WADY 3: How to Write a Strong Female Character
Welcome to Episode 3 of We Aren’t Dead Yet, a podcast throwing magic missiles into the ttrpg, gamer and speculative fiction sphere and seeing whether we come out alive at the end.
Every Thursday will be WADY Day, a celebration of something gamer, literature or culture shocking with three friends who found each other online via World Anvil and went “Hey! Let’s talk”. We found out we all have a lot to say and different approaches to the same questions.
We have a veteran Dungeon Master, an award winning World Builder & Media Producer, and a bestselling cyberpunk + mythpunk author, here to snark, speak and speculate on fiction, creative professions and games.
TODAY’S EPISODE… HOW TO WRITE A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER!
In this episode, we analyze the evolution of the strong female character in speculative fiction and provide tips on writing better leading ladies. We'll take a look at the seven feminine archetypes, from maiden to mystic, and celebrate the breakout heroines who shattered glass ceilings thanks to their defiantly human portrayals. From Ripley in Alien to Katniss Everdeen, we explore what gives these icons an undeniably real magnetism and complexity beyond just being “badass.” We’ll dig into nuanced characterization that resonates. Should you make her flaws obvious vulnerabilities or barely perceptible quirks? Unpack the level of struggle, growth, and moral ambiguity today's audiences expect.
If you want to support We Aren’t Dead Yet, please subscribe to become one of our Not Dead Knights and consider a paid tier, purchase something from our Merch Store, buy Macabre and Monstrous, our first anthology of horror stories and shout out about We Aren’t Dead Yet on social media.
Have a question you want to ask about the episode, the writing sphere or table top role playing games? Hit us up with comments on substack, down in the comments section below, or by throwing a question up on X @usurperkings or @e__armstrong.
Every little bit helps.
Cheers for now,
We’ll see you next week for a discussion on female villains in fiction!
Hosts: Sapha Burnell, K. S. Bishoff, Emily Armstrong
Audio Production: Emily Armstrong
Music: Jazzy Abstract Beat by Yrii Semchyshyn
