How To Craft a STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER (who isn't totally annoying)

[@thesamuraiman]

Katara from Avatar comes to mind, immediately

[@tinygrass6867]

They handled all their female characters extremely well, like everyone is a badass. Actually, avatar did everything good lmao

[@noonebossesthegarnet2890]

Katara is a feminine character and they still manage to make her a badass.

[@D0kka]

me too !!! you stole my comment haha

[@maryumgardner5958]

@@noonebossesthegarnet2890 That is what I'm aiming for when writing my female characters. The female character I’m thinking of writing is a law enforcement agent (FBI, MI5, Scotland Yard) who is hard nosed with slime/goo generation powers but she can be soft/delicate in some parts. However, she stands her ground and takes nothing from others. She also likes stuffed animals and some traditional feminine aesthetics while being athletic. She is a real woman with STRENGTHS and Weaknesses.

[@prico3358]

Arya Stark maybe?

[@santanasg8445]

Personally, I admire a female character who can cry- who is allowed to have let downs, crisis and weaknesses, and SHE AKNOWLEDGES THEM. For me, a strong female character is nothing more than a well- constructed female character, one that you can relate to because she feels real enough.

[@AbbieEmmons]

I agree!! ✨

[@theuglyfruit7704]

What i want to see is a damsel in distress but she helps the hero by screwing up her captors plans bye using her smarts and maybe her beauty because almost all damsel is distress characters are supposed to be pretty

[@an8strengthkobold360]

@@theuglyfruit7704 don't you love it how charters can maintain a beauty routine: as a slave, in the streets, as a peasant, in the wilderness etcetera🤣

[@theuglyfruit7704]

@@an8strengthkobold360 well actually it depends on what Time period the slave is in as slavery in the ancient Egypt times eas not actually bad it was a way for people to pay off debts, and while doing slave work they had to be properly taken care of. Heck after their time is up they can choose to continue being a slave.

[@theuglyfruit7704]

@@an8strengthkobold360 but, other than that yeah it's pretty ridiculous

[@StarArkNet]

Her: Explaining in a way that is easy for me to understand My Brain: Are those books sorted by color? Oooooo.

[@mehwishmunir3813]

Am also thinking that :-P

[@bartcassauwers6710]

Ark Net Inc. Haha, I noticed the same thing. And here I was, thinking that my mom was the only person in the world that sorted books on their color and height.

[@didosauce6008]

Fuck sorting by author name libraries should organize books by color so that when you walk into the building your greeted with massive shelves of satisfying color patterns and rainbows

[@dontletthedemonsoutofyourb692]

i had the exact same thought

[@prico3358]

You have a genius brain

[@MrJacob1487]

I see that the problem with the stereotype of "strong female characters" is that they are actually leaning towards Mary Sue style of characters. And your video shows ways to bring someone from a Mary Sue type of character back to a strong character. Like you said, real strong characters have flaws, weaknesses, and altogether fail on some level or another at some point.

[@AbbieEmmons]

So true, Jacob! I'm so glad you liked this video!

[@an8strengthkobold360]

Remember if she struggles it's sexist.

[@lisaconnor3075]

Here's a way to create an authentic SFC: go out and live an interesting life, then transfer that life experience into your character. It goes a long way toward coming off as authentic and not a shallow contrivance of a sheltered person totally unaware of the beautifully ugly complexities of the real world. The human condition is convoluted; don't let your narcissism steer you into producing a 2-D Mary Sue in a fantasy world designed to stroke your ego.

[@futurestoryteller]

I find it interesting when the subject of "Mary Sue" characters come up we don't hear Batman, or Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Jack Bauer, Wolverine - Superman... He's maybe a bit more common, but it's typically in a separate conversation about characters who are considered less interesting because they're "too OP" (as opposed to _perfectly_ OP, like Batman, I guess) so even our conversations about characters that are "too perfect" split into a gender divide, and it still seems like flawed men get to be *more* perfect. Some of my favorites are the explanations for why these characters are "not" perfect. Like for Superman it's usually "As Clark Kent he's nervous around Lois Lane!" (My OC is clumsy!) or the mere existence of kryptonite, particularly the red variety. I'd like to point out that Hollywood has gotten a lot of crap recently for supposed "Mary Sue" characters, and the most reasonable examplar, Wonder Woman, is the one that made the most money and won the most praise. I don't think the arguments people make necessarily reflect their purchasing habits.

[@dontletthedemonsoutofyourb692]

@@futurestoryteller same thing happened w captain marvel since she got a lot of hate because people thought she was too strong and too "basic" and they called her a mary sue. yeah she has amazing powers but she actually had a character arc too and she's actually a strong female character

[@ShinSuperSaiyajin]

point number 1!!!! the animated Mulan comes to mind first! She's not as physically strong as her male counterparts but she makes up for it with her wit. and she's still feminine!

[@eloiselockett9001]

And the only reason she makes her hair shorter is to blend in! Not because strength transition

[@paulac.munoztorres]

She’s the queen!

[@andrewchapman2024]

​@@paulac.munoztorres She should be.

[@jammin1881]

Then they destroy her character in the real life film. This psrefect lil princess or girl boss with no need to train or get better. Just a perfect specimen from the start. 🤣

[@GACHAShadow-cb5kf]

Yeah, it's the main thing that annoyed me so much about the remake. They took an already really strong female character and got rid of all of her struggles and flaws to make her "stronger" when they didn't need to! She was already really strong and literally refused to give up despite everyone else looking down on her and risked her life to save other people. She is a perfect example of a strong female character with flaws and struggles and Disney completely missed that when they remade it

[@didosauce6008]

Bro I’m a guy and I look up to all the girls in avatar the last airbender Katara’s brave and compassionate Toph’s determined and resilient Suki’s open-minded and respectful Azula shows the horrifically real consequences of child abuse and reminds us that even people with unimaginable power and status have personal issues

[@Nickilob2006]

the women in atla are so well written , i aim to write characters like them

[@nathanamare9013]

@@Nickilob2006 Same , I wish I could write amazing story, amazing characters like ATLA , ITS JUST AMAZING!!

