I have my male characters developed very well but I'm having trouble giving my female character personality. The MC is in love with this female character and her boyfriend just died. How would she react to this? These two will eventually fall for each other at the end but I would like to have hints of romance here and there and some sexual tension, if possible. I have no clue how to go upon this. So far she has no personality. She's just a girl that was a little flirty with the main character before her lover died. But now he is gone and I'm stuck. I don't want to make it seem like she didn't care about him and just go for the other guy, but I don't want it to seem that she was too heartbroken either, because she needs to get with the other guy eventually. I want her to be an idealistic woman to males but i want her to be relatable for females. anyone help out?
Perhaps she isn't actually an ideal woman, but rather its your MC that idealizes her? If he loves her but doesn't know her intimitely, I could see him doing just that. The relationship from there on would be them actually growing close, with him learning more about her and having to cope with the real her being different from the idealized idea of her that he's been nurturing. (And, quite possibly, finding that he loves the real her even more.) As for her personality, I can't really help you with that. You just need to sit down, flesh her out and turn her into a real character. If you know what traits she needs to have for plot purposes, well, that's a good place to start.
wow that's great. I'll definitely be using that. but my real problem is developing her character. like how should she act at this point? what would she say? etc? I'm an amateur at this.
Like I said, I can't really create your character for you. All humans are different, and will act differently in a given situation. My advice is: look for the questions. For example, you can't have her too heartbroken. So why isn't she heartbroken? Was there something wrong with her relationship with the dead character? Perhaps something she couldn't be open about? What does she think of your main character? What kind of life has she been living up until now? What are her dreams? What is she afraid of? How are these questions linked to each other? Don't be afraid to ask questions, as many as you can. Questions are good. Your story will probably be built entirely on the answers you find for those questions, and there are almost always answers.
I recommend going to the local library or Block Buster or whatever, and settle in for an evening reading or watching some chick flicks/romance-y stuff. If you can't visualise how your character would react in this situation learn more about how humans react and interact in similar situations. And a nice easy way to do that is to read more and watch more. For example, the movie Across the Universe has a female character who's boyfriend is killed and then she meets the MC who pulls her out of her depression. Or something like that. A little bit like what you are planning, no? Use that similarity to your advantage. Of course you can't copy. There are laws. But a little bit of everything around us goes into what we write. If you can't experience something for yourself, get ready to do some deep and thorough research into how similar experiences have affected others. I just gave you a legitimate reason to rent a movie tonight. Your welcome ;D
In this kind of situation think about how someone would feel . Her boyfriend has died and she is heartbroken but she's also having feelings for someone else. Would she feel guilty for feeling this way? Would she fight it? Would she turn in into anger instead of dealing with it or just assume she is grieving and looking for comfort? Try to get in her head. Put yourself in her situation.
Just remember that death is an immensely serious thing. I think in our modern culture we often overshadow it, especially considering we are so quick to kill off a dozen cops or soldiers or whatever it might be in movies, tv, etc. One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to a story, no matter which form it takes, is when death is so easily forgotten. A single death in a society such as ours is absolutely heartrending and often throws people close to that person into a thick depression. This is where you begin to develop your female character. How does she react to this death? If she ignores it and continues on then people might assume that she either never loved him or that she's harboring the emotions and refusing to let them out. Those two things could easily be true, but there is also a segment of our society which is able to cope with death better than others. Does her religion, if she has one, play a role in how she reacts? Hell, does the death question her faith or strengthen it? Does she still wonder, even if she falls in love with this other guy, would could have been? There are a million questions you have to ask yourself. Whatever the woman is, she will be different after the death of this person. You, as a writer, have to reflect that. It's not your job to convince every reader that how she reacts is the right way. Instead, it's your job to justify her reaction.
If you want a good book that'll help you make good female characters, try "The Plot Thickens" by Noah Lukeman.
I'm puzzled how this part has been ignored so far. Forget this part. You've already written yourself into a corner, before you even begun. Write a character you like and stand by it - don't worry about what others might want, because you'll never ever be able to deliver - at best, you'll end up writing some horrible Mary Sue that everyone despises.
