… What would it be like to be an [IDENTITY] character? What would it be like to be an [IDENTITY] character living in [SETTING]?

Still too broad! You’re still in the realm of Things You Can Find On Youtube. “What it’s like being Black in Japan,” “Asian Diaspora in Latin America,” “Life with Mongolian Nomads”—etc. Try looking for places like Reddit’s r/AmA or Quora to find personal anecdotes of people from a variety of identities. Writing With Color even has a collection of profiles written and submitted by our POC followers for just this purpose! Check out the POC Profiles/Cultural Profiles here.

Well, okay. My character is [IDENTITY] and living in [SETTING]. I think my character might have [STEREOTYPE/TROPE]—is that okay or is that problematic?

Nope—this is a Rubber Stamp Question! Please check the Topic & Content Rules again.

Hmph. My character is [IDENTITY] and living in [SETTING]. Here’s background on my character. I read somewhere that this could be offensive because it is the [TROPE]. Does it count as this trope?

Better, but you need to demonstrate that you understand *why* the trope in question is offensive. And if you want to keep it, you need to explain why you still want it for your character. Read more at our PSA on explaining your motivations here.

Really? Fine: My character is [IDENTITY] and living in [SETTING]. Here’s background on my character. I can see the argument for why it’s [TROPE] and how that can be bad because XYZ. I intended to add this aspect to my character because ABC. Is it possible to make this work? What’s your personal threshold for [TROPE]?

EXCELLENT!

Finally! My character is [IDENTITY]… […] Is it possible to make this work? I don’t want to do it if it makes people mad. I want to represent [IDENTITY] as correctly as possible and I don’t want to let people down.

Best to leave that last part out.

This is not to dismiss the real anxieties about a potentially volatile response to your personal creation, especially in an era of doxxing and cyberbullying. However, our priority is to help advance good writing rather than help a writer with their anxieties or with winning the approval of a capricious public. Should the emotional pressure to “not do a bad” become difficult to tolerate, we recommend that you turn to your support networks.

Are you still struggling with how to state your question?

Try explaining your ask to other people. A question you have pondered over and over may seem obvious to you. This does not mean it will be obvious to friends or strangers on the internet like the WWC moderators. 

The Optimal Recipe for a WWC Ask:

DO:

1. Be as specific and thorough with the identity of the character as possible. Follow our Topic & Content Rules or your ask will be rejected.
2. Demonstrate that you have done your due diligence looking through existing resources and answered questions on the blog.
3. Give your reasoning. If a specific trope or plotline is of concern, explain why you feel that particular trope may be an issue and your motivation for wanting to include it.
4. Be concise when explaining your story! The ask form has a character limit of 1500. An ask that requires more explanation is likely too broad.
5. Sleep on it! Revisiting a question over the course of multiple drafts and several days is a great way to clarify for both yourself and others what you want to ask.

DO NOT:

1. Ask for a “rubber stamp” of approval.
2. Use an unprofessional or overfamiliar tone. Please follow our etiquette guidelines, which you will find later in this guide.
3. Include uncensored slurs. Mods may choose to delete uncensored slurs (and any other blatantly offensive content) to avoid triggering ourselves and/or others.
4. Forget to include content warnings in your submission. We understand that CWs can be interpreted variably, but please exercise your best judgment on common upsetting topics (E.g., Torture, Sexual Assault, Genocide, Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Lynchings, Incarceration, Hate Crimes, War Crimes)
5. Confuse a request for emotional labor with a request for writing feedback. We are here to provide writing advice, not reassurance or validation.

Check out this FAQ-Violator Speed Round for some concrete examples of what not to do and why.

(Updated October 12, 2025)