How to Write Biracial Characters Who Feel Real

Learning how to write biracial characters is something anyone can do. You don’t have to be mixed, and you don’t have to get an expensive writing-related degree. All you need are basic writing and journalism skills, an anti-racist attitude, motivation and free time.

Of course, being able to draw from personal experience is a huge advantage. It also helps if you have relationships with biracial people who are comfortable acting as inspiration for your characters.

All three of my novels feature biracial protagonists informed by my personal experiences and interviews with biracial people. If you follow the advice here, I’m confident you’ll be able to write compelling biracial characters in any creative writing format.

If you already have your ethical considerations, story and character development fully fleshed out, feel free to skip straight to the instructions section in the middle of the article. For those who have a blank slate or are still figuring out ethical considerations, we recommend reading every section.

Should Biracial Characters Be in Your Story?

“Can” and “should” are different matters. Everyone can write biracial characters, but not everyone should.

Before committing to the task, ask yourself these questions.

• Have I studied the definitions of “biracial”?
• Why do I want to write biracial characters?
• Is the story about being biracial, or would biracial characters be there strictly for diversifying the cast?
• Based on my story’s setting, does it make sense to include biracial characters?
• Are my biracial characters going to be main or supporting characters?
• Which ethnic mixes do I most want to focus on?
• For biracial writers who don’t have the identity of the specific ethnic mix they want to write: Do I know any biracial people of that specific mix who would chat with me about their experiences?
• For non-biracial writers who don’t know any biracial people: Do I have the necessary time to find, appropriately approach and interview biracial people?

The Definitions of Biracial: Clearing Up Gray Areas and Misconceptions

The simple, straightforward definition is having biological parents from two different races. When parents are of different races and biracial, their child would be “multiracial.” The “bi” part of “biracial” refers to only two races, no more or less. “Multiracial” includes “biracial” because it refers to more than one race.

As for what the percentage ratio has to be, there isn’t a consensus. From my experience, “biracial” typically has a connotation of a near even split. To use myself as an example, my 23andMe report stated that I am 49% white (Ashkenazi specifically) and 51% Lebanese, a near even split. Many people have said I look biracial or ethnically ambiguous.

Nonetheless, percentages don’t necessarily matter. A biracial person may inherit a low percentage of one race while presenting strongly as our stereotypical perception of that race, and vice versa. A biracial person may also more strongly resemble an ancestor who doesn’t look like the parents. Being biracial is about who our biological parents are, not how we manifest their traits.

Biracial poet and educator Ariana Brown told The Rauch Review, “I think it’s really crucial that writers view biracial people as wholes, not halves/percentages. Since race is not biological, I’ve always described it as having memberships in two different clubs. I’m not 50% of a member of each club, I’m 100% a member of two clubs, because no one can take away my ancestors.”

Synonyms for Biracial: A Quick Language Guide for Writers and Authors

When writing exposition or dialogue about being biracial, it can get repetitive if the readers see “biracial” over and over again without a break. Below are some alternative words we recommend mixing in (pun intended!). Their definitions are not exactly the same, but readers will be able to use context and understand that you’re leveraging these words as synonyms.

• Mixed
• Interracial
• Multiracial
• Multiethnic
• Halfie (For this one, neutrality vs. offensiveness depends on tone and context.)

Slang Words for Specific Biracial Mixes

Here’s a breakdown of slang words for specific parent combinations. Some of these are meant to be offensive or politically incorrect. Only write the controversial ones if the point is for a character or narrator to be offensive, politically incorrect, irrelevant or referring to what someone else is saying.

• Amerasian = American (race not specified, but presumably not Asian) + Asian
• Blasian = Black + Asian
• Blaxican = Black + Mexican
• Eurasian = white + Asian
• Half or hafu: a Japanese way of referring to a biracial person, usually half Japanese and half another race (“hapa” is common in Hawaii)
• ​​Honhyeol = Korean + another race
• Hùnxuè’ér = Chinese + another race
• Luk khrueng = Thai + another race
• Mestizo/Mestiza = white + Indigenous Hispanic race or Indigenous Filipino race
• Mulatto/mulatta = white + Black or Afro Latino white (typically said neutrally in Latin America)
• Tisoy = indigenous Filipino + another race
• Quapa = three quarters white + a quarter Asian
• Wasian = white + Asian

If you think a popular one is missing from this list, please message me, and I’ll consider an addition.

Considerations for Screenwriting Biracial Characters

When writing books and short stories, resources aren’t a significant factor. Research and writing are free or nearly free. While writing on a device, electricity and internet access could be considered small costs. The same logic applies to notebooks, paper and pens or pencils. Self-publishing can cost a few thousand dollars if you invest in high-quality design and editing, but the process can also be cheap if you opt to do everything yourself.

