Strong Female Characters Read online

  STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS

  A Busy Writer's Guide

  Marcy Kennedy

  Copyright 2013 Marcy Kennedy

  Smashwords Edition

  Strong Female Characters: A Busy Writer’s Guide

  First Edition

  All rights reserved.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. This e-book may not be re-sold, as a used file or otherwise, and may not be given away to other people. Purchase and download is a one-time final use of this product. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Editor: Christopher Saylor

  Published September 2013 by Tongue Untied Communications

  ISBN: 978-0-9920371-0-9

  INTRODUCTION

  * * *

  Why A Busy Writer's Guide?

  Every “how to become a better writer” list includes studying craft. Years ago, as a new writer, I took that advice to heart, but found that many craft books didn’t give me the detailed, in-the-trenches coverage of a topic I wanted. They included a lot of beautifully written prose and theory without explaining how to practically apply the principles, or they gave numerous examples but didn’t explain how to replicate those concepts in my own work.

  I ended up buying three or four books on the same topic to understand it fully and get the balance of theory and practice I was looking for. I spent more time studying craft than writing, and all the exercises in the books seemed to take me away from my story rather than helping me work directly on it. For the modern writer who also needs to blog and be on social media, who might be juggling a day job, and who still wants time to see their family or friends, that’s a problem. Do you know anyone who doesn’t have more commitments than they’re able to handle already without adding “study the writing craft” on top of it?

  We’re busy. We’re tired. We’re overworked. We love writing, but often wonder if it’s worth the sacrifices we’re making for it. We know we’re headed toward burning out, but don’t know what we can do differently.

  To quote Allan F. Mogensen, the creator of Work Simplification, it’s time to work smarter, not harder.

  I wrote The Busy Writer’s Guide series to help you fast-track the learning process. I felt writers needed a fluff-free guide that would give them the detailed coverage of a topic they required while also respecting their time. I want you to be able to spend the majority of your writing time actually writing, so that you can set aside your computer and enjoy the people and experiences that make life worth living.

  Each Busy Writer’s Guide is intended to serve as an accelerated master’s class in a topic. I’ll give you enough theory so that you can understand why things work and why they don’t, but also enough examples to see how that theory looks in practice. I’ll also provide tips and exercises to help you take it to the pages of your own story with an editor’s-eye view.

  My goal is for you to come away a stronger writer, with a stronger piece of work, than when you came in.

  Because A Busy Writer’s Guide to Strong Female Characters is a mini-book, it’s a little different from the full-length guides in the series. Instead of having a dedicated Take It to the Page section at the end of each chapter, you’ll find questions and prompts within the chapters themselves.

  So let’s get started…

  CHAPTER ONE

  * * *

  What Do We Mean By Strong Female Characters?

  Before we can talk about how to write strong female characters, I first need to cover the inevitable debate over what we mean by strong female character. And, more importantly, what we don’t.

  When I say strong female character, I’m not simply talking about a three-dimensional character whose sex is female. Life-like characters are important to any story, but creating believable, consistent characters with emotions we can relate to is a broader topic. (And one I’ll be covering in depth in a full-length book in the Busy Writer’s Guide series.)

  So, then, what do I mean by strong female character?

  In a New York Times article titled “A Plague of Strong Female Characters,” Carina Chocano writes, “I get the feeling that what most people mean or hear when they say or hear strong female character is female characters who are tough, cold, terse, taciturn and prone to scowling… in order for a female character to be worth identifying with, she should really try to rein in the gross girly stuff.”1

  She goes on to conclude that “Strength, in the parlance, is the 21st-century equivalent of virtue. And what we think of as virtuous, or culturally sanctioned, socially acceptable behavior now, in women as in men, is the ability to play down qualities that have been traditionally considered feminine and play up the qualities that have traditionally been considered masculine. Strong female characters, in other words, are often just female characters with the gendered behavior taken out.”2 [Emphasis mine.]

  And, yes, those stereotypes float around in books and movies—the character that could go from being a woman to a man with a simple name change and a haircut.

  But when you think about strong women in real life, is that the image that comes to mind? Because, you see, what makes for a strong female character is exactly what makes for a strong woman.

  Strong female characters, like strong women, can enjoy painting their nails, wearing makeup, and putting on a beautiful dress. They can wear stilettos or ballet flats or hiking boots. They can be moms, even stay-at-home moms. They can be musicians or cooks or doctors. They can cry. They can comfort a friend. They can listen. And, yes, they can even be afraid of bugs. (After all, even Indiana Jones was afraid of snakes.)

