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Hellooo everybody, I'm back from hiatus, just in time for the holiday season. And what
better way to celebrate, than to complain about shit. Ever read a book about a female character
and think ‘God, I hate her.’ Me too. I'm here to break down my top ten pet peeves when it comes to
fictional female characters. If you're planning on writing a woman like this, maybe don’t. Number
One (1): The fixer. (Singing) “I will try to fix you.” A lady meets a dude with serious
issues. Usually anger related, often verbally and physically abusive. But he’s really hot so she's
gonna fix him. She saw something behind those broken green eyes. She will rebuild him. Okay, Dr.
Frankenstein, calm down. There are hot guys out there that won't inevitably require a restraining
order. Maybe wait for one of them. It's great if you wanna help someone in their time of need,
but there's a supreme difference between that and turning a violent caveman into a well
adjusted member of society. Who will also fuck you. Number Two (2) The girl who's gorgeous,
but thinks she's ugly. “My lips are plump like a succulent tomato, my cheekbones make Angelina
Jolie cry like the little bitch she is, and my breasts are Double D's with no sagging, they
said high on my chest with nipples perky enough to cut glass—and they're real. But I'm so ugly.
So hideously disfigured. Waaah!” Look, I get it. A lot of writers like writing about pretty people.
If you're gonna be imagining them in your head, might as well enjoy looking at ‘em. But sometimes
people go overboard and take their characters from pretty, to flawless. Then of course there's a bit
of a stigma around women who are comfortable with their appearance. If you acknowledge that
you're good looking, you're labeled as vain, or arrogant or just an overall shitty human being.
So the writer tries to sidestep this issue by claiming that their flawless character thinks
she's ugly. It's their way of saying ‘Look, she's humble.’ Except that's not humility.
That's just being a fucking idiot. Number Three (3) The sexy pot. Sexy characters are great,
but this character is just pure sexuality. She's hot. That's it. No characterization
or personality whatsoever. Her job is to glide into the chapter, swaying her hips,
and give every reader a boner, even the ladies. The writer will claim that's just how she is,
she uses sex as a language, as a weapon. That may be true, but no one oozes sexuality every
waking moment of their existence. Does she have a hobby? Reading perhaps? Or maybe she even does
that sexy? (Music plays as Jenna mimes sexy reading) Pretend that was sexy, I'm trying to
make a point. I'm all for sexy characters, but it becomes pretty clear when a character was created
just to be objectified by the reader. I can just imagine a writer writing her with one hand,
and fapping with the other, And on a similar note, Number Four (4): The girl who was sexy, but not
too sexy. She is wearing a short dress that hugs her in all the right places. But it's classy okay,
it doesn't look hookery, it's sexy and that subtle you're making me hard, but I wanna buy you dinner
first way. This is usually a sign of guilt on the writer's part. They want this character to be a
foxy, foxy lady, but they're afraid they're going to give the wrong impression. “Please,
I promise you she's not slutty. She's sexy, but not in a slutty way. Okay? I promise! She's not
slutty.” Alright, calm down. Remember to breathe. There's no need to slut shame your character. It's
not nice. Let her have some fun, okay. That dress sounds fierce. You don't have to apologize for it.
Number Five (5): The girl with no agency. “Make a decision? No, you make a decision. I don't know
how. I'll just do whatever you want to do. I'm a doormat.” This chick is a real piece of work. She
has no personal power whatsoever. She just stands around going. “What do I do? Tell me.” We all need
help from time to time, but lady, get a grip. This is your life and you're letting everyone around
you control it while you just idly do whatever they tell you to do. And it's so much worse when
this girl is the main character. No one likes an MC who doesn't take any action whatsoever.
