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#writing female characters

hadesoftheladies · 6 months

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im genuinely fatigued by male heroism in literature. no i do not want a "girl-coded" villain with floppy dark hair, i want an interesting FEMALE CHARACTER GOODDDAAMMNITTTT.

I want to see an eldest daughter fighting for her family's honor. I want to see a girl facing a moral dilemma prematurely, abandoned and decieved by everyone she trusted. I want to see her revolt at the betrayal of her superiors. I want a mother to see what a monster her child has become. becoming a fugitive from her own spawn. I want to see an old woman watch those she loves die because they did not heed her warnings. I want to see old prophetesses outsmart authorities and fight to stop the inevitable. i want a bunch of sisters braving the wild because they are the only hope of a small town. a pathetic heroine who only survives because of luck and charm. young girls with strong limbs because they're used to working in factories and farms, who can run far and leap over fallen trees. who can bat a ball and scale a wall. i want girl gangs, where teenage girls get up to no good until the consequences catch up to them, or not. i want socially awkward queens who lean on the advice of aunty-like advisors, be they witches or muggle. i want to see an older sister be betrayed by the brother she raised and it climaxes in a duel. i want to see the reverse, where the brother she raised becomes her second-in-command, strong and wise because of her and wouldn't betray her for the world. i want genius little girls that are kept in secret towers because of their prophetic dreams. who terrify kings because of their intellect. i want female spies and soldiers who are stupid and devoted. i want an arrogant heroine who gets caught up in a plot bigger than she can handle. a kind girl who inevitably breaks the world and destroys everything. i want her to be destined for doom and glory. I WANT HER TO SELF-DESTRUCT IN THE FACE OF HER OWN POWER. I WANT HER DREAMS AND HOPES FOR THE FUTURE TO INSPIRE A NATION TO CHANGE, ONLY FOR HER TO LEARN THE HARD TRUTH OF THE COST OF TRANSFORMATION. I WANT HER TO WRESTLE WITH THE ISOLATION THAT COMES FROM GREATNESS. TO DESIRE LOVE AND BE TOO SHREWD TO FALL FOR IT.

I AM SO FUCKING TIRED OF BOY ANGST YOU WILL NEVER BE AS DEEP, COMPLEX OR NUANCED AS A GIRL YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE HORRORS YOU'RE JUST A PARODY OF WOMEN'S LIVES GET OUT

#mine #rant #fiction #writeblr #feminism #writing female characters #i keep adding shit because there's so much

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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Do well by your female characters

Back in film school you wouldn't believe the amount of scripts I read from my (mostly male) classmates that featured the same character; a kind, helpful woman reflective of the male protagonist who showed up when he needed her to offer warm words and support, allowing him to overcome obstacles and go for what he needs.

I hope she doesn’t sound familiar to you.

One of them was a coworker, another a train station attendant, another the best friend who lived next door—it didn’t matter, they were all the same character, uninvolved in their own lives, created to help a man get to his goal. Let’s be wary of this trope, and stop robbing our female characters of their own agency. We can do this in a few ways:

1. They aren’t convenient

One confusing fault of the female characters I read in my peers’ scripts was that she was always around right where the protagonist needed her to be. It didn’t matter if he was having a crisis in the alleyway, or by the museum, or in his own house, she’d show up like she’d been summoned.

She needed a place to be—a life outside of him. A job, school, hobbies. Sometimes when he needs her—she shouldn’t be there.

2. They have an actual personality

While being warm, kind, supportive, and empathetic are all admirable traits people do have, I’ve never met a real person where that’s all they were. Like building any character, she needs flaws, interests, something to her that isn’t just for other people’s benefit. Consider what traits she has that aren’t just ways she serves others.

Allow her something just for her. Something selfish.

3. They have and work towards a goal

Related to her not being convenient—she’s got her own thing going on. Like any other character, she has goals and objectives, motivations, something to work towards. As much as she supports the protagonist, she also takes from him to fulfill her own goal.

Give her wins, disappointments, a little something going on. Something to gain from her interactions with him.

What else bothers you about common female character tropes? Or what did I miss?

#writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #books #filmmaking #film #writing advice #female characters #writing female characters #mary sue trope #character agency

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funhouse-mirror-barbie · 4 months

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Nuanced and Multifaceted Conflict vs. “Good v. Evil” in fiction

So. This is another thing I’ve wanted to talk about for a while. I promise I won’t always be focusing on Helluva Boss in my critiques, and I actually have quite a few other series I want to talk about.

There’s a big chance that I’ll be saying everything other people have already said, but I can’t help but WANT to talk about this specific character in regard to the story’s conflict. I think that it’s important to recognize when a character is written to be a complex person, and when a character is written to be an enemy to be defeated, and how not following through with your set-up can affect your story.

And HB does that A LOT in my opinion.

So. Let’s get into it. This time I’ll be talking about complex conflict between characters vs. black and white conflict, and I’ll also be touching on story set-ups and audience expectations.

I want to talk about a character who could have really made some of the internal character conflicts have so much more depth and intrigue. I want to talk about Stella Goetia

*as a side note this post is MUCH longer than I intended but I really wanted to get into a lot of the background and reasons for how Stella’s character development has actually completely changed what HB’d story conflict could have looked like. I’ll try and sum up everything in the end in a TLDR for y’all

So. Most of the reviews of her character I see talk about how she’s been “ruined” by the writing team revealing that she’s always been very abusive towards Stolas

I have to start off by saying I actually don’t think that Stella or her portrayal was “ruined” by the writing direction her character has been taken in.

In fact, this critique bothers me, because it doesn’t really get to what I think the actual root of why people are disappointed in Stella’s characterization, and the type of conflict that now exists between her and Stolas.

The main reason I believe people are unsatisfied with Stella is because they believed that her character was being set up for a complex and nuanced conflict between her and Stolas, and then that turned out not to be the case.

A quick disclaimer- I do think it’s possible to subvert audience expectations about story and characters in a satisfying way. But it has to be done in a way that respects the audiences intelligence and willingness to think about the story.

If your plot-twist, unreliable narrator, subversion, or what-have-you is done well, the audience should be able to either figure out what’s going based on the little information you’ve given them, and if they don’t, the change or subversion should still make sense and CLICK in hindsight.

Otherwise, your subversion will end up feeling cheap or confusing. Or worse, like a lie.

