well, project. i shouldn't get ahead of myself.
new story finally has a plot, a viable list of characters (working on minor ones right now), 4 out of 8 countries named (got the important ones at least!), and about 5 chapters coming along nicely. now, more character-building is necessary. i have a disgraced soldier, a sexually abused priestess, and the all-alone Draak'sen to deal with, so there's a lot more work to do to get into their heads, but for right now...i'm actually pretty happy.
i've been reading a little bit about strong female characters, and i got to wondering about my protag's strengths in Dirge. dima's strong in part because of the panther DNA, and in part because of her unwillingness to accept her position in life. she fights to change her situation. she fights to make her own decisions. though she spends most of the book interred, she manages to rescue people she cares about because she's too stubborn to let them die. she's cocky, she's moody, and she's a bitch sometimes. but then there are her vulnerable moments. her love for lorenzo *which she's loathe to admit exists*, her fears of losing him, her fears about her own existence. wondering what it all means. i thought before that maybe i'd made her too needy, too clingy, too subdued, but right now, i've realized that i've made her pretty well-rounded. she's human. well, humanish, and she's stronger because of her faults. even james bond, super spy, needed help, you know? bond had Q, M, other letters of the alphabet...hot chicks... batman had robin, batgirl (later oracle), lucius fox, and most importantly, alfred. leia had luke and han solo, but she could kick a little ass on her own. they were better as a team, though. much better. sorry... way off topic.
point is that the strongest female lead shouldn't be afraid to have a little help from her friends. it's more important that she not lose focus of her goals or lose hope.
more to come on this later.
3 comments:
Ooh! Fun...new projects are the best! I'm glad yours is coming along nicely. As for your question, we always put direct thoughts in italics. I've never seen underlined thoughts, but this may be because I haven't been looking? Anyways, in terms of formatting, I think people are a lot more casual than they've ever been before. If you've ever read a book like SPEAK or WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson, she proves that really anything goes (at least in the YA world) in terms of formatting. I love this.
thanks ladies! i'm so excited about new project. not that i don't love old project, but i'm just ready to get back to fantasy.
as always, thanks for commenting!
Your right being a strong lead is about empowering the reader to see that there are ways around any difficult situation, don't let anyone suggest she can't do it with her friends :)
Post a Comment