[@queenb2450]

Right each of them are distinctly THEM and no one takes their agency away. Gosh, they wrote the gals wonderfully

[@Elia-fn8jv]

you left out Kyoshi who became a literal Goddess............

[@akale2620]

You can't look up to toph, she's smol, like 3 feet smol.

[@portella2509]

The problem with Strong Female Character trope, and how it's being written, it's that this character has literally ONLY stereotypically male traits, and are usually recognized by the general public as male characteristics. If a female character it's only considered "strong" because of the masculine traits she has, it's saying that what makes women weak is their femininity. You're literally just saying that a woman can only be strong if she has zero femininity and feminine traits. Fuck that.

[@AbbieEmmons]

PREACH IT PREACH IT PREACH IT

[@portella2509]

omg u saw my comment !!! ily !!!! 💗💗💗

[@thestevens580]

My strong female character is shorter than most of the male characters, because she’s female, and that’s common with girls. But that means she can fight quickly and is a smaller target. Small feminine characters are fast strikers and can hide more easily. A woman with all the qualities of a man is not the only strong woman

[@bic.550]

@@thestevens580 Haha I am pretty small (I'm 28 kilograms and 1.40 meter something) and I like to wrestle (and am pretty okay at it!) Nad I hide in the weirdest places haha. I hid inside one of those drawers under a sink once and got stuck, but that doesn't matter too much haha.

[@LilyGarden528]

This is so true, like a woman can only be strong or powerful if she is manish. Pshhh more physically strong men have been taken down by mentally strong (and very feminine ) women throughout history than one can count. We want strong female leads that use their strength and smarts as woman to achieve her goals. And I don't mean winning a beauty pageant or a pie baking contest let them save the world and conquer their enemies. let them protect who and what they love not just with brute force and bitter attitude but with charm, wit and determination! Sorry for this rant haha the sterotypical , cliche, "strong" female lead urks me something fierce. 😅

[@torytellstales]

Now that I've watched the movie "Encanto", I can say Luisa is the perfect example of a strong girl with an important weakness

[@hcney_luna4431]

yesss, i love encanto and luisas character is so interesting

[@Hanselthebrave]

If you think about it, this is why Disney Princess's are so popular. You can still be badass in a pink dress. There are so many female characters out there now a days, that basically the story wouldn't change if they were male, like Captain Marvel or Rey. While it's okay to celebrate females with more masculine traits, it's also okay to celebrate the girly girl and everything in between.

[@leeanneweir4345]

People can have physical disabilities and have strong insides Or have metal disabilities but have a sharp mind Or a highly sensitive and still saves the days Or storng and still have weaknesses

[@AbbieEmmons]

PREACH IT!! 👏💛

[@matityaloran9157]

Jake Sully begins the Avatar movie in a wheelchair. Daredevil (in the Netflix tv show) is blind and so is Toph from Nickelodeon’s Avatar.

[@GACHAShadow-cb5kf]

​@@matityaloran9157Daredevil's blind in the movie as well

[@matityaloran9157]

@@GACHAShadow-cb5kf I haven’t seen the movie

[@GACHAShadow-cb5kf]

@@matityaloran9157 That's alright. It is really good though. I haven't seen the Netflix show tbh

[@GatlingXYZ]

Buffy is definitely a strong female character who i think was written perfectly. Honestly, all the women on that show are amazing.

[@sk70091]

Yes, Buffy is always the first to come to mind when anyone talks about strong female characters. She's such a REAL, strong girl who also cries, wears girly clothes and sometimes loses fights.

[@inugamiwang9704]

I agree

[@hannemanart]

I immediately thought of Buffy as she walking. In my opinion, the greatest female character ever written!

[@iliveinthecountry2159]

I know lots of people hated her, but I loved the Cordelia Chase character. (That doesn't mean I liked her, not at first, but I was rooting for her.) Talk about a strong woman. Yeah, she was a shallow bitch in Buffy, but she changed a lot in Angel. Her character arc had so much potential, and they didn't do it justice at all. Pissed me off.

[@sarahxo2317]

Buffy is the perfect example of a strong female character. Yes she’s physically strong but is also very feminine, vulnerable and makes a lot of mistakes. I wish more modern female characters were written as well as her.

[@MediaAttorney]

Vulnerability and resilience are the two traits that really grab me in a character. The girl who gets her ass kicked, but still gets back up and into the fight, even though she knows she'll get her ass kicked again and again. That takes an immense amount of courage, and really keeps us rooting for her to eventually beat her adversary at some point in the future.

[@cosmicprison9819]

I like to call that the "heroine who keeps fighting with tears in her eyes", but it's the same concept. I actually think the audience will naturally have more empathy with female than male characters by default - unless you actively spoil that by making them overly tough and obnoxious. Strength is amplified in the visible presence of weakness. You can make a character's strength admirable without wasting the natural potential of the protective instinct.

[@jammin1881]

Yeah - if there is a real and serious threat of danger. You can make anything work. Take Ripley in aliens. Take gandoloh in lord of the rings even. He was a BOSS and strongest wizard going..... Yet there was always a sense of danger and the balrog dragging him down just makes it that much better and darker.

[@aubreyelizabeth9932]

Ever since I was little Cinderella was a huge role model for me, I know there's a lot of controversy around her character but I see her as someone who endured a lot but maintained her kindness and courage (ie Disney's 2015 Cinderella). She was always strong and just because she ended up marrying a prince, doesn't mean she had no depth or inner strength.

[@tailsmccloud323]

It's actually pretty easy Write a good character and make them Female

[@user-ey8mj4tv2p]

Exactly

[@uu1545]

That's a good one. I'm gonna try it 👼

[@peachy-wd6ci]

exactlyyy dont think of them as female. that's irrelevant just make them a good person who happens to be female

[@kckennedy1325]

@@peachy-wd6ci the problem is that its honestly hard to make a likeable female character bc most fandoms r just sexist without even knowing it, most writers want to give their characters flaws but its hard to do that with girls bc they will get hate for them while a male who has those same flaws will get praised for them, lots of female characters r awesome but they r deadass just not liked bc they r female

[@dragonmartijn]

I'm gonna write a story with a strong female character, who is sexist, hated by her parents and peers, but is actually the boss. So if you dislike her, it's the effect I want to achieve.