And this is one of the MAIN issues I think people have with Stella.

As the audience, we were NOT given enough information on her or her character before it’s revealed that she’s just “evil” and always has been, apparently since she was a literal child.

Again, I don’t think it’s an inherently bad decision to have a flat or pure evil villain. I’m fine with Stella being one, even if it’s less interesting to me personally.

But it’s definitely very different from what was initially implied and set-up, and the audience can pick up on that.

Before S2E1 “The Circus” we see Stella a total of 3 times in person, with one time being a flashback.

I’m going to go over those times to analyze if anything set-up in Stella’s appearances points towards her being. Well, totally and irredeemably awful and abusive I guess.

The very first time we see Stella is in the same bed with Stolas—Octavia calls for her parents, both Stolas AND Stella. Stella grumbles and refuses to get up and tells Stolas to go. This doesn’t immediately strike me as a sign of her being a terrible person. That exact scenario is present in a lot of family comedies, kids’ movies, and sitcoms.

Nothing about this screams that Stella is a terrible parent or an abusive partner to me. It just tells me she’s tired and doesn’t want to get up, which again, is not uncommon.

The next time we see her, she’s yelling at Stolas, and she throws a servant at him in anger.

Now, there’s no excuse for this, her behavior here is not okay, regardless of her feelings. But we understand why she’s acting the way she is--she’s furious with Stolas for cheating on her. At this point with the information we have, it’s also very reasonable to believe her feelings have been hurt.

Later Octavia talks about how her parents didn’t used to hate each other, and the way Stolas’ tries to explain their failing marriage to her comes across like his relationship with Stella is one that’s always had difficulties that they have tried and failed to overcome.

None of this information is enough to really convey or hint that Stella is and has always been abusive or evil. It shows that Stella and Stolas have a very rough relationship, and that Stella most likely has anger management difficulties, but you have to do lot of extra work to come to the conclusion that Stella is completely at fault here.

The next time we see her though, things have clearly escalated, because it’s revealed that she’s one that hired Striker to assassinate Stolas.

Now. Usually. Yeah. That would be a HUGE red flag. And I mean. It still obviously is.

But, and I never thought I’d use this uno reverse card, this is one of the few times where the explanation of “But it’s hell, what did you expect???” actually makes sense to me.

Because yeah, it is hell. It’s the end of episode 5 when we learn this, and our protagonists have killed and assassinated multiple people. Taking a hit out on people really doesn’t seem to be that uncommon of a thing in hell.

Even the next scene after the reveal that Stella is the one who hired Striker makes light of how serious this is, by showing that Stella was basically yelling her assassination plot right to Stolas’ face.

This is played for laughs! I genuinely am not sure if the writers intended for this to be foreshadowing of Stella’s abuse or not because if so, they turned her attempting to kill her husband into a joke!

If you cannot keep your themes or tone consistent, how is the audience supposed to follow your story?

There is subtle storytelling, and then there’s tacking information and character points later on in your writing. And this can have two causes.

Either your audience has to do the work of story-telling for you and make up their own reasons for what’s happening to make the story coherent OR they will be disappointed and dissatisfied by the final product.

I think that’s the main reason why S2E1 of Helluva Boss felt so jarring story-wise, and why Stella, to me at least, suddenly felt like a brand new character.

Like I haven’t been this confused by a character being suddenly evil since Hans from Frozen.

(like seriously why the hell did they put this scene in if not to just trick the audience. This isn’t giving us any plot info it’s only giving us contradictory info on his character. Like I talked about before, Hans’ heel-face-turn doesn’t feel like a twist. It feels like a lie.)

Okay so, how does any of this actually affect anything? Who cares if Stella is evil, that doesn’t automatically make the story bad!

Well. Yeah, of course not. Ironically, having the main conflict your story being a battle between “Good v. Bad” characters is neither good nor bad. It’s just a story decision. And ultimately at the end of the day, the writers of Helluva Boss can choose to tell their story however they’d like.

But, depending on how this is executed, good v evil stories can be a lot less interesting than morally grey or complicated conflicts and characters.

I am more interested in the version of the story where Stella and Stolas are imperfect and messy people. I am more interested in the story where Stolas has an affair to escape being in an arranged marriage, and Stella overreacts by arranging a hit on her husband (unless calling out a hit is normal in hell, but we can’t know b/c there is no baseline for what is considered normal in hell)

I am so much more interested in the story where Stolas and Stella are both depicted as being in the wrong, as being incredibly hurt by each other’s actions, and as not knowing how to repair their broken relationship for the sake of their daughter.

That story feels very real to me. It’s one I want to engage and invest in.

I want to see if these characters can grow to accept their mistakes and learn and change for the sake of Octavia and having to co-exist with each other, or if they’ll slip back into mutual destruction and toxicity.

But that’s not the story we’ll get to see, because it seems like the writers are more interested in keeping Stolas from having to grow as a character. And because of that, Stella has been turned into an evil obstacle that must be defeated, instead of a nuanced and real person.

I also feel like I have to say. I know I would be MUCH less frustrated by this if I hadn’t seen an HB crew member talking about how their show is similar to Bojack Horseman.

Because. It’s just not. I’m sorry, I’m not saying that to be mean, or condescending, or rude, but the way characters are written in Helluva Boss is almost completely black and white at this point.

Regardless of the writer’s intent, the vast majority of the choices they have made in Season 2 come off as explanations to excuse the protagonist’s mistakes, and give them a “get out of being potentially in the wrong” free card.

Compared to the writing decisions in Bojack, which almost always has characters confront their wrongdoings, for better or worse, HB honestly feels like it’s the Anti-Bojack.

It would take a TON of character development and time to make HB’s characters as interesting, fleshed-out, and as real as Bojack’s are, and at this point that’s I don’t think it will ever happen.

Again. Having black and white conflict is FINE. It is a choice in story telling that can be done very effectively. But if you are making a black and white story where one side is always terrible and evil, and one side can do no wrong, you can’t act like you’ve written something that is deeper and more emotionally complex and grey than that.

And the first time the writers gave Stella more than 3 sentences to string together, they made it very clear that any chance of her being a more complex and engaging character was being tossed out the window.

————

TLDR:

The main reason people are upset about Stella being shown as abusive in S2E1 of HB is probably because the initial depictions of her didn’t give us enough information on her character to tell that she was just evil/a terrible person.

