Katara from Avatar comes to mind, immediately

Her: Explaining in a way that is easy for me to understand My Brain: Are those books sorted by color? Oooooo.

Personally, I admire a female character who can cry- who is allowed to have let downs, crisis and weaknesses, and SHE AKNOWLEDGES THEM. For me, a strong female character is nothing more than a well- constructed female character, one that you can relate to because she feels real enough.

point number 1!!!! the animated Mulan comes to mind first! She's not as physically strong as her male counterparts but she makes up for it with her wit. and she's still feminine!

The problem with Strong Female Character trope, and how it's being written, it's that this character has literally ONLY stereotypically male traits, and are usually recognized by the general public as male characteristics. If a female character it's only considered "strong" because of the masculine traits she has, it's saying that what makes women weak is their femininity. You're literally just saying that a woman can only be strong if she has zero femininity and feminine traits. Fuck that.

I see that the problem with the stereotype of "strong female characters" is that they are actually leaning towards Mary Sue style of characters. And your video shows ways to bring someone from a Mary Sue type of character back to a strong character. Like you said, real strong characters have flaws, weaknesses, and altogether fail on some level or another at some point.

Bro I’m a guy and I look up to all the girls in avatar the last airbender Katara’s brave and compassionate Toph’s determined and resilient Suki’s open-minded and respectful Azula shows the horrifically real consequences of child abuse and reminds us that even people with unimaginable power and status have personal issues

Now that I've watched the movie "Encanto", I can say Luisa is the perfect example of a strong girl with an important weakness

People can have physical disabilities and have strong insides Or have metal disabilities but have a sharp mind Or a highly sensitive and still saves the days Or storng and still have weaknesses

Buffy is definitely a strong female character who i think was written perfectly. Honestly, all the women on that show are amazing.

Vulnerability and resilience are the two traits that really grab me in a character. The girl who gets her ass kicked, but still gets back up and into the fight, even though she knows she'll get her ass kicked again and again. That takes an immense amount of courage, and really keeps us rooting for her to eventually beat her adversary at some point in the future.

This came at the right time for me ! My WIP's MC is a strong female character, but I don't want her to be the annoying type that people are tired of. This video helped me so much!

It's actually pretty easy Write a good character and make them Female

There is one character that is a real badass character that changes the mood of Fullmetal Alchemist, Olivier Mira Armstrong the Ice Queen.

I'm seeing this argument thrown around a lot, and I'd just like to point out that I'm a little annoyed by the concept of "guy" things and "girly" things. I'm not saying we should be gender blind, and so therefore these authors who write "masculine" females should not be called out for gender swapping a character _stereotype,_ to convey "strength" but if our focus is on whether or not the character likes "dresses," then maybe we're expecting too much from these authors anyway. A lot of character "flaws" are also just disadvantages to being born a certain way. So the interesting thing about Brienne from Game of Thrones (the show anyway) is that we get the _sense_ that maybe she likes, or prefers elegance, and pretty dresses, and ballroom dancing, but those things just aren't in the cards for her as a character. She also falls in love with a gay man, and she knows he's gay, but she wants to express that love to him in the only way that she knows how, and that's to become a knight in his army. It's not ideal, but it's the best she can do under the circumstances. That's _really_ interesting. Notice there's nothing really _wrong_ with her, based on that breakdown anyway, it's just not what she wants. She may have an appreciation for those "girly" things, but she rarely endulges in them, she's both physically strong and *not* girly and that's both fine *_and_* not by choice. Hopefully you see what I'm getting at here.

Hi! I'm Ana, a writer from Spain. I don't know a lot of English, but I'm trying to learn it, so I decided to watch English YT videos and your channel is one of my favourites. And I am totally agree with you in this one. Thank you for all these tips and examples :) ¡Un abrazo!

