How to Create Strong Female Characters

Writing a truly strong female character can be a challenge for many writers. Some focus so much on making her "strong" that they forget to give her nuance.^{[1]XResearch source} A well-written strong female character is not only strong, but interesting, vulnerable, and determined.^{[2]XResearch source}

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Choosing Strong Traits

1
Be inspired by strong women in fiction. Consider classic literature, contemporary fiction, and movies.
- Characters such as Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, Katniss from The Hunger Games, Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights, and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice are all noted for being powerful characters. Even if you haven't read the books (or seen the movies), research what makes these strong female characters so admirable.
- Pay attention to characters that people commonly dislike. Bella Swan from Twilight is often considered weak, passive, and flat. Learn from other writers' mistakes, so you can do better.
2
Give her a clear goal. An effective major character is someone who strives towards something they want.^{[3]XResearch source} Your character needs to pursue something that's important to her, whether it's related to career, school, relationships, personal development, learning, an award, a purchase, or something else.
- Maybe Georgie wants to win a gold medal, Olivia wants to open a bookshop, or Gabrielle wants to fight climate change.
3
Remember that strength can mean many things. A woman doesn't have to fire a gun or bench press twice her weight in order to be strong. Look at traits like intelligence, persistence, kindness, leadership, and courage.
- Strength doesn't always mean being the best at something, either. You don't need to make her the most talented person ever to make her strong.
4
Make her earn things. A strong woman is willing to work hard to achieve her goals, even when things get tough. Show how your character practices her skills and works on the thinks she wants to accomplish.
- It's okay for her to fail in the story. Everyone fails sometimes, and it takes strength to bounce back. Readers admire persistence. If she fails at first, her eventual success will be even sweeter.
- Readers tend to dislike characters who get handed things they don't deserve.^{[4]XResearch source}
5
Let her shine in the story. At some point in the story, her skills should be instrumental to overcoming a problem in the plot. Make other people count on her, so that the reader can root for her to succeed.
6
Let her assert herself. A strong woman says and does what she thinks is right, even if it's controversial. Let her speak her mind and choose to pursue her goal, even if other people don't agree. A large component of strength is having the courage and determination to stick to one's goals and beliefs.
- Of course, this doesn't mean that she can never change her mind or admit she was wrong. A strong female character can be in the wrong sometimes, then learn that she was wrong and readjust her behavior accordingly.
- There's nothing wrong with writing a meek or timid female character, especially if you have other more assertive female characters. But if you're trying to write a strong female character, she'll need to speak her mind.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Balancing Her Strengths

1
Remember to give her a solid weakness or two. Every important character needs at least one major flaw. A major flaw is caused by an imbalance in beliefs or priorities, it causes the character to make bad choices, and there are real consequences.^{[5]XResearch source} The character's relationships, goals, and/or well-being is harmed as a result.
- "Emma is clumsy" isn't a major flaw, because she can't control clumsiness. "Emma scoffs at people who are less intelligent than her" involves beliefs and choices, and it could have interpersonal consequences.
- "Ing-Wen has a limp" is a physical trait, not a flaw. "Ing-Wen loves theater, but she refuses to audition because she thinks no one will like a limping actress" is a choice that holds her back from her dreams.
- "Tiana is a terrible dancer" is just an absence of a skill, not a serious flaw. "Tiana is afraid of rejection, so she lets people take advantage of her" is a choice that harms her well-being.
2
Don't be afraid to show her facing setbacks. If she breezes through life without struggling, then she doesn't feel realistic, especially if she'll face big obstacles. Let her stumble. Show that she'll need to push herself if she wants to succeed. Then, when she finally overcomes a problem, readers can celebrate her hard-won victory.
- It's okay for her to get discouraged or have doubts from time to time. Struggling emotionally in the face of hardship can make her more relatable.
- Strength isn't about never falling down. It's about getting back up every time.
3
Let her be vulnerable sometimes. Readers like characters who have vulnerabilities.^{[6]XResearch source} Giving her fears or regrets helps make her a more balanced and interesting character.
- What is she afraid of? What thoughts haunt her when she can't sleep?
- What are her regrets?
- What is she conflicted about?
- What is she insecure about?
Tip: A strong character isn't someone who never has doubts, insecurities, or fears. Instead, they're someone who faces these things and works hard despite them.
4
Show her receiving support in addition to giving it. Female characters are often relegated to the role of supporting others, especially to major male characters.^{[7]XResearch source} Show other people giving her emotional support or helping her achieve her own goals.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Writing Strength in Romance

Not every female character needs a love interest. But if yours has one, here are some tips for maintaining her strength.

