tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post2713709154151738325..comments2023-06-02T05:21:03.422-04:00Comments on The Temp, The Actress and The Writer: About Female Characters (or as I like to call them, Characters)Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01607530400279311428noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-12098937540275227532013-07-06T02:21:28.806-04:002013-07-06T02:21:28.806-04:00Pointed here by a friend, vis-a-vis a conversation...Pointed here by a friend, vis-a-vis a conversation we'd been having about a character I write called Penny. <br /><br />I won't get into it here, but you make some excellent points. I especially like the point you make about never having been an Extremely Ginormous Octopus, or a Magician's Assistant, etc. I just write her as she presents herself to me in my imagination, exactly the same way I write the narrator and protagonist of the stories.<br /><br />As a person. Well-said, and thanks for a thought-provoking read. Tambeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357562832864522704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-26807425178250108722013-03-30T09:12:51.331-04:002013-03-30T09:12:51.331-04:00There's so much truth in this article. I hate ...There's so much truth in this article. I hate it when you come across stories where the male characters are many and varied, while the females are either stock characters or mostly in the background. People may say that women are "mysterious" or hard to write about, but I think that's just an excuse for lazy writing. This article reminds me of George R. R. Martin's (author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series) reply when a TV news anchor asked him how he manages to write so many different and interesting female characters: "You know, I've always thought of women to be 'people'" (paraphrasing here)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-69545169342531278812013-03-28T12:16:16.176-04:002013-03-28T12:16:16.176-04:00I love this post. I've actually just blogged a...I love this post. I've actually just blogged about something similar in relation to Sesame Street, of all things. It took the show’s producers a long time to realise all the break-out characters were male and so they created Zoe and Abby. From the book, Street Gang: “We wanted a female lead character. If you think about the Mary Tyler Moore Show, some girls relate to Rhoda, who’s our Zoe, and some girls relate to Mary, who’s a girly girl. And we didn’t have that girl.” Keris Staintonhttp://dellasays.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-25513837638557579582013-03-28T10:41:29.998-04:002013-03-28T10:41:29.998-04:00This is an issue not just with female characters, ...This is an issue not just with female characters, but with all characters that diverge from the White Middle-Class Male Heterosexual norm. If you write such a character, you can do what you want with them, and if the character suffers from OCD and shoplifts, then that's a comment, if anything, on OCD and kleptomania. If your main character is a Thai lesbian, then if you give her OCD and have her shoplifting, that's a comment on how Thai lesbians behave. Certainly having two Thai lesbians would be odd - because why would you need two different characters to say what you feel about Thai lesbians? <br /><br />Authors just have to be brave about it. If told "Women don't behave like that" or "No-one from Greece would ever say that", they have to be strong enough to insist that no group is homogeneous, that a character represents only himself*, and they tell the truth as best they can.<br /><br />*Did the "himself" jar a little?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14568800126778586538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-54983224928602558652012-06-05T20:00:58.340-04:002012-06-05T20:00:58.340-04:00I am going through such a problem right now. The f...I am going through such a problem right now. The female POV is hard. I am writing a short film where the point of view is transferred from the male to the female character. <br /><br />What I am discovering is male characters have less limits than female characters, and they can still remain likable. Male characters can be nasty people and still be likable. Females don’t have nearly as much leeway, due to the audiences expectation of what a female should be. It is easy to write a male as “confident/cocky,” without a second thought. If you switch the genders, she becomes an arrogant b-word to the general audience.<br /><br />My favorite example of this is Carmen from the movie Starship Troopers. If the sexes were reversed, male Carmen would be a much more likable character. Well at least not as generally hated.<br /><br />I am sure this applies to real life and how society views women. Women have to live with this everyday, while us males usually “don’t see it.” (Until we try to write it.) So it is hard for us to relate.<br /><br />It is more of what not to do with the character. It is really hard in a romantic setting, well at least for me. It is easy for a male to get a female character wrong. <br /><br />At least in the movies and television, it is fairly easy to tell when a character was written as a male, and they change genders. (written by a male with no major rewrites.)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17775612166505779212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-59398665230328043182012-04-16T17:50:01.503-04:002012-04-16T17:50:01.503-04:00Bones (Dr. Temperance Brennan). I've always se...Bones (Dr. Temperance Brennan). I've always seen her as a scientist first.<br /><br />But oh yes, I also loved Ripley.<br /><br />Huh, I had no idea Damages was written by Tanya Huff.<br /><br />Oh, and Keepsie Branson from Mur Lafferty's book "Playing For Keeps".LoriWhttp://loriw.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-16146607560161945412012-04-16T17:47:06.927-04:002012-04-16T17:47:06.927-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.LoriWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01339543273915171510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-81521206815948341612012-04-15T17:32:06.202-04:002012-04-15T17:32:06.202-04:00You might appreciate the US TV series "Damage...You might appreciate the US TV series "Damages", and the Canadian writer Tanya Huff. All involve very sharply defined female characters.ashcomphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02863613353178116831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-33227525109117367612012-04-14T19:21:14.707-04:002012-04-14T19:21:14.707-04:00This is one of the reasons I love the movie Incept...This is one of the reasons I love the movie Inception - the new architect they bring on to the team is definitely a character first, who happens to be female. :)<br /><br />I'll also always love Ripley, from the Alien movies...Antheahttp://antheastrezze.