- This topic has 895 replies, 36 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
@anyone Anyone up to talking about my WIP with me? I know there are ppl out there who’d prob get bored, so… do any of you feel up to talking about it with me? XD
staring at the fields
if nothing's really real
i'll make the winter now my home- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@abigail-m I don’t mind at all! It’s a fabulous question, really.
The #1 answer would be that I read romance, and I’m more liable to fall in love with Mr. Darcy than Lizzie, if you know what I mean. I like heroes more because I can fangirl over them and dream about meeting the real life version of them one day. XD
But from an author’s standpoint, I dislike a great deal of the heroines in books I read because of (a) how shallow they are, (b) how feministic they try to be, and (c) how different we are. With the hero, I don’t expect to be exactly like him–mainly because he’s a him. But with the heroine, I like to have common ground. I like her to be strong, but not feministic. I like her to gain respect and superiority by being worth it, not demanding it. I like her to care about other people, respect authority (particularly the male variety), and trust God.
However, I find a lot of heroines–even historical romance ones–try so hard to be something they are not. They’re rebellious against authority simply because it’s male (like fathers, for example) and demand respect they don’t deserve. They refused to depend upon another person or on God, yet they can’t find their own footing and take care of themselves.
I prefer to read about a heroine who is not better than me or worse than me. I want an equal, a friend. Someone with faults and good qualities. Someone I understand or can come to understand. Someone who is like a friend to me.
Another reason why I don’t like heroines is that they’re underdeveloped. I can come to love a character I disagree with if they’re well-developed and realistic. Like Elizabeth Bennet or Alice Knight (from The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy). But most authors rely on tropes, clichés, and other popular characters for their heroines, which makes me dislike them all the more because they’re unoriginal and based off a character I didn’t like to begin with.
Make sense?
But I LOVE writing from the female perspective. I’m all about my own heroines, and I find that most of them are strong, tough, and sometimes even kinda feministic. Like Rina, for example. She’s a pirate captain in the 17th century, a girl holding a man’s title. However, I gave her charisma, natural dominance, and compassion for other people (she eventually turns from piracy XD). So instead of demanding respect, she earned it. Instead of rebelling against authority, she respects it because she understand their position. Instead of being selfish, she gives to other people in her time, resources, and love. She’s not perfect, no, but she’s definitely not cliché!
But then I’m a misogynist by definition, so my views differ greatly. And you just got my chauvinist word vomit all over you! XD My apologies. 😉 Hopefully you don’t mind…
@grace-j & abigail-m,
Sorry for intruding on your conversation, but I just wanted to say that I agree with everything you wrote, Grace (and you put it so well!). Here’s an article that I think might be cool for y’all to look at: https://storyembers.org/the-biggest-lie-we-believe-about-strong-female-protagonists/
Also, I dislike most secular female protagonists because they’re pretty much invincible (as the article says). Despite men’s anatomical strength advantageous, the women can beat them. A lot of the time the female is the “smart” one and the males are just dumb brutes. (There was probably a gentler way to put that, sorry if it’s offensive.) Plus women tend to be so emotionally… *struggles to think of word* so emotionally wrong that it’s hard to connect with them and believe that they’re real. Especially teenage girls in YA novels. Like, seriously, you lucked out and AREN’T struggling with the crazy hormones?!
Once again, sorry for intruding, this is a topic I feel strongly on, haha.
"Courage is found in unlikely places." -Gildor Inglorion
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@joelle-stone Thank you! Please do intrude! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so! And, yes, that is a fantastic article, isn’t it?
YES!!!!!!!! Especially about the hormones. GAH! That’s my #1 reason for not reading YA. (I mean, I do sometimes, but I try to avoid it.) Unblemished by Sara Ella is one of the ONLY books (particularly YA) that had a convincing, loveable, realistic, awesome heroine (though, of course she couldn’t compare to the hero XD). She had both her strengths and her weaknesses, and she refused to be defined by either. Make sense?
Anyway, yes. You are not intruding, and I feel the exact same way! I try not to judge secular fiction, but when Christian fiction (particularly historical fiction) does the same stuff, it just burns my britches. (And, yes, that’s a saying. Down in Dixieland, that is.)
@gracie-j
Ah, I get you on 1# 100% I’ve actually never read a romance novel before, (the subplots are usually good enough for me:) but I agree with you that I’d like the guy over the girl in that type of story.
I know what you mean about shallow and underdeveloped characters as well. I mean even in novels that are not romance, I come across more of them than I would care to. Although I think that that can happen hero or heroine.
And I agree 100% how irritating it can be when authors rely on certain tropes and cliches, (I mean not all are completely bad, but it defeintly gets frustrating).
But I’m with you all the way about wanting a character that I can realte to. By the way, have I ever said how amazing Rina Blackstone is? If not, I’m saying it now, becasue she is just incredible!:DOverall I’m the atynom of misogynist XD But I always like hearing other writer views, after all Mark Twain once said that it was the diffeance of opinion that makes horse races XD Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my question, I really appreciate that:) 🙂
I’m up for it! Talking about WIPs is a ton of fun. 😉 What’s yours about?
Another blurb idea. 😛 Maybe there’s a sentence that kinda summarizes the main part of the story you could start the blurb with that you like better than your first sentence? Like, is there one from where your nine chosen characters discover that they are called or learn of their mission, or a sentence that hints at your villain’s goal or his degree of evilness? Just an idea. 😀
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@abigail-m Aw, I’m just glad you asked! (And that you actually read through my entire long answer. XD)
I totally get where you’re coming from, and I know most of the books I read tend to learn toward the crappy-heroine side, so it’s mostly just the mindset I’ve adapted to, I reckon.
AW! Thank you so much! You just made Rina’s day! (Not that her head’s not big enough already from all the compliments I give her. XD) I really do appreciate that!
hey guys! I wrote this, but it’s still a 1st draft. thought some of y’all might be interested. 🙂
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W2OsQCk-z8DY2dcyCmX3LUhgpV0eg8BxJMUSSeWIn1c/edit?usp=sharing
@gracie-j @devastate-lasting @lydia-s @nanisnook @writerlexi1216 @abigail-m
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000Can you give me your current synopsis and a couple of quotes from your book you love? I’ll mess around with the blurb if you want and you can choose which one you like.
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000Woah. I am in awe. That is SO GOOD!!! I want to read more now! I love the hunting especially, just because that sort of thing appeals to me. And I love the “When I tell myself I’m brave, it tells me I’m a coward” line. 🙂
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@nova21 #lovedit I can’t wait to read more!!! (Btw, “Fly Me To The Moon” is now stuck in my head. XD)
aw thanks so much Natalie!!!!!! i’m glad you like it 😊
@gracie-j
thanks Gracie, haha!! i love that song 🙂
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000Wow, that was really good!!!! The ghost is very intriguing. 😀
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.