04 Jan 5 Strong Female Characters in Fiction
It amazes me when I hear someone talk about an awesome strong character in a recently read book, the excitement in them as they explain cool scenes that the character was in. However, more often than not, the character in question seemed to be predominantly male(Don’t hate me, feminist reader, I’m just telling it how it is. I think we are all equal!).
This got me thinking. I’ve read plenty of novels where the main character was this tough strong female that let nothing stand in her way, especially a man for that matter, but honestly, the majority of those books seemed to categorize female characters into one specific role. It’s ok, right? Who doesn’t like a strong female character that lets every thought spill from her mouth, wields double machetes, and tattoos, yep, she’s got’em, sleeved on both arms. I’m looking at you urban fantasy.
I do like these types of characters in all honesty. But not in every book authors!
It feels like authors have to go against the grain to prove something with their female characters, but what happens is they become flat. It seems like this type of role has been used too many times and now and it’s boring. It’s predictable. Maybe because I’ve been I’m a sucker for urban fantasy, but it is always a treat when I get something unique; a character that truly goes against the grain.
Out of the books I’ve read with strong female characters, there were always a few gems in the mix. 5 to be exact. Well, it was more of a sliding scale but 5 just seemed like a perfect number. As a writer, I’m always looking for strong female characters in fiction that are done well. Use the following books to influence you in your own writing so that your female characters are unique and stand out from the rest.
So, without further ado.
5 Strong Female Characters in Fiction
1. Leesha – The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
“Good storyline, interesting characters, but slow getting started. However, somewhere along the line, I fell to the publishers’ trickery, and was hooked! I also fell in love with Leesha…”
Book Summary: For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards—symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms, but those days are gone. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Together, they will stand against the night.
2. Vin – Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
“Everything about Vin, Kelsier, and friends is nuanced and built so well that you are drawn into the story of a ragtag group that wants freedom for their world.”
Book Summary: For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.
But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.
3. Annie Wilkes – Misery by Stephen King
“This experience was well above what my expectations. The whole harrowing depiction of Annie’s psychoses is incredibly believable and compelling.”
Book Summary: Paul Sheldon is a bestselling novelist who has finally met his number one fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes, and she is more than a rabid reader—she is Paul’s nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also furious that the author has killed off her favorite character in his latest book.
Annie becomes his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house. Annie wants Paul to write a book that brings Misery back to life—just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an axe. And if they don’t work, she can get really nasty.
4. Celaena Sardothien – The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas
“After what Celaena goes through in these novellas, especially in the last one, I feel so much more in syncs with her going into Throne of Glass. As a reader, you have the chance to understand why she is the way she is in the series.”
Book Summary: Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan s most feared assassin As part of the Assassin’s Guild she’s sworn to her master Arobynn Hamel yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire Sam In these action packed prequel novellas to Throne of Glass Celaena embarks on five daring missions They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts where she fights to liberate slaves and avenge tyranny But by acting on her own terms will Celaena truly free herself from her master or will she suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery.
Get Maas’s The Assassin’s Blade>>
5. Alanna – Alanna by Tamora Pierce
“This is one of my all time favorite books! I have this series in hardcover! my favorite character is Alanna, she is awesome and I really love red heads.”
Book Summary: “From now on I’m Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I’ll be a knight.”
And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Disguised as a girl, Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page.
But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies.
