The heroes of the bestselling books and the box office-breaking movies share some common traits. If your book or script needs a strong female protagonist, it's helpful to identify these traits and apply them to your character.
Instructions
Step 1
Be a mean writer in the beginning. Let readers and viewers underestimate your character in the plot. This will give her the opportunity to prove herself in the future and prove them wrong. Compare Sarah Connor at the beginning of the first Terminator and in the final scenes of the film, not to mention Doomsday.
Step 2
Follow the rule of thumb of psychological thriller author Alex Kava, "make a woman stronger than a weapon." Give your heroine the physical fitness of Lara Croft, the intelligence of Clarissa Sterling in The Silence of the Lambs, the feminine wisdom of Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind, or another quality that will give her character strength and resilience.
Step 3
Be wary of making the heroine tough or insensitive, remember that she is a woman, not a superhero. Leave enough room for the ordinary, for something normal and even mundane that readers and viewers can identify with. Even Kate Beckett in Castle and Rita Goatarski in Tomorrow's Edge have a certain amount of femininity and vulnerability.
Step 4
Make your female protagonist suffer. Suffering can be a compelling catalyst for character strength. If the heroine has a difficult past, for example, she lost a loved one or was attacked, then she has something to overcome and a reason to be strong.
Step 5
Let your heroine be seriously afraid of something, or even be afraid. For example, Scarlett O'Hara was afraid to give vent to emotions after the misfortune, and Rose in "Titanic" - the fate prepared for her by her mother and fiancé. Protagonists who are not afraid of anything give the impression of artificial creatures, just as there are no absolutely fearless people in life. Fear will make the character more real and increase her potential to overcome obstacles as the story unfolds.