  None of those things define a strong woman or a strong female character.

  So what does it mean when we talk about a strong female character?

  Strong Female Characters Are Smart

  Smart can mean book smart the way a quantum physicist is, but it can also mean a woman with common sense that lets her find creative solutions to everyday problems. Or it can mean a woman who’s talented with using her hands and can paint a picture or fix a car. Smart, in this context, isn’t defined by IQ.

  She has a skill that earns respect and contributes to society. Her intelligence makes her competent, able to help others, and not totally dependent on another person for her entire existence. (Some dependence is okay—none of us are entirely self-sufficient.)

  Hermione Granger’s character in Harry Potter didn’t “play down qualities that have been traditionally considered feminine and play up the qualities that have traditionally been considered masculine,” yet she was a strong female character largely because of her intelligence and magical talent. She contributed to the search for Horcruxes in a meaningful way, so much so that Ron (in the movie version) admitted they wouldn’t have lasted even two days without her help.

  Strong Female Characters Act

  We’ve all seen the female character who stands by when she clearly should have acted. As much as I love the classic The Princess Bride, would it have killed Buttercup to whack the ROUS (rodent of unusual size) with a stick while it was gnawing on Westley? A strong woman would have defended her beloved.

  When she can, a strong female character escapes on her own rather than waiting for someone else to rescue her. Take the example of Danielle from the movie Ever After (a Cinderella reboot). Near the end of the story, Danielle
’s stepmother sells her to a despicable businessman. The businessman keeps her shackled so she can’t run away. His lascivious intent is clear.

  Danielle doesn’t wait for Henry (a.k.a. Prince Charming) to rescue her. She also doesn’t depend solely on her friends to somehow find a way to free her. She knows that rescue from an outside source isn’t guaranteed, so she makes her own way.

  (To be perfectly clear, it’s fine for a strong female character to have help, but she isn’t the passive damsel in distress who feebly waits for the cavalry. She’s coming up with her own plans at the same time as her allies are seeking a means to aid her. That’s what defines her as strong, not whether or not she manages the escape or solution entirely on her own.)

  A strong female character also makes decisions, rather than always waiting on someone else to call the shots. Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager listens to advice from Chakotay (her male first officer) and Tuvok (her male chief of security), but she doesn’t always take it, and if they’re not there to advise her, she’s strong enough to act on her own.

  The difference between a strong female character who acts and a weak one who simply reacts is the difference between Buffy the vampire slayer and Bella the vampire…I’ll let you finish that rhyme on your own. Buffy’s actions influenced the plot of each show in a major way. Her decisions drove the story. Bella in Twilight was always waiting for someone else to rescue her, from the moment Edward saves her from being crushed by a car in the first book to the moment he sucks out the poison after she’s bitten late in the series.

  Strong Female Characters Stand Up for What They Believe In

  Whether or not you agree with all the decisions made by President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, she stood up for what she thought was right. From sending Starbuck back to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo (which is supposed to help lead them to Earth) to fixing the election to prevent sniveling Dr. Gaius Baltar from being elected, she didn’t sit by if what was happening violated her notions of right and wrong.

  A strong female character might be frightened and injured, and risking great loss, but as her hands shake and tears well up in her eyes, a strong woman stands up for what she believes in.

  A strong female character, like a strong woman, can stand side-by-side with a man, confident in the knowledge that they are different but nevertheless equal.

  * * *

  Endnotes:

  1 Chocano, Carina. "Tough, Cold, Terse, Taciturn and Prone to Not Saying Goodbye When They Hang Up the Phone." The New York Times Online. 1 July 2011. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/magazine/a-plague-of-strong-female-characters.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

  2Ibid.

  CHAPTER TWO

  * * *

  Handling the Exceptions: Keys to Writing Characters that Don't Match Stereotypical Male or Female Qualities

  But aren’t there exceptions? Don’t some men and women have characteristics that usually belong to the opposite sex?

  Of course. In some ways, I’m an exception. If you bring a problem to me, instead of giving you empathy the way a normal woman would, I’m going to try to explain why it happened and find a solution for you, much like a man. But it’s not that I don’t feel empathy. I feel your problem deeply, but I’m a born fixer.

  Before you create a character that’s the exception, analyze your motivation.

  Sometimes we fight so hard against admitting the differences between men and women because we’re afraid that, by admitting them, we’re saying men and women aren’t equal. But we can be different while still being equal. In fact, we should be proud of our differences. The differences between my husband and I work to our advantage in coming at problems from fresh angles, and force us to look outside ourselves and really consider someone else’s preferences.

