Back to Basics: Relatable Heroines To Draw Your Reader

 Darlings, this is a "Back to Basics" post that works for new and not-so-new authors alike! How to write the kind of heroine you want to read, one you can love, admire and embrace.

There is no simple way to say this. No simple words to address it. And no long-winded advice on methods, manners and modes.

Writers need to find "their" readers. The readers who love their voice, their mindset, their characters. The readers who identify with that author's point of view, with the settings, with the slant. And the best way to do this is to write books.

Some readers love the long-suffering type heroines who finally find some level of peace and satisfaction in life.

Other readers gravitate toward kick-butt heroines, the Kate Becketts (Castle: CBS) or the Elizabeth Bennets or the Princess Leias... the women who stand charge and don't stand down.

And an author can combine the two to make their characters sympathetic to Reading Group 1... and beloved by Reading Group 2 by having the long-suffering person stand up for herself and fly in the face of fear and transgression with a sense of overcoming.

I used that combination in two of my bestselling indie books "Running on Empty" and "Refuge of the Heart", using women who had to overcome a tragic, traumatic past to grab a firm hold on the future they wanted. But they couldn't have that future without the growth it took to get from point A (fear, self-doubt and guilt) to point B (realizing that their strength comes from faith in God and faith in themselves.)

Some readers identify with overcomers. So many of us have had to overcome a multitude of things in life from poverty, abuse, loneliness, death, divorce, loss of a child, addiction, mental illness, loss of job, loss of income and those are only a few of the things that can tip us into mental overdrive.

My Wishing Bridge series deals with three women who met in a foster care group home and their gripping and beautiful stories have put them on the Amazon.com bestseller list for the past two years... These are small town/rural setting stories of three overcomers and God's perfect timing.... and folks relate to it because almost all of us, if not all, have had to overcome something.

Some readers want complete relaxation and only buy books that are funny or funny/poignant.

They want the humor to soften the curves of life, and there's nothing wrong with that! Those curves could use bumper guards, for certain! 

But other readers want what my buddy Vince refers to as "Romance Realism": stories of victory over adversity, like what happens in real life.

Each author tackles into his/her heroines differently, so here are ideas from some of the marvelous Seekers:

Missy Tippens says she particularly loves reading heroines who are funny--not necessarily on the page interacting with other characters, but more in their thoughts. She can really relate to heroines who sometimes think or say the things Missy wishes she had the nerve to say in real life! She also relates well to heroines who are flawed, who don't have their act together, yet who fight through, grow, and come out a better human being by the end of the story.

From Jan Drexler:

But favorite heroines? I can weigh in on that. My favorite heroine is someone who impacts someone else's life for the better. So she's the daughter who cares for her aging parents, or the young professional who puts friendship above advancement, or the high school senior who puts her dreams on hold to raise her younger siblings when their parents are killed (that's Jackie Layton's heroine in her cozy mystery series.) Give me the woman who can put someone else's interests ahead of her own, and you have a heroine I can root for.


From Erica Vetsch:

As for relatable heroines, I try to give my heroines a quirk, like a gesture or a phrase or a tendency. In The Lost Lieutenant, my heroine Diana is a list-maker. She has little control in her life, so the areas in which she can exert control, she's all in. Lists, organization, plans.

I also like to give them a special gift. For Diana, it is design. She has a flair for creating beautiful spaces.

I also like to give my heroines a bit of a moral dilemma where they have to choose between two hard things. In this case, Diana wonders if it is every okay to lie to someone, if your motives are good.

Wishing you-- and all heroines, fictional and real!!!!-- the very best of health and happiness: Keep Writing! 

Multi-published, bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne loves writing great stories, working with kids, baking amazing goodies and working in gardens, but mostly she loves God... and her family... and thanks God for the graces she's known throughout her life. Visit her at ruthloganherne.com or visit her here on Seekerville or Yankee Belle Cafe on Thursdays, or friend Ruthy on Facebook!