With screenwriting, resource and time management will depend on whether you can sell your script to a major studio. If you get a yes from a well-financed producer, they’ll take care of finding and casting actors to play biracial characters. Depending on the amount of creative control you retain, you may push for actors who have the ethnic backgrounds of the characters they’re playing. But you might not get your way.

If you decide to self-produce, existing connections and personal financial resources will be enormous factors. Do you want actors who have the same ethnic mix as the characters, or can at least present convincingly? If so, do you already know said actors?

If not, you’ll have to find, audition and cast them yourself. Then you’ll have to shoot, edit, produce and distribute. Or you’ll need the money to hire someone for these services.

Biracial characters might add a lot of work to your plate. If you’re in a situation where you’d save a lot of time, money and stress by screenwriting non-biracial characters, ask yourself if biracial characters are necessary for the story and setting.

When the Story is About Being Biracial vs. Biracial Characters as a Diversity Point

When being biracial is a huge theme in the story, it’s natural to focus heavily on issues of identity politics, cultural conflicts, physical presentation, racism, religion, etc. The situation is different when biracial characters are minor or when the story isn’t about being biracial. It doesn’t make sense to dedicate large portions of the narrative to rhetoric about a secondary issue. If readers/viewers suddenly see a long tangent about biracial issues for a minor character or theme, it can feel like the author is trying too hard.

Having biracial characters in a story often captures the nature of many real settings. In 2021 the United States Census Bureau reported that there were 33.8 million multiracial people living in America. This figure was a 276% increase from 2010. The trend has continued upward.

Because being multiracial is so common, discussions are not necessary for every biracial character. Some biracial characters should exist exactly the same way as any other character.

Do Your Biracial Characters Have to Look Like Real Life People? — An Ethical Gray Area

In reality, certain mixes — at least in the present day — have limitations on how they physically present. Take mixed white and Black people with a red-haired parent. I have not seen this mix result in a child with dark black skin and bright red hair. If you see someone in real life who fits this description, please alert me immediately, and I’ll make a revision here.

Is it ethical for creators outside the mix to imagine biracial characters with physical traits that don’t exist in reality? I think so, but I would be open to a healthy debate with people who assert otherwise.

My second novel, “The Last of the Mentally Ill,” has a supporting biracial antagonist character named Claire Steinfeld. She is half white and half Indian. She has blond hair from her white father and dark brown skin from her Indian mother. Like the example I mentioned above, I haven’t seen this combination of features in real life.

“The Last of the Mentally Ill” is a literary speculative genre. The setting is slightly in the future. As mixed-race people become increasingly common, I think it’s possible we’ll see new combinations of physical features. Claire’s physical appearance represents this possibility.

In other media such as anime, unrealistic biracial physical qualities are an aesthetic choice. It doesn’t seem like these writers are trying to make a statement about future possibilities or the limitations of physical traits from mixed parentage.

How to Write Biracial Characters Through Planning and Journalism

If visions for biracial characters are naturally popping into your head, jot down notes immediately! Save and organize those notes so you don’t lose them. Effortless creativity is a blessing. Don’t take it for granted.

For those suffering with writer’s block, don’t panic. Our prompts and guidelines should help you brainstorm. In addition to the questions we pose in the “Should Biracial Characters Be in Your Story?” section above, ask yourself these:

• Do I want the character to be aware of their biracial identity from the beginning of the story?
• Has anyone lied to my character about the nature of their biracial identity?
• How does my character feel about their appearance in relation to being biracial?
• Did the character grow up with both their parents?
• Are the character’s parents together and in a healthy relationship?
• Do people in the character’s life view them as belonging more to one race than another? Does the character feel the same?
• Is the story set during a historical period where the character’s specific mix experienced particularly high or intense rates of discrimination?

If you’re still stuck, consider joining our Patreon community where you can receive direct advice from me.

Use Journalism to Find Biracial Sources and/or Editors

I believe this step is necessary for creators writing a biracial-focused story with a main character whose mix is different from theirs. Readers deserve to see that you put in journalistic due diligence.

If the main character is based on your ethnic background, drawing from personal experience is sufficient. Still, I recommend including sources and editors with a similar background.

How to Find and Respectfully Approach Biracial People Online

For those unsure how to word their query, try modifying this template:

“Hi, I’m looking to interview biracial people who are comfortable providing inspiration and insights for the characters in my project. Thank you for your time!”

If you can afford to, offer to send them a little money for the time they spend talking to you. Valuing people’s time is a sign of respect. For sources who want exposure for their own projects, offer to promote their work via social media, email, etc. You can raise this part of the conversation by adding it to your query or mentioning it once you start chatting with the source.