[@valerieprindle8097]

I know I'm late to this post, but I wanted to say how much I appreciate this. I'm so tired of the Mary Sue Paragon that is the "strong female character" because she rejects everything that's traditionally associated with femininity, and becomes bitter in the process. It's as if the author is telling women that in order to be strong, she has to be like man. Then it annoys me further because typically in those kinds of stories she's still one of the only female characters.

[@urdadsonic1036]

yea exactly

[@cosmicprison9819]

Good on you for realising that a lot of Mary Sues are actually failed attempts at writing paragons. Took me a while to figure that out. But it applies to male characters, to: Richard from Sword of Truth starts out as an everyman and is then supposed to become a paragon, but he just turns into the biggest Gary Stu I've read about so far. Not because he's rarely ever wrong, but because the entire universe of his story seems to warp around him.

[@jammin1881]

Male or female there has to be danger. There can't be this perfect specimen without any danger. It's boring and becoming the norm. Ripley in Aliens and even gandolph in a fantasy setting. He gets dragged down to his doom and you fear for his character. There is always real danger.......

[@jennat.c.287]

This came at the right time for me ! My WIP's MC is a strong female character, but I don't want her to be the annoying type that people are tired of. This video helped me so much!

[@AbbieEmmons]

I'm so glad this video helped you, Jenna! I can't wait to read your book, I'm sure your strong female MC is EPIC!! 😍✨ thanks for watching!

[@madalynnglander5658]

Danielle from Ever After 💖 Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds 💖 Katherine, Dorothy and Mary from Hidden Figures 💖 Scarlett O'hara (of course) from GWtW 💖 Belle from Beauty and the Beast 💖 Buttercup from The Princess Bride 💖 Rose from Titanic 💖

[@ItsChaCha999]

List of good female characters: 1. Korra from “The Legend of Korra” 2. Eda from “The Owl House” 3. Asami from “The Legend of Korra” 4. Nobara from “Jujutsu Kaisen” 5. Black Canary (a superhero) These are just some example…

[@kezenmanga]

I'm glad you mentioned nobara

[@MrFox-rf3cu]

One of the earliest and my favorite: Ellen Ripley in "Alien". She's scared sh*tless, but she still gets the job done.

[@flowerbloom5782]

Korra was one the worst ones.

[@elliotfong8794]

Anna Liebert aka Nine Fortner from Monster Manga

[@InternetSexyLoser]

The Nobara one did not age well.

[@e.debevec626]

Strength means being able to accept your flaws, push through those hard times while knowing it’s okay to cry, and being able to accept yours and others vulnerability.

[@blackhagalaz]

Those are great tips! Hearing those I think I have "accidentally" written a strong female character :D. She has no clue of combat, she is not physically strong or fit or anything. Her strength purely comes from her mind. She is kind and compassionate, highly emotionally intelligent. When in the middle of a bloody conflict she manages to keep a clear head, lead everyone to safety, and makes quick vital decisions. She is headstrong, and honestly has her foot in her mouth sometimes, which brings herself in trouble more than once. She just cant shut her mouth lol. But she is also smart, and brave and saves her male counterpart at least as many times as he saves her, not with stereotypical "strength", but with her heart and quick thinking. A woman raised in the midst of a highly patriarchal society, but still taking control over her own life, despite all the backlash she gets. This psychological strength is something I hope I have somehow captured.

[@jameschristopher5601]

There is one character that is a real badass character that changes the mood of Fullmetal Alchemist, Olivier Mira Armstrong the Ice Queen.

[@an8strengthkobold360]

But the whole ice queen thing isn't just a 2d "I'm serious all the time" and thats what makes it work. I particularly love when shes fighting her brother and we get this exchange: Alex:are you trying to kill me?! Olivia:what tipped you off?

[@imygurl08]

honestly all the women in Fullmetal are great. Super strong and definitely not perfect beings with all the answers but still valuable nonetheless.

[@futurestoryteller]

I'm seeing this argument thrown around a lot, and I'd just like to point out that I'm a little annoyed by the concept of "guy" things and "girly" things. I'm not saying we should be gender blind, and so therefore these authors who write "masculine" females should not be called out for gender swapping a character _stereotype,_ to convey "strength" but if our focus is on whether or not the character likes "dresses," then maybe we're expecting too much from these authors anyway. A lot of character "flaws" are also just disadvantages to being born a certain way. So the interesting thing about Brienne from Game of Thrones (the show anyway) is that we get the _sense_ that maybe she likes, or prefers elegance, and pretty dresses, and ballroom dancing, but those things just aren't in the cards for her as a character. She also falls in love with a gay man, and she knows he's gay, but she wants to express that love to him in the only way that she knows how, and that's to become a knight in his army. It's not ideal, but it's the best she can do under the circumstances. That's _really_ interesting. Notice there's nothing really _wrong_ with her, based on that breakdown anyway, it's just not what she wants. She may have an appreciation for those "girly" things, but she rarely endulges in them, she's both physically strong and *not* girly and that's both fine *_and_* not by choice. Hopefully you see what I'm getting at here.

[@matityaloran9157]

2:35, though it can be perfectionism. With Princess Azula in Avatar, everything must be perfect “almost isn’t good enough” and when she realizes that she can’t get that, she goes mad.

[@CircusOfFive]

5:24 Also Aliens - Ripley learns how to handle some pretty advance weaponry from Hicks. It doesn't diminish her in any way. in fact he is even more impressed, as unlike Vasquez, she's a civilian imbedded with military professionals (who are out of their depths) and yet she steps up. Fierce.

[@Anna-dr3qh]

When it comes to the “Not like other girls” trope, what do you think of “Not like other girls but wants to be like other girls.”? One of my female characters is like that, she was raised to basically be a man in a female suit the annoying “strong female character” but it isolated her from other kids on both genders and left her friendless so she hates being “not like other girls” and tries to do traditionally girly things with the other female characters. What do you think of that?

