Posted by Sandy Parks
www.sandyparksauthor.com
This week includes and celebrates Worldwide Women in Aviation week, Women in Construction week, International Women’s Day, and Women’s History month. Whew, and I probably missed a few. That’s great to know, but what do these celebrations have to do with building characters?
Any writer wants their female protagonist to be strong (or
achieve that through the story), but her background must explain how she became
a doctor/lawyer/pilot/spy when she came from a troubled, impoverished, or lacking of support background. Writers frequently make the heroine a successful person
who climbed up by her bootstraps, often times via unbelievable circumstances.
That inconvenient necessity of getting from A to B is
glossed over. She is a doctor because her cancer-ridden, drug addict mother left her abandoned
at a young age. Motivation, yes, but hmm. How did she get from there to having
the grades, the drive, and the funds for all the education required?
How does building characters connect to these women’s week
celebrations? For one, there are often events during those weeks that are specifically aimed at
young women of school age to entice them into particular fields. One
is happening this week near me and is sponsored by the 99s, a women’s pilot organization.
They offer free first rides and hands on seminars about being a pilot. They follow up these events with
scholarships to encourage women to learn how to fly or hone other skills, and often
provide mentorships to get young women jobs and internships. Many a young teen working at an airfield has gone on to be an
aviation mechanic or pilot.
First flight for young girl at Women In Aviation Week activity Fly it Forward. Photo by S.Parks |
Other organizations do similar things. So if your character
comes from a low income family, or is orphaned, or lacks a support system, hook
her up with a mentor, give her an opportunity to try her hand at construction
or mechanics or business, or just about any field (especially those under-represented by women),
and then let her grow. Here’s an example. For extra money, your character
cleans the church after services. The pastor has a flying ministry so takes her
for a flight. When she shows interest in aviation, he gets her a job at the
local airfield where she gets interested in working on the planes. The head
mechanic starts to teach her and suggests she eventually apply for a training
scholarship from the women’s mechanic organization. Sounds boring, but it
builds a plausible background for why your gal can manipulate an aircraft or even car engine with ease.
Girls waiting at tarmac gate. A female member of the Civil Air Patrol is running ramp safety with the CAP cadets. |
Boys and girls wait for their first flight at an Experimental Aircraft Associations Young Eagles day (free first flight). |
Where can mentors come from? The woman who flies her plane on the day your character shows up at a local hangar for the free flight. Or an aerobatic pilot at the local airshow where the young girl waits to get an autograph from her favorite flyer. Or a “big brother” or “sister” who comes into her community to assist? The special mentor may also add another layer to your story and be that missing mother or father figure, or be the comedic release in your story.
99s who offered free rides at event and often act as mentors to women interested in flying. All ages and varying careers. |
Young fan standing before Patty Wagstaff's aerobatic plane at an airshow. Patty is a multiple National Aerobatic champion, instructor, and supporter of women in aviation. Photo S. Parks |
All in all, a woman who works hard to build/grow into the
person she is today, is more likely to have the strength to be the super
heroine we want in our stories. So start thinking about that background/backstory
and how it can play into building the character you need to make the story
believable. Give her an opportunity to become interested in her chosen field, a mentor to
guide her, and scholarships/internships to carry her to success.
10 comments:
A beautiful post. Thank you Sandy.
This is fabulous! Love the mentoring aspect. And the pictures are great! :D
Great post, Sandy, Love it that you're encouraging girls to strive in all ways.
Fascinating post, Sandy. How times change.
Great post, Sandy. I love it! GIRL POWER!!! :)
Love this post, Sandy! Mentors are so important, but so often overlooked.
Excellent advice, Sandy. Research shows that youth can overcome all kinds of adversity as long as they have a supporting adult in their lives. Kids are resilient, but they do need support.
Thanks everyone for the kind comments. Our best mentors can easily be our family, but when that's not possible those special people out in the world are gold.
Great idea--not just for fiction, either. Thank you for sharing this info.
Lovely post Sandy - life lessons as well as fiction development.
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