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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 29, 2018 18:07:10 GMT -6
Where the Bards can chitchat about Dancing With Fools and whatnot.
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Post by moonglum on Feb 12, 2020 3:29:01 GMT -6
I must confess, I am becoming more and more intrigued with the two female characters. Helen especially. I feel that she must have been a strong character to have attained her previous position but, at the same time, when I write her character she becomes fragile. I'm not sure why this is. It could be a subconscious effort on my part to deviate from the stereotypical heroines of film and tv. Don't know!
Juliet, on the other hand, is, I feel, a much stronger character, having been born and raised in this world.
Just a few idle thoughts.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 12, 2020 9:26:15 GMT -6
I don't mean to barge into your bard's thread, Moonglum, but I read an opinion article in the New York Times, about nearly this exact thing. The article is titled "I Don't Want to Be the Strong Female Lead", and the author is an actress turned filmmaker. She describes her struggle to identify what makes a strong female lead, and why. In it, she writes: "...what we really mean when we say we want strong female leads is: “Give me a man but in the body of a woman I still want to see naked.”
It’s difficult for us to imagine femininity itself — empathy, vulnerability, listening — as strong."It was an interesting perspective. Here's the article in full, if it helps. www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/sunday/brit-marling-women-movies.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab |
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Post by moonglum on Feb 12, 2020 13:44:45 GMT -6
Not a problem, don't feel as if you are 'barging in'. House is noisy at the mo, I am gonna wait until it's quiet and read the article in full.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 12, 2020 14:44:33 GMT -6
Have you seen the movie: Courage Under Fire? Meg Ryan’s character starts crying during the battle. Strong women cry. As the character says ... it doesn’t mean anything, it’s just how the body releases tension.
I cry when I’m angry, and it frustrates me when in the middle of an argument I start crying. It makes me come off as weak when I’m anything but. I’d take on King Kong when I’m angry. A lot of people see the tears and see a woman lesser than. It’s just hormones, and how a woman’s body can react to those hormones.
A woman who is strong in battle, or when around people who need her to be strong, or when around people she knows she can’t show weakness to, can show weakness when she’s alone, or with people she feels or knows she can trust. No one can be strong 24/7. Brave people have fears. Strength and courage is when you overcome those fears and do what has to be done.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 12, 2020 14:52:10 GMT -6
BTW: This is where the bards can discuss the story trains between themselves. So the threads in here aren’t just for the story writers only. All bards can join any and all threads. If anyone wants their own personal bard blog, let me know and I’ll see about setting that up.
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Post by moonglum on Feb 13, 2020 3:09:37 GMT -6
A very interesting article Phalon. I'm of an age where looking back, I can see those stereotypes in virtually everything I ever watched or read.
No, I've not seen the movie Joxie, but I get what you are saying.
Some more thoughts. Am I analyzing this too much? Helens is not a heroic strength. She was an academic, rose to the top of her field, commanded the respect of those in power, headed up a government department so she was strong. At the same time, she never got over the death of her brother. With all the people around her, she still felt alone because of that loss. I don't really see her portrayed as the usual 'weak' woman, which is why I chose the word 'fragile'.Now, having read that article, maybe I fell into that 'masculine' way of thinking by using the word. I did consider 'broken' at the time, but that I felt was not her. I see her as somewhere between the 'strong female lead' and 'dave's wife'. She has her baggage, but then don't we all. No, she is not weak but she has to dig really deep to find her strength.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 13, 2020 23:16:55 GMT -6
Maybe write up some pros and cons using both the male and female point of view, and compare them to see if you're being true to the female POV? Maybe let the female character decide between the two which ones she'd like to use in her story? Give her options for both male and female versions of the story, and let her take on the role she wants? 
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Post by Phalon on Feb 14, 2020 6:27:59 GMT -6
I know; me too.
"Fragile" is maybe not the best word in context with the article, but man or woman, who would not be in a fragile state given Helen's situation? As you said, she's got her baggage from the past, in addition to being thrown into a world in which everything she knew is gone. "Fragile" though, does have its negative connotations - weak and easily damaged, and I as a reader, don't see Helen in that light. Maybe "emotionally wounded" is a more accurate description of her.
Looking forward to reading how she comes through!
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Post by moonglum on Mar 10, 2020 4:40:01 GMT -6
I usually go to sleep with a ritual. I'll pick a character, think about where they are at that moment in the story and then think about how to move them on. This usually involves thinking of the other character's situations and how they interact with one another. By this time I've usually fallen asleep, and the trick then is to remember it all in the morning. Come morning I'll usually remember bits and pieces, rarely all, and they will evolve as I write.
Sunday night was strange! As I fell asleep I thought of an ending to Dancers. What was strange was that in the morning, I remembered it all and sat down and wrote it out. The end has been written.
I just have to get everyone to that point now!
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Post by Phalon on Mar 11, 2020 7:09:43 GMT -6
Now you've got that whole 'it's the journey not the destination' thing to think about!
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Post by moonglum on Mar 11, 2020 8:11:09 GMT -6
Agreed. Although it's quite possible that another night might conjure an entirely different destination as both our journeys progress. Damn!
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