Strong Female Characters Part 2: The Solution

I'm tired of seeing the word "strong" describing women. Let's make an effort to change that descriptor to "real". Welcome to the second part of my Strong Female Characters™ post, all about how we can fix our women characters. Part one was about the problem with them, so if you haven't read that, I suggest you read it first, then come back to this one.

In my last post we covered all the problems with calling girls "strong", along with the other two extremes people can go to. If you were wondering how you can fix that in your characters, you're in luck. That's what this post is all about. Let's get straight into it.

Go for real

Real girls are strong, but they're also smart, witty, girly, sarcastic, and more. Girls love all sorts of thing, and when we compress our characters into only being strong, we tell young women that they're only good if they act one way.

The same goes for looks. Being sexy and gorgeous is overrated. Look what it gets girls in movies- boys all running after her, constantly trying to impress her or say something smart. I'd rather have normal looking girls and boys that fall in love with them because of their personality, not how much their hair looks like a shampoo commercial.

Make your women characters human, and people will love them. Think of some of your favorite female characters? Which ones stuck with you? It was the ones that you could relate too, right? Not the ones kicking butt and taking names. (Whatever that means. I've never understood how one takes a name.)

Look for inspiration

I'm sure you have women in your life. So use them as inspiration for your female characters. What stands out to you about them? An aspect of their personality, like kindness or humor? A talent, like music or baking? There are so many combinations you can discover just by looking around you.

When I think of truly strong women, I think of people like my mother, who raised six children even though we've been through some hard times. My grandmothers, who both have been through a lot. My pastor's wife, who has three small children and still makes time to listen people, even someone my age. I'm sure you have those people too. Make female characters like them, and readers will love them.

Dos

Last post, you had a list of don'ts for your female characters. Now here's a list of all the things you should do.

• Do make her feminine. Why is loving clothes and shoes and makeup a weakness for women in stories? You can like pretty things and still be tough. Gauri from A Crown of Wishes called makeup her battle armor. I loved that.

• Do make her loving. Disney princess are the best because they can be tough and fierce and still love all the people around them. I hate girl characters that shut everyone out and refuse to let themselves love. Yes, loving hurts sometimes, but it's worth it in the end. You can't go through life without pain.

• Do give her emotions. I think because they're next to male characters that don't show a lot of emotion (just because that's what men are like) female characters often hide their emotions too, so they don't stand out. I'd prefer to see women who laugh a lot, cry about weird things, and experience mood swings like a normal person, thank you. Hiding emotions doesn't make you tough, it makes you unconnected.

• Do make her listen. Don't make her ignore other's ideas and thoughts just because she thinks she's smarter than them. Teamwork is all about listening, not being a hero. I hate characters that won't listen to other people, instead just brushing them off.

• Do have her respect men. Men aren't better than women and women aren't better than men. One might have an area that they do better at, but we're made to be equal. So have them treat each other nicely.

• Do make her fight like a woman. We aren't physically able to fight like a man. But that doesn't mean your women characters can't fight. They should just do it differently. What about using high heels or silk scarves as weapons, instead of punching people? Pepper spray disguised as perfume? Lipstick taser?

Also, Lucy is an excellent female character

• Do give them diverse talents. Women can do more than fight people, be sexy, or do nothing. Give them normal talents, like music, art, photography, computer coding, dancing, biochemistry, whatever. Branch beyond martial arts. Other skills can be useful to.

• Do give them diverse looks. Enough white women (not that there's anything wrong with them). What about some African American, Asian American, Native American, or all the other beautiful colors of skin out there? There are more than blonde hair and blue eyes out there.

• Do give them disabilities. Can we have a super heroine who wears glasses that she's upgraded with cool features like night vision and super zoom? Or what about hearing aids, wheelchairs, or braces (the body kind, not the teeth)? Deafness and blindness could make for a really interesting woman.

• Do make them need help. Everyone needs help sometimes. Asking for it, or needing it, doesn't make you weak. It makes you strong.

• Do give them flaws. We all have flaws. Make your female characters have just as many as the boys. They can be angry, shy, rude, and more. Besides, how can they grow without flaws?

Examples

I have too many examples to say why each of them is strong, so just check them out and see for yourself.

• C. S. Lewis's girl characters. I love every one of them. They're flawed, normal, and still girls.

• Star Wars women. From Padme to Lela to Rey, Star Wars has managed to create many amazing females that inspire girls around the globe. They're unique, tough, and some of them are even diplomatic.

• Lizzy Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. The ultimate picture of femininity, but still able to have a witty conversation that hits all the right points. She can put Darcy in his place without using a kick or gun.

• Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon. Fights with an ax, but still willing to open her heart to Hiccup? How's that for strong?

• Sam from The Sword of Summer. She's a Valkyrie who is in high school, wears a hijab, and has a betrothed. Sometimes her character tries to be a Strong Female, but most of the time it steers away from it.

• Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. I think all the Disney princesses are great characters, but Tiana has always struck me as the toughest. She's never been given anything in life, she's had to work for it all. That gives her great character and great flaws.

If you need any more help with writing female characters, here are some of the posts I referenced to write these posts.

The Dos and Don'ts of Writing Strong Female Characters- Hannah Heath
We're Losing All Our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome- The Dissolve
Your Heroine Doesn't Have to Kick-Butt to Be Strong- Ink and Quills
Strong Female Character Cliches to Avoid- Our Write Side

I hope you enjoyed this mini series and that it gave you some inspiration for your female characters. Let's start writing real people, boy or girl.

Let's talk! How do you think we could write better female characters? Who are your favorite real female characters? Tell me in the comments.