Well hello there, Reader!

After a fantastic weekend of tabletop roleplaying sessions (D&D 5 and One Ring/Lord of the Rings) 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 watching.

Damsel’s plot is basically:

A 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, Reader…

Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Creating Strong Female Characters:

1) The Strong Don’t Announce It

Truly strong characters don’t need to announce their strength. They’re not the type you typically see 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) Realistic Weakness

For reals though, everyone has a weakness. And the more realistic, the more relatable.

Maybe your character relies 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 their 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.

Maybe they’ve been taught that some part of themselves is unacceptable by the organization they belong to or society as a whole. Forcing them to conceal that part of themselves and overcompensate to the extreme.

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 that character some other weakness too, like any of the above.

A fantastic example of this is the titular female lead of the light novel and anime Violet Evergarden, written by Kana Akatsuki and illustrated by Akiko Takase.

Though Violet has the slightly less relatable weakness of being a double amputee (She has lost both her arms from the biceps down during the war and has mechanical prosthetics), Kana Akatsuki also made her autistic. A disability that poses more than its share of challenges. Trust me. And one that 1 in 36 persons in the US alone—like me—have.

Violet Evergarden is a masterclass in subverting the “strong female character” archetype. Though refined and doll-like, Violet is a former child soldier who was used as a weapon of war.And although 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 pieces on this list, let it be Violet Evergarden and its accompanying after-stories. They are truly exceptional pieces of storytelling and well worth the watch.

3) Different Kinds of Strength

Your female character doesn’t need to be orcishly burly 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, an unshakable will. Or in the case of ​Fourth Wing​, they could be 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. (Yes, I realize this is the 3rd example using a character named Violet. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose.)

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

Well, Reader, I hope these 3 tips help you create stronger, more dynamic female characters. Until next time, this is your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat wishing you a wonderfully creative week.

Your cohort in storytelling,

Kat Vancil

🐱

PS 👉 I’ve created these book lists featuring female lead characters for your enjoyment:

​12 Sapphic Books​

​25 Black Women Books​

​20 Sapphic Books​

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Nicola Yoon #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything, The Sun Is Also a Star, Instructions for Dancing, One of Our Kind and a National Book Award finalist. Sign up for my twice monthly newsletter where you’ll find a few things bringing me joy, exclusive subscriber-only, signed book giveaways, news and event updates, answers to your burning questions, and behind the scenes peeks at the weird & wonderful world of publishing. Subscribe​

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