The way the story was written in S1 to set up the possibility of a very interesting and complex conflict between Stella and Stolas, and when it was revealed that she’s just. The worst. There were people that were disappointed by this, because they expected more.

Audiences actually aren’t idiots, and when you subtly foreshadow something and then completely change things, that can be frustrating.

It’s MORE than okay to write a straightforward good v evil story, but it depending on the way it’s written and executed, it may not be as interesting to mature audiences as a more morally grey story would be.

If you can’t write characters confronting their flaws and being in the wrong, please don’t compare your writing to Bojack, I mean. C’mon.

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #character critique #stella goetia #hb stella #helluva boss stella #media conversation #media critique #media criticism #writing female characters #writing critique #writing #funhouse convo

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constantinemaddentheenemyofdeath · 26 days

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Things that annoy me in the Pjo series:

First of all, I know I should be glad we got anything at all and especially since the show was good overall, but these two things annoy me.

1.Annabeth doesn’t have the same personality. Annabeth is smart asf and thinks before she acts but in the show she’s not scared of offending people and causing trouble. She’s much more emotionless in the show while in the book she’s kind and good at social situations. She’s the brains of the team and often has to hold Percy back bcs he’s abt to do smth really stupid like fight a god but in the show she’s rash. It’s like we can’t get a smart female character who’s also kind and friendly. She’s 12 years old kid not some tough warrior.

2.(SPOILER WARNING)

When Luke betrays Percy, Annabeth sees it. This isn’t exactly the part that annoys me but the fact that Annabeth is ready to fight Luke. In the books it took a lot of time for her to actually go against Luke and accept that he’s evil since they see each other as siblings. Once again the show makes Annabeth be cold when really she’s a kid who’s only family just tried to murder her friend. It’s unrealistic that she just accepts it like that. Other than that I really enjoyed Annabeth’s character and the actor is good job.

(So pretty（╹◡╹）♡)

#pjo tv show #pjo series #pjo #pjo fandom #annabeth chase #percy jackson #percy series #percy pjo #percy and annabeth #annabeth #writing female characters #tv series #annoying

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total-karma · 1 month

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i cant deal w 90% of alenoah shippers or fic writers because its so clear they have No Idea what to do with heather. they either write her as a lesbian (which is FINE when done well. but like it never feels like it's coming from somewhere genuine it just feels like an easy way to get her out of the way) OR they make her a raging, jealous, awful ex. which is just. so wrong. do i need to remind you all that HEATHER is the one who pushed alejandro down the volcano? SHE is the one who eventually got the upper hand. she's not going to embarrass herself by being a desperate, clingy ex girlfriend, whether in canon or an alternate universe. also, she's funny and sharp-witted, which a lot of writers seem to completely miss! like PLEASE for the love of god learn how to characterise her Or better yet learn how to write women (and how to make them FUNNY. i swear some of you just don't know how.)

#this is coming from both an alenoah and aleheather shipper #not naming names but there are some Popular fic writers who dont know how to write her and its IRKSOME #writing female characters #mischaracterization #alenoah #td heather

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ahb-writes · 11 months

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19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)

The original infographic on which this list is based was bulleted with short descriptions (see "All The Things that Are Wrong…" at Hey Writers and FastCompany). It's nifty quantitative data. However, the original article doesn't explore any solutions. So, I spent some time hunting down a few writing resources to fill in the gaps.

The following list of "problems" represents about half of those from the infographic. I tweaked the problem statements, and I drafted the solution text in a feverish rush. No apologies for repeated sources; I have my favorites. Read on:

Problem #01: The Story Begins Too Late in the Novel

Problem #02: The Scenes Are Void of Meaningful Conflict

Problem #03: The Story Has a By-the-Numbers Execution

Problem #04: The Story Is Too Thin

Problem #05: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil

Problem #06: The Character Logic Is Muddy

Problem #07: The Female Part Is Underwritten

Problem #08: The Narrative Falls Into a Repetitive Pattern

Problem #09: The Conflict Is Inconsequential, Flash-in-the-Pan

Problem #10: The Protagonist Is a Standard-Issue Hero

Problem #11: The Story Favors Style Over Substance

Problem #12: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic

Problem #13: The Characters Are All Stereotypes

Problem #14: The Novel Suffers From Arbitrary Complexity

Problem #15: The Story Goes Off the Rails in the Third Act

Problem #16: The Novel's Questions Are Left Unanswered

Problem #17: The Story Is a String of Unrelated Vignettes

Problem #18: The Plot Unravels Through Convenience/Contrivance

Problem #19: The Story Is Tonally Confused

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Problem #01: The Story Begins Too Late in the Novel

Solution: Gain traction early; use simplicity, momentum, and a bit of the unknown to carry readers toward the more complex and the improbable. The first chapter is context for what the whole novel is about. Don't wait to pull in readers, don't hesitate to tell readers which characters are the most important, and don't hesitate to expose readers (and the viewpoint character) to the narrative's central conflict. Be upfront about what kind of story you're telling.

Develop a strong sense of who your protagonist is, articulate the protagonist's needs (which may change), and hint at the limits or barriers the protagonist must acknowledge, or defy, to achieve their current or a future goal.

Writing Resources:

8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One (Writer's Digest)

10 Ways to Start Your Story (The Writers Society)

How To Start a Story That Grips Your Readers (Jericho Writers)

7 Steps for Writing Your Novel's Opening Chapter (The Novel Smithy)

4 Key Elements of Scene Openings (September C. Fawkes)

How to Find Your Writing Style (sunnydwrites; ahbwrites)

Writing Riveting Inciting Action: 7 Ideas (Now Novel)

In Media Res: 6 Steps to Start Stories From the Middle (Now Novel)

Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)

Problem #02: The Scenes Are Void of Meaningful Conflict

Solution: Character growth and story arcs don't occur in isolation. Conflict-guided scenes and conflict-guided storytelling, more broadly, open the narrative to moments in which the characters are continuously tested to validate their knowledge, skills, or relationships.

To drive the story forward with measured purpose, focus on building, developing, and testing a character's desires. If necessary, implement story or relational dynamics to economically assess, judge, and curate a character's failure (and the consequences thereof). Conflict needn't be grandiose; writers must be in tune with the different levels, types, and intensities of conflict that drive their story. Conflict should be multifaceted.

