For example, if you are trying to find a model for a main female character who is a teenager, you may talk to your mother about her life as a teenager or draw on your sister’s experience of being a teenager.

If you are not female, you may find it challenging to draw on the experiences of a gender that is not your own. Focus on how you view the women around you from your perspective and get inspiration for your character that way. You can also read articles written by women about what their experiences are like.

What skills does your character need to accomplish the things the plot will demand of her? What flaws and baggage could raise the stakes and make this harder for her? What’s your theme? How should her story reflect this?

For example, perhaps your character is interested in politics, though she is still in high school. She may aspire to be the first female president. She may focus on social justice issues in her community. Or, perhaps you have a female character who is struggling with her identity and trying to fit into a friend group in college. You might also give her an interesting hobby like archery that involves mental and physical skill.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison The Color Purple by Alice Walker The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

While men could be involved in her character arc, try to choose something that isn’t based solely around a man. If your story is a tragedy, the character may not learn and grow, thus failing to learn the necessary lesson (or, learning it too late) and getting an unhappy ending.

If your character could be replaced by a sexy lamp with a note attached to it, and the plot wouldn’t change much, then she does not have enough agency. [7] X Research source Choose some goals for her to pursue during the story. Her goals could be related to her career, relationships, hobbies, personal development, or something else. She should take meaningful action towards these goals. While she may have children or a relationship with a man, give her some goals unrelated to caring for or pleasing other people.

This doesn’t mean they need to be a human Swiss Army knife. Instead, focus on a few skills, and remember she doesn’t have to be the best of all time to be useful. She just needs to show competence and be useful somehow. (Even child characters can be helpful by being kind and cheering up other characters. )

For example, maybe you have a female character who is physically strong while also dealing with an anxiety disorder and stage fright. Seeing her grapple with these difficulties will help readers relate to her and cheer her on as she struggles to achieve her goals.

It’s okay to write a pretty character, but skip the gratuitous descriptions of her figure. For example, you may describe your main female character by focusing on her actions rather than her physical attributes. You may talk about her in terms of her critical thinking, her ability to speak her mind, and her sense of humor, rather than focus on her body shape or appearance.

The bare minimum is whether the story passes the Bechdel test. A story passes the Bechdel test if it has (1) at least two named female characters who (2) have a conversation with each other (3) about something other than a man or men. One issue with female characters in fiction is there being only one major female character, and thus the writers feel the need to make her incredibly smart and strong because she represents her entire gender. If you have a variety of female characters, you can make them feel more real, with strengths and weaknesses.

Look at your other main characters and consider if they are more developed than your main female character. Do they have more aspirations, goals, and wants than your main female character? Do they feel more unique and nuanced than your main female character? If the answer to these questions are “yes,” you may need to go back and rethink your main female character.

Don’t just rely on scientific sources when it comes to illnesses and disabilities. While these are good to read, you should also read written works by people who have these conditions. They can more accurately describe how daily life feels. If her membership in a minority group is important to the story, read some things written by members of that group. What are their lives like? What do they wish people understood about them? Even if you’re in that minority too, it might help to hear insights from your peers within the group.

Another option is to show the character to a writing group that has female members. Getting professional advice from female writers can help you avoid cliches and deepen your character. Women tend to see the world differently in some ways. For example, it might take a woman to tell you “no, she probably does not want to talk to that strange guy in the dark parking lot at night. "

You may try reading the main female character’s dialogue out loud to listen to how your character sounds. Your main female character should sound just as nuanced and detailed as any other character in your story.

Think about how your female character embodies some of the themes in your story. For example, if you set out to write a story about empowerment, you may think about whether your main female character feels empowered and strong in your story.