I got up today, and wondered what on earth I was going to write an article about. Well, it came to mind that Mother’s Day is coming up, and it’ll be here before we know it. So, why not write about strong female characters?

The Strong Female

The first thing that appears when you look up how to write a female character is writing a ‘strong’ female. But what does that mean? The more I have looked into it, the more it seems that most people think a good female character is a strong female character, and there is only one way to make a strong female character. This, in the end, makes most female characters the same as every other female character out there. It is following the same template, the same points, and does not seem to go off of people, but rather off of one stereotype.

Strong

So, what is the definition of strong? There are several definitions of strong. Physically strong, mentally strong, willfully strong, spiritually strong, and emotionally strong. But each of these definitions have definitions themselves that sometimes skew our way to making a true strong female character.

Physically Strong

When we think of physically strong, we usually think of big muscles. But it’s pretty obvious that women don’t naturally get those kinds of muscles. But a normal woman can still be physically strong. So what makes her strong? It’s not being as strong as the men in her life, she’s not meant to be that way. A woman is strong when she is able to do the things she has to do. If she had to lift something heavy, is she strong enough to do it? Then she’s strong. If she has to carry her baby around with her for hours on end, can she? If so, then she is strong. If she has to defend herself, can she? If she has to run, can she? If she can, she is strong. She is strong enough to do what needs to be done. She is strong.

Mentally Strong

No, this is not the ability to move objects with your mind or communicate through telepathy. The mental strength I’m talking about is not very common in many good characters. It’s a rather specific kind of strength. Some might call it intelligence, but it is a bit bigger than that. It is not the same as will power, though it is connected. Some people might call it not being gullible. Some might call it being clever. For the antagonist, scheming. The best word I can think for it is shrewd. It is a two-part strength: One, knowing the ways of the world, how people think, and knowing how to deal with it when the time comes. And two, using the ways of the world and how people think to better your own life or the lives of those around you, using it to protect, to enhance, to encourage, to predict. This is mental strength. Strategy is part of mental strength, and it seems to be lacking in a great deal of main characters and their allies. A mentally strong woman knows how the world works. She is not surprised when evil comes. She is not taken off guard or incapacitated by some scheme of the enemy. Disappointed, perhaps. Sometimes flummoxed, of course, for the enemy is likely mentally strong as well and knows how to confuse his or her adversary. But the mentally strong woman takes every problem in stride, and does not allow what people say or how people act affect her. Which brings us to will power.

Willfully Strong

I know, willfully is not exactly the word that I want. But it is related, and I wanted to follow the pattern of the other strengths. Will, or will power, can sometimes be called tenacity or stubbornness or obstinacy, depending on what the context is. Will power is also a little dangerous. Every strength comes with a corresponding weakness, but will power seems to have the largest at least visible weakness. Will is the ability to stand your ground and not move from your place, no matter what happens. But, of course, a strong will can become dangerous, for if you are standing in the wrong place, it can be difficult to move to the better place. But in the best sense, will power is persistence, perseverance, a solid grounding. Mental toughness could perhaps be another definition. Will is loosely tied with mental strength, and they often go hand in hand. But not always. When will power is not tied with mental strength, it often becomes obstinacy, an unreasonable determination to stand your ground in spite of things. A willfully strong woman can be two things: Firm, resolute, constant, tough, determined. Or, she can be stubborn, unyielding, hardheaded, and, in the end, rather stupid. Of course, the same woman can and perhaps at times should be all these things. Strong female characters should have weaknesses too, otherwise they are unrelatable.

Spiritually Strong

What is spiritual strength? It, like mental strength, is not often used in stories. It’s a moral grounding, a solid foundation, a firmness on what is good, and what is evil. Spiritually strong characters, when confronted with the ever-popular dilemma set before them by the enemy to either help one person or another, but not both, or when they are faced with the inevitable fact that they could turn the easier way and become the villain or turn the harder way and likely die, these characters know the answer. For spiritually strong characters, these dilemmas, and others similar, become dilemmas not because they do not know which is right and which is wrong, but because it is difficult in another way, whether physically, or emotionally, or because they are afraid. A spiritually strong woman knows what is right beyond the shadow of a doubt. She also knows what is wrong, and there is no difficulty in that. She also follows this knowledge. Not perfectly, of course, no character should be perfect, but she knows what is right, and strives to do it.

Emotionally Strong

When most people think of emotional strength, they think no tears, hard, tough, unfazed by sorrow or joy or anger or anything else. That is not emotional strength. That is emotional ineptitude. Characters who do not feel are not only unrelatable, they are unhealthy and foolish. Emotional strength is the ability to do what needs to be done in spite of how you feel. An emotionally strong woman has healthy emotions. When they are sad, they feel sad. Happy, they feel happy. They do not overreact to their feelings, or circumstances that cause emotions. But at the same time, they do not suppress their emotions, they do not try to not feel what they are feeling. And no matter what, they do not let what they are feeling get in the way of what they need to do. There is a time and place for everything. An emotionally strong woman knows that.

What Makes A Strong Female?

A strong woman can have one or even several of these strengths. For most stories, she probably should not have all of them. But how strong she is will vary, depending on what role she plays in the story. Is she the main character? Is she a side character, like the ally or the lady love? Is she the wise woman, the advisor? Or is she a small part, someone you don’t see much? Is she good, or bad? Is she the main antagonist? These questions will affect the level of her strength, her type of strength, and the way she uses her strength.

Do You Need A Strong Female Character?

Now we come to the big question that is extremely important to know before you start writing a female character. Does she have to be strong? In any sense? In my first book, The Last Captain Sails Again, I have strong female characters, such as Brigid or Enkutya. I also have female characters who would not be considered strong, such as Isabel, or Moira. Each of these characters are different, in personality and strength. Moira, for instance, could be a strong female character, but she does not want to be. This is an important point for writing a female character: Every female character can be strong. Every female character should become strong. Not every female character will. Their choices, their way of living, their outlook on life, and how they have been raised will affect their way of thinking in this particular case. If the female character you are writing is the main character, and assuming you are not writing a Greek tragedy, she should become stronger at the end. That is part of showing how she has grown. She should be stronger in every way than she was when she started out. That is not to say she should not still have weaknesses. She should, everyone does, it does not matter how much you have learned. But she should grow, and part of that growth is becoming stronger.

Side Characters

But what about other characters, the side characters? The main character should grow and become strong, but what about the others? The simple answer lies in a question. What role does this character play in the story? That is very important to know in order to answer the first question. If the role this side character plays depends on the fact that they are strong in one or several of the ways, then they have to be strong. If their role depends on the fact that they are weak, or just not strong, then they should not be strong. And how close they are to the main character and how important they are to the story will affect whether or not they become strong in the end. In Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen, Elinor is a strong female character. Her sister, Marianne, on the other hand, is not a strong female character. Elinor, to play her role, has to be strong. Marianne needs to be weak for the purpose of the story. But, she grows stronger by the end. That is not always the case, nor does it have to be. It depends on your story, and what role the characters play.

Conclusion

We have seen the different types of strengths that can make a female character strong. We have also seen that not all female characters have to be strong, but they can become strong in the end. So, I’ll leave you with one last thought. There is a lot out there about writing strong female characters. But in the end it does not matter if they are strong. What matters is if they are good. If they work for the story, if they are relatable, if they become people in the audience’s mind, and not just characters, then they are good. Whether they are strong or not.

Next Week…

But what about weak female characters? How can you write a weak female character and still make her relatable, and not just the fairy-tale princess who simply stands around and waits for her prince to rescue her? I will write about that next week. Until then, keep writing, keep learning, keep growing.