Writing Strong Female Characters (with Character Input)

Krazydiamond

The author stared at the blank screen. "Okay, whew, another block party is upon us. What shall we do this go around? We've done a bonus story. We've done character interviews. Hmm, haven't done a general advice piece before. Yeah, something to inspire the aspiring author. A noteworthy endeavor! What could we talk about? Maybe writing strong female characters? How to write monsters that make your readers twitchy?"

As the author pondered, a crack appeared in the wall behind her. Between pen nibbles and hair twists the crack crept up the wall and, against all logic and reason, the crack made an abrupt ninety degree turn before it continued. By this time, the author noticed the sound behind her. She turned to look at the ever growing crack, taking a definitive shape as it abruptly turned at another ninety degree angle, heading back to the floor. Not a crack, a door. The author sighed. Surely this would nix her security deposit. 

This possibility was further solidified as the "doorway" flopped forward with a deafening crash, the worn carpet futilely trying to muffle the sound. Drywall dust filled the air, making the author sneeze repeatedly. Through watering eyes, she spotted a figure equally incapacitated by dust. When it finally settled, the two looked at each other before the author folds her arms over her chest.

"Couldn't you use the front door? I even have a doorbell. A lonely unused doorbell. I am not cleaning this up!"

The woman waves dust out of her face, glancing from the mess on the carpet to the door across the room with a slightly guilty expression before she shrugged.

"My aim was off."

The author sputtered. "That's all you have to say for yourself?"

"Hey I am new at this gig. No judgy!" She pointed a dust covered finger at the author before jabbing it at the computer behind her. "Nevermind that, I made it just in time. What do you mean you're doing an advice piece? You always feature characters from something you are working on."

"Yeah, that is why I am trying to shake it up a bit, trying something different--"

The woman stomps her foot. "Hey, it's our time to shine," she said as her foot slid in the fallen drywall, sending her ass over tea kettle onto the ground. "I blame you for that too."

The author winced. It was her fault. She'd created a character with terminal bad luck. "Sorry Calponia, but to be fair, you should know better."

The woman flipped a thick dust covered braid out of her face and flapped her hand. "S'alright, I didn't even skin my knees this time." She smiled and the irritation drained out of the author.

"I didn't mean to leave you lot out of this go around. It's just I'm right in the middle of writing the story. I didn't want to distract myself with side plots," said the author, pointedly looking at Calponia. "You know how I am with shiny new ideas."

Calponia nodded. "Okay, fair point. We don't get enough updates as it is."

Both women turned to look at the audience, the author mouthing 'Sorry!'

Calponia leaned forward, bracing her chin on one fist. "Well, maybe I can help you, especially if you are doing a piece on strong female characters."

The author raised a brow. "Do you consider yourself a strong female character?"

Calponia tapped her chin. "Almost. A couple bits and bobs to tweak but I think I am well on my way." She made a face at the author. "Of course, you could help that along if you made me a little more badass."

"Last chapter you beat a monster to the ground with a bottle of booze. How is that not badass?"

"Yeah, but the others wield magic and swords. The freaking pirate gets a laser gun. Why can't I have a laser gun?"

The author disguised a laugh with a choked cough. "I am fairly certain you would blast your face off, accidentally of course."

Calponia glared at her.

"You know, badass does not automatically translate to a strong female character. There are plenty of 'badass' female characters who are sadly one dimensional in their badassery, no defining flaws or quirks. No real strength other than physical strength."

The other woman huffed. "You certainly nailed me down with some flaws. That curse is one hell of a flaw!"

"That is no flaw my dear, merely something you must work through in the story. Your fear of growing close to others, of intimacy, is a flaw, balanced by your craving for friendship. Your compassion is a strength. Your bluntness could go either way. Speaking of bluntness, how do you feel about that Eugene, eh?" The author waggled her eyebrows. Who didn't love a good romance? The readers couldn't pair up Calponia fast enough. There had to be three different ships floating around.

"He's alright. I mean, his diet leaves a few things to be desired and he's a bit pale for my taste," Calponia shrugged. "Honestly with everything happening, there are other things on my mind. Oh, ah ha! Does this mean I pass the Bechdal test!"

The author bit her lip. She feared Calponia would be a bit stubborn about romantic matters but that was a problem for another day. "The Bechdal test? What about it?"

The woman scowled at her. "You're the writer, I know you've read about it."

"Oh, you mean this thingie," said the author, holding up a notebook.

"Ha yes, I like to think I pass that test, even if Cesario is in drag all the time," Calponia frowned at that. "Why is Cesario in drag all the time? I mean that collar ruff is bad enough but the fake mustache? She's not fooling anyone. Half the time it falls off into her drink if she doesn't constantly smooth it back onto her face."

"Cesario is....well, she's a complicated one. Her world is a little backwards in its opinion of women."

"Lovely," Calponia sighed. "What's that other one?"

"You mean the Mako Mori Test?"

"What's that about?"

"Well, a work can fail the Bechdal test but still feature a strong female character, one with a fully developed story arc."

"That's comforting I suppose," said Calponia, "though why don't they just have a more diverse cast of characters?"

The author shrugged. "It's not always that simple. There is no one tried and true method of the craft and that includes creating strong characters, hence why there is so much advice floating around the writing community. Sometimes, not all the notes are so easy to hit but it is important to try. What about you?"

Calponia sat up straight. "What about me?"

"What else do you think is important when writing about strong women?"

Calponia's mouth moved in a series of half formed words before she said. "I don't know, I'm just a character, one of many you've concocted up in your head. I'm only as real as you make me."

"Pfft," scoffed the author. "I would totally take you out for a drink. We'd take a cab though, the thought of you behind the wheel is more than my brain can handle. Though that is a good point."

Calponia huffed through her nostrils. "Get your license suspended one time for driving into a fountain....what point is that exactly?"

"Strong female characters should be real characters, written like anyone else. That you are a woman isn't sole defining trait, it's just one part of who you are as a character."

"True," said Calponia, pouting. "But did you have to dump a curse on my head to boot?"

The author sucked on a tooth, considering. "I could have made you mutant zombie or stuck you in a world chock full of monsters where humans are at the bottom of the food chain."

Calponia blinked at her. "Jeeze, do you ever write anything fluffy?"

"Once, it was dreadful," said the author. She squinted at the other woman. "Well I do believe that about wraps up this little number. Don't you have a multiverse to return to?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Calponia, climbing to her feet. "Give that curse some thought though." She cast the mess of plaster and dust a speculative look before squatting down in an attempt to lift up the fallen section of the wall.

"I'll just- uh--catch you later!" Calponia crab walked backward, sloppily plugging the gaping hole behind her. As the author watched, lips pursed, the wall rippled and smoothed, the doorway vanished in a blink. She could almost convince herself the encounter hadn't happened at all....if not for the mess of crumbled drywall and dust all over her carpet.

"Oh, come on, who's going to clean this up!"

Thanks for reading! If you would like the chance to become a fictional character yourself, remember to enter the giveaways! 

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