Female Characters

By and large, I write female characters as being strong and independent. I write the males as the same typically, but just as two alpha males clash, the male and female characters can clash in the same way. Much like the structure of a sentence, two independent sentences can have a lot in common, but it takes something like a conjunction. It allows two strong characters to have a middle ground where there can be cooperation and mutual respect.

Whether the character is male or female, to have a character that is helpless or weak conveys a sense of "dead weight." That is not to say that a character can change from being weak and helpless to being a strong and independent character. The archetypal "damsel in distress" serves no purpose in a story other than a reward for a hero. Simply stepping outside of that and looking for another reward for the hero negates the need for the weak character, who presumably is stagnant in its shallowness.

I have had women characters who are expert snipers, genius level intelligence, trained in martial arts, programmed to be more human than human, or overcome tragedy with the strength and will to fight. Everyone is good at something; I choose to exemplify, in my characters, what any human can do.