{"quotes":[{"text":"We as authors have been writing about people we aren't for forever. We find a way to empathise, we find a way in. Female characters are no different. All they are are characters. They are people too. Instead of asking yourself, 'How do I write this female soldier?' ask yourself, 'How do I write this soldier? Where is she from, how was she raised, does she have a sense of humour? Is she big and tall, is she short and petite? How does her size affect her ability to fight? What is her favourite weapon, her least favourite? Why? Is she more logical than emotional? The other way around? Was she an only child and spoiled, was she the eldest of six siblings and a surrogate mother? How does that upbringing affect how she interacts with her team? Etc etc and so forth.' Notice how the first question gets you some kind of broad, generalised answer, likely resulting in a stereotype, and how the second version asks lots and lots of smaller questions with the goal of creating someone well rounded.One would hope, really, that we as authors ask such detailed questions of all our characters, regardless of gender.So let me, at long last, actually answer the original question:'How do I write a female character?'Write her the way you would write any other character. Give her dimension, give her strength but please also don't forget to give her weaknesses (for a totally strong nothing can beat her kind of girl is not a person, she's again a type - the polar opposite yet exactly the same as the damsel in distress).Create a person.","author":"Adrienne Kress","tags":["female-characters","writing","writing-female-characters","writing-gender"],"id":7649,"author_id":"Adrienne+Kress"},{"text":"You are not born to follow the society, you are born to inspire it - you are born to teach it - you are born to build it.","author":"Abhijit Naskar","tags":["achievement","bad-woman","brainy","female","female-beauty","female-characters","female-empowerment","female-hero","female-liberation","female-protagonist","females","feminine","feminine-power","femininity","feminism","feminism-identity","feminismo","feminist","feminist","feminists","girl","girl-power","girl","girls","good-woman","great-woman","great-women","humanism","humanity","humankind","inspirational","inspiring-women","leadership","leadership-development","man-and-woman","man-and-woman","mankind","neuropsychology","success","woman","woman","woman","woman-s-character","woman-s-strength","womanhood","women","women-and-men","women-empowerment","women","women-s-inspirational","women-s-rights","women-s-strength","womens-rights","words-of-wisdom"],"id":12283,"author_id":"Abhijit+Naskar"},{"text":"Chocolate cake and a diamond ring? In bed with the man of my dreams?","author":"Cristin Harber","tags":["alpha-male","female-characters","funny","funny-but-true","romantic-suspense"],"id":17781,"author_id":"Cristin+Harber"},{"text":"Scent is such a powerful tool of attraction, that if a woman has this tool perfectly tuned, she needs no other. I will forgive her a large nose, a cleft lip, even crossed-eyes; and I’ll bathe in the jouissance of her intoxicating odour.","author":"Roman Payne","tags":["adventure","adventuress","aeging","aging-well","aging-with-grace","all-women-are-beautiful","beautiful-scents","beauty-in-aeging","beauty-in-aging","beauty-in-women","big-nose","bravery","cleft-lip","courage","cross-eyes","dance","dancing","dreameress","exploration","explore","explorer","feeling-good","female","female-beauty","female-characters","female-empowerment","female-hero","female-liberation","females","feminine","femininity","feminism","freedom","girl","girl-power","girl","girls","growing","growth","imagination","imaginative","inspiration","inspirational","inspirational-attitude","inspirational-life","inspire","large-nose","life-and-living","life-change","life-philosophy","literary","living-life-to-the-fullest","loving-life","olfactory-sensors","parisian-reverie","passion","passionate","passionate-life","passionate-living","revitalize","revitalizing","roman-payne","scent-of-a-woman","scents","seize-the-day","self-acceptance","self-love","self-value","self-worth","sense-of-smell","smell-of-a-women","the-value-of-life","the-wanderess","wander","wanderess","wild-woman","wildness","woman","woman-s-character","woman-s-strength","womanhood","women","women-s-inspirational","women-s-liberation","women-s-motivational","women-s-power","women-s-scents-olfactory","women-s-strength"],"id":29806,"author_id":"Roman+Payne"},{"text":"I tend to like strong female characters. It just interests me dramatically. A strong male character isn't interesting because it has been done and it's so cliched. A weak male character is interesting: somebody else hasn't done it a hundred times. A strong female character is still interesting to me because it hasn't been done all that much, finding the balance of femininity and strength.