Why My Female Characters Are Such Strong Independent Women

People say write what you know, and we are what we write, whether we realize it or not. I would be the first to tell you that my characters are not about me or my life, but subliminally, there is a connection. For instance, I was raised by a single mom who worked two jobs her whole life and raised four kids on her own. While cooking and cleaning and teaching us our prayers and helping us with our homework, she also climbed the corporate ladder and became a homeowner. To my siblings and I, she was a superwoman, always larger than life. Even when she died, my siblings and I agreed, we were shocked. It never occurred to us that she was ever going to die. 

But I'm a lot like her, good and bad, and the strengths I picked up from her naturally come out in my characters. Tracey is a businesswoman, climbing the ladder to the top of her field. She's a decision maker, a multitasker and a forward thinker. Kara literally pulled herself out of the gutter to achieve her dreams, starting with nothing but guts and grit, and treating every moment as a learning experience and absorbing knowledge like a sponge. Allison, on the other hand, knows that her dream is "all or nothing," and she has put every ounce of energy and time into being the best because she knows it won't happen if she gives anything less. 

Some of this character development is very intentional because I want the reader to feel motivated when they close the back cover and put the book down. I want them to know that they can be their own person and stand on their own and walk away feeling that if the character they just read about can do it, then they can do it too. 

What kind of characters do you write? Are they mirror images of yourself and the people around you or do you prefer to create characters that are nothing like yourself, perhaps someone you want to be or someone you know you can never be except in your fantasies? 

I challenge you to analyze your characters and find the similarities and differences between you and them. I think you may find more similarities than you think. I did. Are you happy with the direction you took them in? What do you think would have happened to your book or story if you took them down a different path? 

As writers, it's good for us to look at our work from a different point of view once in a while. It gets us out of our comfort zone and stretches our capabilities so that our next work is different, new, and exciting. 

Happy writing!

If you like a good book that keeps you on your toes and surprises you at every turn, please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon. It has 11 5-star reviews!