❦ A list of ideas that could help in aiding a strong lead character.
- I think most people have difficulty creating a strong female lead compared to a male lead so sometimes i'll make a strong male character since that's a lot easier and then just change the male to a female. That might not work for everyone though.
- Think of weak characters from movies and books and try to understand what makes them weak and just try to avoid creating a character with it. Katniss from The Hunger Games , Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice are all considered strong. Characteristics such as perseverance, bravery, love, judgement, teamwork can help in aiding a strong character.
A character who gives off the cold shoulder doesn't make them the most interesting either but that doesn't mean it can't be used.
- Giving your character a back story, an ambition or a goal is really interesting. It adds character. I'v read a lot of back stories for some female characters in some cringe ass BTS fanfictions and the most common themes I see are:
1. Daddy issues.
2. Family doesn't give her what she wants so she gets all annoyed and suddenly wants to end her life.
3. Rape i'v seen in a few of them actually but i feel like a lot of writers just throw it in there. I wanna see deeper, darker back stories. Of course, rape is pretty dark but the way the characters portray it in the stories I have read, they don't seem as messed up by it as you'd think so if you are gonna write about it, make it seem realistic. Think of the worst most possible thing that can happen to someone and apply it to the character. The audience wants to see something new.
- Write out some traits you'd like for your character and make sure they don't contradict with each other. Contradicting characters are common. The character would suddenly do something that's so out of character, all for the sake of the story line.
- A character with flaws doesn't make them weak, it makes them more relatable.
- Avoid cold, tough, karate, back-flipping, ass-kicking characters. They might sound cool to some people but they can also come of as pretentious.