General Social Media Platforms, Quora and HARO

Below are some places where you should post this type of general query. Then wait and see if any responses come in.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Threads
• TikTok
• X

If you want more responses or got skunked on your first try, ask a question on Quora. People on Quora tend to use their real names, so this approach is best if you need to cite people by their full names. If you’re a pro journalist who writes for a publication, try Connectively’s HARO (Help a Reporter Out) service.

Reddit

For creators who don’t mind anonymous sources, Reddit is often a gold mine of answers, feedback and conversations. If you haven’t already, make an account. Then try one of these subreddits or the equivalent for the specific mix you’re researching. Post and pray.

• r/biracials (for Black and white mixed people)
• r/hapas — “Hapa community for multiracial Eurasians, Blasians, Quapas, Hāfus (ハーフ), Hùnxuè’ér (混血儿), Luk khrueng (ลูกครึ่ง) honhyeol (혼혈), Tisoy, Amerasians (Mỹ lai)”
• r/multiracialasians (for multiracial Asian people, including biracial)

Feel free to suggest other communities, and I’ll add them to the list if they seem healthy and active.

In-Person Events Like Loving Day

In-person events are another great way to connect with and interview biracial people. Loving Day, an organization that commemorates and celebrates the legalization of mixed-race marriages in the U.S., has in-person events every year. One of them might be near where you live.

For Writing a Main Character Outside Your Identity: Hire Freelance Editors From That Character’s Communities

When storytellers write about characters with ethnic experiences outside their own, discerning readers will want to see creative involvement from the represented communities. Hiring editors from those communities is a great way to demonstrate due diligence. Perhaps more importantly, feedback from these editors will usually increase the authenticity of the story.

Chester, the main character of my second novel, is half white and half Black. Because I’m not Black at all, I felt a responsibility to bring Black editors onto the project. After I finished my first draft, I hired several Black editor and therapist colleagues of mine to review the manuscript. All of them had useful feedback that improved my prose and character development.

The book has an afterword section that details the experience. If you put in this amount of time and effort, I highly recommend writing a similar afterword or introduction. Like our teachers would say in grade school, it’s important to “show your work.” After obtaining permission, mention all involved editors in your project’s acknowledgements section or credits.

Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Biracial Characters

The main advice is in our steps above, but here are some extra tips on how to write biracial characters. We also outline some problematic mindsets and cliches you should avoid.

Do: Ask Your Local Librarian for References

If you’re a writer who wants references, there are millions of books, films and TV shows that cover biracial characters. It can feel impossible to find a good starting point or curate a useful reading/watch list. We offer a few references below, but we’ll understand if our short list doesn’t cover what you’re looking for. Sure, you can do a bunch of web searches, but the results might not be close to what you had in mind.

Instead try the library!

“Asking your local librarian for relevant literature is a great place to start, especially if you don’t know someone of the specific ethnic/racial mix you want to write about,” said Brown, who is also a librarian. “I usually find that someone of that background usually has created or written something about their experience, you just have to be willing to look for it.”

Do: Make At Least One Biracial Character Relatable

Biracial people are fundamentally the same as everyone else. In a cast with multiple biracial characters, at least one of them should be a regular, relatable person. It would feel odd, and perhaps a bit racist, if only the biracial characters are eccentric.

Do: Research Settings Where A Lot of Biracial People Live

If you decide to write a realistic fiction story with a biracial character of a certain mix, an accurate setting could help establish a sense of realism. Let’s say your biracial main character is half Filipino and half white. One logical setting would be San Diego, my hometown. San Diego has a large Filipino community and a sizable white population. It’s common for white and Filipino people there to have children.

If you choose a setting you haven’t been to, set aside time and money to travel there, take notes and interview locals. It’s OK if you’re not from the setting.

Do: Prepare for Critical Feedback

No matter how much time and effort you invest in being sensitive to portrayals of biracial characters, some readers will not approve. A few reviewers might lower your star ratings simply because you don’t have the same background as the main character.

Be ready for critical feedback, some of which might feel unfair. If you respond, take the high road. Keep your tone respectful.

Do: Consider Going Beyond the Common White-Another Race Mix

The vast majority of biracial characters in popular stories are half white. There isn’t anything wrong with writing a character with this mix, but it seems like the world of fiction needs more non-white biracial characters.

Don’t Use Biracial Characters to More Efficiently Fulfill a Diversity Checklist

Due to a combination of guilt and pressure from toxic readers, some writers feel like their cast of characters has to cover nearly every ethnicity under the sun. Biracial characters may act as a means of more efficiently reaching this goal. If a character is Black and Hispanic, for example, the creator may argue that they have covered two communities in one character.

Are there story reasons for the cast to be composed this way? If not, don’t overcompensate on the inclusion of ethnicities. Reasonable readers don’t care about excessive fulfillment of diversity checklists. Try to find a balance.

