Hellooo, everybody!
Today I'm talking about the one character type everyone tries and fails to write.
The strong female character. You say strong female character, and certain
women come to mind. We tend to associate the character type with heroines, or action stars,
or women who could kick ass. But punching baddies and firing guns, does not a strong woman make.
Sure maybe it equates to physical strength, but when we talk about strong characters, we're
talking about strength of will, disposition, and mind. And none of you fuckers can write that shit,
for whatever reason, probably misogyny. Fear not, I am breaking down my ten best tips for writing
strong female characters. Women with agency, depth and determination. If you're offended by any of
these points, please let me know in the comments below. That way I never read any of your books.
Let's get into it.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Today's topic was requested by one of my patrons over on Patreon, Karayah.
Karayah wanted some tips on how to write a leading lady
who is strong, capable, and independent. Who didn't fall into all of the damsel in distress,
or no agency cliches. And I am happy to help. Today's video is also sponsored by the amazing
folks over at Milanote. Milanote is an easy to use tool that allows you to organize your thoughts and
ideas into visual boards. It's not the same as traditional software, which typically exists
as a linear document. Instead Milanote works more like a studio wall, or a poster board. Which makes
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Including your books. I literally use Milanote every single day. I am obsessed
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and of course I use it to brainstorm all aspects of my writing like world building, plotting,
structuring my chapters, and of course building characters including the strong female variety.
If you want an easy to use platform that will help you create your novel and organize your
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Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays and if
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and get some copies for yourself too. Their great books, in my completely unbiased opinion.
They're linked below. Now let's dive into my ten best tips for creating kick ass female characters.
A quick disclaimer, I will be discussing sexual assault at point number nine. So if that is a
trigger for you, just skip this part of the video. No worries, I got you. Number One (1): Don't write
a “strong female character.” The demand for strong female characters has increased over the years,
and you think that would lead to better quality women in fiction. Instead it resulted in brand new
formulaic writing. The strong female character has become a cliche, and it usually presents itself in
the following way. One she's strong because she's physically strong. And you can tell because early
on in her introduction she's gonna punch someone in the face. Two, she's a tomboy of sorts.
She dresses in a simpler, ‘I woke up like this’ kind of way, but don't get it twisted,
she’s still effortlessly conventionally beautiful. The cleavage doesn't lie. And three, she's never
scared, she never breaks, and she never expresses any vulnerability in any way. This strong female
character representation doesn't work because none of this actually equates to strength. Physical
strength and strength of character are completely different things. Punching people doesn't prove
strength. Dressing like a guy doesn't prove strength. And having zero moments of weakness
doesn't mean you're strong. It just means you're one dimensional. Follow this formula and we'll
have readers rolling their eyes at your complete lack of creativity. Number Two (2): Know the
definition of strength. The definition of strength as it pertains to a strong character is being able
to withstand great pressure or force. Another stellar definition is showing determination, self
control, and good judgment. Basically, a strong female character is someone who can go through
a lot of shit, without it completely destroying them. She's resolute, she's disciplined, and she's
not a dummy. It's that simple. Nowhere does it say anything about punching dudes or wearing sneakers.
If you wanna write a specific character trait, it's probably a good idea to understand what
that trait means first. And if you don't understand it, the dictionary exists. Utilize it,
for the love of God. Number Three (3): Strength and vulnerability coexist. People often confuse
strength with stoicism. If a character is strong, we should never see them in a vulnerable position.
But strength of character stems largely from vulnerability. One, because you can't develop
strength if you've never been in a vulnerable position. We become strong often by getting hurt.
Injury is how thick skin forms. And two, the ability to allow yourself to be vulnerable
is in itself a strength. It's scary to put yourself out there, and facing that fear head on
is a very strong thing to do. This is why it's important to give your strong female characters
moments of vulnerability. These could be heartfelt conversations, raw honesty,
open communication, or moments of trust. But most importantly, we need to see her struggle with the
plot’s conflict. Whatever she's up against, it should be extremely difficult to handle. Hell,
maybe she almost fails. None of this paints her as weak, if anything, it drives her strength home
even more. Readers can see the adversity, and yet she is still determined to push through.
Remember, determination is key to strength. So if she is struggling but still persisting,
that is one tough chick. Number Four (4): Strength and femininity also coexist. Provided you're
avoiding the strong female character cliche, it's perfectly fine if you want to make your female
character a tomboy or masculine presenting in some way. It's not perfectly fine if you're doing it
because you think masculinity is a requirement for strength. To associate femininity with weakness
is both incorrect and fucking sexist. It's absolutely acceptable and believable to write
a strong female character who likes to color pink, or paints her nails, or wears dresses,
or is a stay at home mom, or any other trait, behavior, or action that is often associated
with femininity. A lot of women push watermelon sized babies out of their Pikachus, or bleed a
crime scene once a month. Lots of inherently feminine things require a significant amount
of fortitude. So if you're trying to butch this character up for the sake of making her strong,
you're stupid. On a similar note, Number Five (5): She's not a man. One piece of advice floating
around about how to write strong women is to write them the same as you write men. I think the
sentiment is well intentioned. It's supposed to be about equality, but it misses the mark in the most
tragic way. The key to writing strong women is not to write them exactly like men. This implies that
strength is inherently masculine, which again is sexist. It also eliminates the female experience.