Those are great tips! Hearing those I think I have "accidentally" written a strong female character :D. She has no clue of combat, she is not physically strong or fit or anything. Her strength purely comes from her mind. She is kind and compassionate, highly emotionally intelligent. When in the middle of a bloody conflict she manages to keep a clear head, lead everyone to safety, and makes quick vital decisions. She is headstrong, and honestly has her foot in her mouth sometimes, which brings herself in trouble more than once. She just cant shut her mouth lol. But she is also smart, and brave and saves her male counterpart at least as many times as he saves her, not with stereotypical "strength", but with her heart and quick thinking. A woman raised in the midst of a highly patriarchal society, but still taking control over her own life, despite all the backlash she gets. This psychological strength is something I hope I have somehow captured.

Strength means being able to accept your flaws, push through those hard times while knowing it’s okay to cry, and being able to accept yours and others vulnerability.

I believe that the authoress of Little Women wrote about her life, and she was Joe in the story, actually. Maybe that's why she's so relatable? Also, I wish I could give you a million likes for this video!! It's so good and helpful! Thank you for it!

I know I'm late to this post, but I wanted to say how much I appreciate this. I'm so tired of the Mary Sue Paragon that is the "strong female character" because she rejects everything that's traditionally associated with femininity, and becomes bitter in the process. It's as if the author is telling women that in order to be strong, she has to be like man. Then it annoys me further because typically in those kinds of stories she's still one of the only female characters.

My fav strong female character is Buffy Summers from the Buffy TV show. She's just epitome of a badass chick who can kick butt & who isn't afraid to cry or make mistakes or say she was wrong or even learn from her enemies.

Ever since I was little Cinderella was a huge role model for me, I know there's a lot of controversy around her character but I see her as someone who endured a lot but maintained her kindness and courage (ie Disney's 2015 Cinderella). She was always strong and just because she ended up marrying a prince, doesn't mean she had no depth or inner strength.

Danielle from Ever After 💖 Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds 💖 Katherine, Dorothy and Mary from Hidden Figures 💖 Scarlett O'hara (of course) from GWtW 💖 Belle from Beauty and the Beast 💖 Buttercup from The Princess Bride 💖 Rose from Titanic 💖

List of good female characters: 1. Korra from “The Legend of Korra” 2. Eda from “The Owl House” 3. Asami from “The Legend of Korra” 4. Nobara from “Jujutsu Kaisen” 5. Black Canary (a superhero) These are just some example…

Tell this to Hollywood writers.

Thank you so much for this!!!! This is one of my biggest pet peeves in fiction. I think it's especially important to let characters be feminine without implying that this makes them weak. What I've tried to do with my current main character is made her a quiet, shy, kind type, yet showed throughout the story that she is still incredibly strong when it comes to what matters. (Just starting revisions so it remains to be seen if I actually succeeded 😂)

Again, another needed message! Thanks for really analyzing important issues with humor and respect. 😊

Thank you for this, I've been at the grindstone trying to form and understand my main character without letting her become something mundanely cookie cutter or two-dimensional.

When it comes to the “Not like other girls” trope, what do you think of “Not like other girls but wants to be like other girls.”? One of my female characters is like that, she was raised to basically be a man in a female suit the annoying “strong female character” but it isolated her from other kids on both genders and left her friendless so she hates being “not like other girls” and tries to do traditionally girly things with the other female characters. What do you think of that?

I love your Elinor reference - so spot on as the strong character in heartbreak that stays strong for everyone else. I absolutely adore her and can't imagine a better representation for a silent sufferer. Jo March was my literary idol growing up - another perfect example.

I finally got to the Lunar Chronicles a few weeks ago and it amazes me how well the series has held up since it came out in 2012 - you have characters like Cinder and Scarlet who could easily fall into the Strong Female Character(tm) stereotype but who don't, who get moments of vulnerability, are allowed to be kind and compassionate (especially in Scarlet's case, given her relationship with Wolf and her friendship with Winter). You mentioned Cress, and there's also Iko and Winter who are stereotypically feminine but who are both badasses in their own way.

#3 made me think of what Michelle Obama said in an interview about how she became a strong and independent because she amazingly loving, supportive, and strong men in her life that supported her and believed in her. I very much connected with #3 because of this. Thank you for these videos, they are very helpful; I have been studying them intently.

Natasha Romanoff, and my favorite trait is her compassion.