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-77593812624711321932012-04-13T12:12:55.548-04:002012-04-13T12:12:55.548-04:00I think the reason people keep asking questions li...I think the reason people keep asking questions like this is that women are really different than men. And while it's true that a writer doesn't need to be an Extremely Ginormous Octopus to write like one, there are no Extremely Ginormous Octopuses out there to call you on something if you make a mistake. Plus, there is no existing E.G.O. stereotypes that have the potential to influence writing a woman character. Meanwhile, we see cardboard cut-out and stereotyped women all the time (mostly from Michael Bay films). At least if you ask the question, you are showing a desire to "get it right".<br /><br />However, has any writer, in their experience, been called on something that said "That character, that's something a women would never do"?theWallflowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02986917144393617528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-52018399169623211112012-04-12T11:36:37.472-04:002012-04-12T11:36:37.472-04:00Sorry for the duplicate post! It took me about six...Sorry for the duplicate post! It took me about six tries to get past the damn CAPTCHA (apparently if you're trying to log in using OpenID, it keeps telling you that what you typed is wrong no matter how many times you try and how careful you are), and when I finally did, I didn't at first realize that it had worked - I just thought the form had eaten my comment.Miss Lynxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629471302519416452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-50939935296296786122012-04-12T11:33:43.715-04:002012-04-12T11:33:43.715-04:00A very timely post. Just last night, when a (male)...A very timely post. Just last night, when a (male) author I like did an "Ask Me Anything, some guy posted the following question to him: "Why do talented writers like you and [other male author] often use female characters as your protagonists? Is it for the challenge? And do you think it hurts your sales any?"<br /><br />As if writing characters who happen to be female was some weird, exceptional, daring thing...Miss Lynxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629471302519416452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-84400280150724108352012-04-12T11:33:14.610-04:002012-04-12T11:33:14.610-04:00A very timely post. Just last night, when a (male)...A very timely post. Just last night, when a (male) author I like did an "Ask Me Anything, some guy posted the following question to him: "Why do talented writers like you and [other male author] often use female characters as your protagonists? Is it for the challenge? And do you think it hurts your sales any?"<br /><br />As if writing characters who happen to be female was some weird, exceptional, daring thing...Miss Lynxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629471302519416452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-6756514310714800642012-04-12T10:13:35.412-04:002012-04-12T10:13:35.412-04:00The funniest thing about this is, I've never s...The funniest thing about this is, I've never seen the distinction between a character and a female character. I have asked that question in the past, but about male characters, though (being female, and all ,myself). But it's basically the same quandary. The gender may or may not influence some character behaviors, depending upon the society in which a story is set; but, other than that, there is no distinction. Well, except, perhaps, for expectations: but those are up to the author's discretion.Lizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00144785147731510723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-26135527769904768362012-04-06T20:41:13.847-04:002012-04-06T20:41:13.847-04:00Gorgeous post, thank you for sharing compassionate...Gorgeous post, thank you for sharing compassionate common sense. It's terrifying for many authors to try to write any kind of other, and there are many reasons for it. The stigmas about how men can write women (and how women can write men) in the editorial world alone are infuriating, and the way it's imbued upon further generations is simply awful. Treating all characters as agents first (or people in general) is the wisest course.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-29574655278866103342012-04-04T18:02:56.598-04:002012-04-04T18:02:56.598-04:00Thank you! Well said.Thank you! Well said.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04739546442661093275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-91009249397323852612012-04-03T18:44:46.751-04:002012-04-03T18:44:46.751-04:00Well said. I wish script writers especially would...Well said. I wish script writers especially would ask more backstory questions about their female characters, and turn them into well rounded people. I hate seeing 1 dimensional characters in films (male or female). And I can't stand stereotypes. And yet that's what we get the most of.Jessica Striderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13375221959854098665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-41745076000268033922012-04-02T23:04:31.588-04:002012-04-02T23:04:31.588-04:00Thank you all! I'm glad my post resonated wit...Thank you all! I'm glad my post resonated with you. And yay Liz Lemon!!Adriennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607530400279311428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-41844487820254383262012-04-02T21:38:44.376-04:002012-04-02T21:38:44.376-04:00Love this and agree. I just told my friends last w...Love this and agree. I just told my friends last weekend that's why I love Liz Lemon so much.Saumyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08517289532769906489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-10197735134139338852012-04-02T16:36:31.508-04:002012-04-02T16:36:31.508-04:00Allow me to join in the applause. This is somethin...Allow me to join in the applause. This is something I will keep in mind when creating my own characters, male or female. :)K. W. Ramseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02424234302037687722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16924800.post-40363320542535613682012-04-02T15:43:32.012-04:002012-04-02T15:43:32.012-04:00*stands and applauds&*stands and applauds&J.M. Freyhttp://www.jmfrey.netnoreply@blogger.com