Strong Females

One thing that really drives me up a wall when reading most modern crap today is the portrayal of female characters, whether they be the lead or just in the background. The two most common views are the following: the rebellious hot babe or the quiet homemaker who has little part to play in the story.

Now to explain. The rebellious hot babe, who usually has a major or semi-major role, is the beautiful girl who goes out to war and kicks butt there, and usually doing such things out of rebellion, typically with a parent or guardian-figure. These girls often sometimes can be bad-tempered or feminist, saying that they can handle things as well as the men and don't like being held back because of it. Not only are they determined to make their mark on the world, but they also are often the love interest of a main male character, usually a romance based solely on physical appearances. An example of this character is Arya from Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance Cycle". However, these girls are not always pushy and let you know that they're as good as men; sometimes, it is more subtle, usually quietly spoken by when they pick up a sword and start helping during a battle.

The quiet homemaker has a few varying forms, but they are generally the submissive, motherly types who are often the love interests for minor male characters and serve no other purpose then their relationship to the men. An example of this, also from Paolini's series, is Elaine, a minor character who has a pregnancy that lasts for pretty much the entirety of two books (how that is biologically possible escapes me, but that is not relevant), and she does nothing else for the story besides being a mother to a few other minor characters. Another example would be Bella Swann from "Twilight".

Related to the homemaker is the damsel in distress. This is a female character who may not be the quiet girl, but she is often either related to the protagonist or romantically involved in some way. She may be told that she has an importance in saving the world, but in the end she is only used for advancing the plot by being kidnapped, rescued, and then re-kidnapped again; the only example I can think of for this one is in a non-published work that I have read. Or, on a related note, a similar damsel is told she has a big part to play but in the end is nothing more than a minor character, overshadowed by the protagonist, who is often a male; an example of this one is Taryn from Nikk Fensterman's "Twins".

Now, having these characters is not necessarily a bad thing, but it gives the appearance of very weak and stereotyped female characters. You can have strong females without resorting to these stereotypes, and I will give two examples, both from George R. R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" (granted, I have only read the first book "Game of Thrones", so you'll have to forgive me for relying on one book). The first one is Catelyn Stark, married to Lord Eddard Stark, one of the main characters of the story. Even though she married him more out of arrangement and not for love, the two have a good non-angsty relationship, and she loves her husband and her children very dearly. As the plot picks up and conspiracy rises, Catelyn, wanting to find out who tried to kill one of her children, quietly travels all over the kingdom to seek this information and to bring the assassin to justice. Despite her motherly nature, she comes across as strong because she does not go into battles but neither does she sit at home and do nothing. The second female in the book that comes across as strong is Cersei Lannister. Cersei may be the king's wife and daughter of a prominent family, but she is not to be trifled with. She may seemingly not to much, but the reader can tell that there is more to her that meets the eye and that she is certainly manipulating events. Other strong female characters in literature would be Jane Austen's female protagonists like Elinor Dashwood, who is quiet but has great emotional and mental strength, and Elizabeth Bennett, who has her faults but only seeks to uphold her family's honor and reputation. There are many more examples of strong women in literature, but these are a few examples.

So, please, do not fall into this modern literature trap. Your females do not have to be aggressive bulls, but neither do they have to be doormats. There is a happy balance here, so seek it and write it.