Jessica Simpson is Not a Girl

Okay, she is a girl. But when it comes to creating characters with depth--characters your readers will relate to--don't make them Barbie perfect. Straight teeth, impeccable complexion, unrealistic figure. Although I hardly think Jessica qualifies on the perfect round either. At least she's ditzy--it gives her charm. Unless you're writing for Harlequin; then you can make the men and the women as Stepford-like as you want.

I recall working with one particular author, who shall remain nameless. He wrote suspense/thriller types of books. The females were so feminine that I wanted to smack them--and I consider myself fairly girlie-girlish. Whenever the tension got high and the chase was on, this author left the women to sit at home and pine while the men did all the sweating. After several books that went this way, finally I could stand it no more. Why do you leave the girls behind? I said. Wouldn't there be a lot more stress and tension if the protagonist had the female in the midst, either to protect or to show him up?
It was a revelation for this author and to his credit he changed. His books became stronger for it.

A few rules I can think of for writing the female character (please feel free to add in your own ideas!):

• Women want the same thing as men--to be valued, to have meaning in their lives. Most often this is made evident in the relationships in their lives--as mothers, daughters, wives, friends...
• While fathers teach their children about risk, mothers teach their children about security. That is focal for women, at least most of us, unless you're Amelia Earhart.
• Don't stereotype your female characters. Some women are a bit mannish in their way of dealing with the world, some are insensitive, some are rude, some are sweet as pie. The diversity will bring your writing richness.
• Allow your female protagonists to be intelligent and strong--because women are amazingly strong. That's why there are more widows than widowers. (God knows we can cope better; either that or some macabre alternative!)
• Show the female character's weaknesses, but don't always let those weaknesses be a cute guy. Sometimes it's called for, like in romance novels. Other times it's cheesy.

More later,
Traci