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I Am Woman: The Makings of Strong Female Characters

July 4, 2023 By Melissa Rea Leave a Comment

Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash

There’s a certain charm about innocent female protagonists who readers root for despite their clumsiness. However, these teeter toward being cliché over time, often creating an offensive stereotype for women. What readers deserve are strong female characters, naturally imposing and charismatic.

Female empowerment has reached new heights in today’s society. The fight for equal treatment and their pursuant to a new outlook about them have transcended from plain murmurs to measurable actions. Women have taken the responsibility of redefining their essence to their hands, with a proactive stance in reforming how society views and treats them.

To others, this may seem like a futile response, but given the impact of literature on societal systems, women have taken their cause of cutting these restraints to literature.

From female authors fighting for their crafts amid the male-dominated industry to books highlighting strong female characters as an attempt to reformat the female perception, the fight to break through a patriarchal system in literature has been unwavering. Fortunately, women’s empowerment has found the light in present-day literature.

Modern-Day Empowerment in Literature

The Pool of Tears Nights of Alice 2 follows an empowered woman who gets torn between her reality and fiction. Alice Hightower is initially introduced as a charismatic CEO of a medical device company. But her strong ground gets shaken when she loses everything, from the man she loves to her CEO position. She gets into a debacle, testing her grip on what’s real and what’s not.

She finds herself getting transported to different places and in the arms of different intriguing men whenever she chafes into the clothes that magically appear in her room every night. Although the story premises itself as a romantic fantasy, nothing short of a plot to satisfy women’s need for romance, a sliver of women empowerment is also present throughout its pages. Underneath the allure of multiple romantic connections, author Melissa Rea focuses on the commanding presence of the female protagonist and the choices she firmly stands by throughout.

What’s empowering about Alice Hightower isn’t her dominance of the success she finds for love overnight. Instead, her empowerment is found in the authenticity of her emotions and thoughts. Readers are given a glimpse of how vulnerability can also be empowering. It’s not all about strength and blatant bravery. Often, it’s showcased in vulnerability and the prioritization of her happiness.

Strong Female Characters Exist Not as Descent but as Empowerment

Women have long been associated with weakness, purity, and lightness. They’re expected to be meek and kind. Concepts like “damsels in distress” or the heroine who needs rescuing, while commonly enforced in a romantic light, limit women to submissive individuals. And whenever they’re portrayed in the opposite spectrum, this denotes a failure in their morality.

Strong female characters don’t exist solely as dissent to how society views women. Instead, having them at the forefront of literature highlights the existence of women embodying traits contrasting damaging stereotypes. There’s nothing wrong with women who are naturally clumsy, naïve, or frail. But to portray a generalization of women and to limit them to these traits is offensive and demeaning to their worth.

The portrayal of women in a positive light challenges existing stereotypes that influence how they’re treated in reality. By distancing them from adverse characteristics, women, young or old, are empowered and taught to stand up for themselves. It enforces the “if these characters can do it, so can you” mentality, motivating change for women and society.

Developing This Empowerment in Literary Characters

As authors, creating strong female characters have the power to reform society’s stories about females in general. If written well, a woman can be a strong symbol of courage. Here are tips and ways to create the perfect multifaceted two-dimensional character who can be an excellent role model.

She Finds Strength In Her Flaws

Empowered, strong female characters don’t have to be little-miss-perfects. They don’t need to be the epitome of perfection to be deemed powerful and charismatic. Their strength isn’t found in the lack of flaws but in how well they manage them. Imperfections and mistakes make these characters more relatable and closer to their readers, allowing them to resonate better.

A captivating story must be peppered with obstacles and errors that push the protagonist to their limits and wits’ end. It must allow them to maneuver, test themselves and show what they’re truly capable of. When they end up victorious at the end, that’s when they can be hailed as strong characters.

She Is Opinionated and Stands by It

Women are mostly known for their gut instincts and sticking with them. Strong female characters have the mental fortitude and resilience to make their own opinions and stand by what they believe is right despite the obstacles. These opinions shouldn’t be made without a rationale. Instead, they must be based on her principles and values, which makes her independent and separate from the rest.

Empowered women aren’t immune from persuasion. But she must take pride in her values while respecting conflicting opinions. Strong female characters must be capable of making and standing by their own choices.

These characters don’t have to start this way. Instead, authors can make them undergo a character arc that empowers them. There are no precise means of how strength comes to women, but how they will surpass these challenges must be known. Strong female characters must have a sense of purpose in these stories for readers to be interested in and resonate with them.