Women and men are often treated differently in many societies, which means that they experience
different struggles, different pressures and different expectations. This is not to say that
men and women are wildly different, but people as a whole come in a colorful variety. Writing her
like a man doesn't mean you've given her agency or toughen her up. It just means you lack a basic
understanding of psychology and sociology, and you probably shouldn't be writing women at all.
Number Six (6): Prove it. One of the biggest mistakes writers make when writing a strong female
character, particularly if she's both mentally and physically strong, is that they will state she is
strong, without providing any evidence to support this claim. We are told she's strong because
she is an assassin, a mercenary, or a warrior princess. But the minute something goes wrong,
she needs saving. Can you write a strong female character who needs saving every now and then?
Absolutely. No one is infallible, but like anything else in your writing, you need to show
a whole lot more than you tell. And in this case, you need to show her strength more often than not.
That means if she's a warrior princess, we need to see her kick some warrior ass. And if she's able
to withstand hardship, we need to see her push through and weather the storm. Unfortunately,
this is a very common mistake when writing female characters, and if you're not sure if you're
perpetuating it, go through your outline and highlight every moment of fortitude. If you don't
got a whole lot, or any at all, it's time to fix that shit. On the opposite end of the spectrum,
Number Seven (7): Perfection and strength are not synonymous. We already covered that
the strong female character cliche is a woman who never breaks. And yes, a strong female character
should be able to withstand hardship, but you can withstand hardship and make a few mistakes along
the way. In fact, I don't think it's possible to manage an overwhelming obstacle without falling
on your ass at least a couple times. Mistakes are vital to a strong female character because
one they're realistic, no one is gonna believe that she has all the answers all the time. Two,
they're relatable because real people fuck up a lot. And three, mistakes make the journey
that much more engaging. It's not entertaining to read about a heroine who never struggles.
We need to see her take two steps forward and one step back. And believe it or not, this also
contributes to her strength and character. It's disheartening to mess up. For a lot of people,
that's when they say, fuck it I quit. A strong person will move forward anyway. And that's
exactly what you want for this character type. Number Eight (8): Have her make some fucking
decisions. I would say it pains me to have to mention this but I'm so used to the audacity that
I don't feel anything anymore. I'm numb to the stupid. People, even the most submissive ones,
make all kinds of decisions in their lives. If your female character does not make a single
decision throughout the course of the novel, it's not even that she's a weak character, it's that
she's not believable as a sentient creature. “But Jennaaa, my strong female character was kidnapped.
She's being held against her will.” And? You're telling me not a single thought is going through
that woman brain of hers. She's just sittin’ there waiting to die. There's nothing else to say here.
This is literally the bare minimum of writing any character, let alone a strong female character. If
this is a struggle for you, I got nothing for ya. Number Nine (9): Avoid the sexual assault cliche.
Another common strong female character cliche is that said female became strong due to sexual
assault. This is problematic for a million reasons. Namely because sexual trauma is
treated as the reason behind a positive character trait. Quite often the character herself will say:
what happened to me made me stronger. Sexual assault is a terrible thing that no one should
have to deal with. And it shouldn't be glorified as some kind of necessary step to strengthening
a woman. It paints a truly horrible experience as having a silver lining, and that's fucking
gross. That's not to say you can't write a female character who's also a victim of sexual assault.
But let me remind you that this has been overdone and grossly misrepresented in fiction. So proceed
with caution. Just don't make it the source of her phoenix moment. It trivializes a real problem,
and it's super uncomfortable to read. A Number Ten (10): Write more of ‘em. There should be several
strong female characters in your book, and at least a few of them should be allies. Otherwise,
it's not very realistic, because strong women tend to congregate with other strong women.
In a lot of fiction, namely fiction written by men, they put so much effort into writing
a single strong woman that they forget that she's literally the only woman in the book.
That makes complete sense. It's not like women make up over half of the world's population.
I'm not asking you to create an army of strong female characters, and I'm not asking you to
make every single one of your female characters a pillar of fortitude. I'm just saying that there
are plenty of us out there and we usually like one another. So if you only got one in your book,
it's not realistic. You're smarter than that. At least I hope you are. I believe in you. Well,
sorta, we'll see. So that's all I got for you today. Thanks to Karayah for requesting today's
topic. If you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to you, or if you want access to tons of
other rewards, check me out on Patreon. We've got a monthly live stream. You get early access to all
of my videos. We have an exclusive writing group. There are signed books. I have it linked below.
And a huge thank you to Milanote for sponsoring today's video. If you are writing a strong female
character, or literally any character, and you want a place to organize all of your information,
Milanote is amazing. I cannot recommend them enough. And even better, you can try them for
FREE. It's linked below. Do it, you won't regret it. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
I post new videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
ring that bell. The Savior's Champion and The Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback,
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