“But, she will rise again.” 🥰 i’d get that tattooed

Hi, I am a young Brazilian girl who loves to write, and I am very happy that I found your channel =D You and your videos are very inspirational to me (and I love your accent ^-^)

10:15, Camicazi from the How To Train Your Dragon books. She lives for the thrill of danger and is an incorrigible burglar and can be too quick to violence but in her first appearance in the third book How To Speak Dragonese, she repeatedly escapes from the Romans who have captured her and Hiccup but is recaptured every time resulting in her eventually thinking “maybe, you can keep a Bog-Burglar under lock and key” before she ends up going along with Hiccup’s plan of escape. And in her later appearances, she has a heart of gold and is loyal to Hiccup but she still sometimes loses (even though she normally doesn’t.)

This was very helpful. I am writing an epic sci-fi novel with a female lead, and pretty much all you talked about reaffirmed how I am writing this lead. When I see female characters who are portrayed as "strong" by simply having increased masculine traits, with an almost complete rejection of feminine traits, it feels artificial, and that's boring. When I see a female character who is just ordinary, but then develops over time into a strong character, especially due to circumstance, that feels very "human" and it makes me love the character. This can be applied to both males and females.

I often think of Maggie Greene from The Walking Dead when I think of what a real strong female character is. She's not needlessly cruel or overtly butch, she's not perfect, she's not stoic, she does have flaws, she's not physically powerful but mentally and emotionally like a rock. Considering how badly that show was written, like, 40% of the time, she's a great character.

That introduction was perfect my friend!

Amen!! Loved everything you had to say about building a truly strong female character. So refreshing! I love Margaret Hale from North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell. There's so much internal conflict where she's the buffer between her parents' marriage and hiding the secret of her brother the mutineer, and then she moves to somewhere completely foreign and has to build a new life. She messes up a ton, especially where Mr. Thornton is concerned, but she is the coolest, strongest, kindest character ever. Just love her to pieces!

For me, a strong female character is someone who has _emotions_ and can control those emotions. They are badass, but kind hearted and don't hurt people deliberately with their words because they know, even in a game of show off, words sting. They care for others before themselves, and do not back off from hard fights. I could go on, but I have homework.

Love how well are Katara, Toph, Suki and Korra written (ATLA and LOK fan here), they show their weaknesses, mistakes, where they went wrong, they overcome their fears, and grow beyond their limitations, and they all have a sensitive side, and they show it sooner or later, as they grow. I love that Toph's blindness becomes the basis of her abilities, and pushes her to learn another ability to navigate the world, defying what her parents told her she couldn't do, never gave up and kept trying. That is strength. Writing my first epic fantasy novel here! Hope I can do a good job writing my characters (and choosing their names, which is something I struggle with a lot 😅)

I have a strong female character who actually loves to fight in dresses lol

Oh my gosh the Luna chronicles 😀 i read Cinderella one years ago and I've always tried to remember what the book series was called! Thank you 😊

Strong Female Characters that I love: Raven Reyes from The 100 Mary Stuart from Reign Molly Weasley from Harry Potter Kestrel from The Winner's Curse Laia from An Ember In The Ashes Arya Stark from Game of Thrones

Thanks for the topic, I write about strong female characters, I like it that they are feminine yet yet have agency and make informed decisions.

THIS. YES. SO MUCH YES. 👏👏👏 (P.S. I loved all your shoutouts! & I may or may not have squealed out loud at the mention of Victoria. 😉)

2:35, though it can be perfectionism. With Princess Azula in Avatar, everything must be perfect “almost isn’t good enough” and when she realizes that she can’t get that, she goes mad.

5:24 Also Aliens - Ripley learns how to handle some pretty advance weaponry from Hicks. It doesn't diminish her in any way. in fact he is even more impressed, as unlike Vasquez, she's a civilian imbedded with military professionals (who are out of their depths) and yet she steps up. Fierce.

"Learn something from a man" You mean Aliens? When Ripley learns how to use a gun from Hicks.

Buffy the vampire slayer, one of the most important scenes when she chooses herself over the world because she is afraid to die, ultimately she still goes but that fear is very realistic. Still one of my fave shows to this day

Abbie: Give her a weakness Me: Oh I know! Abbie: Not perfectionism Me: Me: how did she know

I’m binging all your character videos, AND THIS IS YOUR BEST YET.

