Writing decent women characters is vital for the modern novelist, because surveys tell us that sixty per cent of all readers are female. The majority of editorial and commissioning staff in publishing houses today are also women. This means that, as a debut novelist, both the market majority and the people you are pitching to are largely women. This is why it’s so important to have well-rounded female characters in your fiction. It is perfectly acceptable to write a novel in which women are historically absent (for example, the film Master and Commander, based on the novels of Patrick O’Brian, features no women whatsoever because they were genuinely absent from Napoleonic warships). It isn’t such a smart move to omit women from societies in which women truly are present. Neither is it a good idea to have female characters whose only purpose is to snuggle into the hero’s chest, to make him look good in front of his mates. The key, when it comes to writing decent women characters, is balance. If you’ve written a novel with a male lead and a male supporting cast, and you review your fiction and realise that the women float around the edges of the page only appearing for bedroom scenes or to cook a nourishing meal, then it’s time to do some re-drafting.
I’ll admit that this blog is largely aimed at blokes. As a fiction editor, I’ve encountered numerous unpublished/self-published novels in which the female characters aren’t really any more than props. However, what has surprised me is that women writers, too, can occasionally be unconsciously conditioned by traditionally male-authored accounts of certain historical periods (wartime, for example) or genres (the sci fi adventure), and can also perpetuate the predominantly-male cast in their own writing.
If you need tips on writing decent women characters, because your fictional females aren’t vivid enough, here’s a quick checklist designed to help:
Read books written by women - never have a male-only reading list, whatever genre you aspire to write. Even if you're writing a hard sci fi interplanetary adventure, there's a lot you can learn from women writers about the minutiae of character/emotion/relationships. Read outside your comfort zone - this will keep you in touch with current trends, and what makes a believable, fully formed character. Join a writing critique group which has members of both sexes and all ages. This will provide you with different ‘takes’ on your work. Speak to a significant female in your life (one you can trust to be honest) about your women characters. Create believable women characters who your readers will warm to - give them a proper role in your unfolding story, bestow on them responsibilities, respectful relationships, interests, talents, the odd mean streak... just as you would with your fictional men.
The most common mistakes I see in women characters in the books of aspiring debut authors:
The women appear only to cook, clean, provide sex, comfort, or to act as a sounding board (or as a facilitator) for the leading man;
The women are limited to spinster-like sketches, femme fatales or matronly homemakers in a world where the men make all the decisions and have all the fun;
The women characters only appear to chronicle different angles of the lives of the leading men;
In non-fiction, memoir narrators omit any reference to long-term female partners who have shared their life journey with them, and who have genuinely contributed to where they are today.
The age of consent is ignored; female children are described with sexualised language; non-consensual sex scenes (rape and molestation) are described with erotic language which would be better placed in a regular love scene.
Bear in mind that publishing was once run by men, principally for a male readership. So, if you're hugely influenced by dated fiction, it may affect your portrayal of the people and attitudes in your story. It's useful to remember that you stand the best chance of controlling your influences, as they begin to spill out into your work, if you understand where those influences stem from. This applies to all aspects of writing.
October 2020