Writing Resources:

A Few Words About Conflict (Glimmer Train Press)

Conflict Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)

6 Secrets to Creating and Sustaining Suspense (Writer's Digest)

Emotions in Writing: How to Make Your Readers Feel (Jericho Writers)

The Primary Principles of Plot: Goal, Antagonist, Conflict, Consequences (September C. Fawkes)

How to Master Conflict in Young Adult Fiction (Writer's Edit)

Failure, Conflict, and Character Arc (Writers in the Storm)

Problem #03: The Story Has a By-the-Numbers Execution

Solution: Structure must be impeccable. Except for when it shouldn't be. Formulas are essential. Except for when they're not. Outlines are absolute. Except for when they aren't.

Successful storytelling strategies should flex and shift and evolve as the needs and demands of the story flex and shift and evolve. If you plan to wield an effective structure to buffet your storytelling execution, then research and document the structure that best compliments your story, your characters, your characters' conflicts, and the themes reflected in those conflicts.

Writing Resources:

7 Point Story Structure Explained in 5 Minutes (September C. Fawkes)

How to Actually Use a Story Structure (September C. Fawkes)

Description: 5 Times When You Should (and 4 Times When You Shouldn't) Rely on Description (ahbwrites)

Basic Checklist for Your Story (The Right Writing)

Gothic Literature: A Guide To All Things Eerie (Jericho Writers)

Suspense Definition — Literature: Tips for Writing Suspense (Jericho Writers)

How to Create a Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps (How to Write a Book Now)

The Progressive Outline: How I Balance My Plotter and Pantser Tendencies (Michael Bjork Writes; Scrawls and Rambles; ahbwrites)

5 New Ideas for Outlining Stories (1000 Story Ideas; ahbwrites)

Problem #04: The Story Is Too Thin

Solution: Does the story lack balance?

Purposeful narrative structure. Effective characterization. Meaningful conflict (and meaningful consequences). Immersive description. Authentic character dynamics. A good story needs all of this and more. But it's okay to be stronger, or more experienced, in crafting one area of storytelling than in others. It's okay for one's attention to drift during the initial drafting phase.

If you know your strengths, then you can lean on them to bolster your storytelling where it counts. If you know your weaknesses or limitations, then you can avoid what frustrates you and maneuver toward what excites you. But take the time to identify what facet of your craft needs work and be open to exploring your weaknesses with further experience, research, and insight.

Writing Resources:

100 Character Development Questions to Inspire Deeper Arcs (Now Novel)

How to Write a Sequel That Satisfies: Simple Guide (Now Novel)

Best Story Writing Websites in 2022 (Now Novel)

10 Signs Your Plot is Weak (and How to Fix it) (September C. Fawkes)

Defining and Developing Your Author Voice (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)

How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)

Description: 5 Times When You Should (and 4 Times When You Shouldn't) Rely on Description (ahbwrites)

How to Focus on One Story (Alyssa Hollingsworth)

Problem #05: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil

Solution: Villains require just as much character development as the novel's heroes, protagonists, and perspective characters. Effective villainy incorporates consequential decision making, relatable character motivations, believable perspectives and experiences, and most important, intention. When a writer diversifies these facets of a so-named villain's free will, humanity, personal interests, and relationship with the story's main conflict, one is better-positioned to craft a more diverse and more engaging villain.

Writing Resources:

How Your Character's Failures Can Map A Route To Self-Growth (Writers Helping Writers)

Good Character Flaws: Create Complex Antagonists (Now Novel)

50 Questions to Ask Your Antagonist (Alyssa Hollingsworth)

Antagonist Starts Good, Becomes Drunk With Power (related, master list) (Writing Questions Answered; ahbwrites)

16 Villain Archetypes (Chosen by the Planet; ahbwrites)

How to Give Your Antagonist a Little Humanity (Fiction Writing Tips; ahbwrites)

How to Write the Perfect Villain (Jericho Writers)

How to Build an Antagonist (How to Fight Write)

Negative Trait Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)

Theme and Symbolism Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)

Problem #06: The Character Logic Is Muddy

Solution: Investing in realistic characterization will give a novel the curious details and sense of familiarity readers will readily absorb. Good character logic means providing original characters with the agency to speak, act, and react with authority. (It also doesn't hurt to have a character or two who are really good at faking it.) But it's not enough to simply imply a character's sense of self through dialogue and action. Writers should aim for a level deeper.

Don't write characters, write character arcs. Don't write character flaws, write character flaws that make characters curious, enticing, or attractive. Craft inimitable dialogue, encourage characters to engage their environment, and remember to hold characters responsible for their actions.

Writing Resources:

3 Redemptive Character Types (September C. Fawkes)

6 Ways to Write Truly Terrifying Villains (The Novel Smithy)

What Is Pathos in Literature? A Complete Guide (Jericho Writers)

Character Motivation Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)

"I don't think you need all the backstory in the world..." (advice from Brennan Lee Mulligan, TTRPG gamemaster)

How to Improve Your Secondary Characters: 6 Fresh Ideas (Em Dash Press)

Some Quick Character Tips (Coffee Bean Writing)

The Importance of The Unlikable Heroine (Claire Legrand; ahbwrites)

Don't Design a Character, Design a Character Arc (avalera; ahbwrites)

How to Write Character Arcs (Helping Writers Become Authors)

Problem #07: The Female Part Is Underwritten

Solution: Frame and establish female characters who are their own and who can hold their own. Obviously, character-building must be done with care, but the emphasis on writing female characters well is not misplaced. Authors in the majority of those published often get away with female characters that are relegated to the role of the conveniently unprotected, the buddy, the substitute wife/girlfriend, the pawn/sacrifice, the hot chick, and/or the stoic action lady who can do anything because that makes her cool.

Write female characters with their own intelligences, experiences, shortcomings, and successes. These characters must come into their own organically, and they must engage the narrative (and readers) in a way that demonstrates their value without siphoning their agency.

