How to Write Realistic Women: The Secret Formula Every Male Author Needs to Sell More Books and Make More Fans (How to Write Realistic Fiction Book 5) by Jackson Dean Chase

Author:Jackson Dean Chase [Chase, Jackson Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jackson Dean Chase, Inc.
Published: 2017-06-09T05:00:00+00:00

6

“There Can Be Only One!”

Forget what Highlander taught you. One of the biggest problems male writers run into is only including a single strong female hero in the story:

Princess Leia Organa from Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI (1977-1983)

Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Marge Gunderson from Fargo (1996)

Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)

Queen Padme Amidala (Star Wars: Episodes I-III, 1999-2005)

Why is that a problem? Because then she becomes a token, an anomaly. You can point to her and say, “See? I'm a feminist! I put a strong female hero in my story.” Um, no. You need to put more than one strong female character in your story to pass the Bechdel Test.

The second female doesn't have to be the same kind of hero as the first, and it's often better if she isn't. For example (again), Peggy Olson and Joan Harris in Mad Men.

In a fantasy, you could make one woman a barbarian warrior, the other a thief and wizard, like a female version of Fritz Lieber's legendary Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser from Ill Met in Lankhmar.

In a science fiction story, make one woman a tough space marine and the other a cunning warrant officer. Think Jenette Vasquez and Ellen Ripley in Aliens (1986)—they're both strong, but they're very different characters.

But if you want them to be the same, they can, but only to a degree. Think Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian and Red Sonja or Xena and Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess (TV, 1995-2001). They're all warriors, but were raised differently, trained differently, and have different fighting styles. Regardless of what makes them different, what keeps them together?

Bonus points if you include three or more strong female characters in your story. Three? Maybe that seems like a lot, but it really isn't. Again, you should find a way to differentiate your characters both personally and professionally.

Think Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy from Star Trek (TV, 1966-69). Kirk's bold, Spock's logical, and McCoy's a skeptic. They complement each other and it is the combination of their skills and personalities that allows them to survive. Plus, the endless bickering, jokes, insults, and rivalries are hilarious.

Now that you've got the concept, there's no reason you can't do that with female characters. Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV, 1997-2003), Charmed (TV, 1998-2006), The Vampire Diaries (TV, 2009-2017), or Pretty Little Liars (TV, 2010-present). Each of these shows found a successful way to incorporate multiple strong female heroes.

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