Probably the single most important thing to develop in any story once the landscape is done are the characters. I'm loving it, though at times I feel as though my characters are taking on a different life than what I had planned for them. What I mean to say is that the way I originally imagined my character, even how I originally started to write them, isn't the way they are turning out to be. I imagined my heroine to be very strong and knowledgeable about things a young lady oughtn't . There is a certain conflict I'm feeling because while I want her to be strong and able, I also want her to be challenged by the hero intellectually and physically. I've recently written a few chapters where I feel they have morphed into something quite different and I don't know if I should go with it or backtrack and write the passages again. Perhaps the answer is to just get through the first draft and work from that.
Thinking of this though a question begs to be answered. How strong is too strong when it comes to female heroines? I mean, don't we read these things for the fantasy of being saved by love and strength of one's true partner? Doesn't that mean that one is stronger than the other, that one (usually the heroine) is to be saved by the other? At what point does it become unattractive for this position to be occupied by the fairer sex?
I for one am for strong female characters but there must be a balance. Joss Whedon is a perfect example of a writer who does just this. His female leads are chronically strong; almost to the complete alienation of those around them. Usually they are petite girl/women who are ultra feminine but kick ass (literally). Check out Buffy The Vampire Slayer if you don't believe me. But he's also about character development and more importantly how his complicated characters survive the jungle of human relationships. This is the dance all fiction writers must learn and I find that I am on that page now.
I hope I figure it all out and until then...wish me happy writing.
