How to create Heroines who can take care of themselves! (but still want a good man!)
I used to hate romances. Why? Because I didn’t respect a woman who had to have a man to save her. BUT, I did respect a woman who allowed a man into her life to make her better, stronger, more noble, more complete.
Which is why, probably, all the heroines in my books are strong women, — CIA agents, and K-9 Handlers and Bush pilots and Fire Chief.
But for all the toughness of my heroines, they need a good man.
So what makes a good heroine?
- Goal — give her a measurable goal. Both your characters need to have a goal, but it’s essential for your heroine. She needs to be proactive, and fighting for something she believes in. We want to get aboard her cause and fight the fight with her. Making her proactive and strong makes her noble and a winner in our book.
- Confidence – Give her a sense of self that is confident, despite her flaws. It’s easy for a heroine to have flaws – mostly because we write about ourselves, and we all have flaws. So you need to work at putting in confidence into your heroine, and something she’s good at, that makes us applaud her.
- Fear – Give her a fear, something realistic and based on something in her past. And don’t make it about “being single.” And make her fear deep, something the hero has to figure out, even pry out of her. Having a realistic fear is something that will create sympathy in your reader and put her in the heroine’s shoes.
- Flaw – Give her a flaw – one that she can start to overcome because of the hero. It doesn’t have to be a huge flaw, maybe it’s a tendency to run away from her problems, or better, a tendency to push men out of her life. As she gets to know the hero, he can help her overcome these flaws and grow stronger.
- Beauty Give her a special kind of beauty, both inner and outer that only the hero can see/love. Something special, only hers. Maybe it’s her eyes, but also the way that she can look right through him and see what he needs. Or maybe it’s her patience. Maybe it’s her strength to see the good, or believe in the good.
These five elements will create a heroine worthy of the hero who will fight for her heart! Go to: to learn how to craft a heart-stopping hero!