Writing Resources:

Make Them Female (Horrible God)

The Importance of The Unlikable Heroine (Claire Legrand; ahbwrites)

100 Character Development Questions to Inspire Deeper Arcs (Now Novel)

We Need to Talk About Cold Women (HuffPost)

Writing a "Strong Female Character" That Isn't Heartless (Writing Questions Answered)

Strength is Relative: Female Characters, Gender Stereotypes, and Writer Authority (ahbwrites)

The Heroines of YA Dystopias Have All These Traits in Common (Refinery29; ahbwrites)

Female Characters to Avoid in Your Writing: An Illustrated Guide (The Caffeine Book Warrior; ahbwrites)

On Mary Sue (How to Fight Write; ahbwrites)

Core Principles of Crafting Protagonists (September C. Fawkes)

4 Ways to Unlock Your Character's Unique Voice (The Novel Smithy)

Problem #08: The Narrative Falls Into a Repetitive Pattern

Solution: Does the story begin at the right point? Are the characters introduced in scenes where they exert the right influence? Are the novel's emotional beats consistent (or meaningful)? What's the tempo like? Is the pacing balanced and purposeful at the sentence level, scene level, and act level? Is the story's use of description unique and dynamic? What's the difference between the author voice, the narrator voice, and the character voice? Be as flexible or inflexible as needed, but above all, be willing to learn.

Writing Resources:

Never Lie Beyond What You're Capable of Selling (How to Fight Write)

How to Craft Your Protagonist's Inner and Outer Journeys (The Novel Smithy)

5 Ways to Keep Reader's Interest When They Know Something the Character Doesn't (Writing Questions Answered)

Variations on Story Structure: A List (September C. Fawkes)

8 Common Pacing Problems (September C. Fawkes)

How Structure Affects Pacing (September C. Fawkes)

Quick Plotting Tip: Write Your Story Backwards (bucketsiler; ahbwrites)

What Is Pacing in Writing? Mastering Pace (Now Novel)

Problem #09: The Conflict Is Inconsequential, Flash-in-the-Pan

Solution: Many authors struggle to contrive meaningful conflict such that it either shapes or speaks critically to the trajectory of the characters it touches. Conflict is not a consequence or a corollary of scheme or impulse; conflict should develop as the story develops and grow as the character dynamics grow.

Explore character through conflict by reinforcing their goals and their perceptions (of reality), as well as the plausibility of maintaining either. Use conflict to reveal blind spots, biases, or fears. Conflict doesn't narrow the possibility of who characters are, or what the story might convey; conflict opens characters (or readers) to new methodologies, new stakes, and possibly new goals, as a result of enduring or overcoming the fracas in question. Conflict adds depth.

Writing Resources:

Conflict Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)

Need Compelling Conflict? Choose A Variety of Kinds (Writer's Helping Writers)

How to Draw Readers in Through a Character's Choices (Writers Helping Writers)

Exactly How to Create and Control Tone (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)

Are Your Conflicts Significant? (September C. Fawkes)

Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They Aren't the Same Thing) (September C. Fawkes)

How to Write a Dystopian Story: Our Gide (Jericho Writers)

Plot Conflict: Striking True Adversity in Stories (Now Novel)

How to Use Central Conflict and Drama to Drive Your Novel (Now Novel)

Problem #10: The Protagonist Is a Standard-Issue Hero

Solution: There different types of heroes. There are different types of villains. And the multitude of stories in which these various types of characters might interact require differing levels of focus. Not all heroes must have a tale of overcoming adversity. Not all villains need a tragic backstory. Not all comedy stories require a "meek schlub" to come out on top. Not all suspense or thriller tales require a "world-weary detective" fighting for emotional validation or recompense.

Diverse character types help drive diverse stories. Challenge how archetypes and standard-issue definitions traditionally render a "hero" or a "villain" in a story. Important Note: Don't give in by forcing a character to fit an established mold by the story's end.

Writing Resources:

Guide to Writing an Unlikable Protagonist (Words and Such)

How to Craft the Perfect Antihero (Writer's Digest)

How to Write an Anti-Hero Readers Will Adore (The Novel Smithy)

Types of Heroes: Crafting Your Characters (Jericho Writers)

How to Write Supporting Characters in Fiction (Jericho Writers)

10 Ways to Write a Chosen One That Won't Annoy Readers (The Novel Smithy)

Being the Best at Something (One Stop for Writers)

50 Questions to Ask Your Antagonist (Alyssa Hollingsworth)

How to Build an Antagonist (How to Fight Write)

Male Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing: An Illustrated Guide (The Caffeine Book Warrior)

Problem #11: The Story Favors Style Over Substance

Solution: Writers commonly risk stumbling into the crevasse of convenience, no matter the genre (e.g., action must be cool or flashy, comedy must be glaringly funny, horror must be unremittingly scary). The primary fault lines for these seemingly innocent errors are twofold: inexperience and immaturity. That is to say, the more one reads and the more one writes, the greater one experiences, learns, and empathizes with a greater array of storytelling styles, techniques, and attitudes. Writing a more dynamic and engaging story that leaps beyond the crevasse of style over substance requires an eagerness to learn, a willingness to experiment, and an openness to difference.

Writing Resources:

8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One (Writer's Digest)

Building a Bold Narrator's Voice: 5 Methods (Now Novel)

How to Avoid Plot Armor (Coffee Bean Writing)

10 Tips for the Middle of Your Story (Coffee Bean Writing; ahbwrites)

Avoiding Plot Armor (How to Fight Write)

How to Absolutely Wreck Your Audience With a Character Death (lunewell)

Writing Description: Make Introspection More Engaging (ahbwrites)

How to Frame Scenes Like a Filmmaker (Kristen Kiefer)

Shakespeare's Genius Is Nonsense (Nautilus)

Problem #12: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic

Solution: Endings can be dramatic. Endings can be a little ambiguous. Endings can be bittersweet. Endings can be simple surprises. Endings can be unique and unresolved. Endings can reverse motives, reverse perspectives, or reverse fortunes. Endings can be complex webs that tie up every single loose end. Whatever the author's preference, endings shouldn't read as if the last 10 pages were cut off.

But knowing how to end a story is not an isolated challenge. To end a story properly and effectively, the author must know how the story begins, how its characters evolve, and how these dynamics transform over the course of narrative's varying points of tension and conflict. Recall, how does the story begin and why? How, specifically, do the characters evolve? And what compels them to do so? Where and how do the story's internal and external conflicts converge? Endings follow a few essential rules: endings require context, endings must be plausible, and endings must connect to the narrative's key elements.

