Women Warriors
Today on the blog, retired Air Force Colonel and award-winning author Diana Fedorak provides invaluable advice on writing women warriors.
Writing Women Warriors: How to Craft Authentic Female Fighters
Science fiction and fantasy, more than any other genre, has been ahead of its time depicting females in combat. From Elizabeth Moon's Vatta’s War series, George R.R. Martin's Brienne of Tarth, to Linda Hamilton's transformation in the Terminator movies, audiences have responded with enthusiasm to fierce females.
Writing fighting roles for women does not require the author to discard the character's femininity, nor restrict their emotional range. Regardless of the gender norms of the universe they inhabit, readers appreciate characters who are highly competent and determined to master their fate.
Science fiction tends to accomplish this through two means: the heroine has prior training or undergoes training, like Tris Prior in Veronica Roth's Divergent. Sci-fi also gives the author powerful tools to level the playing field, namely futuristic technology, often in the form of weapons.
In Mad Max: Fury Road, Charlize Theron’s character, Furiosa, is depicted as more machine than woman, having a metal hand in place of a lost limb. Rather than a disability, this enables Furiosa’s deadly marksmanship with a rifle, a savvy in fixing heavy machinery, and the ability to fight alongside Tom Hardy who plays Mad Max. When audiences later meet the tribe of women from her childhood carrying weapons, we understand how they survived in a bleak, post-civilization landscape. Combat isn't reserved for only young maidens.
Fantasy also utilizes training, but females in combat often operate in a world of unique magic systems. If the character does not have any magical or natural ability that lends itself to use in combat, she is often mentored by another to handle herself in an unpredictable world.
As a writer, I've been fortunate to have prior training that I've been able to use in my stories. One needn't be a combat arms expert, though, if the writer is willing to subject themselves physically to a little research. A game of paintball with friends, a self-defense class with an instructor, or even LaserTag with the kiddos can expand the writer’s imagination in specific fighting scenes. I tend to write my best action scenes after a workout accompanied by my favorite songs.
The representation of female warriors in literature is important not because women are the same as men, but because values like accountability, self-reliance, and learning to defend oneself are worthy goals no matter one's background. These values resonate with readers precisely because they are admirable, giving them fantastic characters they will remember.
Author Bio
Diana Fedorak is the author of the Children of Alpheios series, a Firebird Book Award Winner for Dystopian, Science Fiction, and Speculative Fiction. In a prior life, she retired as a colonel from the United States Air Force. She enjoys writing complex characters in high-stakes science fiction and fantasy worlds.
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