More questions (you don't have to answer these to me, just food for thought to help you make her interesting to you and non-stereotypical): Why did she become a pilot? Has she had to deal with gender bias when she applied for the job? Does she need to prove herself more often to others than a male pilot? How does she feel about that? Why does she admire the male MC? Does the MMC have some skill or trait that she'd want to develop as well? If so, there's a good goal for her, a direction you can take that character into. I think if her role is to be just the love interest, there's the danger she'll be left one-dimensional, but I don't personally care what the original premise for a certain character is 'cause sometimes those who are given just a plot device role come alive and become "real" characters, exceeding their planned role as a mere plot device. If you find it interesting to weave a story around her, here are a few more questions: why is she attracted to the MC? Is it superficial at first? Like maybe she's just looking for a friend with benefits, but then it becomes more serious... Or maybe he falls in love with her, but she's in it just for the sex, and this causes some tension (doesn't have to turn into a soap opera, mind you). You said she outranks him. Is he in her chain of command? If so, yikes, there's some forbidden fruit shit going on, then. But if you don't need much else except some generic character, then write what you feel most inspired to write. It's your story, so don't do anything just because female fighters are now trendy. If you can't find her story, it's better to try something else. But I'm still pretty sure you can conceive an interesting, non-stereotypical female protagonist. Just my two cents.
My thoughts exactly. From what I've heard from soldiers, very few decide to risk their entire careers, the job they love, their income, all those years of working hard, training, studying etc. to get where they are, as well as their good name and reputation for an affair with someone in the same chain of command. If these characters do end up doing the naughty, it probably ought to be more than just friends with benefits or anything short of a real love affair. If a love affair is what serves the story best, go for it, but otherwise I'm with @ChickenFreak; she doesn't need to be the love interest to be an interesting, central, compelling character. In fact, it would be more original to portray a strong, independent, capable woman in a male-led story (about a male-dominated occupation) who isn't the love interest.
The questions are helpful, makes me think about it a bit more. If its in my head i dont bother asking questions because i think i already have the answers, putting them down on paper/internet voodoo made me realise theyre not quite formed yet. -pilot because its a natural talent, her family are military and so being in the military in some capacity is expected, she wanted to be a pianist (still practices it as a hobby on the site). There is no gender bias in the military here, at least none that stops progression. - the admiration comes from how he handles the stuff that happens in the story(but this is across the board with all his friends), has has some skills but none that are of any interest to her, he develops some extraordinary talents so some admiration comes from that, which later develops into fear. Trying to write this stuff so i dont give away the plot -hes a decent looking guy, not amazing but not awful, hes a cheeky chappy who enjoys flirting and is a bit immature all of which is the opposite to her, upper class serious military family. -for tension i have her attracted to another of his colleagues, they're all assigned to the same ship and spend most of the story together. She likes both him and his friend, i dont think the story could accept a full blown love interest, at least not yet. -she is in his chain of command, with the plot there will be some turmoil where chain of command is sort of irrelevant. @T.Trian thats where im struggling, i dont think i'll make work, but i might use it to create some tension and interesting dialogue. After all most relitively attractive co-workers fancy each other at some point
Why 'mixed with fear'? A warrior shouldn't fear anyone unless they are a loose cannon of some sort. This to me sounds exactly like a stereotypical female character, 'a fierce warrior who goes out fighting in a push-up bra and a leather thong and becomes a damsel in distress at the mere mention of the male protagonist'. A walking, weapons-wielding, sexy contradiction However, certain characters are there just to provide an angle or a platform for the protagonist, and love interests, male and female, are common ways to show the hero's sensitive side. Having stereotypes isn't always bad, but in this case, it's a bit too bleh for my taste.
Not really. Male warriors do actually get scared, like every other human being, they just don't show it. I couldn't relate to a male MC who never got scared and I don't think the OP meant 'damsel in distress' when they said 'a little bit of fear'. How badass was Ripley as a chick MC? And she was scared s**tless for half of alien! Lae did say that she's a worrier anyway, not a warrior, and I just hope that isn't too pronounced so as not to be stereotypical in any way.
i'm fighting a lot of stereotypical urges right now i think (with my writing!), i did add she'd be reserved with it so i dont plan on having it be obvious. agree with the Ripley stuff btw!
Everyone gets scared shitless, it's how they react to it that matters. Since she's a warrior, she would've been trained to control her fear and get the job done, no matter how pants-pissing terrifying the job is. Ripley was scared, but she steeled herself to the task of killing the alien no matter what. Though I do wonder about her fearing her crush. Why would she? It's not like he's secretly working for the antagonists right?