Writing Resources:

Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)

Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)

Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)

What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)

How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)

Story Climax Examples: Writing Gripping Build-Ups (Now Novel)

How to End a Novel: Writing Strong Story Endings (Now Novel)

Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They Aren't the Same Thing) (September C. Fawkes)

Utilizing 3 Types of Death (September C. Fawkes)

10 Signs Your Plot is Weak (and How to Fix it) (September C. Fawkes)

Problem #13: The Characters Are All Stereotypes

Solution: To be more than a collection of tropes, characters must be emotionally differentiated, possess myriad insecurities, battle visible and invisible vulnerabilities, willingly blur their own logic to achieve what they perceive as necessary, and debate their own flaws. Solid characters, well-rounded characters, and well-defined characters give readers a reason to stay engaged.

To craft these characters, authors should be conscientious of what internal rules the story's characters follow, what flaws these characters must overcome, and what trajectory each character arc takes in parallel to the overall narrative arc. Not every character needs to know who they are or how they want to influence the story to stick in readers' minds, but the author should have a good grasp how the character grows (or regresses) relative to how they engage the story's central conflict or theme.

Writing Resources:

10 Traits of a Strong Antagonist (Fiction University)

The No-Effort Character Sheet for Lazy Writers (justsomecynic; ahbwrites)

How to Write Deep P.O.V.: 8 Tips and Examples (Now Novel)

Character Flaws: Creating Lovable Imperfections (Now Novel)

How to Use Character Flaws to Enrich Your Writing (Perpetual Stories)

Character Flaws: When Is Too Far Too Far? (The Character Therapist)

20 Powerful Romance Tropes (and How to Make Them Original) (Jericho Writers)

Does Your Character Have a Secret? (Writers Helping Writers)

Creating Villain Motivations: Writing Real Adversaries (Now Novel)

Some Quick Character Tips (Coffee Bean Writing)

Dynamic vs. Round Characters: Who Needs a Character Arc? (The Novel Smithy)

Problem #14: The Novel Suffers From Arbitrary Complexity

Solution: More spectacle isn't always better. Larger and relentlessly diverse casts aren't necessarily more dynamic or more representative. More gore doesn't exactly make the violence more believable. More tears won't always pull readers into a deeper emotional connection.

Balance in everything, whether in drawing lots for which characters live or die, or assembling the combination of goals and threats the cast must surmount to reach the end.

Sometimes, it helps to weave from the simple toward the complex: If you understand what is essential to the story, and the role of each character in the story, then you can expand outward, deliberately, and unfold more detail from a central theme or narrative device. (If the author does it the other way around, and weaves from the complex toward the simple, then plot holes form, characters lose their purpose, and the story's conclusion feels less and less tethered to the inciting incident that supposedly pulled in readers at the outset.)

Writing Resources:

5 Ways to Make Mundane Scene More Interesting (Writing Questions Answered)

Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)

What Is Prewriting? Preparing to Write With Purpose (Now Novel)

How to Write the Perfect Plot (in Two Easy Steps) (Helping Writers Become Authors)

Writing Description: Encourage Readers to Infer More Than They Realize (ahbwrites)

Reasons to Kill Your Characters (Coffee Bean Writing)

How to Absolutely Wreck Your Audience With a Character Death (lunewell)

Coming Up With a Plot (From Scratch) (September C. Fawkes)

Problem #15: The Story Goes Off the Rails in the Third Act

Solution: Weaving a compelling third act necessitates a guarded understanding of how to view and interpret a story on the micro and macro levels. That is to say, an attention to detail is essential, but equally valuable is the opportunity to take a step back and view the whole narrative as the sum of its parts. Do individual characters achieve their personal goals? Are relationship arcs incomplete? Is the drama, humor, or sense of mystery that drove the story in the first two acts, present or validated by the third act?

If one thinks of the whole of a story as a tapestry of sorts, then one might also view each chapter, arc, or act as a meaningful shape, pattern, or attribute of that greater tapestry. These attributes cue the readers as to what facet of story (or character) to focus on, depending on the moment. These attributes can also expose consequential divergences from established narrative designs.

How should readers interpret and process, or otherwise organize, these complex stimuli? For example, an author who purposefully generates tonal proximity between characters or events will ensure emotional continuity from scene to scene or from act to act.

Writing Resources:

5 Ways to Surprise Your Reader (Without It Feeling Like a Trick) (Writer's Digest)

Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)

How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)

How to Write Exceptional Endings (September C. Fawkes)

What Is Pacing in Writing? Mastering Pace (Now Novel)

What Is Rising Action? Building to an Epic Climax (Now Novel)

What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)

How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)

Problem #16: The Novel's Questions Are Left Unanswered

Solution: Conflicts require consequences, character arcs require a destination, and unresolved or unanswered questions have their own purpose. But having too many unanswered questions can make a novel's ending feel too foggy, if not outright incomplete. In short, loose threads can be frustrating.

Handled appropriately, loose threads may encourage the reader to hum and ponder how each character's life may evolve following the novel's events. Some readers adore the beauty of an imperfect story. However, handled poorly, loose threads speak to a poorly planned and disorganized narrative for which the writer was mistakenly more invested in drafting a kitschy or vulgar hook than a purposeful climax or dénouement.

Writing Resources:

Guide to Writing an Unreliable Narrator (Writing and Such)

Story Threads: Fixing Rips in Our Story (Writers Helping Writers)

Loose Threads Can Unravel a Novel (All Things Writing)

How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)

Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)

Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)

What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)

How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)

Suspense Definition Literature: Tips for Writing Suspense (Jericho Writers)

Problem #17: The Story Is a String of Unrelated Vignettes

Solution: For authors who struggle to coordinate or connect a single, cohesive story, it can be tempting to lean into episodic incidents that are individually intriguing but neglect to pull readers into a larger, more satisfying narrative. Resources about structuring scenes and structuring stories are numerous, but for writers who need to connect the muscle and sinew of their story with intent, learning the basics is often the best: Action and reaction compel reader engagement.

How does a character react to a new, tense, or changing situation? How do these actions or reactions introduce the story to readers or help them explore it? And on a micro level, how do word choice, rhythm, and tone reinforce these facets of the story?

What are the characters' goals? What are the stakes? What burdens complicate (or which advantages elevate) these characters' motivations? What conflicts skew these characters' perceptions of the stakes? What does failure look like? What are the consequences or costs? To the environment (social, political, relational)? How do characters respond to these heightened stakes, to the responsibility of these fresh consequences, to the shifting balance of power in the surrounding context?