[@carlyrios8297]

I know you're not asking me, but I think it's highly relatable. I grew up with 2 brothers so I didn't really know how to be girly in a traditional sense. But I really wanted to be as I grew up and matured into my femininity. :)

[@cosmicprison9819]

I wrote one character in a similar situation: She turned herself into that "conflict-seeking fighter bad*ss* (including the "cutting off her hair" part 😁) but is *aware* that she sacrificed her femininity in the process and longs for a future in which she can get it back. If I ever finish and release that story, I'm pretty sure the woke crowd is not going to like that latter part... 😇

[@infiniduck100]

Oh thats my life

[@annejia5382]

my brain automically plays "i wanna be like other girls" 🤣

[@mangowithagun7900]

You literally described one of my characters.

[@whiskeyblack806]

My fav strong female character is Buffy Summers from the Buffy TV show. She's just epitome of a badass chick who can kick butt & who isn't afraid to cry or make mistakes or say she was wrong or even learn from her enemies.

[@mishthemaverick8607]

And she still likes shopping at the mall. Best show!

[@matityaloran9157]

10:15, Camicazi from the How To Train Your Dragon books. She lives for the thrill of danger and is an incorrigible burglar and can be too quick to violence but in her first appearance in the third book How To Speak Dragonese, she repeatedly escapes from the Romans who have captured her and Hiccup but is recaptured every time resulting in her eventually thinking “maybe, you can keep a Bog-Burglar under lock and key” before she ends up going along with Hiccup’s plan of escape. And in her later appearances, she has a heart of gold and is loyal to Hiccup but she still sometimes loses (even though she normally doesn’t.)

[@utopia_ana]

Hi! I'm Ana, a writer from Spain. I don't know a lot of English, but I'm trying to learn it, so I decided to watch English YT videos and your channel is one of my favourites. And I am totally agree with you in this one. Thank you for all these tips and examples :) ¡Un abrazo!

[@AbbieEmmons]

Hi Ana! I'm so glad you like my channel! thank you so much 💛✨ (also, your English is great!)

[@ilsaangelich9141]

Your English is PERFECT 👌🏻 this is coming from a native English speaker

[@juliaherkel8051]

I believe that the authoress of Little Women wrote about her life, and she was Joe in the story, actually. Maybe that's why she's so relatable? Also, I wish I could give you a million likes for this video!! It's so good and helpful! Thank you for it!

[@AbbieEmmons]

Yes I heard that too! So cool. 💛 THANK YOU SO MUCH JULIA! ✨

[@myownstory4030]

Oh yeah I know joe and I luv her cause she writes and is always there to take lace for her father

[@catsaretoocute5554]

I read little women last year and i literally couldn’t stop crying i was so sad when beth died

[@irinakermong1217]

I finally got to the Lunar Chronicles a few weeks ago and it amazes me how well the series has held up since it came out in 2012 - you have characters like Cinder and Scarlet who could easily fall into the Strong Female Character(tm) stereotype but who don't, who get moments of vulnerability, are allowed to be kind and compassionate (especially in Scarlet's case, given her relationship with Wolf and her friendship with Winter). You mentioned Cress, and there's also Iko and Winter who are stereotypically feminine but who are both badasses in their own way.

[@Itsme18803]

For me, a strong female character is someone who has _emotions_ and can control those emotions. They are badass, but kind hearted and don't hurt people deliberately with their words because they know, even in a game of show off, words sting. They care for others before themselves, and do not back off from hard fights. I could go on, but I have homework.

[@amyyaku5022]

In my eyes I see Cinderella as a strong female character. Cinderella is seen as the damsel in distress when in reality she was making the best of her awful situation. Her positivity and creativity helped her persevere against her toxic family. She even tried to make her own dress for the ball despite the amount of work her stepmother gave her. Even in her darkest moment, her creativity manifests as her fairy god mother and takes her to the ball: not to marry the prince or even woo him, but to have one night of fun. After the prince searches for his true love and visits her home, Cinderella ceases this opportunity to leave, getting help from the mice and other animals she cared for and ultimately succeeds. Too many critics have watered down Cinderella when out of all the Disney princesses at the time she was the most relatable and imo the best well written one. I'm sure many people could relate to being in a toxic relationship (be it familial or relationship) and being unable to leave.

[@matityaloran9157]

Yeah, people are overly harsh on Cinderella

[@pitmezzari2873]

Tell this to Hollywood writers.

[@gracem.2588]

Thank you so much for this!!!! This is one of my biggest pet peeves in fiction. I think it's especially important to let characters be feminine without implying that this makes them weak. What I've tried to do with my current main character is made her a quiet, shy, kind type, yet showed throughout the story that she is still incredibly strong when it comes to what matters. (Just starting revisions so it remains to be seen if I actually succeeded 😂)

[@AbbieEmmons]

AMEN, GRACE! I'm so happy you're writing a strong female character like that!! BREAK THE STEREOTYPES. *fist bump * your book sounds awesome and I need it in my life 😍

[@leigh-anjohnson]

Strong Female Characters that I love: Raven Reyes from The 100 Mary Stuart from Reign Molly Weasley from Harry Potter Kestrel from The Winner's Curse Laia from An Ember In The Ashes Arya Stark from Game of Thrones

[@avawilliams5827]

Raven! I’ve always favored Octavia

[@legendarybubbles4567]

Yesss Molly Weasley! Such a queen! Her best line is still “Not my daughter you b*tch!” While protecting her children, winning the duel against Bellatrix.

[@wyrmfeast]

Thank you for this, I've been at the grindstone trying to form and understand my main character without letting her become something mundanely cookie cutter or two-dimensional.

[@AbbieEmmons]

I'm so glad this video inspired you, Brian! thank you for watching ✨

[@NightOwlReader2790]

#3 made me think of what Michelle Obama said in an interview about how she became a strong and independent because she amazingly loving, supportive, and strong men in her life that supported her and believed in her. I very much connected with #3 because of this. Thank you for these videos, they are very helpful; I have been studying them intently.

[@rebeccajo9090]

Again, another needed message! Thanks for really analyzing important issues with humor and respect. 😊

[@AbbieEmmons]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad this resonated with you! 💛

[@Nemo-Nihil]

Natasha Romanoff, and my favorite trait is her compassion.