I think this sounds kosher, and perfectly relatable. Even if there were some on-the-surface stereotypical aspects to a character/plot, it doesn't mean the product will be a crock of shit. She can totally admire the male on a professional level -- not 'cause he's a dude, 'cause he's good at what he does. And one of my pet peeves about certain feminist writing is depriving the women the right to be attracted to men 'cause it's seen as a weakness. Fuck that. I think she can also fear the guy if she doesn't know him very well, or doesn't trust him. But she might want to get over that fear before hotbunking with him, otherwise it can get a bit weird. @T.Trian makes a valid point about sacrificing your career for a fling -thing, but if you've done away with the chain of command hiccup, I think it's realistic two people are attracted to one another, just as it's possible they aren't, it's your call. Some people find romance annoying, but if you feel like it's a natural progression for the characters, there's no reason to bend over, just write whatever makes your creative wheels spin. There was a similar situation in my and T's WIP where two people -- who are not only in the same chain of command but also an officer and an enlisted -- consider having a fling after they've ended up in a place where their military affiliations have become momentarily irrelevant.
Pretty normal IMO. Mars vs Venus. That's why female stories written by females (e.g. Bridesmaids) tend to do well; females say that that's how females relate to each other.
Without giving away too much of the plot. He must make some tough decisions, some of which she doesn't agree with. I want his personality to slowly change because of the situations he's face with, make him become harder, steelier and less personable, less considerate i guess. Sometimes making decisions out of malice. I want her fear to be tempered by the old MC and also the fact that she must understand the pressure he's under. I want him to visibly display his inability to deal with the stress of it all, snapping at her and others for example, his physical appearance changing, i dont mind making him gaunt and tired, he wont be the big muscular amazing hero.
Not sure what you mean: do you mean that you won't make them act on their mutual attraction? Or that you'll put them into different chains of command to allow for the romance to get physical? If you put them into different chains of command, it'll be more difficult to justify missions or exercises they'd go through together. It even exposes them to being stationed in different bases or even countries or one might end up deployed while the other isn't etc.whereas if they're, say, in the same team, there's a perfectly good reason why they'd spend a lot of time together, go on missions together etc. Being attracted to a person and acting on that attraction are two very different things, especially when your career, life's work, paycheck, sometimes even housing are at risk if you do act on those impulses.
Regarding the issue of whether or not someone seasoned by grit still gets scared, see: It Never Gets Any Easier It Gets Easier Interesting; I drew the exact opposite conclusion; I think one of its most important strengths is that it makes the downward spiral of suffering and depression very palpable. It glorifies the relationship between the main characters in spite of their suffering, rather than glorifying the suffering itself. I have said that whether a reader thinks the characters are "engaging" or "obnoxiously and unrealistically witty" depends on the prejudice that the reader holds before reading, and I say the same about whether the reader thinks the book glorifies relationships or cancer itself. What you get out of the book depends on whether you intend to read about cancer or you intend to read about people with cancer. I see Raging Bull primarily through the perspective of Jake's brother Joey. I feel like Jake is my own brother and I am trying to stop him from destroying his own life. Which is why the awkward hug scene in the parking structure hurts me so deeply.
Sorry my reply earlier didnt make much sense, it was rushed. I wont make it a full blow love interest, i might have the sexual tension but not have them actually act on it. The chain of command issue will essentially resolve itself, there will come a point were the seniority is nothing but a formality because they're away from the military for an extended period of time and in a different capacity.
I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear, thanks for pointing that out. Ripley was scared of the alien not the guy she was sleeping with/love interest/male hero. That's where my 'loose canon ' remark comes in. You are justifiably scared of someone violent, unpredictable, who's out to get you, not the guy in your bed, unless you are being threatened somehow. To be 'a little scared' because he is 'so awesome, it's scary (especially to a girl)' is the bleh part, for me. But maybe he guy is a loose canon and I misinterpreted it. Also, the OP did say he wanted her to be a warrior (read the part I quoted in my comment).
I had a look, i cant see where i said Warrior. To clarify: Shes not scared of him because he's so awesome,
Oops, sorry, I misread! Thanks @Lae : Ah, that sounds much better. Thanks for explaining But really, mine was just an opinion, and you know what they say about opinions
You weren't short at all, I misread because I was in the middle of a (boring) phone call, shouldn't have been on the forum in the first place.