In my eyes I see Cinderella as a strong female character. Cinderella is seen as the damsel in distress when in reality she was making the best of her awful situation. Her positivity and creativity helped her persevere against her toxic family. She even tried to make her own dress for the ball despite the amount of work her stepmother gave her. Even in her darkest moment, her creativity manifests as her fairy god mother and takes her to the ball: not to marry the prince or even woo him, but to have one night of fun. After the prince searches for his true love and visits her home, Cinderella ceases this opportunity to leave, getting help from the mice and other animals she cared for and ultimately succeeds. Too many critics have watered down Cinderella when out of all the Disney princesses at the time she was the most relatable and imo the best well written one. I'm sure many people could relate to being in a toxic relationship (be it familial or relationship) and being unable to leave.

I'm a thirteen-year-old writer and I love strong relatable female characters. I think a good example of a strong female character is Katniss Everdeen. A bad example would be Tris from divergent. Katniss is a good role modle. Tris, not so much. I enjoy books where the female character is feminine, has weaknesses, doesn't give up, and of course wins in the end. My strong female character is a girl who's entire family has been bombed during a war for freedom. She has horrible flashbacks and has been diagnoised with mental instability. She freaks out in the most lethal instances and couldn't care less about the surrounding war. Little by little and with the help of an enemy friend whom she has no choice but to save from certain death, she over comes all obsticles and in the end is the savior of her people. She likes floaty dresses and enjoys peach ice cream. Her favorite color is blue.

This is really helpful for me because I've never written a story with a female lead and this among many other videos will be super helpful.

Honestly, this is one of the most helpful videos I've ever watched. I also appreciate how you are unbiased--not a D.I.D. super supporter or a super-butch strong woman supporter. This is generally awesome advice, thank you so much!!!! 🙏

Writers need to watch this honestly 😭

I have been streaming your videos the whole day and I really just want to say how thankful I am. This is all actually helpful advice that I don´t get to see a lot when it comes to writing. All your videos are so well done, everything is efficiently explained and you are just a super nice person to watch and listen to. If I´m gonna let anyone tell me what to do in writing, it will be you. Please keep at it, you´re doing wonderfully and you deserve way more subscribers, although I have no doubt they will come

Greetings from the UK! I discovered your channel only this morning and you're already my new favourite KZfaqr! This video was a tremendous help to me as I'm working on achieving exactly this which my character, so I thank you. Loving your energy, humour and enthusiasm sister and I can not wait to read your book!!

This is why I love sailor moon so much, you have a cast full of strong female characters who are still feminine AND showcase a huge variety of personalities and interests!

**inhales** *HAZEL LEVESQUE* Edit: *YOU MENTIONED CRESS I LOVE CRESS*

Sarah Connor from T2 is pretty much a textbook example of how to do a strong female character right.

If you think about it, this is why Disney Princess's are so popular. You can still be badass in a pink dress. There are so many female characters out there now a days, that basically the story wouldn't change if they were male, like Captain Marvel or Rey. While it's okay to celebrate females with more masculine traits, it's also okay to celebrate the girly girl and everything in between.

Nadia Valerius with benefit heavily from this video. At first, I wanted to make her a female character that was on the weaker side, more dependent on her man, less capable than the strong female character, more in touch with her feminine side than other characters. But gradually throughout the book, getting stronger and smarter and more capable as she learns that she won’t always be taken care of, so she needs to learn to take care of herself, so that she can take care of her lover. I just really didn’t want to lose her as a character. I wanted to make her stronger but not allow her to become those cocky, arrogant, “I can do whatever a man can do” strong female characters. I like her personality, and I don’t want to change it, because to change it, would be to lose her. And I really didn’t want to lose her.

I love your channel! I have had a passion for writing since I was little, but I didn't know how to unpack the story or format it or create good characters. I have rediscovered my passion since watching your channel!

I just found your channel and I’m enjoying your content. this video in particular, my story does have a very strong woman and one of the main characters and this was extremely helpful. Thank you and keep making your videos. It helps more than you know.

