Oberon Jasper Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 So... here's the sitch: I suck at writing and creating female characters... I don't know if this is because I'm trans and just feel like I accidentally write them to close to myself and then start to feel dysphoric and stop or if it's just because I have internalized misogyny and they become one dimensional and then I feel like shit for that too... so I don't know what to do or which it is... and just need some advice... I just want to write well rounded female characters, but they rarely show up in my work... and I don't want to force them in... I just want them to naturally be built in without being one dimensional/causing me dysphoria... Link to post Share on other sites
quadfasciata Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 I think this is a problem that almost everyone struggles with, not knowing how to write female characters without falling into stereotypes. As I'm not a writer by any means, I shall leave this with you instead: Spoiler This is in a playlist of other "trope talks" that could be helpful, most notably the "damsels in distress" one. Perhaps try drawing inspiration for characteristics from your own female friends rather than yourself or resorting to tropes. Link to post Share on other sites
Hurta Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Hey! As a female writer, I actually struggle with writing male characters while the female ones come naturally. I mostly draw inspiration from the women in my life I know well, and often I’ll also combine traits of two people into one to give them more internal conflict and/ or tridimensionality. I don’t know how your experience is though, so if there’s any further questions feel free to ask! Link to post Share on other sites
Phalena Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 I agree with @Hurts, drawing inspiration from people that you know might help. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Reminds me of a Captain Janeway meme I found a while ago. Incidentally I once took a quiz on which Starfleet captain I’m most like and quelle surprise I got Janeway. Link to post Share on other sites
PrimeJelly Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Torrence Kieran said: So... here's the sitch: I suck at writing and creating female characters... I don't know if this is because I'm trans and just feel like I accidentally write them to close to myself and then start to feel dysphoric and stop or if it's just because I have internalized misogyny and they become one dimensional and then I feel like shit for that too... so I don't know what to do or which it is... and just need some advice... I just want to write well rounded female characters, but they rarely show up in my work... and I don't want to force them in... I just want them to naturally be built in without being one dimensional/causing me dysphoria... To fix this issue, if you write male characters without any struggles, then why not imagine your female character as male and write her with he/him pronouns and in the way you usually do it and then go back and change it to she/her? As a writer myself as well, I've never encountered this issue so I'm sorry if my idea isn't helpful much lol Link to post Share on other sites
Astrea Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Torrence Kieran said: So... here's the sitch: I suck at writing and creating female characters... I don't know if this is because I'm trans and just feel like I accidentally write them to close to myself and then start to feel dysphoric and stop or if it's just because I have internalized misogyny and they become one dimensional and then I feel like shit for that too... so I don't know what to do or which it is... and just need some advice... I just want to write well rounded female characters, but they rarely show up in my work... and I don't want to force them in... I just want them to naturally be built in without being one dimensional/causing me dysphoria... The problem is probably the weight you put into the gender thing. Being female or male is NEVER a defining character trait. 'Female' isn't a personality. Any of my characters could be male or female. It doesn't matter, they are just people and their personalities / likes and dislikes / jobs / drives / sense of humor... have nothing to do with their gender. Try writing kids or very young characters and you'll get what I mean : a 3 year old is just a 3 three year old, them being a boy or a girl has no bearing on anything. Ideally it shouldn't define anything for adults either. It often does but that's a society thing, it's not a gender thing and I see fiction as a tool to try and teach new generations of readers that it's not actually a true thing, it's a construction. Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Bird Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 I don't know if this will help, but I like to make sure that my characters have set goals, and that makes the other things a little easier to write in. "I'm a pirate." "But you're a girl!" "So? Give me your gold. *stab stab*" Link to post Share on other sites
quadfasciata Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 3 hours ago, Sean_Bird said: I don't know if this will help, but I like to make sure that my characters have set goals, and that makes the other things a little easier to write in. "I'm a pirate." "But you're a girl!" "So? Give me your gold. *stab stab*" I love that the *stab stab* is within the quotation marks. Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Bird Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, trifasciata said: I love that the *stab stab* is within the quotation marks. The best way to stab someone is to do it while saying "stab", don't ya know. Link to post Share on other sites
Skittles87 Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 If you struggle with writing well-rounded characters (of any gender) it can really help to draw up character profiles. So before you start writing, you would decide on things like: - Background - Significant life events - Main character traits - Strengths - Weakness - Main aim in life Best of luck! Link to post Share on other sites
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