[@elite_piggyzillaxx174]

Wanda Maximoff

[@brennareynolds147]

@@elite_piggyzillaxx174 most of the mcu women are AMAZING (carol is the one exception)

[@scarlett4484]

@@brennareynolds147 The concept of many female characters in the MCU is amazing, but in the MCU they dont get full character development. How many female characters have tgeir own movies? Only a couple..and they are very recent. I love the MCU and the potential of these characters but it feels like its too little too late. Only now are we getting Black widow and wandavision. But I feel like Marvel still doesnt get how to write female characters yet.

[@angelaandrews4987]

Gamora from marvel , everyone forgets her but she’s amazing

[@danielrBIB]

​@@scarlett4484Did you watch the show Agents of Shield? It's the best production Marvel ever made when it comes to strong female characters.

[@EnTeoríaIlustraciones]

Love how well are Katara, Toph, Suki and Korra written (ATLA and LOK fan here), they show their weaknesses, mistakes, where they went wrong, they overcome their fears, and grow beyond their limitations, and they all have a sensitive side, and they show it sooner or later, as they grow. I love that Toph's blindness becomes the basis of her abilities, and pushes her to learn another ability to navigate the world, defying what her parents told her she couldn't do, never gave up and kept trying. That is strength. Writing my first epic fantasy novel here! Hope I can do a good job writing my characters (and choosing their names, which is something I struggle with a lot 😅)

[@_Risa1992_]

And they never look down on another for being a different "kind of girl". Korra gets in a relationship with Asami, who's really feminine and portrayed as having strength and is really smart on her own.

[@EnTeoríaIlustraciones]

@@_Risa1992_ and inclussion is not forced, which is the best thing that can be done when writing characters, it all flows naturally, smoothly, giving more importance to their development, so people get used to see other realities and accept them better.

[@moonie9000]

I often think of Maggie Greene from The Walking Dead when I think of what a real strong female character is. She's not needlessly cruel or overtly butch, she's not perfect, she's not stoic, she does have flaws, she's not physically powerful but mentally and emotionally like a rock. Considering how badly that show was written, like, 40% of the time, she's a great character.

[@izyrmarshall1820]

I'm a thirteen-year-old writer and I love strong relatable female characters. I think a good example of a strong female character is Katniss Everdeen. A bad example would be Tris from divergent. Katniss is a good role modle. Tris, not so much. I enjoy books where the female character is feminine, has weaknesses, doesn't give up, and of course wins in the end. My strong female character is a girl who's entire family has been bombed during a war for freedom. She has horrible flashbacks and has been diagnoised with mental instability. She freaks out in the most lethal instances and couldn't care less about the surrounding war. Little by little and with the help of an enemy friend whom she has no choice but to save from certain death, she over comes all obsticles and in the end is the savior of her people. She likes floaty dresses and enjoys peach ice cream. Her favorite color is blue.

[@natashatuskovichcoworking]

This is why I love sailor moon so much, you have a cast full of strong female characters who are still feminine AND showcase a huge variety of personalities and interests!

[@grimmdanny]

This was very helpful. I am writing an epic sci-fi novel with a female lead, and pretty much all you talked about reaffirmed how I am writing this lead. When I see female characters who are portrayed as "strong" by simply having increased masculine traits, with an almost complete rejection of feminine traits, it feels artificial, and that's boring. When I see a female character who is just ordinary, but then develops over time into a strong character, especially due to circumstance, that feels very "human" and it makes me love the character. This can be applied to both males and females.

[@jillkeller6113]

I love your Elinor reference - so spot on as the strong character in heartbreak that stays strong for everyone else. I absolutely adore her and can't imagine a better representation for a silent sufferer. Jo March was my literary idol growing up - another perfect example.

[@AbbieEmmons]

YESS ELINOR IS SO GREAT ISN'T SHE :''') And Jo! (even if I'm eternally angry at her for not marrying Laurie *distant sobbing *) I'm so glad you liked this video! Thank you so much for watching 💛✨

[@cynthiagutierrez4049]

Buffy the vampire slayer, one of the most important scenes when she chooses herself over the world because she is afraid to die, ultimately she still goes but that fear is very realistic. Still one of my fave shows to this day

[@shereeamy6781]

Oh my gosh the Luna chronicles 😀 i read Cinderella one years ago and I've always tried to remember what the book series was called! Thank you 😊

[@Aelfswythe]

Amen!! Loved everything you had to say about building a truly strong female character. So refreshing! I love Margaret Hale from North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell. There's so much internal conflict where she's the buffer between her parents' marriage and hiding the secret of her brother the mutineer, and then she moves to somewhere completely foreign and has to build a new life. She messes up a ton, especially where Mr. Thornton is concerned, but she is the coolest, strongest, kindest character ever. Just love her to pieces!

[@crystaldee7185]

“But, she will rise again.” 🥰 i’d get that tattooed

[@Iso20227]

Nadia Valerius with benefit heavily from this video. At first, I wanted to make her a female character that was on the weaker side, more dependent on her man, less capable than the strong female character, more in touch with her feminine side than other characters. But gradually throughout the book, getting stronger and smarter and more capable as she learns that she won’t always be taken care of, so she needs to learn to take care of herself, so that she can take care of her lover. I just really didn’t want to lose her as a character. I wanted to make her stronger but not allow her to become those cocky, arrogant, “I can do whatever a man can do” strong female characters. I like her personality, and I don’t want to change it, because to change it, would be to lose her. And I really didn’t want to lose her.

[@krystalgomez2300]

Writers need to watch this honestly 😭

[@generalmortars7557]

That's why I loved Marjorie (GoT). Super feminine, fierce and uses all her assets and resourcefulness to fight to win. "I don't wanna be a queen, I wanna be The Queen!"

[@freefall945]

Hot take: The time for rejecting the “damsel in distress” out of hand is over. Sometimes people are in distress. Sometimes they need stronger people to help them. Not to mention, it is a good thing to pretend expectation for boys in fiction where their strength is nobly used to protect the vulnerable; and women are more vulnerable than men.

[@emxry]

I have a strong female character who actually loves to fight in dresses lol

[@elite_piggyzillaxx174]

My strong female character fights in wedges lol.