Don’t Assume Biracial Characters Automatically Add Diversity

The idea of diversity depends on setting. If a story is set in a neighborhood where many people are of a certain racial mix, a character of this mix would be considered typical.

Don’t Inject Too Many Biracial Characters Into Primarily Non-Biracial Settings

Imagine a story where the narrator establishes that the setting is a small town where the vast majority of the population is very self-segregated. Then we see the protagonist interacting with lots of biracial characters. Unless there is a crucial story or character development reason for the protagonist to know almost every biracial person in town, these interactions conflict with the established setting.

Don’t Lean Into the Stereotype That Biracial Characters Are More Physically Attractive Than Non-Mixed Characters

Even if it’s not the creator’s intention, harping on the increased sex appeal of a biracial character can risk coming across as bigoted or creepy. This idea implies that non-mixed people are inherently less attractive.

Don’t Assume Biracial People Are Conflicted, Discriminated Against or Constantly Ruminating on Their Identity

Because I’m half Ashkenazi (what many people call “Jewish”) and half Arab, people have assumed I feel conflicted about certain political issues. Not the case. My parents are politically aligned. Growing up, there wasn’t any consistent tension or conflict.

People have rarely treated me differently because of my ethnic background. Compared to other concerns in my life, I don’t think frequently about my identity. I haven’t struggled with feeling ethnically inauthentic or incomplete.

Brown said, “I would love to read more literature about biracial characters who are not obsessed with authenticity, because they are already firmly rooted in their communities. In fact, I often think that being biracial is the least interesting thing about me.”

Remember that being biracial can be a casual detail. There are also cases where biracial people do feel conflicted, face intense discrimination and ruminate constantly on their identity. Rather than making a blanket assumption, take it character by character. Think about whether the story and setting would create a character who is casual or intense about their biracial identity.

6 Examples of Biracial Characters in Fiction

There are millions of books, movies and TV shows that feature biracial characters. Time is limited, so use this section of our article to curate a short reading/watch list. Learning how to write biracial characters is a wonderful excuse to read great books and binge TV on the couch. If you want us to add an item to this list, please send us an email or social media message.

1. Danny from ‘Mexican WhiteBoy’ by Matt de la Peña

Danny is a half-Mexican, half-white teenager who attends a private school in San Diego. He can’t speak Spanish, and he doesn’t fit in with the white or Mexican kids. His Mexican father is in jail, and his white mother is out of town with her new boyfriend. While Danny stays with relatives in San Diego, he bonds with another biracial boy and develops a passion for baseball.

2. Rosemary in ‘The Taciturn Sky’ and ‘Nemesis of the Great’ by Cinzi Lavin

Lavin features Rosemary, a half Indian and half white woman, as a character in her series about the decline of East Coast American aristocracy. Lavin’s writing follows our guidance here about how to write biracial characters as normal people who happen to be mixed. Rosemary coordinates charitable giving on behalf of a corporation. She helps the main character, Bryce, broaden his understanding of religion.

3. The Family in ‘Everything I Never Told You’ by Celeste Ng

Authors and screenwriters often write biracial characters as isolated, struggling to find anyone with their same background. This novel is different because the narrative focuses on a Chinese-white couple with two children. The family may endure a heartbreaking tragedy, but their surviving children at least have each other to understand their biracial identity.

4. Saïd Sayrafiezadeh in ‘When Skateboards Will Be Free’

We wanted to include Sayrafiezadeh’s memoir to illustrate that writing biracial characters isn’t limited to fictional stories. If you’re biracial, and you write a memoir, you are writing yourself as part of a story and cast of characters. Sayrafiezadeh has an Iranian father and a white American mother. While growing up in the U.S., his parents were members of the Socialist Workers Party.

5. Sam in the ‘Dear White People’ TV Show

Samantha “Sam” White, an only child, has a Black mother and white father. Sam’s biracial identity is a key factor in her character development and the overall plot. She presents more as Black and focuses primarily on that half of her identity. During the beginning of the series, Sam is the host of “Dear White People,” a radio program run through her fictional Ivy League college campus. When her Black peers discover she is dating a white teaching assistant from one of her classes, they question her purity as a Black social justice activist.

6. Sunny in “Beautiful and Terrible Things” by S.M. Stevens

Speaking to our earlier point about focusing more on non-white biracial characters, this novel features Sunny, who is Black and Indian. Author S.M. Stevens, who is a straight white woman, worked with “sensitivity readers” and subject matter experts while developing Sunny. Both readers and critics have had positive feedback on her cast of characters.

There Is No One Way to Write Biracial Characters

Our guide is a point of inspiration, not a playbook. Ultimately the writing process is up to you. Even when dealing with writer’s block, try to leave room for your own creativity. Think about which risks to take and how you might cope with critical feedback. Like biracial characters and their identities, don’t let people put you in only one box or another.