How To Write Female Characters

In my book, The Prince of Pirates, I started writing the entire story from my main characters point of view. He's a strong, blunt/sarcastic, adult who is a man in every sense of the word. Towards the end, though, I realized that I needed to add in a girl's point of view so it would appeal to a broader range of readers, and bring more depth to the story. 
(I can't divulge any more because a Spoiler Alert would go off)

The difficulty came in creating a sharp characteristic contrast between the male and female. Because I can only step into the mindset of a man so far, I felt that I needed to make the contrast really evident. I've seen this struggle played out in many other books as well, and it usually ends with the girl being the typical Damsel-in-distress. A total sissy, in a less elegant choice of words. I hated that! Chiefly because that's not how most girls are.

So I changed the way I wrote. Instead of going off of what a man would do and making the girl do the opposite, I decided to pick female characters I admired and see exactly which traits I wanted to use. And guess what? Writing from my new female character's point of view has been loads of fun!

One was Tauriel from The Hobbit.

I know she's not in the Hobbit book. And I'm sorry for the fans out there, but she and Legolas needed to scram. But, she's there, and I liked her character.

Personalities used:

• Fighting spirit
• Slightly Stubborn when she thought she was right
• Speaking her mind
• Acting, with or without approval, when she knew what the right thing to do was

My second was Sonora from Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.

If you haven't seen this movie, you should! (Especially if you love horses)

Personalities used:

• Knows what she wants and fights for it.
• Commitment
• Strength (both in physical situations and mental)
• Is willing to work hard for what she wants

Third (and forth) was Lucy and Susan Pevensie

You didn't think I would make this post without mentioning Narnia did you? For the sake of content, I'm going to roll these two up into a ball.

• Faith
• Courage 
• Willingness to fight
• Protective of those they love

By taking these characteristics, I was able to create a female character that was still a girl, but wasn't going to stand by and let the man be the all-saving hero. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, and there are certainly times when men need to take a stand to protect the women, but the girl doesn't have to faint, or get sick, every time somebody is hurt, or burst into tears when something the least bit sad happens. (unless you're writing a wimpy female character. Then by all means, crank up the water works.) 

I'm going to throw in one caution. Sarcasm doesn't signify strength. All too often I see female characters trying to show off how strong they are by throwing out a few undermining, or sarcastic, lines. This actually shows a lack of security if they have to use words instead of actions. 

Which female characters do you admire? What is it about them that catches your attention? Feel free to share! Maybe I'll weave it into a new character for my book!