Passive MCs are annoying. This chick has about as much influence as a lamp. She's barely one step up
from an inanimate object. Number Six (6): The old bitter bitch. There are two types of older women
you see a lot in fiction. The insufferable nag, and the jealous biddy. It’s even worse if their
moms, specifically moms of females. I'm not saying she's got to be nice, but she can be complicated
without being jealous of her daughter's beauty and youth. Not all older women wish they were
young. Some have goals and confidence. Some are even happy. And I'm not saying you can't write
an evil older woman but can she be evil because she's fighting to overthrow a peaceful society,
not because she's an unbearable shrew, or she's forlorn about her fading beauty. It's
been done before. Number Seven (7): The naive wide eyed virgin. Let me make one thing clear.
There is nothing wrong with being a virgin, or writing about a virgin. But just because someone
is a virgin, doesn't mean they're utterly oblivious to the world around them. They're
sexually inexperienced, not an infant. There are many reasons a person could be a virgin.
Maybe it's a choice, maybe they haven't had the opportunity or they haven't met the right person,
maybe they're not ready or not interested. Complete ignorance to all things intimate
is not a strong or compelling reason to be inexperienced. Why does this girl have to be
a doe eyed moron going “Oh, what's a penis? What does it do?” Does she not have friends? Can she
not read? Virginity and ignorance do not go hand in hand. Number Eight (8): The badass who was
never actually a badass. You don't really see this often with male characters. If a dude is a badass,
he is a badass. He is punching people in the face, shooting people in the face, just all kinds
of stuff in the face. But with lady characters sometimes we'll hear how bold and brave she is,
but with zero action to actually validate this claim. The narrator just says ‘She's a badass’
and the reader goes ‘Okay, I believe you.’ That’s not gonna work for me. I'm gonna need her to stab
someone. I don't understand the reluctance to validate the badassery, writing about badassery is
fun. If you don't wanna write it, then just give her a different role, something significantly less
intense. Number Nine (9) The girl who isn't like other girls. How is she not like other girls? Does
she have a tail? This is usually the writer's way of saying that the girl is special. But the reason
behind it is very not special. She's not like other girls, she wears sneakers. Lots of girls
wear sneakers. She's not like other girls, she has morals. Lots of girls have morals. At this rate,
you might as well say ‘She's not like other girls, she has hands.’ Oh my gosh guys, I'm special!
Look, this is a really lazy and ineffective way to make your character seem important and likable.
Maybe focus on her personality instead of trying to convince the reader that she's so unique in
her non uniqueness. Number Ten (10): The milkshake that brings all the boys to the yard. This is not
to be confused with the sex pot. The sex pot is a walking vagina, this girl is walking pheromones.
Every single male character in the book is in love with her. Why? Because she's just really
pretty. Okay. People have types, some people like curves, some like a tall glass of water. There is
no way she appeals to everyone. And pretty isn't sufficient, people, even men, do like personality,
sometimes. You can make her beautiful without making every male character in the book try to
fuck her. I promise. And a bonus option, because ‘tis the season for giving. Number eleven (11):
The lone woman. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this woman. It's just, she's the only woman
in the book. How is she the only woman in the book? Are there only two characters? Does the
book take place at a male prison? Does the book take place on a planet of penis? There's just no
rational explanation for this. Women make up half the population, so write them. Just not
any of the women I already complained about. Thank you. So there you have it. Those are
my eleven pet peeves for fictional women. Whining is fun, but most of these issues boil down to is,
I like reading about interesting women. Developed, complicated, realistic, women. Not one dimensional
cardboard cutouts. But that's just me. On that note, I wanted to thank you all for the well
wishes during Cliff’s surgery. For those who have asked, Cliff was testing out a device that can
potentially manage his pain issues. The trial was a huge success, which means the next step
is to get the device permanently implanted in the spine, which should happen within the next
couple of months. I'll keep you posted. I also wanted to thank everyone for taking part in my
survey. Your feedback was amazing and I will be making updates to my platforms within the next few
months. With that said, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays.
Eve: The Awakening is still available in ebook and paperback on Amazon right now. You can also order
a signed copy, all the links are listed below. And if you have any questions or if there's
something you'd like me to talk about in my next video, be sure to tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!