Opinions on my Female main character

Writers' Corner
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Hello, I used to post on this website a number of years ago and now I’m back for this forum. Like many of you, I write stories as a hobby and I have aspirations of entering the film industry. Right now, I am writing a Action-Romance story were the main character is a female CIA agent who falls in love with a civilian who is completely unaware of her true life (Yes, I’m aware this is basically the plot of [name_u]True[/name_u] Lies with the genders reversed, but name one completely original idea that’s not similar to anything else). Here she is: Elizabeth Zhou - Google Docs

In my other work, I, being male, wrote male main characters (usually [name_m]Rambo[/name_m]-like Action heroes, because that’s my favorite type). This is my first time writing a female main character. , I want her to be distinctly feminine but also kick-ass. I read that if you want to write the perfect female character, you should get feedback from other women. Since most users here are female, could some of you please tell me your thoughts on her as a women yourself? [name_m]Can[/name_m] you relate to her? Does she sound believable as a female? Is their anything I can improve on?

Also, if you are wondering, my inspirations for her are [name_m]Black[/name_m] Widow (probably the biggest), [name_u]Sam[/name_u] from Totally Spies! [name_f]Geena[/name_f] [name_u]Davis[/name_u] from The [name_m]Long[/name_m] Kiss Goodnight and, believe it or not, [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] Watterson from The Amazing World of Gumball.

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I think it’s awesome that you’re so committed to creating a female character who feels real and relatable. There are definitely instances in media where I wish that the creator had perhaps talked through his character design with a woman to make sure it wasn’t falling into a stereotypical trap. I do think an important thing to note though is that women are… people. Obviously, we’re all unique, just like any other human. It’s great to ask if anything is creeping across the line to stereotypical (or offensive) but if you’re wondering if your character sounds like a “real human”, I think you’d already be a good judge for that. Assuming you are human and not a robot or something :wink: .

I will mention that the use of the phrase “average female” is very generalizing. Yes, I’m a female, but I’m honestly not that into beauty or fashion or decorating. I do enjoy watching soccer and football (and I get just as into games as the men around me), [name_f]Marvel[/name_f] movies, [name_f]Star[/name_f] Wars, and I wear mostly pants (not a fan of skirts and dresses) and comfy t-shirts. I know a lot of women who enjoy beauty and fashion alongside more stereotypically “masculine” hobbies like sports and engineering. Like I said, we’re humans.

As for the content, it’s hard to tell if I can relate to your character based on a profile because I haven’t seen her in action. I don’t know how her thoughts and emotions operate or how she would react in different situations. On the surface, I’d say there isn’t much for me to grasp onto here. I’m 21 (not 36), I’m a white American (not a minority), I’m not a mother, I know next to nothing about martial arts, I’m not a prodigy in anything (whereas she seems to be a prodigy in lots of things), and I’m not a secret agent. BUT, I can’t say I relate much to [name_m]Black[/name_m] Widow on the surface either, and I still find her to be a cool, compelling character! I didn’t find anything to relate myself to her though until I saw her in action. Especially in the last two Avengers films (ngl, pretending Age of Ultron doesn’t exist here because I didn’t really like her character much in that), I saw her as someone who was strong, caring, compassionate, and determined to find success against all odds, which are all traits and behaviors that I found relatable and compelling.

I’d be very interested in learning more about the character by getting into her thoughts, emotions, impulses, biases, and everything else that makes up her personality. I think the storyline has great potential, and secret agents have a cool spot in pop culture. After you start writing, I’d be happy to serve as a beta reader if you want more feedback.

Good luck!

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Nobody else?

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I looked at her pic and the name…her name fits her face impeccably!!

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she does sound believable and relatable, for the most part,

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She sounds believable and relatable. Her picture looks just like how I imagined her. Congratulations for not making her sterotypical!

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Her backstory and skills are definitely not something I can relate to. What makes a person relatable is more their hobbies and personality, fears and motivation. In terms of her personality, you haven’t really mentioned a lot, so i really have no idea what it would be like to have a conversation with her.
In terms of hobbies, they’re not really my thing, but can work. In terms of fashion, that’s definitely a reasonable interest, but it would be nice to see how her job influences her fashion decisions. She likely wouldn’t want to wear high heels, as they are so impractical. Hair pins are good for picking locks, so perhaps she makes sure she always wears several. [name_m]Long[/name_m] necklaces could be viewed either as a danger, for being strangled etc, or she could wear it as a possible weapon. Beauty makes sense too, as contouring a face well can be really make you look like a different person. Shopping seems a little out of place, but fitness would basically be an essential hobby.
Generally, theres not really a huge difference between how men and women act. However, a very easy way to make a character seem more feminine is more empathy. Male action heros generally don’t care who gets hurt while they are fighting the bad guy. Women generally have more empathy, so it would be nice to see her doing what she can to save/avoid harming innocents, or struggling with guilt after harming others. It doesnt need to be a huge thing, but even just a narrative comment about the character’s response to people being mean to guard dogs or something would make her seem more feminine.

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