Stephanie O'Brien
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Why I Avoid Writing "Strong Female Characters"

25/12/2012

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Have you ever noticed that fiction can be really weird when it comes to the way it deals with strong female characters?

A strong male can hardly even be considered a character archetype. They’re standard, normal, to the point of being devalued. A strong woman, on the other hand, might as well have a microscope for an umbrella – she’ll be under it often enough.

Is she strong enough compared to her male counterparts? Does she avoid any of those degrading, submissive behaviours that make the hardcore feminists scream? Is she strong primarily in areas that are stereotypical or clichéd?

Is she TOO strong, to the point of becoming an overly perfect Mary Sue - even if that same power level would be totally acceptable in a male?

And if you do see a strong female character in fiction, all too often, she’ll be a bitch. It’s as if many writers have somehow managed to reach adulthood while still carrying the schoolyard bully-esque notion that “degrading others = strength”.

Or maybe they’re just trying to show that she can hold her own against the guys, even though she’s not supposed to be ‘against’ her teammates to begin with. Or maybe they think the only ‘nice’ women are the delicate ones.

There really is no good way to interpret a bitchy ‘strong’ female. In fact, her acerbic attitude could be considered a sign of weakness, but that’s a topic for another post.

​Of course, the writers who create these characters might very well be aware of this fact, because if the woman is pretty and the male lead is around her age, you’ve got to know that it’s only a matter of time before she’s in jeopardy or despair, whereupon he rescues her and it thaws her icy heart.

All in all, when viewing them through the lens of our media culture, strong women really can be difficult to write. So, how do I get around this problem?
I simply don't write ‘strong female’ characters.

Why?

Because when you create a character with the concept of making her a ‘strong woman’ at the forefront of your mind, you’re reducing her to two aspects: her gender, and her strength.

Instead, I prefer to just write each character as herself.

The Beachwalker is strong because she's resourceful, she has a firm sense of responsibility, and she never gives up.

She is also weak, because she's so reluctant to receive anything from anyone that her strength has become a danger to her. Indeed, she fears the loss of identity that would come from getting help, so in some ways her powerful independence is rooted in that flaw.

Every character has her flaws. And they have their strengths, often in such diverse areas that it’s hard for even me to say whether the women in my stories are stronger or weaker than the men with whom they share their worlds.

And I think it’s better that way.
​
Do you agree with this post? Disagree with it? Do you have anything to add?

I'd love to hear your opinions, and your comments will add value for all the readers who come after you. So please feel free to comment on this post and say what's on your mind.
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I did iiiiiit!

20/12/2012

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Finally! After all of this researching, comparing reviews of various sites, reading mind-numbing Terms of Service pages, fighting to make Microsoft Word put pictures where I wanted them, and, of course, procrastinating, my newsletter is finally up and running!

Naturally, the process of actually doing it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Lots of ducks to get in a row, but now I can finally sit back, enjoy my vacation, and focus on the writing I've been neglecting in favor of getting all of this working.

If you want to check out the free gift I've put together for you, go ahead and click on "Newsletter and Free Gift" in the navigation bar. In the meantime, stay tuned for:

  • A sneak peek at a few of my upcoming projects
  • An excerpt from My Fugitive's companion book
  • A Fiction Fans contest you can enter just by commenting
  • The story of how My Fugitive came to be - it's probably weirder than you think
Thank you to everyone who's shared this journey with me, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Stephanie


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You'd Think We Would Know Better

19/12/2012

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You would think, after hundreds of years, we would know better. We buy our groceries just as everybody's getting off work, even if we have other options. We flock, lemming-like, to do our Christmas shopping when the malls are packed.

And, of course, we take vacations during Christmas, when everything is booked and the airlines are.... well, much to my surprise, they weren't as crowded as I'd thought they'd be. Good thing, too, because I hadn't slept for two nights before I left, and was navigating the airports like a zombie on Valium.

Now I'm sitting in a condo, enjoying the tropical air, poking at technology and hoping it doesn't bite, and wondering if the people in the room above me will still have their sense of hearing come dawn.

​I'm also fighting off the urge to start procrastinating again, because I have to choose an email template, get my autoresponder set up, verify my new email address (when it finally starts functioning), attach
the free gift... yup. I'm making a newsletter now.

To make it easy for us to stay in touch, I'm creating a newsletter that will allow you to get all the latest updates, articles, stories and info from the Fiction Fans blog delivered conveniently to your inbox. You'll have a chance to learn about the origins of My Fugitive and other books, to ask questions and get answers from me directly, and to receive articles and short stories that are only available to my fellow Fiction Fans.

You will also get access to the Kindle Cloud Guide, an easy, step-by-step guide to storing and reading ebooks online. Whether you're new to the world of ebooks and don't have a Kindle device, or you're an experienced ebook reader who wants a quicker and simpler way to access your books, or you already use the Cloud but want an easier way to explain it to your family and friends, I hope you'll find it useful. If you don't... just pretend it isn't there and enjoy the newsletters. :)
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Time to celebrate!

11/12/2012

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There's so much to be excited about at this time of year.  ...Oh, quit cringing, I'm not about to go on a long, sappy rant. But I am looking forward to commemorating Jesus' birthday, and this year I also get to celebrate the recent birth of my very own website. :)

I know, I know, everybody and their dog - in some cases, literally, their dog - has a website these days. But I've got to admit, taking that step scared the crap out of me at first, and led to an unreasonable amount of "maybe after I do X" procrastinating until I finally kicked myself in the butt and did it.

In the end, of course, very few things are ever as difficult as you think they will be. (It's the things that you think will be easy that end up kicking your butt.) Let's hear it for drag-and-drop web design.

And in order to celebrate Jesus' birthday, my new website, and all of you people out there who put off your shopping until the last minute, I want to offer you a copy of my ebook, My Fugitive, for 50% off for the rest of the Christmas season. If you have a tech-savvy friend or family member, someone who lives far enough away to make shipping a blow to your wallet, or, hey, if you just want to treat yourself to a few hours of entertainment and escape, now's your chance to do it for half of the usual price.



Get My Fugitive for half price
Or, if you just want to sit back and watch me make jokes about my procrastinating tendencies, website-making phobia and random dogs, that's cool too. Here is a dog. Who has his own website.


Picture
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Hello, everyone!

9/12/2012

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Hello, and welcome to my Fiction Fans blog!

I'm so glad that you found this page. As an author, I love to connect with my readers, and with fans of awesome fiction books in general. Through this blog, I want to keep you posted on my upcoming sales and new releases, hear your opinions on my books and site, answer any questions or concerns you may have, and simply get to know you.

If you have something you'd like to share, your comments will add value for every reader who comes after you. And if you've noticed a typo or something that needs to be fixed, or you think there's something I should keep in mind when writing future books or blog posts, please let me know. I always want to bring you my very best work, and your input will help me do that.

Once again, welcome to my blog, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Stephanie

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    Author

    Stephanie is the author of My Fugitive, Voice of a Silent Fugitive, Heroic Lies, and Catgirl Roommate, as well as the artist behind the Undertale webcomic Just Cause.

    This blog often updates with new stories and artwork, so please keep checking in!

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