[@emxry]

@@elite_piggyzillaxx174 lmao-

[@elite_piggyzillaxx174]

@@emxry She be stepping on the enemies toes 😂 (for real though, that would hurt)

[@kreepykittycreations]

Like Alexia Tarabotti in "Soulless" ☺ she fights in a full Victorian walking dress, complete with custom weaponized parasol - love it >///

[@dama2545]

I’d say that compassion is another key characteristic of the strong female character. It enables her to form a deep emotional connection through hardships and misfortune. I have the idea of having the female protagonist possess a powerful healing ability that is fueled by her compassion.

[@conanedogawa4798]

My #1 favorite strong female character, who came about rather recently, is a character named Alysara, who is the title character in a webnovel called "The Reincarnation of Alysara." She got a curse that blinded her as an infant, so she had to learn to see by sensing mana. This allows her to "see" at a greater distance than anyone and "see" through walls. She then also develops a skill that allows her to attack things remotely up to the full distance of her mana senses, which keep increasing in range as the series goes on. (currently in the series, it's up to fully half of Earth's surface area.) So, in terms of powers set, she is RIDICULOUSLY powerful. However, this comes with quite the set of problems as well. One of the chief among them is that the people she helps in combat often start resenting her because they're putting themselves into danger but her life is never on the line because she's like a distance artillery who is sitting safe at home and helping them by remote. That's an external weakness, and highly understandable and relatable (in that we can relate to the people who resent her and very much agree with their negative assessment of her.) But, she also has a good few internal weaknesses in the form of how isolating her power-set is becoming for her. People increasingly hold her up on a pedestal, and this causes her to feel that fewer and fewer people are able to see her for her. Just the symbol she's becoming for her people. That's in terms of relational issues. In terms of actual threats she's facing, she faces quite a bit of issues stemming from the curses she got as an infant. The one that robbed her of her sight was not the only one, and the curses she's dealing with do quite a bit of harm to her. A lot of the story is about avoiding the negative effects of the curses, and her effort to trying to remove them. And, just to add a level of impossibility to the threat level, the gods want to chop up her soul to use as ingredients to make weapons because her soul is the only remaining soul that has existed since the beginning of the universe, and that gives it special properties. These special properties are also responsible for her accelerated skill growth, but of course they come with a corresponding detriment. There is a very strong theme of sacrifice in the series, and this causes the reader to be put in a place where they genuinely doubt things will work out for Alysara in terms of some of her intermediate goals. The reason for this is because the series has shown a pattern where bad things do happen to the MC. She is brought low on several occasions. And, there is a history here of people sacrificing their freedom, time, and even lives for the betterment of others, and it would be entirely on-theme and fitting with the pattern to see another bad thing happen to the MC here, whether by choice or by happenstance.

[@thenewkhan4781]

Naomi Nagata is my favorite. Tomboish, badass but also caring, smart and funny. She's the heart of the Roci crew and my favorite character in the series.

[@ThomasTiernan]

The four female leads in Firefly. All different. All strong. All kick butt. All capable. All Female in the ways that count, when they need to be.

[@TheDoomKnight]

Sarah Connor (Terminator 1 & 2), Ellen Ripley(Alien & Aliens), and Leeloo (The Fifth Element) are all my favorite examples of strong female characters done right. Sarah Connor went from being a timid young lady optimistic about her future to a tough, resilient fighter struggling with PTSD. Ellen Ripley went from a hard-working cargo ship pilot to a reluctant alien slayer suffering from PTSD. Leeloo was meant to be the perfect being, but she came with human flaws, where she started out as quirky and cheerful to being horrified with human history and wanted to give up and let humanity wiped out. Great characters with real human flaws that I looked up to as a child.

[@lizamoonblooded4196]

Violet Evergarden is the character who comes to my mind. She was in the war at a young age and while she was in war, she falls in love with her superior officer. Although out her story, she learns about different kinds of love and what her superior officer meant when he said that he loved her just before he died. Violet Evergarden is an emotionless 14 year old girl and it takes her a long time to find the terrifying truth that her superior officer is dead. How she copes with this truth is by running away to the place she and her superior officer were and breaks down crying after trying to dig her way to the truth. Abbie please watch this anime and put it into your videos. I cried every time she broke down in tears.

[@VanessaBestSM]

That introduction was perfect my friend!

[@AbbieEmmons]

Thank you, girl!! 😊

[@beatrizkath13]

Hi, I am a young Brazilian girl who loves to write, and I am very happy that I found your channel =D You and your videos are very inspirational to me (and I love your accent ^-^)

[@AbbieEmmons]

Thank you! I'm so glad you're here, Beatriz! ❤️✨ and so glad my channel inspires you!

[@latti6363]

In my book I have 4 main character, 3 being girls. Something I like to do is to get stereotypes and make them realistic! Something that was the main idea I had when making these characters. Clem is basically a spoiled girly girl... that is the strongest from the team and who stands up for the rest! She at first is very narrow minded but slowly opens up and stands up for the minorities. Her main weakness is her easy to annoy (she acts, doesn't think) personality and her small knowledge a it magic. El is a shy, weak little girl... that is forced to go against her beliefs (like Clem) and has to save her teammates, especially one she hates and her family is what caused her to be so scared. Her main limitations is her fear to act and her very weak body. While Lati (the one with the mean family) is the main main character! She is your super childish friend that just happens to be the leader of the group. She has to balance being herself and taking care of the group (which just really happens in dangerous situation to be honest). She quietly does a lot of the work and barely shows her problems, these being that she is practically lying about her group (basically you gotta choose who you support), her mother's side of the family and her powers.

[@dizzybee4176]

Book: Even though I'm older, I loved Alanna from Tamora Pierce's Song of the lioness. She fails, she struggles, but she overcomes and grows. She earns her knight's shield and goes out into the world while still trying to balance both being a woman and being taken seriously as a knight. I absolutely love how human Tamora made this character and she has stuck with me since middle school...back before even pagers were a thing. I'm old. T.V.: Buffy and Faith from Buffy the vampire slayer. Buffy tries to fit in at the start of the series and fails, but moves onto something better. She's vulnerable but still pulls through. She makes mistakes all the time and even though she has superpowers, it doesn't mean there aren't consequences. And she deals. Faith is also a great strong female character. She also tries to fit in and fails at it, but she didn't pick herself back up, she wallowed for a while in her mistakes and misery. Eventually, she stands up dust herself off, and does what needs to be done to get back on track. By the end of the series, she is back to being 5x5. Actually, a lot of the female characters were strong and I love them all. Movies: Eliza Dolittle from My Fair Lady. She was super independent in the beginning of the movie and she maintains it, but later she realizes she has shattered this image she had made of herself and it freaks her out. By the end, she figures it all out and is more strong and more independent for having done so. The last one was a little strange, but I still stand by it.