I love your tips, you deserve more subscribers. I'm a new writer and really appreciate these kind of videos! I always agree with your tips, especially these ones because I don't like it when a female (or male) character is overdone. I think flaws are what makes a perfect character

I believe I have written myself a couple of SFCs. In particular the series of novels I’m writing now. It’s why I watched this video when it showed up in my feed. I was glad to see that I was already doing everything you suggested. In particular discussing one having PTSD from something. Great video.

We all know inner conflict had to be mentioned here - I've never known someone sooo in love with inner conflict & i LOVE that about you !!! Your advice is sooo good, girl 💖

I've got to say, some seriously good advice. Brilliantly presented too. Like it!

I’d say that compassion is another key characteristic of the strong female character. It enables her to form a deep emotional connection through hardships and misfortune. I have the idea of having the female protagonist possess a powerful healing ability that is fueled by her compassion.

OMG, I needed this video so much. Your tips are sooooo, soooo, sooo helpful. I love Victoria also :D

That helped so much Abby! I am writing a fantasy with the main character as a female. She's tomboyy like me but I don't want to make her the cheesy typical type of a strong female character. This video has been so helpful to me. I'm probably going to watch it five more times! Thank you so much Abby, your the best!

i love your book references to relate a point to a story. i know you are a writers channel rather than a booktuber but i would love to see you talk more about books you like, whether its on this or your personal channel 🥰❤️

Love the different blues in your shelf🖤

In my book I have 4 main character, 3 being girls. Something I like to do is to get stereotypes and make them realistic! Something that was the main idea I had when making these characters. Clem is basically a spoiled girly girl... that is the strongest from the team and who stands up for the rest! She at first is very narrow minded but slowly opens up and stands up for the minorities. Her main weakness is her easy to annoy (she acts, doesn't think) personality and her small knowledge a it magic. El is a shy, weak little girl... that is forced to go against her beliefs (like Clem) and has to save her teammates, especially one she hates and her family is what caused her to be so scared. Her main limitations is her fear to act and her very weak body. While Lati (the one with the mean family) is the main main character! She is your super childish friend that just happens to be the leader of the group. She has to balance being herself and taking care of the group (which just really happens in dangerous situation to be honest). She quietly does a lot of the work and barely shows her problems, these being that she is practically lying about her group (basically you gotta choose who you support), her mother's side of the family and her powers.

That's why I loved Marjorie (GoT). Super feminine, fierce and uses all her assets and resourcefulness to fight to win. "I don't wanna be a queen, I wanna be The Queen!"

This is pretty good. I was worried at first that you would fall to the modern norms of "the strong female characters" but there was a lot of reason, common sense, and ultimately very well said info in here that includes everyone. You did a great job here.

I am glad I found this video. I am working on a story about a very independent man who desperately needs help from a strong female character; he just does not want her help. I'll be returning to this video a few times to remind me of what you shared in the video.

Elizabeth Bennet. Comes to my mind. Immediately

So many excellent points made here. Thanks for the insight.

Naomi Nagata is my favorite. Tomboish, badass but also caring, smart and funny. She's the heart of the Roci crew and my favorite character in the series.

Memroirs of a Geisha has LOTS of strong female characters in it (both protags, antagonists, and secondary ones). Loved that book. Also, the book The Time Traveler's Wife has a strong female lead. And...I'll mention a bad example - the girl in the Divergent series. ugh...don't get me started. This video really helped me. I'm writing a protagonist who's a mom and there's so much she wouldn't do that's like the stereotypical strong female lead, so this was so great to hear broken down. Thanks!

I also think the strong female character often feels like just a really masculine woman... like basically a man with boobs, which still portrays any female who actually enjoys feminine activities as being weak which is not cool Edit: oh good you said that, thank you 👏

