forum How do I write girls?

Started July 20, 2018 by @Mark_Is_Male group

tune

I have always avoided creating characters who are girls..I just don't wanna offend anyone or something??

Anybody wanna help me out??

I will what do ya need help with

I just want to make a strong female character without having her be this 'warrior' I wanna make a good strong female main character, who doesn't need to use violence to solve her problems, but I just can't figure out how to do that?? If that makes sense??

Yes kinda

you can use the power of speech and protest

Okay..thanks :)

A strong female character does NOT mean the tough, badass, "I learned how to fight from my older brothers" type of character. A strong female character is just a completely developed character with her own personality and her own mind. Don't make her dependent on a male character. Don't make her significance in the story centered around a male character. And don't make her always get rescued by a male character. A strong female character doesn't have to be strong in the usual sense of the word. She just has to have a solid personality, an interesting backstory, and something to set her apart from others –same as any other character. The only difference should be her gender.

Okay, I wrote that a while back in answer to this same question some other time. Building off what past-me said, the only difference should be her gender –to an extent. It is true that women tend to have more compassion and empathy than men, and men are typically more aggressive and less prone to emotional outbreaks, but that isn't always the case. The best thing about building characters is that your character doesn't have to be average. You can do whatever you want with your character. It's also okay to have a physically weak female character who depends on a male character for physical protection. The best advice I have is to not downplay other types of strength in favor of physical. Let me use the movie Black Panther as an example. There are four major female characters in the movie, and all have different types of strength. Their strength isn't defined as simply physical, and their strengths aren't downplayed in favor of physical strength.

Okoye: She is an example of physical prowess. She is a warrior, strong and courageous, and when her strength and skills are mentioned, it's not like "wow, she's a girl and she's strong" it's "wow, she's a warrior and she's strong." Her gender doesn't matter in the context of the story. She is strong, and she is a woman.

Shuri: She is an example of mental prowess. She is the top scientist in the movie, and I believe canonly the smartest person in the MCU (not the comics, btw). She isn't questioned or called out or made fun of for being a girl. Rather, her age is the only thing ever mentioned. For example, at the beginning of the movie, M'Baku chides her for being "a child who cares nothing for tradition". He doesn't call her out for being female because it doesn't matter. She is smart, and she is a woman.

Nakia: She is an example of moral prowess. She is capable, flexible, and the first person to help those in need. She helps people outside of Wakanda, and she saves the lives of the royal family –including T'Challa. She is actually on the right side of the argument the movie is actively pursuing. Her femininity isn't questioned or glossed over, but entwined in her story. She is compassionate, and clever, and she is a woman.

Queen Ramonda: She is an example of quiet leadership prowess. She is warm and motherly and gentle. She follows traditions and offers advice to her son and the other characters. She is treated with the highest respect and regard of anyone in the movie. In fact, the only person who disrespects her is the villain. Her femininity and motherliness are her assets. She is a mother, and she is a woman, and she is strong.

What I'm getting at is there is no one way to write a strong female character. A woman can be anything, just like a man can be anything. She should get as much development as any other character, and the only time her gender should be a part of her character is when her gender is a part of the story (like how the queen couldn't have been a guy…'cause she's a mother).

Wow, that was long. Hope this helped some!

Thank you so much! That it super helpful! I've just avoided writing female characters for the longest time, because i've been to afraid to..offend people? If that makes sense!

I see what you're saying. Don't be afraid of offending people! I mean, obviously take it into consideration and don't rely on purposefully hurtful stereotypes, but remember: you can't please everyone. At the end of the day, it's your story to tell.

Thank you! :)

just write people. give your female characters the depth that you would give your male characters; girls can have various strengths and weaknesses like boys do.

Thank you! :)

I’m sure you've met plenty of girls and women in your life, so there's that experience to draw from too. :) Each of them will have her own personality, strengths and weaknesses. While it's not great to make a carbon copy of an existing girl as a character in your story/world, finding inspiration in people you know (either irl or from other places, like movies as @writelikeyourerunningoutoftime referred to) is awesome.

My main tip for writing female characters is to just make a person with feelings, traits, strengths, etc., and make sure that none of the things you have decided for them to be would change based on whether they were male or female.

All of the above explains fairly well of what you need to do to write a good female character. Give them goals and everything they need to gain depth. I only have one thing to add.
I don't know if this applies to boys (I never thought to ask them) but girls always seem to have one or two people they tell everything before telling anyone else.

For example, a girl might know her best friend has a boyfriend long before anyone else just like her best friend might now she is having panic attacks at school before the family does.

This person might also be a sibling, parent or guy she inexplicitly trusts on a friend base. It might also be that they have several people they entrust with different things. As far as I know, it rarely occurs that someone they trust this much becomes a love interest. So please don't make the mistake of your female character having a deeply emotional moment with someone and suddenly there's a love story.

Thank you everyone! This is super helpful! :)

I agree with @WriteLikeYoureRunningOutOfTimeAndMissingSly. There are different types of strong, and no type is more important than another.

I agree with @WriteLikeYoureRunningOutOfTimeAndMissingSly. There are different types of strong, and no type is more important than another.

Thank you! I think I have enough info for now! I was just hoping I didn't offend anybody, because trust me, I've had some angry readers end up telling others not to read my stuff just because I 'Offended' them with a character…because it wasn't realistic enough or something like that. I did remove my story and all the comments, so it's all good now, I just didn't want to make the same mistake.