[@corkscrewfoley]

Abbie, I loved number six. My last book, my MC Aysel was selfish to take on the villain, on her own, but her friends were pissed that she was going to do it. Eventually, she realised that she needed them, even if the final battle was one-on-one. She needed their support more than anything.

[@eileenomosa5406]

Thanks for the topic, I write about strong female characters, I like it that they are feminine yet yet have agency and make informed decisions.

[@kinarto]

Am I the only one who is attracted to the way she keep pulling books and giving examples from them? 😆Just satisfying to see

[@JakeSmith-mq5dc]

This is exactly the video I needed, I am struggling to give this ENTP based personality with the appropriate internal and external struggles without losing what makes that personality so refreshing.

[@tempjones3155]

'But at the end of the day we care. Unlike Rhett' Omg that hurt 😂 Scarlet O'Hara has actually always been someone I admired because she was so resilient and resourceful (of course I did always recognise her flaws, even when I was a little kid).

[@paulinefontilara7871]

if you want to see a girly strong female character then Mitsuri Kanronji (a hashira/pillar from Demon Slayer) she was born with an unnatural strength and a strange hair color. She was seen as a freak and was rejected from being married because of these attribute. She was judged by her mother for not being able to be married, and dyed her hair to fit in more with other girls. then time skipped when she got trained to be a pillar because the master saw her potential, she got trained by a pillar named Kyojuro Rengoku, as she derived her own unique Breathing Style, The Love Breathing from his Flame Breathing. Now mitsuri got even more stronger than before and became a pillar!

[@SheldonAdama17]

Sarah Connor from T2 is pretty much a textbook example of how to do a strong female character right.

[@nicholascauton9648]

I actually have written a strong female character. Her name is Maria Garcia and she's an FBI agent who tries her best to uphold the law but her recent graduation makes her somewhat ignorant to how heinous crimes can get. Does that make her weak? No! It's literally her first week on the job. You can't expect her to know it all and seen it all when she just got through the academy before the story began! However she is only the deuteragonist (second main character) which she stands alongside Matt Santos who is the protagonist (actual main character). Matt recently got out of military service through honorable means but his life is turned upside down when his mother was assassinated right in front of him. She provides a shoulder to cry on for Matt but she also has her moments of breaking down in tears in several moments throughout the story. This doesn't make her weak by any means. It only makes her human much like Matt is. Plus in several points in throughout the story, the pair actually kick ass together though Matt tends to take the greater body count. This is largely due to his military training experience which is not at all like FBI field training (I've done my research for this) but this is not to put Maria in a weak female position. Far from it. This just means she has other strengths besides combat capabilities such as knowledge of the law, basic computer literacy, among other things. One last thing I want to put this out there, there is a point where the main character Matt Santos suffers a possibly fatal injury. And guess who goes out of her way to save his life? That's right. Your girl Maria. One little footnote I want to leave here. On average (key word: AVERAGE), men tend to be physically stronger than women. Does this mean females are the inherently inferior sex? Absolutely not! This just means they have other strengths besides physical and combat capabilities. There is even a wealth of information that can be found just googling this that supports this thesis.

[@lesleyblackvelvet5802]

"Learn something from a man" You mean Aliens? When Ripley learns how to use a gun from Hicks.

[@klArrow405]

That helped so much Abby! I am writing a fantasy with the main character as a female. She's tomboyy like me but I don't want to make her the cheesy typical type of a strong female character. This video has been so helpful to me. I'm probably going to watch it five more times! Thank you so much Abby, your the best!

[@clarenceandgennymcneil251]

Thank you for expressing the importance of inner kindness for female characters.❤

[@Akigirl2004]

1. Weakness/Flaws - spiders (she’s small enough to ride a bird and at age 5, she was caught in their web/crawled upon). Her job she must perform has her traveling across the different lands floating above our world and because baby spiders can balloon up that high, it is a fear that can populate at random. She uses her lightning powers to blast a small radius around her when she’s in the wilderness and will go into full blown, lightning spewing panic mode if she she’s one. Anger - part of her element, she’s quick to anger, quick to judge, quick to blame. Doesn’t have friends at the beginning and people barely tolerate her Stubbornness - doesn’t let things go willingly 2. Girly - loves frilly things and ribbons, but doesn’t get the opportunity to wear them often. Learned to cook (partially for her job, but mainly for her misbelief that running away and becoming an outcast will make her happy). It brings her joy and eventually, she chooses to cook for others. 3. Learn something from a guy - learns to fish from love interest (a skill she needs to run away). Helps with hand to hand fighting (something she didn’t focus on too much because her mentor had her primarily focusing on controlling her power) from love interest. Not necessarily a learning thing, but relies on brother and his military squad to pull off an elaborate prank on love interest. 4. Let her be strong when no one else notices - I don’t know if i have this. Maybe? Maybe not? 5. Struggle - struggles with lack of self esteem and believes a lot of false truths she decided at a young age: her parents are angry with her, her brother is disappointed, no one wants her around or would miss her once she’s gone 6. Failures - fishing, keeping from lashing out, pranks, convincing herself that she’s not in love, even after she stops believing that other people are causing her problems - its still her initial response out of habit

[@chrisdunker54]

I wrote a story, "Sired Of Fire", and by the end of the first book three knights, all of whom are women, learn that their father the king is really a stranger who had their parents killed. In the second book, which is still in the works, all three must come to grips with the horror of the action and the lies that were told to them by the man they trusted above all others.

[@jadetrentrichards255]

I thought I was an outsider. I thought female character's were evolving into male templates. I am so glad I picked your video it has revived my drive to create a female super hero in my story.

