Well, I've read a lot of historical romance, so let's be honest, it isn't exactly realism in those books. It's over-emotional inner monologues, codependence, and a general skewing of history to fit the overall tone and focus of the genre. When I read fantasy, I like female characters who are real and believable. I like female thieves and mages, I like women who have a goal other than bagging a handsome knight. I like women who want love for their own sake, not for what they gain in getting a man's affections. However, when i write, I write women who are plain, rather than beautiful, maybe demure on the outside but with a nasty streak. I like women who speak up when they have something to say, and though they all tend to have their own sensibilities about what is proper or what is right, none of them follow even their own rules all the time.
I've written a mage who assembles a company of mages to lead into battle to save her husband. I've written a middle-aged woman who uses poisons to control and con men in the crime syndicate in her city. I've written a teen girl whose lover is kidnapped and she never forgets him, even after her father tells her to stop digging for answers because powerful people have spoken, and the boy's not coming back. I wrote a blind priestess who has to choose whether to abandon her life as a priestess or remain under her mother's control forever. I wrote a woman bent on revenge when she believes a powerful cleric killed her son, though she has no proof. I like to think even though most of my stories are at least partly romance, that the individuals I choose to write aren't stereotypical. none of them are beautiful, or especially powerful, or even remarkable. Some are cunning, some are manipulative, some are really honest, while others are born deceivers. I didn't choose any of their traits because they're female specifically, but I do sometimes include some reflection that includes their gender. What I mean by that, is that my blind priestess knows she has a brother or two, that were given away, to live with their fathers, but she was kept to be a priestess and that's why she's in her mother's strangling grasp. She doesn't wish she was born a boy because boys are better, but she does wish she had been born free. My lady whose son was killed doesn't regret being a woman, but she laments her years (she's 43) because she feels past her prime and fears she's running out of time to get her revenge (she spent two years plotting).
I do the same things equally with my male characters. For example, I have a knight in one book who is mortally wounded on a journey with some mages, and he's healed with magic, but it makes him question his mettle and whether he's still strong enough to see his goals through (he's 31). It's less about his age and more about how he's given up and started a new life, and maybe he doesn't even want it anymore? Anyways, so my male characters have some of the same dilemmas my female characters do, and that's part of the fun for me in matching up the main characters with secondary characters who can help them overcome their personal shortcomings. Yes I write romance, but some of my male characters need love as much or more than my female ones, and I try to make both genders not only believable, but really authentic to people I've known. Some are good communicators, some are mostly good communicators but have a bit of grouchiness that gets in their way, and some are just altogether anxious or secretive, making them horrible communicators, until they can overcome their personal issues. Also, their goals tend to be individualistic, rather than "us" or "we", even if a couple forms. yeah, that's loads of fun for me.
I've written a mage who assembles a company of mages to lead into battle to save her husband. I've written a middle-aged woman who uses poisons to control and con men in the crime syndicate in her city. I've written a teen girl whose lover is kidnapped and she never forgets him, even after her father tells her to stop digging for answers because powerful people have spoken, and the boy's not coming back. I wrote a blind priestess who has to choose whether to abandon her life as a priestess or remain under her mother's control forever. I wrote a woman bent on revenge when she believes a powerful cleric killed her son, though she has no proof. I like to think even though most of my stories are at least partly romance, that the individuals I choose to write aren't stereotypical. none of them are beautiful, or especially powerful, or even remarkable. Some are cunning, some are manipulative, some are really honest, while others are born deceivers. I didn't choose any of their traits because they're female specifically, but I do sometimes include some reflection that includes their gender. What I mean by that, is that my blind priestess knows she has a brother or two, that were given away, to live with their fathers, but she was kept to be a priestess and that's why she's in her mother's strangling grasp. She doesn't wish she was born a boy because boys are better, but she does wish she had been born free. My lady whose son was killed doesn't regret being a woman, but she laments her years (she's 43) because she feels past her prime and fears she's running out of time to get her revenge (she spent two years plotting).
I do the same things equally with my male characters. For example, I have a knight in one book who is mortally wounded on a journey with some mages, and he's healed with magic, but it makes him question his mettle and whether he's still strong enough to see his goals through (he's 31). It's less about his age and more about how he's given up and started a new life, and maybe he doesn't even want it anymore? Anyways, so my male characters have some of the same dilemmas my female characters do, and that's part of the fun for me in matching up the main characters with secondary characters who can help them overcome their personal shortcomings. Yes I write romance, but some of my male characters need love as much or more than my female ones, and I try to make both genders not only believable, but really authentic to people I've known. Some are good communicators, some are mostly good communicators but have a bit of grouchiness that gets in their way, and some are just altogether anxious or secretive, making them horrible communicators, until they can overcome their personal issues. Also, their goals tend to be individualistic, rather than "us" or "we", even if a couple forms. yeah, that's loads of fun for me.
Sage
Myth Weaver
Auror
Inkling