1
Refuse to let romance eclipse her goals. It's not uncommon for a major female character to fall in love with the major male character and then focus on being impressed by him or winning his affections.^{[8]XResearch source} Falling in love is fine, but she shouldn't forget her own original goals. Instead of having romance replace her original motivation, add it on as another thing she wants to do.
2
Give a romance novel protagonist a goal outside finding a partner. Finding love is a perfectly good goal for a character in a love story, but she should also have something else she wants to do. Here are some examples:
- Julia wants to save her mother's failing bakery. Finding a boyfriend wouldn't hurt either.
- Keiko tries to balance her job with raising her 4-year-old son with Down syndrome. She's given up on love... until she meets someone unexpected.
- Teodora returns home after her father's death in hopes of repairing her relationship with her estranged sister. She's surprised to discover that her childhood crush is still single.
- Eve is investigating her family's mysterious past with the help of the beautiful librarian... and finds herself falling for her along the way.
3
Make sure that she retains her identity while she's in the relationship. Her relationship should be part of her life, not all of it. She should still pursue her goals, hobbies, and friendships. (If not, it's a toxic relationship.) Make sure that her role in the story doesn't fade away just because she found a partner.
- Your character should have plenty of things to do when her partner isn't around.
- Her partner shouldn't be the only meaningful person in her life.
4
Know that a good partner admires her strength instead of competing with her. In some stories, a character might be much more powerful than her partner. In a healthy relationship, both people support each other with little to no jealousy.
- For example, Jason from The Good Place knows that Janet is far more powerful than him. He thinks she's cool and supports her wholeheartedly
5
Show how she and her partner support each other. In an equal relationship, both partners help each other, and their skills may complement each other's. They should give each other pep talks, comfort each other in hard times, cheer each other on, and show up for big events. Show how she supports her partner, and show how her partner supports her in turn.
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

1
Steer clear of Trinity Syndrome, in which a strong female character is eclipsed by a male amateur. If your character has been practicing hard at a skill for years, she shouldn't be able to be beaten by a man who's been doing it for a month.^{[9]XResearch source}
- If she's cool at the beginning of the story, she should be cool at the end of the story.
2
Show how she defies stereotypes. Some writers rely on stereotypes to create a character, and this can come across as lazy writing. Think about which stereotypes might be applied to your character, and show a few ways your character contradicts them. Here are examples of characters who break stereotypes:
- Sophie is bisexual. Despite the stereotype that bisexuals are cheaters, she is extremely loyal and supportive to her girlfriend. She loves to cook.
- Maritza is Latina. She hates feeling pressure to be "sexy" and "spicy," because she's a shy nerd whose favorite activities include reading books and playing with her dogs.
- Amelia has a disability. Instead of being a burden, she is constantly supporting other people, sometimes to the point of tiring herself out.
- Sasha is a blond girl who loves pink and can be a little ditzy. She's also an incredibly talented computer programmer. She tries not to blame people for underestimating her... even though it happens a lot and she's getting rather tired of it.
3
Avoid painting femininity as a bad thing. Whether someone is a tomboy or a girly-girl shouldn't dictate whether they're strong. Someone can like makeup, dresses, crochet, or other stereotypical "feminine" things and also be courageous and tough. However feminine or unfeminine your character is, make sure to avoid portraying femininity like a weakness.
- If your character rejects femininity, you may imply that it's bad to be feminine. Make sure that a tomboy's preferences are treated like personal preferences, not moral judgments. Instead of having her say "I hate girly stuff," try "That's not my style" or "I think my sister would prefer that." You can also balance it by showing another character who is both feminine and strong.
Tip: If you're writing a feminine villain (e.g. a girly bully), then don't let her be the only feminine person in the story. Write one or more awesome feminine characters.
4
Keep the Bechdel test in mind. The Bechdel test is passed if the story involves (1) at least two named female characters, (2) who talk to each other, (3) about something other than a man. (Sometimes people add that it should also be about something besides traditionally "feminine" stuff like children or marriage.) Unless your story is very short or has very few characters, it should pass the Bechdel test multiple times.
- The Bechdel test isn't a perfect indicator of feminism, but it can help you get a sense of whether you're on the right track.
- You may be surprised by the number of films and books that do not pass the Bechdel test.
5
Write multiple female characters. This takes the pressure off in terms of having your female character carry the weight of representing her entire gender. If you have several important female characters, with unique strengths and weaknesses, then you don't have to worry about making one imperfect.
- Too many stories include only one powerful woman, and then the writer may feel compelled to make her the best at everything in order to prove that women are cool. If you have multiple women, then you can make each one good at different things.
6
Make sure that she's still strong at the end of the story. However strong she is at the beginning, she should be at least a little bit stronger at the end. Some writers make the mistake of introducing a character and showing how awesome she is, then relegating her to the background and making her largely useless by the climax.^{[10]XResearch source}
- If she was working towards a goal, she should accomplish it herself. One of her friends shouldn't do it for her. (They can be there for moral support, and they can help her, but she should be the one to finish her own achievement.)
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Community Q&A

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How do I make a female character an antagonist?
Community Answer
Don't be scared, females can attempt to rule the world, too! Maybe make her laughingly comment on all the male super villains out there, such as, "I'm fighting my own feminism battle." Don't make her a weak villain, make her a formidable opponent.
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How do I avoid making my highly skilled female protagonist a Mary Sue?
Tom De Backer
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Consider giving her a character flaw, or a deeper, and perhaps darker, selfish ambition. Give her another skill that she's very poor at. As you obviously know, a Mary Sue character is defined as a seemingly perfect (side) character, so reduce her perfection to avoid the Mary Sue connotation.
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How do I make a flawed character? How do I make her just like everyone else?
Shamitha Kuppala
Community Answer
Write out a list of traits that you want your character to have. Make sure not to have any characteristics that contradict each other (she is self-doubting and she is very daring). Think about flaws that fit her backstory, her role in your story, and her overall personality. Try to think of at least one flaw she can overcome at some point during your story, so that she can come out all the better for it.
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Tips

Ask yourself: would you want to be her? If the answer isn't "yes" for at least one of your female characters, then you're likely doing it wrong.^{[11]XResearch source}
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