Well hello there, Reader!
After returning home from our nieces’ 5th birthday this past weekend, me and my husband were flipping through the streaming networks looking for a movie to watch.
Crime Dramas...
Chinese TV SciFi & Fantasy…
Epic Worlds…
Period Dramas…
Strong Female Characters…
What’s this…?
Among the various shows and movies you’d expect to see was Damsel (2024). And if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s well worth the watch.
Damsel’s plot is basically:
Lord’s daughter gets married off to a prince in exchange for a bride price that will fund her family’s impoverished land. But after the union is sealed, the kingdom she married into sacrifices her to the dragon they failed to mention.
However—too bad for them—their new princess refuses to remain in her new role as damsel in distress. She more or less spends the rest of the movie kicking major butt as she attempts to escape a fate as dragon food.
Damsel more than subverts our ideas of the helpless maiden at the mercy of a dragon. It also subverts our ideas of what a “strong” character can look like. Or how to write an action-adventure story.
So with that in mind…
Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Creating Strong Female Characters:
1) The Strong Don’t Announce It
Truly strong characters don’t have any need to announce their strength. You don’t typically see them sidling up to someone at a bar and saying, “Oh BTW, I’m like the strongest ever.”
They can give off an aura of badassery, sure. Just don’t have them telegraph it aloud like they’re calling out their battle moves in an anime.
2) Different Kinds of Strength
Your female character doesn’t need to be orcishly brutish to be considered “strong.” Though fine examples like that do exist (Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood for instance).
Your characters could exhibit strength by being highly intelligent, superbly cunning, or in the case of Fourth Wing, resilient AF.
Hats off to Rebecca Yarros for her choice to make Violet Sorrengail a waif with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome.
Because as someone with 3 rare chronic illnesses, I can in no way relate to a character that’s the equivalent of an Olympic marathon runner, scaling mountains. But I can 100% relate to a fellow Spoonie. Especially when waking up is a dice roll of “Will I be able to move half my body to get out of bed or not?”
Looking for another example?
Check out Arcane on Netflix which features 4 female characters, each with a different kind of strength.
Violet - a traditional brawler who aims to keep others safe
Powder/Jinx - a genius-level inventor
Caitlyn Kiramman - an investigative mind able to piece clues together
Mel Medarda - cunning, business acumen, and diplomatic statesmanship
3) Realistic Weakness
Look, everyone has a weakness, and the more realistic, the more relatable.
Maybe they rely too heavily on their strength, and if it were to fail them they’d have zero backup. Or they’re too quick to rush into things without planning ahead.
Maybe your character’s toxic family life has left them suspicious of the ulterior motives of others.
Or maybe PTSD from childhood has them second-guessing themselves, their ideas, or the ideas or plans of others.
Whatever weakness you decide on, make it something relatable. And whatever you do, don’t make it something dismissively dumb like a rare space rock or weather condition. Or if you absolutely must (like in the case of werewolves and vampires) give them something else too, like any of the above.
A fantastic example of this is the titular female lead of the light novel and anime Violet Evergarden.
Violet (Yes, I realize this is the 3rd example using a character named Violet.) has the slightly unrelatable weakness of being a double amputee. (She has lost both her arms from the biceps down and has mechanical prosthetics.) But Kana Akatsuki also gave her the much more relatable weakness of being autistic.
Violet Evergarden is a masterclass in subverting the “strong female character” archetype. Though refined and doll-like she is a former child soldier who was used as a weapon of war. And although she's a veteran, Violet is often dehumanized or infantilized by those around her because of her disability and autism.
Honestly if you only watch one of the things on the list above, let it be Violet Evergarden and its accompanying afterstories. They are truly exceptional storytelling and well worth the watch.
Well, I hope these 3 tips help you create stronger, more dynamic characters. Until next time, Reader, this is your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat wishing you a wonderfully creative week.
Your cohort in storytelling,
Kat Vancil
🐱
PS 👉 I’ve created a list of 12 Sapphic Books with female leads over on The Saga if you’re looking for a good read.
Did your friend, co-worker, or some rando you met at a con forward this email to you? First off, they have good taste.
Secondly, you can join the Storyteller's Saga too, and get edutaining emails delivered to your inbox weekly by clicking the golden button below.
|
|
Sarah Marie Page
Heart-pounding YA and NA fantasy
Hi! I'm Sarah! I'm a YA and NA fantasy author. 🔥🌹 If you like A Court of Thorns and Roses and the Fourth Wing, you would LOVE my books. Wanna check one out? I'll send you my short story, Rapacity! Here's what it's about:
"18-year-old Catalina has one purpose: marry her fiance, then murder him. But all bets are off when she strikes a bargain with the trickster demon prince and discovers her fiance is planning to murder her too." |