Filed Under: Fantasy Novel, Writing Tips Tagged With: Melissa Rea, Pool of Tears Nights of Alice 2

Writing Page-Turning Fantasy Romance Novels

April 5, 2023 By Melissa Rea Leave a Comment

Photo by Marcelo Chagas

While it’s a relatively newer and yet emerging subgenre in literature, fantasy romance novels have caught the eye and interest of the general public. The question is, how does one create a gripping story of this genre?

Everybody loves a good romance. Stories that make your heart year to love and be loved. Those that, agreeably and quite unpleasantly, might make one feel lonely but simultaneously anticipate the love meant for them. Romance novels are unapologetically dramatic; some even are over-the-top dramatic that would elicit an eye roll. But it’s this nature that makes people hopeful and believe in love.

This hopeful longing is among the many reasons that make romance novels one of the most popular genres in the market. Aside from these love and charming stories, a good portion of the population also seeks and enjoys nail-biting genres that lay out an alleyway for escapism. One such genre is fantasy or stories that involve magic, mystical creatures, and everything under an imaginative sun.

Now, mix these two genres, and authors birth one of the most exciting, daring, captivating fantasy romance novels.

Fantasy Romance Novels

Imagine having clothes randomly appear in the closet. Whenever they’re worn, the person gets transported to a particular time and with men who are the closest thing to being perfect. This would be a dream come true for every hopeless romantic. To experience a love that reflects how men romance women during different centuries and decades would be a blissful rollercoaster ride. This is the plotline from Melissa Rea’s story, Rabbithole Nights of Alice.

From the title, readers can expect to fall into the protagonist’s rabbit hole of nightly adventures, relationships, and the connections she encounters when she slips on a magical dress. The book shows the perfect balance of romance and magic. On one end of the story lies a delightful romance wherein the character meets and connects with different types of men. The fantasy element that sprinkles fun and thrill into these love lines is woven throughout this.

This Rabbithole Nights of Alice book perfectly captures the typical elements of fantasy romance novels. These are stories where fantasy and romance overlap or blend into one plot. Fantasy romance novels may primarily be romance with a fantasy subplot or the other way around. As a combination of two separate genres, it can be challenging to juggle fantasy romance. So, here are some tips to help authors capture and create page-turning fantasy romance novels.

Focus on the Fantasy Aspect. Romance Can Come In Later

While fantasy romance novels must be a balanced mixture of the two genres, it can’t be denied that one needs a little extra attention and effort. Between romance and fantasy, the latter requires more planning. Romantic connections can be written easily compared to fantasy novels’ world-building and plot design.

Authors can focus on creating the fantasy aspect of their stories first. What magic system or mystical creatures exist, and how do they affect the story? What should the protagonist experience within this fantasy world, and what are their conflicts? Once these details have been settled, the romance can be added and will often naturally flow out between characters. This romantic element of the story can further add excitement to the fantasy.

Consider a Trope and Maximize It

Every genre has tropes. For instance, fantasy has the “chosen one,” and romance has “enemies-to-lovers.” By identifying these tropes first, the story and subsequent plot points will be easier to determine and plan. Should the story have the protagonist save the city? Will her enemy be someone who’ll choose to save her in the end?

In Melissa Rea’s story, the fantasy pretty much makes up the opportunity for romance to happen. With magical dresses, the protagonist can meet different men and experience different love stories. The magic regarding tropes is that authors can twist and play around with them to create something fresh and exciting.

Identify Characters and Their Goals

Romance can’t happen when the needed characters don’t meet and interact. And no effective storyteller will randomly insert a new character mid-story to fulfill a romance subplot.

In fantasy romance novels, characters must be well-planned since the stories juggle two different genres and externally different goals. Every character must contribute to the story. Hence, although one character might primarily be the love interest of another, they must also play a part in the plot’s fantasy aspect. They can’t magically come out of nowhere when the story needs romance, even though a person magically appearing can be considered fantasy.

Some authors create character profiles before plotting things. This process can ensure all available characters serve a purpose and have goals to achieve on their own.

Craft Great Romance Scenes

Most readers stay for great romantic scenes. More than the thrilling fight scenes or exhilarating journeys, readers want to get excited about love. They want to experience the characters’ pining, pushing, and pulling. Some readers get more amusement from these events. Hence, authors must provide for this demand.

Filed Under: Blog, Writing Tips Tagged With: Melissa Rea, Rabbithole Nights of Alice, Rabbithole Nights of Alice book

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Rabbithole - Wins The Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award (Gold)

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Conjuring Casanova - Wins 2016 Beverly Hills International Book Award for Romantic Comedy


About Melissa Rea

Melissa Rea - Rabbithole Nights of Alice Book | Author

As a little girl, Melissa Rea fell asleep whispering stories to herself in the dark.  In elementary school, she got in trouble for embellishing when the truth … Read More

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