I actually have written a strong female character. Her name is Maria Garcia and she's an FBI agent who tries her best to uphold the law but her recent graduation makes her somewhat ignorant to how heinous crimes can get. Does that make her weak? No! It's literally her first week on the job. You can't expect her to know it all and seen it all when she just got through the academy before the story began! However she is only the deuteragonist (second main character) which she stands alongside Matt Santos who is the protagonist (actual main character). Matt recently got out of military service through honorable means but his life is turned upside down when his mother was assassinated right in front of him. She provides a shoulder to cry on for Matt but she also has her moments of breaking down in tears in several moments throughout the story. This doesn't make her weak by any means. It only makes her human much like Matt is. Plus in several points in throughout the story, the pair actually kick ass together though Matt tends to take the greater body count. This is largely due to his military training experience which is not at all like FBI field training (I've done my research for this) but this is not to put Maria in a weak female position. Far from it. This just means she has other strengths besides combat capabilities such as knowledge of the law, basic computer literacy, among other things. One last thing I want to put this out there, there is a point where the main character Matt Santos suffers a possibly fatal injury. And guess who goes out of her way to save his life? That's right. Your girl Maria. One little footnote I want to leave here. On average (key word: AVERAGE), men tend to be physically stronger than women. Does this mean females are the inherently inferior sex? Absolutely not! This just means they have other strengths besides physical and combat capabilities. There is even a wealth of information that can be found just googling this that supports this thesis.

This is exactly the video I needed, I am struggling to give this ENTP based personality with the appropriate internal and external struggles without losing what makes that personality so refreshing.

Cress is the best!!! I just found this channel and you earned my subscription 👍

Omg, you´re so sweeeeeeeet!!!! I am loving your videos because your beautiful way makes me think about my character. You are amaaaaazing!!!

This is so good

I wrote a story, "Sired Of Fire", and by the end of the first book three knights, all of whom are women, learn that their father the king is really a stranger who had their parents killed. In the second book, which is still in the works, all three must come to grips with the horror of the action and the lies that were told to them by the man they trusted above all others.

It is true that sexism should be represented in fiction, but a problem I have with sci-fi is the fact that social standards around gender are always the same. I’d like to see more explorations of how gender changes in the future.

I’m JUST starting to learn to write and your videos are SO insightful to me! Also you’re pretty adorkable. Hope to see more! By the way, one character that’s screaming out to me, that hits each of your pints, is Vin from the Mistborn trilogy! 😉

Hey Abbie!! Thanks so much for making these videos and posts and everything else! You explain everything so clearly and I definitely feel more confident about writing after watching you passionately speak about writing. Watching your videos and thinking through my novel-in-progress, ideas pop into my head and I see this unexpected plot twist or conflict and surprise myself-imagine that, the author surprised by her own book!! I do have a question for you... What is your advice on naming your characters? Do you have a method or do the names come as you need them? Do you have a list you choose from of interesting names (like Charles Dickens in The Man Who Invented Christmas?) Again, thanks so much!!

I thought I was an outsider. I thought female character's were evolving into male templates. I am so glad I picked your video it has revived my drive to create a female super hero in my story.

Violet Evergarden is the character who comes to my mind. She was in the war at a young age and while she was in war, she falls in love with her superior officer. Although out her story, she learns about different kinds of love and what her superior officer meant when he said that he loved her just before he died. Violet Evergarden is an emotionless 14 year old girl and it takes her a long time to find the terrifying truth that her superior officer is dead. How she copes with this truth is by running away to the place she and her superior officer were and breaks down crying after trying to dig her way to the truth. Abbie please watch this anime and put it into your videos. I cried every time she broke down in tears.

I have already written a fanfic and I yesterday found this channel. So I just see if my book fits her notes and all, and tbh I am pretty happy lol. My fl actually ticks all the boxes. Its my first ff and I love it so much, but the execution is so bad it makes me sad 'sometimes'. I am right now writing my 3rd ff and I hope i can improve my writing skills a bit. IDK how I would do that but I would love to see if in a few years I will myself enjoy re reading my ffs or not.

I very much enjoyed this video and thought this was very informative when it comes to being a writer which will also help me out in the future. i just really wish that movie writers like from books to Hollywood would learn about this as well.

Totally late to this video, but better late than never. I say a strong female is someone who isn't afraid of relying on a man sometimes and acknowledging that sometimes a man is stronger. But, I love every point you made in this video! And HAWK IS SO EPIC I LOVE HER!!! I related to Hawk, not in events in my life, but mindset. Loved this. I'm inspired!. 😁💕

This helped so much!! Thankyou!