: Re: What is the key to creating a independent character, female and male? In my story, there is a girl and a boy who are trying to remain strong and independent. They are opposites of each other,

@Kaufman555

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2 characters with very different backgrounds, seeing 2 sides of a conflict – their journeys will have parallels, but will also be mirrored.

The fire element could be expanded thematically, although I think you'll want to avoid making it too obvious.

Her "fire" is a metaphor for the anger that keeps her motivated, and emotionally protected. As long as she "burns hot" she won't stop to feel the pain. She's also preventing anyone from getting too close. She's not alone of course, there are plenty of "hot heads" around her with similar experiences. They feed off each other, and instill it in each other, but there's also a nihilism to always being angry. They are not building anything. Being angry isn't a plan. It's not a solution. Her "independence" comes when she can break out of this cycle, and anger is not what motivates her anymore.

In contrast he is water and mutable. He conforms to any vessel, accepted in nearly any situation without conflict or comment. He understands what people expect of him, and he plays the part. As he grows uncomfortable with injustice around him, he is is acutely aware that no one else of his status seems to show it. He feels too much. A few loaded conversations with his peers go nowhere. He is so engrained by virtue of his privilege and position that others read his comments incorrectly (sarcasm, or testing their loyalty). He is emotionally isolated, and feels completely without power to change things which leads to him disassociating as if none of it is real. It's not just that others are treated badly and he feels for them, it's that he gets honored treatment which he does not deserve and it makes him feel like a fraud, like he is nothing of substance. The "vessel" is his class and privilege, everyone only sees a shell, a uniform, and ignores the "water" inside. His independence is about gaining the strength to not conform, and insist on a moral code that isn't dictated by class or convenience.

They don't "meet in the middle", but they each have to break free from their environment and forge their own path.

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