CT: A Guide to Writing Female Characters

[espanolbot]

Lately there has been a lot of discussion as to what makes a good or interesting female character compared to a weak or poorly written one. Here is my interpretation of how to do it.


Will make a seperate one regarding women in speculative fiction, as there are some different things to bare in mind while using a constructed universe.

Comments

[crinos]

Okay, I'm adding "Drive donuts in a manor lawn with a stagecoach" to a list of things to do in a pathfinder game.

[junipepper]

Your artwork has really improved over time. Well done!

[jkcarrier]

Agreed - The text is as funny and insightful as usual, and the drawings are some of your best yet. Are you doing something different with the colors? Looks great.

[espanolbot]

Thank you so much! I'm attempting to experiment with shading, though with some mixed results.

[zapbiffpow]

One of the first non-DC/Marvel titles I read when I became old enough to comprehend there was such a thing was Queen and Country, by Greg Rucka.

I was wondering if you guys have read it, and if so, is Tara an example of a good female character? And is she an example of a strong female character?

[lieut_kettch]

Might even be easier, seeing as the link between the horses and the coach is more flexible and would enable it to swing around more.

And yeah, I've put way too much thought into this.

[richardak]

Well, she's definitely a Greg Rucka character. I kid, I kid. I think Tara is a great character. I keep meaning to post some Q&C scans.

[mrstatham]

Looking at Lazarus, there's an interesting interview where Rucka almost seems to lean toward the opinion that maybe the lead doesn't need to be another female character to add to his roster, but eventually made her one anyway. So I think even he realises that it has become a trope for him (I wouldn't say cliche, since that feels like a rather negative word), but I think he largely keeps making those characters for the same reason Whedon claims to (although I don't really see it in Whedon, personally) - in that not enough other writers are doing it.

[mrstatham]

In terms of what Espanolbot is laying down above, I'd say she is; She's a fully fleshed out character, she has her own agency and personality and is not just an accessory to any male character, she reacts in understandable ways to the things she's doing, she's vulnerable in a way that makes sense in-character rather than her just being poorly written, she's tough but her need to see the department's counselor is well-justified.. I'd say she qualifies easily, being very well-rounded. She's a good example of the proper definition of a 'strong female character', to me, which contrary to a really odd misunderstanding I once saw on Tumblr, is not really about being physically or mentally strong, but *strongly written*, if that makes sense.

[shadur]

Isn't that on Mr. Welch's list of Things He Is Not Allowed to Do (anymore) ?

[zapbiffpow]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Rucka do seems to have a flair for writing badass female characters, doesn't he?

Too bad I don't have any scans of Queen and Country on hand - someone needs to get on that. Lot of nice dialogue in those issues.

[benuben]

And why not just say well written? I know that's what people mean a lot of the time, but I think it's really bad way to put it and only reinforces seeing strengh as an exception with female characters. I mean, how many people that have ever described their favorite male character, had the need to point out he's "strong"?

[mrstatham]

I don't make up the terms, that's just the way I perceive it. Again, I think it's more that the 'strong female characters' are actually strongly written, and yeah, it's a bad way to put it, so maybe I don't blame the person on tumblr who misinterpreted the concept, but I wouldn't necessarily say I've never said a male character is 'strongly written', either. There are just as many poorly written male characters as female, it's just that age-old thing of, I think, female characters being held to different standards.

[donnblake]

Because a well-written character is one that fulfills the author's intended role in the story, and may or may not be complex or well fleshed out, depending on the nature of the story. Someone presenting a Utopia, for example, may be much more concerned with the setting than characterization. Raphael Hythloday in More's Utopia, for example is a well-written character, in that he serves exactly his intended purpose in the narrative, but he is not a strong character, because his intended purpose is not to appear as a real, complex person, but to serve as a mouthpiece to introduce certain ideas.

[full_metal_ox]

"Princess Potato Sack" brings to mind Michael O'Donoghue's old adult damsel-in-distress strip The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist, in which Phoebe's death in the third episode has no discernible effect on the plot flow; her corpse simply continues to drift from one misadventure to the next.)

[benuben]

How do you actually say the character is "strong" in the sense of being strong person? And I think that is what most writers see behind the term.

[full_metal_ox]

An excellent recent example of a heavily flawed heroine would be the Avatar Korra, who comes off as abrasive, arrogant and doesn't always make the right decision due to her inexperience, but is determined, loyal, heroic, and brave, for example.

The above is a beautiful example of how Bryan and Mike play around with off-the-rack character archetypes; their Hot-Blooded Shounen Fight Anime Hero is a girl--just as their gentle and peaceable Miraculous Child and Friend to All Living Things was a boy. (One of the series' greatest virtues is the awareness that plot function does not equal character; more stock plot roles include the Poor Little Rich Girl, the supernaturally perceptive blind person, and the 500-pound gorilla of the pro-wrestling circuit, but how often do you see all three embodied in a single person--speaking of well-written female characters?)

[benuben]

Which really makes me shocked at how poorly they are handling Bolin. It's clear the wanted him to be the new Sokka but they forgot that being the comic relief was just a PART of his character. Bolin is a pure plot function. Nothing more.

[espanolbot]

I think that he's getting better as he goes. He definitely has more of a defined personality than Mako in the least.

[benuben]

The problem is that there isn't much to define.