[@lanaleighwilkens206]

Memroirs of a Geisha has LOTS of strong female characters in it (both protags, antagonists, and secondary ones). Loved that book. Also, the book The Time Traveler's Wife has a strong female lead. And...I'll mention a bad example - the girl in the Divergent series. ugh...don't get me started. This video really helped me. I'm writing a protagonist who's a mom and there's so much she wouldn't do that's like the stereotypical strong female lead, so this was so great to hear broken down. Thanks!

[@Nilloxified]

I write DnD Adventures. I try to end up with strong female characters by just writing interesting characters, and deciding their gender basically via cointoss.

[@IlCassiopeiall]

I am more than proud to realise that my MC fits all those exact traits and i love her so much, she's gone through hell and still is an incredibly strong and smart woman, who didn't break anyone's teeth nor fixed cars but could've gone into an astrophysics major and had the biggest emotional strength when everything came in the way of her and her lover and also how she later on gave everything for her children to never suffer like she did. She's an accruately described depiction of what a lot of women have gone through in my culture, and she's the strongest character i've ever written about

[@sunsetsky9885]

I think that this is the reason I don’t read a lot of YA fantasy even though in theory I would call it my favourite genre. This is actually what inspired me to start writing because personally I’m sick of rude, distant, sarcastic, harsh, brooding female protagonists who can just beat everyone in a fight and is nasty by default. My protagonist is a strong female character, a princess of a small kingdom who’s a strong active leader, not afraid to get her hands dirty and work alongside her people which means she mostly wears outdoor working clothes but she loves to where beautiful dresses inside. She’s resilient, compassionate and empathetic and also a pacifist who hates violence. Her flaws are that sometimes she can be too self sacrificing and she is also insecure about her rule thinking that one mistake from her could jeopardise her entire kingdom. She also get’s saved by a literal knight in shining armour and she returns the favour and rescues him which I really love. I want more kind and strong protagonists! Female or male.

[@Makememesandmore]

I watched this entire video to realise I did all these things already, by accident lmao

[@mandarue5104]

I personally love when a female lead admits she was wrong. I think a lot of stories with female leads have this mentality that they can do no wrong.

[@maliaropati7864]

I LOVE CRESS. She was the best example I could think of although I couldn't determine why I loved her. I don't know how the author did it cuz it just seems like Cress was a girly girl with an awesome trait that made up for it even though her thoughts never came off as cring but I know there's more too it and I wish I could replicate that type of female character.

[@thetudorsrule]

Elizabeth Bennet. Comes to my mind. Immediately

[@hcney_luna4431]

agreed!

[@jessicaevans4666]

i made my female character have Alice in Wonderland syndrome which is a neurological condition in which one's perception of their body image, time, or space is distorted. Those experiencing AIWS may have hallucinations, sensory distortion, and an altered sense of velocity.

[@kanashiiookami6537]

Katniss. Enola Holmes. Belle (from both movies of B&B). Elizabeth/Lizzie from Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) the girly naive little thing you assume is all fluff and nonsense until she breaks and has to show her strong side to save her family. Iku Kasahara from Library Wars (Toshokan Sensou) who joins the defense force chasing an ideal and only through multiple failures and mistakes discovers she doesn't need to chase it anymore. (At least that's how I saw her)

[@andrewchapman2024]

This is pretty good. I was worried at first that you would fall to the modern norms of "the strong female characters" but there was a lot of reason, common sense, and ultimately very well said info in here that includes everyone. You did a great job here.

[@clarenceandgennymcneil251]

Thank you for emphasizing both girly and tough girls as important. ❤

[@happyfellowship4291]

**inhales** *HAZEL LEVESQUE* Edit: *YOU MENTIONED CRESS I LOVE CRESS*

[@MyTubeofYouChannel]

The struggling part- the best part about a female character succeeding at something more often done by men, is seeing that she has weaknesses that make the journey harder for her- physical weakness even- she's small and petite, so her journey to doing something that takes a lot of literal muscle takes longer and is harder BUT it's her determination and perseverance that makes her stronger than the men who succeeded more easily; this is what makes her admirable.

[@paulac.munoztorres]

I’m writing a fan fiction in which the main character is a woman who is a cook and cares for her friends and people around her, all while standing for her people and confronting her love interest when he reaches his peak villain mode. I still need to round up the story but I love to watch these videos to see how I can make my characters more realistic and developed.

[@serenity2010sh]

As a writer I agree with most of these. I always start of my female protagonist in a vulnerable state before they learn how to defend themselves. Also strength is not always in how strong you are physically but it can be shown through our emotions too.

[@MyAmericanMorning]

I am glad I found this video. I am working on a story about a very independent man who desperately needs help from a strong female character; he just does not want her help. I'll be returning to this video a few times to remind me of what you shared in the video.

[@nocat6593]

CRESSSSSS🤩 I was NOT expecting you to bring up tLC, but I am SO GLAD you did!!!

[@oliviaelderberry9423]

You shouldn't keep your problems hidden. You often become stronger because you have the courage to talk about them and you become afraid and lose courage when you keep them to yourself. Yes, if someones going through a hard time you should help them and not complain to them about all your problems but you should tell someone. Just not the person your helping. Or someone that would tell the person your helping. The truth is I have become stronger from sharing my problems rather than keeping them hidden. However I never tell someone going through a hard time about my problems.

[@mikaylamarks7361]

your videos are helping me a lot.. I'm going to watch your video on how to make your MC stand out after this... my female main character starts out as human, very girly, until the inciting incident throws her into the plot and she's forced to level up.. but I want to maintain her kindness and femininity because that's the best part of being a woman! It doesn't make her weak.. it's her inner strength, exactly like you say

[@sobeautifullywritten4318]

Rose Hathaway & Sydney Sage. I love Sydney in Bloodlines and feel like I can relate to her more than Rose because Sydney is strong in so many different ways. Rose has this in-your-face attitude and is tough, but Sydney suffers in silence with her eating disorder, her father and the alchemists constantly on her back, and is brilliant. She uses her smarts instead of her strength to save the day and I love that. :)

[@michaelbjrklund9304]

My fav "strong femal char" = Ellen Ripley from Alien/Aliens.