  So before you start to create a female (or male) character who doesn’t exhibit traditionally feminine (or masculine) qualities, here are some of the things you need to think about.

  Why do you want to make your character this way? If you’re doing it because that’s really the best character for your story, write on. If you’re doing it because you’re trying to make your female character strong or because you’re trying to prove men and women are equal, stop and find a better way to do it.

  What does it contribute to your story? Sometimes we add qualities to our characters because we’re trying to make them unique, or help them stand out, but if we don’t think them through, they end up looking like wallpaper that was applied incorrectly and gets all bubbly and saggy. Quirks are good. Unique is good. But it all needs to be considered in terms of the story you’re writing and your character’s background. Make it organic.

  Then, if you still want to create a character that breaks the norms, here’s the important thing to keep in mind: this decision should come with consequences the same way it does in real life.

  Other characters will notice the difference and sometimes even comment on it.

  My university roommate finally said to me in exasperation, “I wish you were less like a guy. Sometimes when I bring you a problem, I just want you to listen.”

  That was a revelation for me. When you have a man or a woman who breaks the norm, people will notice. How will your character react when they do? How will you have it affect their relationships?

  If you break an expected norm, it will sometimes cause frustration and awkwardness between characters.

  Two summers ago, a writer friend and I taught at a writer’s conference. During a break, we sat with another female instructor. She had a problem, and she told us about it. What did I do? Like a man, I tried to fix it.

  But because she was looking for empathy, not a solution, and because she had the expectation of receiving it since I’m also a woman, you could see her grow more upset rather than less.

  Because I’m wired differently, I interpreted her increasing agitation as a failure on my part. Clearly my solution wasn’t good enough, so I should suggest another one. I was frustrated when the second solution didn’t work either.

  The vicious circle continued until another woman joined our group. The instant she gave the desired empathy, the other instructor cheered up.

  We can’t give a character qualities that traditionally belong to the opposite gender without realizing how that will play out in their close relationships, as well as in their interactions with strangers.

  Your character might change these qualities over the course of the plot.

  Characters can be born with certain attributes, or they can develop those attributes later in life.

  I hate shopping, but it’s not because I was born hating shopping. I hate shopping because I’m a little overweight and my taste in clothes doesn’t always mesh with what’s fashionable. If these external situations changed, I’d go back to liking shopping.

  Why does this matter? If your character developed their contra-gender qualities later in life, you need to know how the situations they’ll face during the plot might interact with those qualities. If we don’t figure this out, we might miss an excellent opportunity for growth and change in our character over the course of the story.

  CHAPTER THREE

  * * *

  How to Keep Non-Stereotypically Female Characters Likeable

  Sometimes a story does call for a female character that doesn’t express stereotypical female qualities. She’s harder and more traditionally masculine in many ways.

  In the novel I’m working on with my co-writer, Lisa Hall-Wilson, our main female character is an Amazon (a woman warrior). She’s been raised to hate men and to see all signs of femininity as weakness. If we allow her too many feminine qualities (at least in the beginning), we’ll undermine the believability of her society and her character.

  Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games is a great example of this as well, as is Kara “Starbuck” Thrace in Battlestar Galactica.

  Katniss doesn’t want children. She’s more at home when hunting in the woods than she is h
elping her mother nurse others. And she’s placed into a situation where it’s kill or be killed.

  Starbuck is a fighter pilot who needs to be tough in order to get respect and survive. She smokes cigars, gets most of her calories from alcohol, and almost became a pro pyramid player (their version of basketball) before blowing out her knee. Her commander assigns her emotionally grueling tasks like interrogating (i.e., torturing) prisoners and assassinating a dangerous superior officer.

  So how do you make sure this type of female character is still likeable?

  Unfortunately, most of us can’t relate to this type of woman quite as well. She’s not like us. She’s not like our mothers or our best friends or our significant others. And when we feel like we have nothing in common with someone, it makes them difficult to like. If your reader doesn’t like your main character at all, that spells death for your story.

  As writers, we have to do a little extra work to give that common ground if we’re creating a strong female character that denies traditional feminine qualities.

  Answer the question “What made her this way?”

  When Katniss’ father died in a mining accident, her mother sank into a deep depression. Katniss had to feed and care for herself and her younger sister. She had to be the “man of the house.” She didn’t have a choice. Her world dictated how she feels about motherhood as well. Why would she want to have children when they could be reaped for the Games and killed?