Writing Resources:

How to Start a Story That Grips Your Readers (Jericho Writers)

Plotting Tip: One Simple Step to Ensure Our Story Works (Jami Gold)

Episodic vs. Epic: Go Bigger With Your Writing (Writers Helping Writers)

Guide: Filling in the Story Between Known Events (Writing Questions Answered)

What Is a Plot Point? Find and Plan Clear Story Events (Now Novel)

The Parts of a Story: Creating a Cohesive Whole (Now Novel)

8 Foreshadowing Laws: How to Foreshadow Right (Now Novel)

Structuring Satisfying Scenes (September C. Fawkes)

The 5 Commandments of Storytelling According to The Story Grid (September C. Fawkes)

Problem #18: The Plot Unravels Through Convenience/Contrivance

Solution: Many writing workshops and advice columns have opined on this for a reason: Coincidences that get characters into trouble are good, coincidences that get characters out of problems are bad. Resolving issues of perceived relevance between scenes, or events, often requires resolving issues of causality. Contrivances do not serve the reader. A believable and engaging rhythm requires everything to be connected.

What realizations or insights emerge after certain events occur? Does context require readers consume certain types of information before others? How can the story be revised to ensure a natural movement between these events, the information they provide, and characters' reactions to this information?

The degree or intensity of relatedness will vary, depending on the author's narrative style and the presumptive demands of the genre or audience. However, nothing should come easy; the characters (and readers) should earn whatever details they acquire to see the story through to the end.

Writing Resources:

7 Novel-Opening Mistakes That Make Literary Agents (And Readers) Groan (Jericho Writers)

8 Common Pacing Problems (September C. Fawkes)

Cause and Effect: Telling Your Story in the Right Order (Writer's Digest)

Crafting an Effective Plot for Children's Books (Writer's Digest)

8 Foreshadowing Laws: How to Foreshadow Right (Now Novel)

Episodic vs. Epic: Go Bigger With Your Writing (Writers Helping Writers)

Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)

Problem #19: The Story Is Tonally Confused

Solution: What is the novel's general attitude, particularly given the story's descriptive specificity, the characters' emotional latitude, and the atmospheric dynamic of the feelings a specific scene is written to elicit? Tone is an interrelated mix of narrative forms and attributes. Identifying, organizing, and manipulating tone means establishing and controlling these attributes. But a word of caution is often warranted: Mixing and matching and glibly contrasting tone doesn't always come across as clever, to the reader, as the writer might imagine. Consistency and relevance are important.

Authors must know the difference between recognizing a scene's tone and sustaining it such that its rhythm lends the appropriate heft. Word choice matters. Character mood matters. Point of view matters. Scene structure matters. And in the end, disruptions matter, too.

Writing Resources:

How Do You Build a Novel's Tone? (Now Novel)

Suspense Writing: Examples and Devices for Tenser Stories (Now Novel)

Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)

How to Fix Characters Who Are Too Similar (Writing Questions Answered)

Working Comedy and Romance Into Drama (Writing Questions Answered)

Selecting the Right Sentence Structure for the Right Emotion (September C. Fawkes)

Exactly How to Create and Control Tone (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)

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siren-of-redriver96 · 6 months

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Fran Fine was one of the GOATs when it comes to female characters

let me tell you about:

a woman who knew exactly how pretty and sexy she was

a former popular girl at her High School

who sought and actively tried to get men's attention and was very aware when she got it too

who wore sexy outfits because she looked great in them and loved them and never would have dressed more conservatively to please anyone

who still was a big sweetheart

and an amazing and loving stepmother

who still didn't back down when it came to men and her eventual husband

their relationship had it's ups and downs and he was full of flaws, but they worked towards each other and she came out on top, always

she had flaws too, and that was alright, even funny

despite not having had great education still was very clever and knew what she needed to know, often more than the rich people around her

oh, yeah: she was a working class woman who did not come from money and knew the life of people in her home district Queens

and she was an experienced woman, with men and previous relationships - and who dated a lot, and never made it a secret that and how much she was into getting physical when the time was right

Bottom line: I wish more characters were like Fran - in other stories, she would be antagonized and constantly compared to the "good" girl, and no one would care to get to know her better

Meanwhile, I've started to like C.C. more and more too - she really had it down being a business woman and no bs, and I like that her and Niles began competing on one level - that's very cute :)

#the nanny #female characters #feminism #writing #writing female characters #fran drescher #fran fine #sitcoms #90s sitcoms

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thatfantasylovingdork · 1 year

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One thing I really like about Charlie as a character in Bumblebee is that they found a way for her to help Bee in the final battle without overpowering her or making her do stuff that doesn’t make sense. I’m not saying you can’t write lady characters who are powerful or magical; what I liked is how Charlie helps out in a meaningful way that’s realistically within her skill set. I wish more female characters would be written like this; it makes them feel more real and believable.

Anyway TL;DR: Charlie is a great example of how to have a heroine be active in the plot while realistically staying within the limits set up for the character.

#writing #writing female characters #bumblebee #bumblebee movie #charlie watson

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outlawssweetheart · 1 year

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As an Afro-Latina, seeing people be like, “Oh, the White male villain being more popular than the female or WOC main characters is sexist and racist” has me pissed the fuck off. Do you know why we love those villains more? Because, unlike the Heroes™, they’re actually interesting, entertaining, amusing, multi-layered (multi-layered enough, at least, when it comes to Scream), and not the safest characters ever to put in a leading role. (As most protagonist are. 🙄)

I love seeing POC as main characters, but it’s just like the new Barbies: The diversity is great, but the dolls (really, the entire Barbie brand for the last decade) are ugly, boring, and cheaply/poorly made. POC characters have always been stereotypes in the back, and now that we finally get them at the front, they’re all boring as a brick.

I love villains; I don’t support their behavior in real life (*gasps* SEPARATING FICTION FROM REALITY?! 😱), but they’re the most enjoyable characters for me. But since people wanna scream, cry, and throw up if POC are anything but saints nowadays, the most enjoyable characters (for me) still go to the White people! 😒 (And the few POC villains I have seen in media are usually one-note as fuck. 🙃) So which fucking characters do you think I’m going to gravitate towards?

I love seeing WOC main characters (especially Black and/or Latina because it’s personal for me) but, just like 99% of main characters in popular media, they’re fucking bland. It ultimately is meaningless to me if they aren’t serving.

