Writing Strong Female Characters
Poorly written women are a common problem in modern media. The good news is: they’re actually pretty easy to write. The bad news? It’s equally easy to mess them up.
What exactly do I mean when I say strong female character? I’m not necessarily talking about physical strength, although they can certainly have that too. I mean they need to have a strength of character, whether that comes from their moral values or their stubbornness. They need to feel memorable, real, and driven by complex motivations. A character doesn’t need to be morally good in order to be strong, either.
Some people give the advice to simply write a male character and then make them female. I think that’s dumb advice. That’s just a male character in a bow. There’s distinct differences to how men and women react to things, whether it’s because of their upbringing or society as a whole, and you can’t just erase that from them. It’s the little things like being more observant, learning how to read between the lines in a conversation, and being vigilant when walking the streets alone. We look behind our shoulders so we don’t get kidnapped. We make sure whoever’s talking to us isn’t out to hurt us.
Every person and every culture is different, but as a general rule, women take their safety into account far more than men do. We’re far more open and willing to trust with other women than we would be with men. Just hinting at some of this will make your character feel more real.
Don’t be afraid to make your character what she is: a girl. It’s a problem I’ve seen more and more frequently. Most people’s idea of a strong female character is someone who hates all things girly. This perpetuates the idea that femininity makes you weak. If you take one thing away from this article, I hope it’s this: liking pink and kicking butt are not mutually exclusive.
Take Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. She’s the definition of girly girl, and yet she has such a strong and recognizable character that she stands out in the short list of well-written women. There’s something to be said about strong, elegant women, too. Galadriel from Lord of the Rings is another excellent example, though not the version from the Rings of Power. She has strength of magic, yes, but what makes her truly strong is her depth. We quickly understand that Galadriel is wise, ancient, and holds authority. She leaves a lasting impression despite only appearing briefly.
One of the most important things about writing strong female characters is their arcs. Every good character has an arc, be it positive or negative. To deprive your character with an arc is to deprive them of any real ability to connect with the audience. You might be going for the female empowerment route, and so think to yourself, “I can’t give this character any flaws. That would make women look bad!”
Not to worry. Nobody’s going to think your one character represents all women. I promise you, you’re safe to write flaws. In fact, if you don’t write flaws, your characters are going to be boring. Some of the best written female characters are jealous, or petty, or even evil. Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender is a fantastic example. Her character is undeniably strong. She’s tragic and compelling, and her backstory doesn’t excuse her behavior.
If you want them to hate men, go ahead. Just make sure you have a good reason. And not just the general ‘down with the patriarchy,’ if you want your character to be compelling, make it personal. Let them learn from it. Let their arc end with realizing all people are individuals, and it’s deeply flawed thinking that led them to shove everyone into categories of just men and women.
Flaws in characters are non-negotiable. The most important part is that you acknowledge those flaws and let the character grow to fix them. They could be small flaws or glaring ones — it doesn’t matter. They just need to evolve and change somehow.
Many female characters that were made to be strong act the same. They’re all strong, they all hate men, and they all take charge because they’re the only woman who can. Your character does not need to hate all men. Let me repeat that: your character does not need to hate all men. We’re going for equality here. If men are made lesser, it’s no longer equality. Not all men are bad. Not all women are good. Let your characters have nuance.
You know what makes a character arc really impactful? Let them feel. Give them empathy, pride, and hate. Let them love, let them cry, let them mourn. Anything but stoicism. That makes them flat, not powerful. They need to show weakness. They need to have other people to lean on.
If you make them stoic, present that as a flaw, not a virtue. Here’s an example: Carol Danvers from Captain Marvel is exactly what you don’t want to make. She’s unfeeling, uncaring, prideful, and flat. She doesn’t learn to depend on others. She doesn’t learn that pride will be her downfall. She doesn’t grow at all.
To contrast her, take Gwen from Into the Spiderverse. She starts out stoic. She’s a powerful fighter who doesn’t think she needs anybody. Then we learn her backstory and realize this is born from grief. Her arc in the first movie ends by breaking her self-imposed solitude and learning to care about the people fighting by her side. She’s still flawed, yes, but she’s grown. She’s not a cliche. She feels like a real person.
If you’re really, truly committed to learning how to write a strong female character, the best thing you can do is surround yourself with them. Study the character arcs and little quirks of well-written characters and learn to recognize what works. It doesn’t matter if it’s from shows, movies, or books, so long as you pay attention to how the story handles them.
Remember, women are people too. They’re flawed, they’re dynamic, they have interests and biases. All you have to do is keep that in mind, and you’ll do great. Go out there and write women, everyone. Fix the stereotypes one strong character at a time.
What are some characters you’ve seen written well, and how do they stand out? What exactly makes them better than the others?
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