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Late last night, about 18K into my Big Bang monster, I realized something that made me stop and boggle a little: There's a startling lack of female characters in my cast.
I think there have been maybe three females that have cropped up in the entire fic, and they've all been minor bit characters: one a waitress, one a secretary, and the HR director. When I looked at that, I squirmed a little, because no, that's not stereotypical at all.
Then the more I thought about it, the more unsettled I became. Honestly, I don't think many people would be reading it and suddenly go "Hey wait! Where are all the women? This is crap!". (Who does that, though?) However it started thinking about the stuff I've written in the past, and how many stories (both fic and original) where I have a woman with a strong lead role -- and I've kind of come up short. I mean, I have one long series of original stories in my head that's told by a female, but I don't think it counts seeing as it's not on paper.
But now I'm just kind of wondering, idly what this says about me. Obviously, it's something I need to work on in the future, along with more setting and character description. I do seem to have a much harder time climbing into female characters' heads than my guys, but is that because they're so much more fleshed out? Or is it because it's that much harder to write a female character that's accepted for who she is without being accused of being a Mary Sue?
Oh, well. I'm sure at least one or two more women will pop up in the course of the story. Maybe I'll write some Teyla fic or something as penance after all of this is done.
I think there have been maybe three females that have cropped up in the entire fic, and they've all been minor bit characters: one a waitress, one a secretary, and the HR director. When I looked at that, I squirmed a little, because no, that's not stereotypical at all.
Then the more I thought about it, the more unsettled I became. Honestly, I don't think many people would be reading it and suddenly go "Hey wait! Where are all the women? This is crap!". (Who does that, though?) However it started thinking about the stuff I've written in the past, and how many stories (both fic and original) where I have a woman with a strong lead role -- and I've kind of come up short. I mean, I have one long series of original stories in my head that's told by a female, but I don't think it counts seeing as it's not on paper.
But now I'm just kind of wondering, idly what this says about me. Obviously, it's something I need to work on in the future, along with more setting and character description. I do seem to have a much harder time climbing into female characters' heads than my guys, but is that because they're so much more fleshed out? Or is it because it's that much harder to write a female character that's accepted for who she is without being accused of being a Mary Sue?
Oh, well. I'm sure at least one or two more women will pop up in the course of the story. Maybe I'll write some Teyla fic or something as penance after all of this is done.
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Now, if this were original writing, then, yes, I'd say there's an element of concern. BUT, funnily, I'm running across the same issue right now--the same concern. And it's fear. I'm afraid that my women won't be real. I'm afraid they'll be Mary Sues. I'm afraid that I won't do them justice. All this makes them harder to write than the men, though, really, none of those reasons make sense. Because, after all, why should those same fears not also be connected to my male characters?
I really don't know.
But still -- buck up! You'll throw some more women in, and all will be well. And, sure, write a Teyla fic. Or a Weir fic. Or even a Carter or Keller fic. See what comes out...
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I have every confidence your women will come out great! I absolutely adored your cast of characters in "Desert Orkids" (which I, um, may have forgotten to leave feedback on. Whoops.) I've found that using people as a basis for a character gives them a good base to start from, and they flow more naturally. You're thinking about their flaws and their internal workings, which I think is the pitfall of a lot of Mary Sue writers.
Heck, I have an OC from my original fandom (that I'm still not naming out of embarrassment) that's a classic Mary Sue from what I can tell, but people seem to love her. But they're a weird fandom, so I kind of just look the other way.
I'd like to write more Weir fic, but I... I don't find her boring, but I guess maybe she just doesn't really engage me. I just about fell asleep during "The Real World" which had some nice elements to it. I love using her as a supporting cast, but not really as a main character.
Keller has really grown on me in the past few months. I think I really started to actively like her in "Trio", and rewatching some of the earlier episodes her restrained behavior is actually kind of endearing. I've been wanting to write a tag to "Vengeance" (Rodney whumping, of course), that deals with her trying to fill Carson's shoes and leads to her talk to Elizabeth in "First Strike". She has a lot of potential, I'm really hoping they choose to explore it in season five.
Teyla... eludes me. For no good reason. It's kind of sad because I've really been wanting to write something with her but I can't seem to nail down her voice.
To be fair to the fic I'm writing is AU and set on Earth, so that cuts out half of Team Sheppard right there. It's also told completely from John and Rodney's perspective, who are very isolated at this point in their lives and hardly interact with anyone at all, much less women. So that might actually be part of the problem right there. Maybe it's not me, just the characters?