GO ON, GIRL; GIVE ME NOTHING! 🥳🥳🥳

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abla-soso · 2 years

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badass, attractive female characters can be fun, but i often find them bland and uninteresting nowadays.

give me unremarkable, unappealing girls. anxious, damaged girls. angry, ugly girls. fragile, gentle girls. dreamy and insane girls. shamelessly evil and sad girls. kind, self-hating girls who struggle with the abundance of goodness in their hearts and learn how to embrace it.

give me girls who encompass all the flawed yet hauntingly beautiful aspects of the human experience.

#writing female characters #creative writing

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celestemagnoliathewriter · 2 years

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There was a list of questions about writing good female characters (especially in fantasy books) on Reddit and thought to share it here because of how much I love seeing women/female protagonists kick ass in fics. Some of my favorite questions are below.

Do your female characters have inner struggles/ identity journeys or emotional developments that have nothing to do with motherhood or romantic love?

Are your female characters as complex as their male counterparts?

Are your any female characters single-dimensionally morally pure or single-dimensionally seductive sex pots? Do you have madonnas and whores?

If we know your character’s breast size, do we also know what her face looks like and at least three facets of her personality?

If your (male) hero has a love interest or, especially, TWO, have we as readers seen enough evidence to justify that love? Have we seen growing intellectual connection, mutual respect, etc . , or is this just adoration from afar? Are you using female characters as foils to make your male characters look cool?

Do you have opportunities to ground your female characters in ways that make them feel relatable rather than idealistic? (E.g. body hair/acne, coping with societal pressures, identity crises, family obligations warring with dreams, depression or other mental health issues etc.)

If you have a hero that we’re supposed to like and be rooting for, how does he treat the women in his world?

#writing #writing tips #not hp related #writing female characters #strong women #strong girls #strong female lead #strong female protagonist

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free-my-boy-grumbot · 2 years

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Male fiction writers. please. I am Begging you.

Write a story how you would normally write a story but make all the characters male. done that? good.

Now flip a coin for every character to see if they will stay male or if you will rewrite them as female. You can’t change any of the characters’ actions or behaviour, just the pronouns.

You now have a story with a strong female cast.

#its that easy motherfuckers #but fr im so tired of male writers doing that thin #g where they write the women completely differently #like theyre both humans why is that so hard to grasp #fr though if u struggle with good female rep i recommend this #writing #writer #writerblr #writers on tumblr #men writing women #representation in media #writing female characters

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funhouse-mirror-barbie · 4 months

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When a woman is written to be a “strong female character” instead of a person.

So. I want to discuss one of my favorite characters from Helluva Boss. And I’m really sad to say that, despite her being my favorite character, she’s… well. She’s a woman in Helluva Boss. So. As much as I like her, I have a lot of problems with the way she’s written.

This is the same issue I have with a LOT of women characters, but for now I want to talk about Millie.

(review continues below cut)

I really love Millie, and was excited to see her character growth. I thought Millie’s establishing characteristics—that she’s very happy-go-lucky and that she is good at and enjoys fighting—were a nice start to her character

As the show went on, I was hoping to learn more about Millie—her flaws, her insecurities, her other strengths and blind-spots.

But. It’s been 15 episodes now, and Millie’s whole character still revolves around her relationship with Moxxie. To the point that in the episode where the main cast goes back to Millie’s home to meet her family, the plot focuses entirely on Moxxie’s relationship to her family.

The big climax of that episode even has her put out of the main conflict by getting hurt so that Moxxie gets to be the one to help Blitzø. There are exceptions to this, like in Exes and Ohs, but the main conflict of that story still revolves around Moxxie.

I also REALLY have to talk about Unhappy Campers.

While I’m sure there are people who believe we got to see and learn more about her in Unhappy Campers, having a woman character just be really good and really awesome at everything suddenly doesn’t really tell me about her. It just gives the impression that the writers didn’t know how to develop her or give her depth so they just made her “strong” by making her great at everything and having everybody love her to compensate for her lack of character.

(As a side-note, it really bothers me that, during the episode that is mostly focused on how cool and great Millie is, everyone thinks she’s a boy. Like. She can’t even be awesome and admired as a girl. In-universe, she has to be viewed as male to receive admiration.)

In that same episode, I was pretty shocked when Millie says this:

Because prior to this, Millie had never behaved in ANY way that gave me an impression whatsoever that she felt unimportant or under-valued. She had never done or said anything that implied she dealt with with any feelings of inadequacy.

This scene would have had so much more of an impact if we had gotten to have any more insight into Millie and to WHY she felt that way or why she believes she’s unimportant (I mean…aside from the way the writers treat her…if I was written as a prop for my husband I’d feel unimportant too. But I’m talking more about in-universe feelings and reasons)

But because Millie is so under-developed, when I watched this scene I felt nothing. I was just really surprised and didn’t know why she was saying that or where those feelings were coming from.

Those two basic characteristics that I mentioned before, that Millie is pretty happy go lucky and cheerful, and that she’s violent and good at fighting, is still all we know about her. Well. That and her character is basically a support beam for Moxxie.

She is often pushed to the sidelines of the story so the plot can focus more on Moxxie’s feelings and character. One thing I actually DO really like about Unhappy Campers is that, while Millie’s talking about not feeling important is very much out of left field, it at least leads to her calling Moxxie out for his shitty behavior and a total lack of support towards her in the way that she supports him.

It’s just very frustrating because, much like a lot of the writing in Helluva Boss, she HAS potential to be an interesting and complex character. We’ll most likely never get to see that version of Millie though, because the focus of the story is now on re-writing Stolas to not have any character flaws.

As a final thought, you can have a male lead show with male lead characters that doesn’t diminish it’s female ones.

(Once again, I’m not talking about this to shit talk or aggravate anyone. If you disagree with me that’s okay. These are my opinions, and I’ll never claim that my opinions are objectively right)

#helluva boss critique #helluva boss critical #media criticism #media critique #funhouse convo #hb critical #strong female characters #writing critique #writing female characters #opinion

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who-canceled-roger-rabbit · 8 months

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Some spins on the "mostly male team with a token woman" trope:

The woman is trans and stayed in her old circle of bros even after transition

The woman is the only one in her circle of "girls" who didn't turn out to be a trans man

#of course even in that case i'd still make plenty of other characters female OUTSIDE the main team #there's a they wolf in my closet #gender #transgender #trans #lgbtq+#queer #story ideas #writing prompts

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going2hell4everythingbutbeingbi · 3 months

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things to ask yourself when designing a female character: