An Exercise in Empathy

Yes, people should be able to write characters of other races and nationalities as early and as often as possible. I find this practice to be intertwined with how writers give the reader a look into the heads of other people. Not only is it important to give readers the chance to look at different cultures through the eyes of a protagonist but it also gives the author a chance to write outside of their comfort zone. By creating characters that are a different nationality and/or race, the authors are forced to broaden their horizons especially if they are the protagonists of their stories. By looking through a lens other than their own, it keeps the author's writing fresh and exciting while including multiple readers of different backgrounds. It can never be said that the author can truly relive the experiences of those characters, they should be able to try and understand them through their writing.