[From a 1986 Fangoria interview].","author":"James Cameron","tags":["cameron","female-characters","feminism","feminist","james-cameron","pro-feminist","stereotypes","writing"],"id":42050,"author_id":"James+Cameron"},{"text":"Like most little girls, I found the lure of grown-up accessories astonishing - lipstick, perfume, hats and gloves. When I write female characters in my historical novels, getting these details right is vital.","author":"Sara Sheridan","tags":["accessories","accuracy","beauty","details","female-characters","girls","gloves","hats","history","lipstick","novels","perfume","women","writing"],"id":49884,"author_id":"Sara+Sheridan"},{"text":"Women are no sheep.","author":"Abhijit Naskar","tags":["achievement","bad-woman","brainy","female","female-beauty","female-characters","female-empowerment","female-hero","female-liberation","female-protagonist","females","feminine","feminine-power","femininity","feminism","feminism-identity","feminismo","feminist","feminist","feminists","girl","girl-power","girl","girls","good-woman","great-woman","great-women","humanism","humanity","humankind","inspirational","inspiring-women","leadership","leadership-development","man-and-woman","man-and-woman","mankind","neuropsychology","patriarchal","patriarchal-culture","patriarchal-paradigm","patriarchal-society","patriarchy","success","woman","woman","woman","woman-s-character","woman-s-strength","womanhood","women","women-and-men","women-empowerment","women","women-s-inspirational","women-s-rights","women-s-strength","womens-rights","words-of-wisdom"],"id":55851,"author_id":"Abhijit+Naskar"},{"text":"Women are no sheep. Women are no fragile showpiece to be placed above the fire-place. Women of the thinking society are the builders of nations. Women of the sentient society are the builders of the world.","author":"Abhijit Naskar","tags":["achievement","bad-woman","brainy","female","female-beauty","female-characters","female-empowerment","female-hero","female-liberation","female-protagonist","females","feminine","feminine-power","femininity","feminism","feminism-identity","feminismo","feminist","feminist","feminists","girl","girl-power","girl","girls","good-woman","great-woman","great-women","humanism","humanity","humankind","inspirational","inspiring-women","leadership","leadership-development","man-and-woman","man-and-woman","mankind","neuropsychology","patriarchal","patriarchal-culture","patriarchal-paradigm","patriarchal-society","patriarchy","success","woman","woman","woman","woman-s-character","woman-s-strength","womanhood","women","women-and-men","women-empowerment","women","women-s-inspirational","women-s-rights","women-s-strength","womens-rights","words-of-wisdom"],"id":65330,"author_id":"Abhijit+Naskar"},{"text":"Women of the thinking society are the builders of nations. Women of the sentient society are the builders of the world. And given the same honor and dignity as men, women can build a much better and more harmonious world. Harmony and conflict-solving run in their veins. Whereas men have evolved into more authoritarian creatures.","author":"Abhijit Naskar","tags":["achievement","bad-woman","brainy","female","female-beauty","female-characters","female-empowerment","female-hero","female-liberation","female-protagonist","females","feminine","feminine-power","femininity","feminism","feminism-identity","feminismo","feminist","feminist","feminists","girl","girl-power","girl","girls","good-woman","great-woman","great-women","humanism","humanity","humankind","inspirational","inspiring-women","leadership","leadership-development","man-and-woman","man-and-woman","mankind","neuropsychology","patriarchal","patriarchal-culture","patriarchal-paradigm","patriarchal-society","patriarchy","success","woman","woman","woman","woman-s-character","woman-s-strength","womanhood","women","women-and-men","women-empowerment","women","women-s-inspirational","women-s-rights","women-s-strength","womens-rights","words-of-wisdom"],"id":65573,"author_id":"Abhijit+Naskar"},{"text":"God must think her a badass because he’d handed her this moment, and he didn’t dole out shit she couldn’t handle. That was a fact taught long ago by that miserable bitch called life.","author":"Cristin Harber","tags":["alpha-male","alpha-male-romance","badass-lady","badass-women","badassery","female-characters","military-romance","romantic-suspense"],"id":69791,"author_id":"Cristin+Harber"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":59,"pages":6,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}