By Becky Wade
The heroine.
She's the one your female readers will become inside
the pages of your novel, the one they'll sympathize with, cheer for, and cry
with. She's also the one that will cause your
readers to throw your book against the wall in frustration and disgust if she's
not well crafted. Which begs the
question. How does an author craft a heroine
well? Or, maybe more instructively, what are the...
Characterization Pitfalls to Avoid With Heroines
1. Saintliness. If
only the answer to crafting a good heroine was goodness! But
it's not. Perfection is distancing because it's not
relatable. Readers can't identify with heroines
who always think, act, and speak in idealized ways. Your
heroine needs areas of weakness, fears, and insecurities.
2. Selfishness. Saintliness
will put a reader off of a heroine, but so will selfishness. For
a heroine to grab a reader's heart, she must be sacrificial instead of
self-focused. Just as your heroine needs flaws, she
also requires sterling characteristics like bravery and intelligence.
3. Masculinity. If
you're a male writer, you may need to work double hard to ensure your heroine
doesn't read as blunt, straightforward, and unemotional. Women
are complex and intricate -- just ask any man who's married to one. No
matter how tough your heroine might be, she should also be feminine right to
her core.
4. Foolishness. I
once heard someone sum up good characterization and good plotting this way;
"Your heroine should make every decision your reader would make in the
same situation, and STILL get into worse trouble." Too
often, I read the opposite. Authors are quick
to force their heroines to do something ridiculously foolhardy for the sake of
their plot. For example, they'll send their
heroine dashing off alone down a dark alley at midnight to rescue a
friend. They'll force their heroine to set off
into a blizzard to deliver a message. Don't do it! I
know these sorts of situations set up opportunities for drama and give the hero
a chance to ride to the rescue. They also give your
reader a chance to drop kick your book, and then tell all her friends not to
bother buying it. Honor your heroine
by working harder as an author. Make her
smart! Have her call 911 instead of dash down the
alley. Have her tie a rope to the front porch before
she sets off into the blizzard.
5. Clumsiness. We
want our readers to laugh with our heroines, not at them, so avoid humor at
your heroine's expense. Beware of
showing your heroine tripping and falling, choking on a chicken bone, swinging
a broom and accidentally hitting another character in the face. No
reader wants to become a woman who chokes on a chicken bone. Should
your heroine have a sense of humor? Yes! Should
you use physical comedy when depicting your heroine? Ever
so sparingly.
Wishing you all the very best as you strive to create
winning leading ladies!
What do you find particularly challenging about the
writing of heroines? Particularly
joyful?
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As a child, Becky Wade frequently produced homemade plays starring her sisters, friends, and
cousins. These plays almost always
featured a heroine, a prince, and a love story with a happy ending. She's been a fan of all things romantic ever
since. Becky and her husband lived overseas in the Caribbean and Australia before settling in Dallas , Texas
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