writing female protags is wild because if they don& #39;t magically take charge of all aspects of the world around them they& #39;re "too reactive" & if they& #39;re capable they& #39;re a "mary sue" & if they have any flaws they& #39;re "unlikeable" & if they have a strong personality they& #39;re "bitchy" &

i think maybe the weirdest one to me is "too reactive," as in "things HAPPEN to her and she RESPONDS to them oh no"

::grabs by the lapels and shakes:: you have! just described! a literal! plot! catalyst!

anyway i just a few days ago got mad about the female protagonist double standard in long form and i just extremely belatedly realized this might be relevant https://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2021/04/women-in-sff-month-nicole-kornher-stace/">https://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2021/04/w...

i would be remiss at this point if i did not do the obligatory "if you enjoyed this tweet you may also enjoy my book which just came out three days ago, it has a female protagonist who has been accused of being most if not all of these things already" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55711630-firebreak">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show...

so a few new writers have been telling me they& #39;re afraid to write their "unlikeable" woman protag now because some readers will hate her

don& #39;t be afraid!! your readers are out there & they NEED to read your character EXACTLY as you want to write her. you are writing for them. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖤" title="Schwarzes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Schwarzes Herz">

well this is taking off https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😳" title="Errötetes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Errötetes Gesicht">

uh follow me for more yelling on such topics as

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✨" title="Funken" aria-label="Emoji: Funken">why asshole woman protagonists are great actually

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✨" title="Funken" aria-label="Emoji: Funken">how we need more fictional representation of ride-or-die friendships that ~do not turn into romance~ between all genders

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✨" title="Funken" aria-label="Emoji: Funken">the fact my cat is weird